2G Koni str.t orange struts any good?

[PlanZero]

Anybody have any reviews for these struts? They're koni's cheaper line but are still designed for lowered cars. I only have a 1.5" drop but I just blew out one of my front kybs.

 

[chrysler kid]

In the fbody ls1 world they are considered to be on the same level as bilstein shocks. Bilstein are seen as being superior to the AGX shocks, bilstein is typically the OE provider for some performance applications

In relative terms they will be better than the kyb AGX struts.

I had a koni ground control setup on my last n/t gs. Koni shocks ride harsh, even on their softest setting they are firmer than the AGX on its hardest setting.

The str should give you the extra firm ride you want with a little give to them so you don't rattle your teeth out.

Depending on your spring choice the str should give you a better ride as the AGX shocks have been over rated for years in my opinion. That being said I have AGX shocks on my camaro and on my gst now with the autozone lifetime warranty with them

 

[RamenPride]

Koni's in general are a good shock. The "street" line replaced the "red" model that was adjustable (you had to take them off the car to do it, though). However, the streets are not adjustable like the sports (ie "Yellows").

Were your old KYB's the AGX's or the GR-2/Excel-G's? If you're going for non-adjustables, Tokico HP's are also an option.

 

[PlanZero]

The kybs in question were gr2s. Unfortunately I got them on wholesaler closeout about a year ago so no warranty. I have gr2s on my awd and agx on my fwd. I'm not a big fan of either. Both cars have suspension techniques springs (about a 1.5 drop). Ive been hearing many bad things about tokicos, and koni yellows are not in the budget (as discussed in another thread my motor pooped the bed). I'm looking for a decent street ride but also longevity as well. Right now its either agx or str.t. I found a pair of strts on eBay for $150 shipped.

 

[chrysler kid]

A replacement set of gr2's will run you about $86 each at your local auto parts store and come with a lifetime warranty. Might be worth it to pull the trigger on a new set and then trade in your old set for the other car in a few months.

AGX shocks are like $186, but I got them 30% off this weekend for employees. I think it was $225 for both and I get that added lifetime warranty

I broke the sway bar end link and no autoparts stores have them locally so it will be another day or two before I get to try them out

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[PlanZero]

I considered buying gr2/excelGs locally for the warranty purposes as well. It just sucks knowing they're half the price on rock auto (although I believe we've both been dissatisfied with RA lately). But for some reason the ride quality sucks on my AWD, I'm pretty sure due to the combination of extra weight, lowering springs and OEM struts.
As for all these struts with lifetime warranties, it's virtually pointless if you have to send them anywhere and wait while your car is on jackstands.

 

[chrysler kid]

I considered buying gr2/excelGs locally for the warranty purposes as well. It just sucks knowing they're half the price on rock auto (although I believe we've both been dissatisfied with RA lately). But for some reason the ride quality sucks on my AWD, I'm pretty sure due to the combination of extra weight, lowering springs and OEM struts.
As for all these struts with lifetime warranties, it's virtually pointless if you have to send them anywhere and wait while your car is on jackstands.

Yeah rock auto is just rock auto, it was just a $4 belt for me but it just shows if you did have a problem with a major purchase you're screwed. A local parts store will just swap them out for you since 99% of the population doesn't use the warranty

Kyb AGX on my cars never really felt like performance shocks especially with anything made by eibach, and on my camaro the rears lasted less than a year. The $20 rear Monroe struts I replaced them with actually bottom out less often. I'm not sure why I bothered with the AGX from an autoparts store but I don't plan to ever sell my car so why not get the best I could and get the warranty (my car is stock but the factory ones were definitely blown)

Spring and struts really have to work together. One of the best suspension setups I've had was a set of stiff BMR (fbody) lowering springs with Tokico blue shocks. Tokico is universally considered generic like Monroe or Gabriel but a set of stiff springs will really balance the car on rough roads. The preferred lowered suspension needs to have a higher spring rate, but most brands like eibach work very poorly with anything less than a high performance shock.

My koni GC setup was just rediculously harsh like I was just riding on the coils with immediate rebound. The str orange series is made to be a street shock compared to the track shock for the yellow and should be a noticeable improvement

Now that I think about it I had 2 cars at the same time with the yellow shocks, the white turbo car was on skunk2 springs and koni's and nearly ejected me out of the sunroof on the highway one time. Previous owner was running the hardest spring he could find and then cut a coil off of them to make it a great autox car with no body roll. It was one of the worst cars to drive on the street I've ever owned

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