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Overall Best Struts/shocks

What Struts/Shocks are the Best overall

  • Total voters
    21
  • Poll closed .
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Elvenhome21

Elvenhome21

15+ Year Contributor
625
5
Oct 21, 2006
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
I am asking this just to get an idea on which strut/shock combination works out the best. I am only asking about NON coil over struts and for a 1g only.

I realize this topic has been beaten into the dirt, but Between being scattered throughout the forum and not really having a definitive answer I would like honest opinions based on actual experiences with these struts/shocks.

I am looking for overall views basically from any type of driving/racing. I am mainly interested in the racing feedback but its also nice to know that the struts/shocks can perform on the street without being to harsh. As far as racing It don't matter, be it Drag, Autox, Road Racing, Rally, whatever.

This Poll Is being based off of what you feel make the struts "the best" be it Price, Performance, or even just user friendly.
 
Elvenhome21 said:
This Poll Is being based off of what you feel make the struts "the best" be it Price, Performance, or even just user friendly.
Click to expand...
That makes this a rather silly poll. It'll produce a mish-mash of various opinions on various attribute and, therefore, provide no useful information on any attribute, least of all the technical reasons for preferring one shock over another.

It also misses a deeper point that we have been trying to make for a while (to raise this forum above others): shocks are not an isolated element. They must match the springs and application. You are coming close to asking "what's your favorite condiment?" without saying whether it's going on a hot-dog or ice-cream. And catsup is pretty nasty on a banana split.

- Jtoby
 
Well, my goal is to find out what the most common shock is that people want to buy. I will explain later in a couple weeks when the poll ends, on why I want this information.

Also why is it that you have to put everybody down and basically insult them in front of the entire forum. This is very rude and if you have a problem with someone or their question PM them instead. I know that your a "wiseman" but be "Helpful" instead of saying some dumb coment on how stupid someones idea or question may be.
 
While this might belong in Site Feedback or a PM ... I do not put everyone down, even though many of you that have been criticized by me seem to think so. You are in a select group which is much smaller than the majority.

Do you see my goal? Did you read (with your defenses turned off) the "deeper point" that your post seems to miss?

More generally, there are two ways to raise the signal-to-noise ratio. I leave it to others to focus on increasing the signal.

- Jtoby

ps. if your goal was really to learn what shocks people want to buy, why didn't you just ask that question?
 
Easy boys. The dirty dealer meant no harm.
Click to expand...

There's a big difference between in criticising an idea and insulting the person. The former is allowed here and the latter is not. Tell us what you really want and maybe we can help.

If you really want to know what's the best, find out what the winner's use.

PS. I like Teins because I own them and would never admit to making a lousy choice. I like the color too.
 
This is such a subjective question. Different people are going to like different suspension setups. Unless you can dig up some comparison tests in a controlled study on diff setups on the same car, I doubt you're going to get any conclusive answer.
 
I will rephrase so I don't keep getting "its a question that has to many varibles"

What are people most inclinded to buy for struts/shocks. It dosen't matter what combination you have for components as long as the outcome of you answer is what Struts/Shocks you prefer or work better than the rest. I know that having different components cause different outcomes on shock performance, but if you have non OE compnents please chime in and state what aftermarket parts are relavent and your experience with your struts/shocks and your likes/dislikes.

Lets say someone was to choose 2 different brands of non coilover struts/shocks to stock in a store, What brands should they be. Or if one is more superior than all others explain why. Thats what I am trying to get an answer for.

For example if Koni's are the best NON coilover strut, WHY do you feel konis are the better than say AGK's. Or if say AGKS work better for drag racing and not road racing and so on. Please give your input.
 
I would be even more specific -

"Make me a list of 3-5 shocks/struts you'd use for racing in order of favorite to least favorite."

Leave out the extra considerations of price and comfort and focus on best performance. If you're not looking for full coilovers (which I don't think you are) then be sure and say so. Go ahead and tell people why you're looking for this info so they'll understand the question better.
 
I'll speak for Jason since I know where he's going with this.

He's trying to find out all of the best shocks/struts that us 1Gers (and in the future, 2Gers) might have available to us for use with perch/sleeve kits (like Ground Control and DSS). Right now the only two that are widely used are Koni and KYB AGX, and the AGX is very inferior for racing purposes. So he's looking into all the potential options and also wants to see if he can modify other shocks that aren't currently used on our cars to work so that we'd have more options.

He's also planning on becoming a Supporting Vendor on our site very soon here so he can take his research and offer some more affordable perch/sleeve kits with a few different shock combos/spring rates for people on a budget and those who don't build their own kits. He'll be working with member(s) of our site to do the testing of his work. I'm sure he'll also share his results for those who want to make their own kits but he'll be in a position to get some good prices and pass some savings on to us, as well as do some modification work that some of us won't be willing to do on our own. And though some may opt to just build their own kits but Jason's trying to make it easier for more 1G owners to get into an affordable suspension for racing instead of settling for Prokit springs and AGX struts.

So list out 2-3 shock/struts you'd really like to use for racing if you could and give Jason a starting point for his research. Who knows, this might not result in anything more than just a cheaper alternative to Ground Control kits and DSS kits, but it's worth a shot if someone is actually going to do all the leg work to find more solutions for our community.
 
OK. I've read the above (plus a PM from Elvenhome) and here's my $.02.

If people are willing to accept the problems with Asian shocks, then there is probably no competing with the threaded-body coilovers that are available from Japan and Taiwan.

If people are willing to pay for something really, really good, but still plug-and-play, then there is probably no competing with a Muellerized package from RRE.

It's the middle-ground that is wide-open.

I've posted many times how to cobble together a system for a 2G using Koni Sports and spherical plates from RRE. But many people seem to not want to do the little bit of leg-work that's involved. That's your target group.

I'd base the system on Koni Sports with sleeves from Koni that use 2.25" or 2.5" ID springs. I'd get the springs from HyperCo, since the little extra they cost is worth it and says a lot about the person selling the system. Then I'd either get plates from RRE or design your own, doing the leg-work to source the bearings and make spacers that fit perfectly on the shaft of a Koni Sport without modification by the end-user. Put them all together and sell them as pre-assembled sets. Invest the money to keep a few sets on hand and know what springrates to suggest for different applications. Do all the little stuff for the end-used, such as cutting new grooves in the body of the shock, if needed. Offer them a system based on Koni Sports that will arrive in the mail -- within a week of the order being placed -- ready to put on the car.

- Jtoby
 
Thank you for informing everybody and clarifying things on my intentions.

Does anybody have any more information on those Bilstein Grand Touring shocks. I seen the review on them but they were only compared to the GR-2s.

Also I am trying to find RAW numbers on valving for these struts (Konis and AGX). If anyone has taken these to a shock dyno and have results please share the info.

If no one has any numbers I will get them tested on all of the settings and share the information as to what struts should work best for certain spring combinations.
 
DG posted plots from Koni Sports (for 2Gs) on his new autocross site. Never seen plots for AGXs. Not sure why anyone would bother putting them on a dyno.

- Jtoby
 
Elvenhome21 said:
Well it would be a good reference to see why they are so "bad" compared to koni's.
Click to expand...

If the 1G's are anything like the 2G's, the rears will likely break in 5,000 miles. Plus, there's no warranty with coil-overs. AGX's are the single biggest waste of money I've installed on my car.
 
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