Sachs shocks on an A-body?

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MopaR&D

MopaR&D

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I noticed Sachs has recently come up as another option for cheap shocks besides Monroe and Gabriel. I have a set of Gabriels all around on my 70 Duster now but the fronts rode overly stiff at first then blew out within a few months. I've run Monroes before but they were overly soft and also blew out quickly. I will eventually get a set of adjustable Fox shocks but for now I just need something to keep my tires from bouncing over bumps and give some degree of control.

Is Sachs generally better quality than Monroe or Gabriel? And how about the valving, are they more on the firm or soft side? And NO i'm not going with KYBs lol. They only work on stuff with high unsprung weight (trucks, jeeps etc) in my experience.
 
Sachs is a German company that belongs to the ZF Group.
Here in Europe you meet these companies more often. These are and were always high quality. By the way, I have also installed Sachs shock absorbers, which were problem-free.
 
sachs shock absorbers?

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I don't believe that about KYB's across the board. While not the best, KYB is a decent bottom shelf budget shock if you get the correct ones for your application. In some cases like ours they have 1 option of up to 25% stiffer than stock, so yeah you'll get a firmer ride which comes with better control than stock spec replacements. If you have a high performance suspension like larger torsion, sway bars, etc and expect good rotation and control in and out of corners any stock replacement shock will not be acquit.

What is your intended use of the car?
 
Sachs are very good quality but if I remember correctly they don’t offer a rear shock absorber for an A-body.

I bought a set of KYB’s for my ‘69 Dart last spring and I really like them. The ride is firm but not harsh at all. I find the car handles much better with the KYB’s over the Mopar Performance shocks I had on it. I’ve got 1.03 torsion bars on the front of my Dart.

I read somewhere that the newer KYB gas adjust shocks (silver color shock) have less harsh valving than the older KYB Gas adjust white color shock.
 
Well I think I spoke too soon I didn't notice CarID was out of stock with "unknown availability" of the Sachs. I think I'll just get a pair of Monroes for the front again, hopefully around the middle of the year I'll have money for "real" shocks.

I've just heard more bad than good about the KYBs, firmer ride but not much more control than a factory replacement shock and nowhere near as good as Bilsteins. A set of 4 KYBs is still not exactly "cheap" at around $150 I'd rather just put that money towards high-end adjustables, that's almost as much as 1 Hotchkis/Fox unit lol.
 
Have you looked into Konis for your Duster? I ran them on my street cars & like them over Monroes & Gabriels.
 
I put Sachs shocks on my wagon a while back. I like them much better than any of the other "cheap" options.

They give a nice neutral ride, not too stiff and not too soft.

030 816 for the front and 030 275 for the rear
 
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Demonracer said:
Have you looked into Konis for your Duster? I ran them on my street cars & like them over Monroes & Gabriels.
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I'd give those a shot but I haven't seen anywhere that sells them for classic Mopars. Heard they were available once upon a time but not since I've had my Duster the past 12 years or so.

Kind of funny I checked CarID again just for the heck of it and the Sachs 030 816 are back in stock, just ordered a pair! @flingdingo I did a quick web search on your part number for the rears but nothing came up...
 
When I bought the rears, I looked all over for that number and the only place I found them was Pep Boys Online. They said they only had 5 pairs in stock when I bought them. They may well have been discontinued.
 
New Sachs front shocks are on, man it rides so much better than before my passenger side shock was COMPLETELY blown out... all the oil leaked out and it was toast, literally did nothing. I agree with @flingdingo these seem to be "medium" stiffness where the Gabriels were pretty firm (when they were still working) and Monroes are pretty soft. I'd highly recommend them if not for the fact that they don't offer rear shocks for Mopars, searching the 030 275 part number came up with nothing and even on the ZF/Sachs catalog site they only list front shocks for a 1970 Plymouth Duster. They seem to work OK with my rear Gabriels though, those seem to not be as stiff as the front Gabriels were. Still need to put some miles on them to know for sure if there's any front-rear weirdness with the 'mismatched' shocks but so far I'm very pleased.
 
On a M-B owners forum I attend, owners discuss Sachs and Bilstein as best. Bilstein is more expensive, while Sachs is "good enough" for most. I might have Sachs on my 1985 300D, but don't care enough to verify. I suspect half the opinions are by people like audiophiles of old who could supposedly hear things from quality turntables and amplifiers which us mere mortals couldn't, yet they would never submit to a blind with and without hearing test.
 
MopaR&D said:
I'd give those a shot but I haven't seen anywhere that sells them for classic Mopars. Heard they were available once upon a time but not since I've had my Duster the past 12 years or so.

Kind of funny I checked CarID again just for the heck of it and the Sachs 030 816 are back in stock, just ordered a pair! @flingdingo I did a quick web search on your part number for the rears but nothing came up...
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Koni shocks are available from Summit. I have Koni shocks on my Duster. Just bought a set last month for a RoadRunner project.
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Bummer. I got a new set of KYB whites on my 65. Got them off a Valiant at a pick and pull for $5 a piece. They looked new, not even dirty.
 
MopaR&D said:
I'm assuming they need to be custom ordered though, I never see them come up when I search by application? Do you have part numbers?
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You have to be smarter than Koni and then you can find them. Koni thinks their shocks only fit E body cars since they don't understand that Mopar cars from 62 to 72 share a lot of parts including shocks.
 
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