Rapid Robert
Well-Known Member
yes they were/are still on sale. 33% 40%
best shocks for a daily driver 73 dart
- Thread starter Rapid Robert
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slantsixdan
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That really is a screamin' deal in terms of dollar outlay and value for dollar. Yes, Bilsteins are nicer…also yes, they're a lot more money.
To me there’s things you can get away with on a “weekend car” or infrequent driver that you just can’t get away with on a daily.
If the shocks are stiff and don’t do a good job (or a flat out BAD job) of actually damping the suspension you not only suffer from a ride quality standpoint, you also lose traction and control.
Now, on a weekend car where you only take it out in good weather, stay out of traffic, and don’t do anything all that sporty a set of KYB’s will last forever and give you mediocre to bad performance the whole time, but it probably won’t matter.
On a daily, where you’re going to be exposed to more traffic, poor roads, weather etc the performance of those shocks could also mean being able to avoid an accident. And if you’re logging more miles, well, the odds of something happening only go up. Not to mention you’re logging more miles so improving the ride quality is going to make a big difference in how much you actually want to drive the car. Lousy shocks for a 20 minute drive once in a blue moon is one thing, lousy shocks for a 90 minute commute several times a week is another thing entirely.
This is actually a case of you get what you pay for, the KYB’s are cheap junk and the Bilstein RCD’s are a high quality shock that has a wide range of wheel rates it can handle very well.
If the shocks are stiff and don’t do a good job (or a flat out BAD job) of actually damping the suspension you not only suffer from a ride quality standpoint, you also lose traction and control.
Now, on a weekend car where you only take it out in good weather, stay out of traffic, and don’t do anything all that sporty a set of KYB’s will last forever and give you mediocre to bad performance the whole time, but it probably won’t matter.
On a daily, where you’re going to be exposed to more traffic, poor roads, weather etc the performance of those shocks could also mean being able to avoid an accident. And if you’re logging more miles, well, the odds of something happening only go up. Not to mention you’re logging more miles so improving the ride quality is going to make a big difference in how much you actually want to drive the car. Lousy shocks for a 20 minute drive once in a blue moon is one thing, lousy shocks for a 90 minute commute several times a week is another thing entirely.
This is actually a case of you get what you pay for, the KYB’s are cheap junk and the Bilstein RCD’s are a high quality shock that has a wide range of wheel rates it can handle very well.
Great explanation.
slantsixdan
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Horseѕhit. They're gobs better in terms of both handling and ride than the OE shocks, way better than OE-replacement junk (Monroe, Gabriel, etc). And they are well more than plenty good enough for pretty much any A-body with a stock or near-stock suspension and steering system.
Junk is junk at any price. I had to take the KYB’s off my car.
I didn’t have the stomach to sell them so I waited for a scrap run and sent them to the shredder.
But what do I know?
Rapid Robert
Well-Known Member
the rear KYB shocks arrived & I went to put em on & discovered that the current rear shocks are air shocks with no psi in em. with no air does that take away all of their dampening ability?
michiganpat
Well-Known Member
I agree matching shocks to spring rates is important. I rebuilt my duster's suspension 2 years ago, I'm not made of money, and I got a good deal on a set of NOS .92" torsion bars, & some used 6 leaf HD springs to replace my .85" bars and saggy butt 5 leafers. all new ball joints and suspension bushings (moog offsets in the UCAs), added a 1.125" front sway bar, swapped to disc brakes in front, and went with KYB's. the car handles and rides great, and the KYB's were almost $400 less expensive than bilsteins (which is more than I have in my upgraded torsion bars and springs)
michiganpat
Well-Known Member
shouldn't. the air is just a spring. BUT the shock mounts on these cars were never designed to carry the load of the vehicle weight on them, only transient dampening loads. if you had air shocks or those coil over helper shocks, be sure to inspect your shock mounts. when we bought my car with 50000 miles on it back in 1991 with those on it, we discovered both shock mounts broken, IIRC the passenger one was ripped right out of the floorpan.
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