Uh oh, need new front shocks

[Brooks James]

70 Dart I installed cheap gas shocks on the front yrs ago.
After looking at what's about there for really good shocks now, I'm stunned at the prices.
Need recommendations
Package

70 Dodge Dart /6 k frame, factory sway bar and KelseyHays discs. SBP

Moog offset upper control arms bushings to achieve enough caster to run modern radials

1.03 PST torsion bars

Original style ball joints, bushings, etc

My intent is cruise, hopefully some street racing, race a road course at the County Safety Facility where law officers are trained to drive

I know I want them to be adjustable

 

[A56]

70 Dart I installed cheap gas shocks on the front yrs ago.
After looking at what's about there for really good shocks now, I'm stunned at the prices.
Need recommendations
Package

70 Dodge Dart /6 k frame, factory sway bar and KelseyHays discs. SBP

Moog offset upper control arms bushings to achieve enough caster to run modern radials

1.03 PST torsion bars

Original style ball joints, bushings, etc

My intent is cruise, hopefully some street racing, race a road course at the County Safety Facility where law officers are trained to drive

I know I want them to be adjustable

Don't forget to take into consideration the weight of the motor.

 

[Inertia]

Penske .

 

[72bluNblu]

Bilstein RCD’s.

For a street car I really don’t see the need for adjustable shocks. I’ve run them before, I’ve always ended up with them adjusted fairly close to middle of range, which would be similar to a non-adjustable shock of similar design.

Unless you plan on doing a decent amount of track time, where it would be helpful to have “track” and “street” settings that you could go back and forth between with an adjustable shock I really don’t think the extra expense of the adjustables is necessary.

I run non-adjustable Hotchkis Fox shocks on my Duster with 1.12” bars, and really haven’t had any great desire to change how they’re set up or go to the adjustable version for street use.

 

[cudamark]

Bilstein and Koni make some excellent shocks too. KYB's are ok, but, not in the same league as the other two. I haven't seen any need for adjustables either.

 

[72bluNblu]

Bilstein and Koni make some excellent shocks too. KYB's are ok, but, not in the same league as the other two. I haven't seen any need for adjustables either.

KYB's are straight up garbage. Especially when paired with a torsion bar 1" or larger. I've run them, and running KYB's on my Challenger with 1.12" torsion bars is in my "top 5 things I've screwed up" with regard to my Mopar builds. They're just inferior shocks in every way. I'd run cheap replacement Monroe's long before I even considered KYB's for anything.

 

[cudamark]

I've only run gas KYB's on stock suspensions and had no real issues with them. I found they were better than stock fluid shocks myself. I would pick another brand for high performance use for sure.

 

[72bluNblu]

I've only run gas KYB's on stock suspensions and had no real issues with them. I found they were better than stock fluid shocks myself. I would pick another brand for high performance use for sure.

That is the common theme. Paired with factory torsion bars, the KYB’s make the car seem better. That’s not because they’re good shocks. It’s because they’re very stiff, which helps to compensate for the really soft factory suspension.

Keep in mind that’s still not giving you the right performance, it’s just that overdamping a really soft suspension feels better than a properly damped, really soft suspension.

The better solution is to run the right amount of wheel rate and match the capability of the shocks to the rate of the bars so you have a system that’s closer to critically damped.

Paired with larger torsion bars and higher wheel rates, the inadequacies of the KYB’s are obvious.

 

[Mojoe9955]

I have the KYB's on my Duster with 1.06 t-bars and adjustable strut rods... after some consideration, I'm going to say... not good.
I was driving my Roadrunner which is similarly setup yesterday and I like them much better on it.
Maybe the extra weight on the Roadrunner makes them more compliant there then on the lighter Duster?

 

[72bluNblu]

I have the KYB's on my Duster with 1.06 t-bars and adjustable strut rods... after some consideration, I'm going to say... not good.
I was driving my Roadrunner which is similarly setup yesterday and I like them much better on it.
Maybe the extra weight on the Roadrunner makes them more compliant there then on the lighter Duster?

Same size torsion bars in the Roadrunner?

The weight is likely a factor, but remember also that B body torsion bars are longer, so, for a given diameter they have a lower wheel rate than A-body torsion bars. For example, the 1.12” Firm Feel bars I have in my Challenger have a wheel rate of 270 lb/in. The 1.12” Firm Feel bars in my Duster have a 300 lb/in rate.

Either way, the KYB’s are not a good shock. When I went from KYB’s to Bilstein RCD’s in my Challenger the difference was night and day. The difference in ride quality is so dramatic that my Challenger will likely get larger torsion bars before it goes back on the road.

 

[Mojoe9955]

Yes I think they are the 1.06 as well.
I have a Hellwig sway bar and mostly stock rubber front end bushings. It has a 4 speed and I drive it pretty aggressively on some twisty back roads and really like the way it handles. I often imagine coming out of turn 3 at about 140 like Petty trying to pass Yarborough... Lol