WHAT SHOCKS TO BUY: KYB VS Monroe VS Bilstein's

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abodyjoe said:
It's far from a discussion. More like you crying because you can't go to the local store and buy these shocks for a $1.99 each.
Either buy them from an authorized dealer or don't. I don't really care. But please stop tge crying already.
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Sounds like you are the one that needs the waaabulance. Get over it Joe.
 
That the best ya got? Pathetic.

Like I said. Buy the stupid things or don't. No consprricy going on selling them, pricing them or hiding them.
 
Joe, don't worry about it. Some people on here create an issue. PST offers shocks that people can purchase or not. They don't wanna purchase the shocks because they can not compare prices or other issue, let them move on.

PST, I have dealt with you even before I found this site and I just wanna say thanks for all the help and excellent products and service I have gotten from you guys. I agree with that certain tone delivered against you and have to say it is unfounded and baseless garbage.
Thanks for having muscle car parts for us guys.
 
Anyone have the both the regular length RDC A body shock and the one for lowered suspension? I would like to see how low you can drop the suspension before you have to worry about bottoming in on the shock.
 
67autocross said:
Anyone have the both the regular length RDC A body shock and the one for lowered suspension? I would like to see how low you can drop the suspension before you have to worry about bottoming in on the shock.
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I don't have a set of the "regular" ones, all 3 sets of fronts I have are the 55-R081's which are for the 1" lowered cars. Piston stroke length on the 55-R081's is 5", the lower shock body measures 9" from the center of the lower mounting eye to the top of the shock body. So, from the lower mounting eye to c-clip on the piston is 14". The top of the shock body is recessed so the piston bottoms out before the c-clip hits the shock body.

I can tell you the 55-r081's will not bottom out with the stock LCA's, because I checked when I installed them on my Challenger, my Dart, and my Duster (although I have swapped the Duster for Hotchkis Fox's now). The LCA's will hit the frame, even without any bumpstop on the LCA, before the shock bottoms. However, you DO need to run taller bumpstops for the UCA's, because the 55-r081's do reach full extension slightly before the suspension reaches full extension with the stock UCA bumpstops. Again that was true on all of my cars. Not really a problem on a lowered car with larger torsion bars, because I've found that taller bumpstops are usually needed to keep the torsion bar adjusting bolts seated at full extension as well. That's on a lowered car with 1.12" torsion bars though. If you had your ride height closer to stock the adjusting bolts wouldn't unseat, but on my Challenger and my Duster the adjusting bolts almost have zero tension on them at full suspension extension, they don't unseat but there's not much pressure either. That has to do with the clocking on the bars relative to the ride height. Both of those cars have 1.12" bars, my Dart has 1.06's now but the engine isn't back in the car yet so I haven't/can't set the ride height.

I can also tell you that for the rear shocks, the 55-r092's (A-body) and the 55-r093's (B/E-body) are the same length eye to eye and have the same stroke length. I can only assume that the difference between those two is valving.
 
I going to have to do some checking on my Valiant, the front shock body is 9 and 3/4" to the bolt centre. I would guess that with my cut down factory stops I would be getting close to bottoming on the shock.
I could make a barrel for the bayonet end to move them up into the engine bay if they do bottom....
 
67autocross said:
I going to have to do some checking on my Valiant, the front shock body is 9 and 3/4" to the bolt centre. I would guess that with my cut down factory stops I would be getting close to bottoming on the shock.
I could make a barrel for the bayonet end to move them up into the engine bay if they do bottom....
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Huh, interesting. You'll definitely have to check. But even I run a small bumpstop.

I would call PST or Firm Feel and see if you can still get the 55-r081's. You may be able to sell the 082's to someone not looking to slam their car on the ground and buy a set of 081's instead, sounds like they may be better suited for you. Even if they don't bottom out you have to consider that the valving is probably different because of the amount of compression that the shock was intended to have at ride height.
 
Sorry...I should have been more clear, the shocks on the car I was measuring are Viking. I was just trying to get a handle on the length of the short Billsteins and how much shorter they are compared to a stock shock.
If I keep this car this low I will just order another front set from Viking and get them made shorter.
 
So the conclusion is, "Buy Bilstein from PST?" OK, got it, LOL. I'm savin these pages.
 
67Dart273 said:
So the conclusion is, "Buy Bilstein from PST?" OK, got it, LOL. I'm savin these pages.
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Del,good choice, on multiple levels.. Bilstein is a sweet product, just like your prepped Magnum heads.. The other under lying current: It's cabin fever /cold weather/ members are frustrated ,time.
 
This is what i'm using on my 30000 milles 1972 Satellite:

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We don't see that on new car parts too often these days...

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I suppose the ride will be 70s stuff...
 
Sweetness! OEM stuff!
Can you show the part#s on the boxes?
I save this stuff to do research with.
 
72bluNblu said:
Assuming that all the seals haven't gone bad from sitting for so long.
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Kinda what I was thinking. I suppose if they were kept in ideal conditions all these years they may still function alright...? I am in the market for some rear shocks so this is interesting an debate...:happy1: The car I am building is a street strip setup was thinking adjustable rears, but doubt they are worth the extra money on this particular setup. Just put a set of loose comp engineering shocks up front.
 
tnts72 said:
Kinda what I was thinking. I suppose if they were kept in ideal conditions all these years they may still function alright...? I am in the market for some rear shocks so this is interesting an debate...:happy1: The car I am building is a street strip setup was thinking adjustable rears, but doubt they are worth the extra money on this particular setup. Just put a set of loose comp engineering shocks up front.
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Even in ideal conditions the oil in the shock has been in contact with those seals for a very long time. In a perfect world that shouldn't soften or deteriorate the seals, but there's a good chance of that. They weren't designed with that kind of operational, or shelf life, in mind. Of course, neither was anything else on these cars, and they're still around. ;-) I would keep a close eye on them if you do use them. They may work fine, or they might blow the seals out on the first pothole.

For a street/strip set up the RCD Bilsteins probably aren't the best choice. They were intended more for handling, not straight line stuff. And the lengths are generally for lowered cars, or at least nothing higher than stock, so they may not be long enough if your car sits high in the back.
 
72bluNblu said:
Even in ideal conditions the oil in the shock has been in contact with those seals for a very long time. In a perfect world that shouldn't soften or deteriorate the seals, but there's a good chance of that. They weren't designed with that kind of operational, or shelf life, in mind. Of course, neither was anything else on these cars, and they're still around. ;-) I would keep a close eye on them if you do use them. They may work fine, or they might blow the seals out on the first pothole.

For a street/strip set up the RCD Bilsteins probably aren't the best choice. They were intended more for handling, not straight line stuff. And the lengths are generally for lowered cars, or at least nothing higher than stock, so they may not be long enough if your car sits high in the back.
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I will want something fairly loose on extension yet firm on rebound an entry level double adjustable may be the ticket for this thing. With the new rearend and 275's I don't want the quarter panel lip getting any closer to the tire!!:prayer:
 
I had those blue ones on all 4 corners until I came across a 66 Dart with brand new gas-adjust KYB's in the pick-a-part, 5 bucks a piece and im riding on all 4 for $20. not bad, better than the jelly blue ones but not close to Bilstein Im sure.
 
I got adjustable QA1 shocks on the rear of my Dart.
The QA1's are valved tighter than the adjustable Hotchkis shocks I've got on the front as the front shocks are on setting 17 from 22, while the QA1 are on setting 4 from 20 orso.
 
tanis4457 said:
just curious, anyone tried Viking or QA1 shocks for handling on their cars?
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I am running Viking Crusader double adjustable fronts on my race car, needed something to tie the front end down. They are working great for that. I would imagine you could find a happy medium with the adjustable units, but they are a bit pricey for a driver in my opinion.
 
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