School me on shocks/struts

[Skidzz]

Sooner or later, one of my upcoming mods is going to be full suspension. This is what I know I'm getting for sure:
H&R's (probably race springs)
MM c/c plates
MM LCA's

I will be doing S/S's as well, but I want to save money, if possible. I know everyone swears by bilsteins, but how much better are they than say....KYB's, tokiko's, FRPP, etc.? Is it just a better ride quality? Or do they really perform that much better? I can handle the ride being a little more rough. I just want a practical S/S combo to go with the rest of my set-up. If the bilsteins are really worth the extra money, then screw it, I'll go with them.

 

[Skidzz]

No replies?

 

[AvalancheSVT]

the sucky ride can usually be attributed to an improperly selected shock/strut for a spring setup so if you go with bilsteins i'd say that should help a lot since hell they come on just about every fancy smansy supercar i can think of. if its good enough for Dr. Porsche its good enuff for me.

if you wanna feel rough just ride in a car like mine with coilovers and half pillowball suspension. it'll make any progressive spring euipped car feel like a cadillac lol

 

[san~man]

I would recommend you define your goals with the suspension upgrade. When I did mine the first time around, I was looking for "cheap" at the time so I purchased the Bullitt kit. Fine for semi-spirited driving, but comparing that kit to my setup now is literally apples to oranges.

Some members have had good experiences with KYB's, some with Illuminas. Just an FYI (if you didn't know), but the FRPP and Tokico blues are almost identical, except that the FRPP's are valved a bit differently. If you drive at 6/10 ths the limit, they should be fine.

The second time around I purchased Bils after much reading on different forums (c-c.com, etc). The Bils are one of the most expensive (only Koni is more $$), but they also have the best warranty too. Compared to the Illuminas, they're a bit more. When I decided between the Illuminas and the Bils, I considered many things:
1. Would I ever adjust them?
2. Would I ever need to adjust them?
3. Would I know what I was doing when I was adjusting them?
4. Was I willing to cut a hole in the trunk lining to adjust them?
5. Which of the two was more highly recommended for what I wanted?

In the end, I chose the Bils, and I don't regret that decision for a single moment. The combo of the Bils and the H&R SS's is stiff and may not be for most people, but combined with the PHB in the rear is perfect for me.

If I were you, I would only be considering the Illuminas or the Bils.

 

[san~man]

Oh BTW, I didn't see SFC's on your mod list. Don't forget them, they're very important regardless of what you've read on here from other members.

 

[Skidzz]

SFC's is in my sig. Look closer

 

[02FastblackGT]

We just did the KYB's on my friend's 03 GT & I have the Tokico HP's on my Stang. I've never had the Bilsteins obviously, so I'm not sure how much "better" they are than the other 2 brands. However, I do know that I would not want to pay for the Bilsteins, since they are so expensive!! If you have the money, then deffinetly get the Bilsteins, otherwise the Tokicos or KYBs will work fine. I would just decide how much you want to spend and if you want adjustable.

 

[SaleenGT2001]

how much do s/s run? i need to replace my stockers but i just havent gotten around to it yet. i'm also looking to change my springs to something a little better. the sportlines look good but ride like ass!

 

[Skidzz]

I don't really care about having adjustable S/S's, because I don't really plan on adjusting them. I just want a set of S/S's that will go well with H&R race springs.

 

[san~man]

I don't really care about having adjustable S/S's, because I don't really plan on adjusting them. I just want a set of S/S's that will go well with H&R race springs.

Bils....you answered your own question right there

 

[03ghoststang]

well ive got a foxbody with tokico illuminas 5-way and they work great, i have them at the 4 level setting. When i race i just set the fronts to the 1 and the rears as is

but it always come down to what you will be doing with the car just for street, road race, street/track

 

[02FastblackGT]

Well, if you for sure don't want adjustable, then you have a few choices, which basically come down to price range. My friend got the cheap KYBs for around $200on ebay (for all 4). I think I paid about $250 for my Tokico HP's (all 4), but I believe that the Bilsteins will run you somewhere around $400+ (rough estimate). I use ebay for these kind of things, since you get a wide variety of choices, plus you can "price shop". I would just get what ever you can afford, since any of these will be much better than stocks!