Shocked @ shock price

[b5blue]

    Went online to Rockauto to get new rear wheel cylinders for my upcoming, continually growing in scope of work disk swap. (The only part of the system left that's not new.) Looking at things under the car I had realized the front shocks are pushing 20 and the rears 8. After ordering cylinders I checked on shocks. Wut? Less than 12 bucks each? Na can't be? Wut? Shipping 13.00 for Cal. to FL. for all four?   
  About 59.00 for all four to my door, Monroe's made in USA for my 70 Charger! I'm shocked, parts stores around me quoted over 22.00 per shock and add tax also. (They got here in 5 days also.) KB's were only 9.00 more each but I like that classic B Body ride so these will do. 
  On a side note: Ever walk into a parts store with a receipt and pair of shocks that are 12 years old wanting an exchange because the ticket clearly states "Lifetime Warranty"?      The look on the guy's face is priceless, that's why the rears were only 8 years old. 

[Mopar Nut]

 Ever walk into a parts store with a receipt and pair of shocks that are 12 years old wanting an exchange because the ticket clearly states "Lifetime Warranty"?      The look on the guy's face is priceless, that's why the rears were only 8 years old. 

I did with a starter that was 23 yrs old, the place went nuts and got all excited, replaced it without a problem. 

[HPP]

Regular Monroes or gas charged Monroes?  Gas charged units are a great step up in shock control for stock sprung mopars. Regular old oil shocks are on par with bias ply tires; they have their place. I don't prefer them, but many don't mind them. Shocks are an area where advances in technology have made huge strides in the last 10 years, never mind the last 30.

[myk]

Agreed.  Even if someone was going for a stock build up I see nothing wrong with spending a little bit more on shocks to have that much better of a suspension.  Ultimately, to each their own...

[toocheaptosmoke]

I put the exact same Monroe's under my car, I'm happy with the ride and the price. 

[terrible one]

I went from the basic blue Monroes ($50) to a set of Bilsteins ($400) when I redid the front end and yes I agree the price on the Monroes is good but you get what you pay for! Granted, I also swapped from the 318/ .090" torsion bars to 1" but WOW, the difference between the shocks was incredible! The Bilsteins quickly proved to me that they were worth every penny, and they are handling a much higher spring rate. I was happy with my Monroes too, until I had something to compare them with!

[TexasStroker]

I thought this was going to be a "shock" in the other direction, lol.

[b5blue]

  I'd gotten that "shock" in the past!    I'm set up with Mopar Performance H.D. bars and springs and the 440 is basic stock H.P. spec. so no monster "G Machine" build or need for it. Over 20 years I've put a lot of miles on the car. Even in less than great condition a few +1,000 mile road trips in it and it was really comfortable driving all day long for day after day.

[bakerhillpins]

Regular Monroes or gas charged Monroes?

Yes, same question here...

[b5blue]

Regular Monroes or gas charged Monroes?

Yes, same question here...

Sorry forgot to look...gas.  Monroe #32073/rear and 32022/front  "Monro-matic PLUS" 

[bakerhillpins]

   Thanks boss!

[HPP]

Those are velocity gauged valving with a nitrogen gas charge. These are a big step up in conventional oil shocks and a good entry level shock for a stock suspension being used on a show cruiser. I recall when I first put these under my Plymouth back in 1983, it was like a different car. However, step up your spring rates at all, and they will struggle to keep up.

[b5blue]

  I figured for adjusting the upcoming Disc-o-tech 11.75 rotor swap to rear drum bias, new shocks made good sense. I'm in so deep now with new lines and all the other stuff added to the job another 60.00 isn't going to break the bank.
  About four years ago I bought a lightly used 89 Cherokee with about 110K miles on it and overhauled it. I grew to hate the ride compared to the 70 Charger pretty quick. 4 new Monroe's last year completely changed everything about aspect so I know what you are saying. 
  Kinda why I posted this was just to put out a heads up. 3 calls to parts houses had "cheapest shocks" well over 110.00 before just checking at Rockauto.  You gotta be double checking Rockauto and shipping constantly, sometimes you order 3-4 things and all have shipping from different places even if some of the parts are the same!

[Nacho-RT74]

Monroematics or KYB GR2... what would you buy ?

[HPP]

   You gotta be double checking Rockauto and shipping constantly, sometimes you order 3-4 things and all have shipping from different places even if some of the parts are the same!

Agreed, however, they do have a feature where you click a box that says "minimize price." This opens up a column that allows you to designate alternate items so you can compare locations and consolidate shipping. Still messing with this to figure it out exactly, but it is there.

Monroematics or KYB GR2... what would you buy ?

I'd go Monroe. KYBs are also nitrogen charged, but they utilize a divergent valving arrangement so they hit somewhat hard initially, then soften up too quickly for my taste.