What shocks are you guys using?

[G-man]

Sucks to be me- I don't know what I'm going to do now!   

Bilstein shocks are lifetime warranty. They ever break or dont work, you get a whole set of 4 replaced no questions. No other shocks as far as I know offer that. Even Koni which is rated 1 of the "best" only offer 3 years...Since bilstein can offer lifetime, it means they know how good it must be to offer something like that and not go broke. Porsche etc run bilsteins... so 

[Foreman72]

Sucks to be me- I don't know what I'm going to do now!   

Bilstein shocks are lifetime warranty. They ever break or dont work, you get a whole set of 4 replaced no questions. No other shocks as far as I know offer that. Even Koni which is rated 1 of the "best" only offer 3 years...Since bilstein can offer lifetime, it means they know how good it must be to offer something like that and not go broke. Porsche etc run bilsteins... so 

but how much do they cost right off the bat? and which ones are u getting? i can't find any for 72's @ bilstein.com...

[JeffYoung]

Firm Feel has them. I'm ordering a set next week. $425 for 4, the Firm Feel guy I e-mailed recommended them over the Konis (which I was going to order).

[Musicman]

Sucks to be me- I don't know what I'm going to do now!   

Just remember what they say about a fool and his money before you go dropping huge sums of cash on something you may or may not need.

The skies the limit here, but there is a practical limit here as well... You don't need to spend $30,000 on the latest and greatest super whamodyne fishing rig if all you want to do is go catch some fish.

[kokxville]

Edelbrock IAS classic 

[1970Moparmann]

Sucks to be me- I don't know what I'm going to do now!   

Just remember what they say about a fool and his money before you go dropping huge sums of cash on something you may or may not need.

The skies the limit here, but there is a practical limit here as well... You don't need to spend $30,000 on the latest and greatest super whamodyne fishing rig if all you want to do is go catch some fish.

Yeh, I know what you mean.  I've been driving with KYB's for years and just wanted to know what else everyone is running.  I made my mind up that I'm going to do something else this time, since this car is a cruiser.  Good to see the opinions of everyone...

[G-man]

Im getting custom valved 70/30 shocks from them so that its a little better for drag than handling. What you want is 50/50 which is there standard ones. Ofcourse they will need mesurements underneath the car to make sure they build you the correct height etc so you dont end up with a shock that opens or closes too soon (shock not being long enough or something).

In AU Dollars, Koni works out $20-40 cheaper per shock. So spending 800 on Koni, may aswell spend the extra 200 and get the best you can get.

KYB's I wouldnt touch with a 10 foot pole. Nor some other crap I have seen out there.

A guy down here baught Konis (the top of the range, most expensive ones you can buy) stuck it on his car knowing that Koni make excellent shocks that he will stick to the track and 3 days later took them out and wanted a refund. Koni wasnt gonna give him refund so he got his mechanic with automotives engineer license to tell them "if we test these shocks and they dont do what you claim they do...." and ofcourse they got the refund.. he stuck bilsteins on and the car handled like a ferrari in comparison.

If you want it to stick, you cant go past it. If you werent in for buying shocks then keep what you got, but if your gonna spend the money anyway, pay once and do it right.

[Mike DC]

 
I disagree about wanting 50/50 valving.  Not for ride smoothness & general handling purposes. 

Rebound damping needs to outweigh compression damping by a fair amount in order to reasonably match the sprung/unsprung weight ratio of the car.

 

[SFRT]

QA1 adjustable all around

[Nacho-RT74]

Im getting custom valved 70/30 shocks from them so that its a little better for drag than handling. What you want is 50/50 which is there standard ones.

wouldn't you want quick compression and slow expansion better ? even on streets

[G-man]

Im getting custom valved 70/30 shocks from them so that its a little better for drag than handling. What you want is 50/50 which is there standard ones.

wouldn't you want quick compression and slow expansion better ? even on streets

I thought the whole point of 70/30 = faster lift = better weight transfer = better 1/4 mile (drag cars use 90/10 but thats too much and no good for street)?


PS backto original post, Bilsteins have a patented design that actually works harder as you push the car more. The harder you go into corner the harder the shocks work to keep you on the track, so its kinda adjusting itself. No other shocks do that far as i know.

[Mike DC]

             
Drag cars work best with one type of valving for the front wheels and something else for the rear.  Both ends like more compression damping and less rebound damping than a stock street car likes, but the ratios tend to be different.  Like 90/10 on the front, and something like 70/30, 60/40, or 50/50 on the rear.


------------------------------------------------
   

The best handling shock varies depending on the conditions & the car. 


Progressive valving = good for moderate spring/swaybar rates and a decent ride for the handling. 

Digressive valving = good for a maxed out car with springs/sways already stiff as heck. 

 

[NYCMille]

Here's my 

- KYB's... they suck, I had them, hated them and threw them in the trash.
- Koni 3-way adjustable... had them, more of a drag shock than anything else. not to hot in the handling dept.
- Edelbrock IAS Performers... GREAT shock, gas not liquid so no leaks, works great on the street and on the track (road course) with no maintenance. I have them in both my Charger and Daytona.

[Mike DC]

 
I don't know if the Edelbrock shocks are really all they claim to be or not.  Never tried them.

But the core idea behind them is a major step forward.  They're supposed to effectively sense whether a motion is caused by movement in the body or the wheel, and change the stiffness accordingly.  It probably wouldn't increase the ultimate capabilities of a maxed-out track car, but it would be useful to smooth out the bumps better without having to soften up the control on smooth areas. 

[71charger_fan]

"Edelbrock IAS Performers... GREAT shock, gas not liquid so no leaks"

http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_new/mc/shocks/shocks_main.shtml

Edelbrock's own diagram shows oil flow in their IAS shocks. The gas is pressurized nitrogen which keeps the oil from aerating.

http://www.eu.tenneco-automotive.com/monroe/gas_shock.htm

[dd44068]

I am malso looking for a pair of good front shocks for my 68 r/t. Its a cruiser so I dont need to go crazy. Where would be the best place to get shocks? If not direct form the manufacturer?

[dd44068]

Ok so I went with the Edelbrock IAS Performers and I am more then happy. Thank you to all who recomended them.

[1970Moparmann]

Ok so I went with the Edelbrock IAS Performers and I am more then happy. Thank you to all who recomended them.

Good information!

Where did you wind up buying them?  How much $$?

Thanks for the info!

[dd44068]

I got them from jegs they where 85 a piece, from what I saw the price was pretty much the same where I looked.

[Fitz73Chrgr]

Looking at the Jegs website, they only list the IAS's up to '72 Chargers.  What is the difference with 73 & 74?  Nacho will probably know the answer to this.

[gasoline_24]

I found them for $76 on www.paceperformance.com

[Dodge Don]

I went with KYB shocks up front (painted black like stock) and Summit Drag Racing Adjustable shocks on the rear (painted black like stock). The rears are adjustable for 50/50, 60/40, or 70/30 ratio.