Mark Hawkins

Are Bilstein Sport Shocks that much better that KYB Shocks, Delco Reactec or the Monroe Sensa-Trac shocks? I have an 81 that is used as a daily driver. It has KYB shocks right now. I have no idea how old they are. What is an average life of a typical shock? Like most owners, I want the car to feel, drive and respond as a race car. Trying to have my cake and eat it too.

MN80Vette

My '80 is a daily driver with pretty stiff monosprings front and back. I just switched from KYB to Bilstein Sports two weeks ago. I noticed a big difference right away, expecially in sprited turns. The Bilsteins keep the tires attached to the pavement much better than the KYBs, expecially with a rough and patched surface. You just have to decide if you they are worth the extra $$ for that handling and ride.

Mark Hawkins

Right you are MN80Vette. Thanks.

Vette5.5

All the shocks you mentioned are very good, but hard to go wrong with Bilsteins, as really built to last. The Delco and Monroe tracs have internal pop off valves, essentially taking the shocks out of the equation momentarily when hitting sharp bumps for a smoother ride.

Solid LT1

Bilsteins are far better than the other mentioned shocks. Edelbrock shocks are pretty good as are Koni's. Then if you really want to spend $$ there are always Penske/Motion/Ohlins shocks.

Scott1980

This will not be much help, but went from Monroe's to Bilstein sports. Also changed to rear fiberglass verse metal leaf and new 460lb front coils at the same time. Huge improvement over the Monroe's, but not sure how long the Monroe's had been on there? Dampening was a huge improvement with Bilstein's.

It is a bit of a struggle deciding which shock as very few people try all the shocks with the remainder of the suspension the same, in order to give you an accurate response as to the performance differences of each. I went with Bilstein's because of their reputation and positive experiences of members on this site. I also run Bilstein's on my dually and am happy.

Paul L

My choice for the rear, to complement a #330 VBP composite spring, was their VBP218 shock (a KYB GR-2 product) expressly designed for a composite spring. They claim for their springs only but I cannot see why it would not work with other composites. I was sceptical that KYB would design/tune for a single company but indeed the part number (VBP218) is stamped right into the steel body. I am very pleased with the VBP spring/shock combo. I do not have experience with Bilsteins.

As they are the sponsor of this Forum a link would not seem out of order.

http://www.vbandp.com/C2-C3-Corvette...ear-Shock.html

zwede

Paul: Glad your happy with the composite spring/kyb. I tried that combo years ago and found the bounce to be horrible. Yes, I did get the "special" KYBs for composite springs.

My current favorite is the late C3 2.5" steel spring with bilstein shocks. Good ride, good handling, no bounce.

Paul L

Strangely I do not get a bounce?? Perhaps some mods have been made to the product line over time.

zwede

Could well be. This was many years ago, when the re-valved GR2s just came out.

jb78L-82

Have owned my 78 L-82 4 Speed with the sport suspension since 1983 and have had AC Delcos, Koni oil shocks, KYB Gas A Just (not the Gr-2's which I do not like- a standard passenger car Shock/Strut), Bilstein Heavy Duties and Bilstein Sports over 33 years!I changed to the KYB Gas A Justs with the 7 leaf steel rear spring in 1983 and they were much superior to the OEM declos. In 1986, replaced the steel rear spring with a VBP 360 monospring (still there and doing great!) with the KYB gas a justs-VERY bouncy. Switched to Bilstein HD's in the early 2000's-GIGANTIC improvement in ride and better handling but still felt a little too bouncy for me. Currently I run Bilstein Sports in the rear and Bilstein HD's in the front with the 550 springs-Perfect compromise between ride and excellent handling.

The Bilsteins are far superior to the other shocks on my car! Also put 6 Bilsteins on my 1994 Mustang GT (4 in the rear) and the Bilstein transformed the cars ride from VERY choppy to smooth-They are worth every penny that they cost!

I also have KYB GR-2 struts on a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix and to be honest, I think that they are crap (very soft) and inferior to the AC delco's that came on the car but I basically use the car as a train Station/Airport car for business so they have stayed on the car.

Hope that helps you!

Mark Hawkins

Thanks Guys!! I have the "Bouncy" feeling too. From what you guys have expressed, I believe the Bilsteins are my best bet. Thanks again for the advice.

Mark

CaseyJones

I have Bilstein HD's on my 80 daily driver with stock Gymkhana suspension that I am rebuilding as money allows. Not as stiff as Sport version, but great for daily driving and the occasional spirited outings. I really like them over the Monroe's that I took off.

mrvette

16 years ago I put on VBP 460 front and 360 plastic rear springs....

KYB all around.....down here in FLORIDA we are basically one big drag strip, and the bridges tend to undulate at any speeds.....

and so I finally listened to the guys here and replaced the then best bet KYB with Willi Steins all around, now I can drive over the Rocky Mountains and not feel a thing.....

nuff said.....

pauldana

bgeen there done that... back to back test... Bilstein Sports all the way

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...yb-sports.html

Frankenvette

So what does everyone recommend, Bilstein HD's or Sport shocks? I mostly cruise but will autocross the vette every now and then. Are the sport shocks really that more harsh than the HD's?

V8Ranger

My 82 was VERY 'bouncy' when I got it, but the part store brand shocks on it were completely inop. I installed Bilstein Sports (all 4) - no bounce and it rides just fine.

Carl

pauldana

go Sports... ride is amazing

Luke in SA

OK.. Who stocks these Bilstein sports shocks ?

Willcox ?
Jegs ?

MN80Vette

The best price I found was online at e-Shocks. They were in stock and shipped the same day. Don't order online, call them instead, because they have problems with their online orders sometimes.