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I did a search and couldn't find a thread on shocks, so forgive me if there is one. I have a '78 with air shocks and I'm tired of chasing leaks. Other than price is there any real difference between Bilstein and KYB? Which would you go with or would you go with something else? Looking to tackle this job over the weekend.
Thanks
KYB Gas-Adjust (the Gray ones). Fairly inexpensive and much better than stock or Monroe Shocks. Good shocks.
Koni Adjustable (Red Shocks). Really great shocks, better handling and love the adjustable feature. Just as good as Bilsteins in my experience. About the same price, more expensive than KYB
Years ago after a complete suspension rebuild went with the KYBs. I didn't care for them, way too soft for my tastes.
Promptly pulled them off and went with the adjustable Konis. Have been happy with them all these years. Koni offers lifetime rebuild if needed.
i think you will do well with anything above your leaking air shocks
i liked the bilsteins BUT now MX made if it matters.. i would try the others as recommended above as well...
I WOULD not however get the AC Delco black oem type.. they will fail as mine did.
plenty of threads on shocks
POST up some pics of your shocks! https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...nt-advice.html
Thanks interpon. I'll post some pics as I do the job. Right now, I'm trying to get over the fear of jacking it up lol. So many horror stories of doing it wrong etc. has gotten into my head. The KYB silver ones are on sale for $33 each, so I'm going to give them a try.
When I did the shocks some years ago, the KYB's for the C3 were white and the Konis were red.
I don't know what they are now.
FWIW, my '72 is running the steel 9 leaf.
I recently swapped in a set of KYB (red label) shocks to replace the 20+ year old ones on the car when I purchased it. The old shocks still functioned but it was time. I scuffed up the new ones and painted with GM shock paint. The old hydraulics kind of floated and the new gas units feel more responsive. The ride is perfectly adequate for normal cruising around and the price didn’t break the bank.
Thanks 4-vettes. Zip Corvette Parts has the Bilsteins and KYBs. KYB's are a little less expensive and all I do is easy cruising once a week so I'm going to try the KYB.
Thank you for all who helped with this. I took the morning off work to do this. It took 3 hours, 3 jacks, 4 jack stands, a few squirts of PB but not for rust, and a 2 lb. persuader.
The front left fell off the jack 2x's while getting it up. I finally moved it and threw caution to the wind on lifting it. I just wanted to make sure the jack stands were in the right place. I kept everything closed, locked, latched, etc. and had no issues. The hardest parts were the bolts on the top, getting them out and putting back in. Locally I was being quoted $450-ish to have a mechanic do the job. I spent $55 on the KYB Excel-G's through Walmart and borrowed 1 jack and the PB from a neighbor. Would I do it again? No, not without a real lift or 4 jacks that I could leave in place and forget about the jack stands except to have them in place for backup (safety). Without a proper lift, I'd rather take the grief and aggravation from the wife and pay a mechanic to do it.
very nice and clean car!!! well done..
i justified my Quickjack with outside costs.. so in your case.. 2x shock replacments from a mechanic pays for a Quickjack and you don't risk that nice car let alone your body
it is shocking what can be done with one.. let alone other cars..
wow ..air shocks.. cool..
Yeah, just a little lol. So I went with the KYB Excel-G after watching a YouTube video where a guy had the KYB Gas A-just on his late 60's early 70's Mustang and went to the Excel-G's for a better ride. So far I like them. Very smooth and not too mushy. Closer to stock but better, and that's what I was looking for. The only problem I have now (as before) is the rear ride height is about 3/4" lower than the front. I'm planning on changing out the leaf spring bushings (not the spring or hardware) over the winter and I hope that will get me to where I want to be. I really don't want to mess with the front end although an inch lower would look nice...
Replacement Shocks
