I am planning to replace the shocks on my 92 Lt1. I am sure 98% of the people here install Bilsteins. Because of my bologna budget, I am curious to see if anyone else on here has installed a different brand, maybe something more cost effective. I do not need to know how Bilstein is the best and that is what came on the vette out of the factory. I am just seeing if anyone has tried others.

 

All of my shocks are shot, no pressure, just put
KYB gas adjust on the front. Doing them in the back next.

 

KYB are better priced and many have used them with good results.
are you sure yours are bad if not best way to save money.

 

The vette continues to bounce after I hit a bump. I am pretty sure the shocks are bad. Everything I have read so far, seems to lead in into the KYB brand is second choice to Bilsteins. They are half the price, easier for me to afford.

 

yep hard to drive a basket ball.

 

Sounds like you have made your decision

 

I have KYB and they are fine for cruising around. They give a nice ride. I wouldn't auto cross with them though.

 

Ayup

 

Just put in 4 kyb's in my 1989 coupe and i like them.The best price i found was from www.shockwarehouse.com.
I got 4 for 122.90 plus free shipping.
Hope this helps.
Mitch

 

By all accounts they raise the ride height a bit, keep this in mind. I would stick with the Bilsteins if I had to make the decision. Is it a daily driver?

 

The shocks (or dampeners really) will have no effect on ride height. You can compress a new shock by hand if you really put your a$$ into it. No way is it going to raise a 3000lb. car.

 

I hated kyb, have some with less than 50 miles on them.

 

I did kyb's off rock auto for like 126$ shipped with 5% discount on my 95 a month ago or so. I couldnt be happier with them. For 126$ they replaced my stock 20 year old 84k mile bilstiens and my ride improved 200%. Some people say they ride stiff, I honestly dont think they do. I think they make a corvette ride like you would think a corvette would ride. It soaks up alot of the larger bumps now and under 40mph you have alot of control even with bumps.

Are the bilstiens better? yes. Are the kybs capable of doing everything you need from a shock at speeds under 70mph? DEFINITELY. There can be more left on the table to ask out of the kybs, but they will reply "but...im a 30$ shock!". Personally if you drive your car daily like I do, then I think they are a great shock. Im constantly on 35-40mph roads, when im on the highway im going straight, I dont ask for much out of them and they preform great for me. If I were a track day car or auto-x car, I wouldnt even consider them but for what I do they are great. Hell i plan to put all seasons on it and drive it in winter, I drive it rain or shine anyways.

My bilstiens were absolutely shot. If you are coming from a car with bilstiens that are in pretty good shape you may be disappointed. Im not sure how to really test a shock, mine were rusty and showed signs of leaking, plus on the highway the car bobbed up and down like someone was getting busy on the hood. I think alot of whats left with my issues are sway bar bushing and tire related. With my worn bilstiens the steering wheel would shudder violently on bumps, now it doesnt with the new shocks. Mine were DONE and as someone stated in my thread "the worst new shock is better then the best worn shock" or something along those lines.

 

Although I like Bilstein's, they are my first choice, and I have put them on several cars, I bought a '96 that has KYB's. They are OK. They have a smoother ride and OK for a street cruiser.

If you do get KYB's, make sure that you install locking nuts on the top stud. They came with standard nuts and they back off and get loose enough that there is free play. That is what I found on my '96 and had to put on locking nuts. I did some searches and found that I was not alone. It happened to several others too.

Personally I would not buy KYB's. I was an engineer at an auto manufacturer and had to go to KYB quite a bit over several months to sort out their manufacturing processes. They had no control and were the only company that actually stopped our production line due to a defective part. I got quite a few process changes and controls added and we did not have any more shutdown problems. To be fair, that was 25 years ago, so hopefully they have improved and are better, but I still relate to their quality problems I was involved with and doubt that I would buy them.

 

My bologna budget....now that's funny

 

I had Koni shocks on my 84 until I sold the car in 2007, put Monroe Sensatrack for the sale, now I have the car back and wil install those same Koni's during the winter break.

 

They are way past gone if the car continues to bounce, even on a sedan!

I listed a $60 pair of Bilsteins in the for sale section, which are off a low mile, late C4, that came with the D44 I needed. <<shameless plug!

The Monroes (two pair) I tried - leaked.

 

mine was doing the bounce thing. You couldve told me I was looking out over the bow of a speed boat when I hit an interstate expansion joint on a bridge and I wouldve beleived you.

The kyb's I got came with 2 upper shock nuts. You put both of them on and the top one generally locks the bottom one.

 

I'm sure those will fit a bologna budget

 

If they have a fairly high gas pressure, they can raise the ride height measurably. In fact, over the years some autocrossers "de-gas" their shocks (of any brand) in stock classes to reduce ride height within the rules. Different dampers have different gas pressures, so I don't know specifically about KYBs.

To the OP, new KYBs will be better that what is on there now (based on your description). If that's all your budget allows, just get them and don't look back. Only option I can imagine is making some calls to see if your OE dampers (I assume that's what's in there now?) can be rebuilt within your budget. But that would probably be very expensive, too. FWIW, Bilsteins aren't necessarily the be-all-end-all of dampers. They can be good, but for racing there are better dampers...but they make Bilsteins look cheap!