Help! Time for shocks on my 95 vert w/67k miles. I've read many of the posts and have narrowed it down to the new Edelbrocks or standard Bilsteins. I am trying to improve the ride over rough New England roads. I do not push it or race, but don't want a "floater" either. Cost is not that big an issue considering it is about the "ride". I'm afraid the Bilsteins might be too harsh or stiff on bumps. I'm going to add Kuhmo MX's at the same time. You opinions will be appreciated! Thanks in advance. Mark

 

I like Bilsteins for the "ride" I wouldn't think of changing them personally.

 

New Bilsteins won't make the ride any different, unless the ones on the car have sprung a leak.
Tires will make a big difference in ride. When I put Firestone SZ50 on my 87 the difference was like getting in and Oldsmobile.
I don't know about the Kumho's for ride. See what others say about the Edlebrock shocks.

JS

 

I've had both Bilsteins and Edelbrocks on mine.
Bilsteins not only work better, but are less expensive.

Larry
code5coupe

 

Thanks guys! -Mark

 

If you want improve the ride quality you want to stay away from the Bilstiens. They have a cast iron piston ring in them and that results in a lot of "stiction" which results in ride harshness over sharp bumps. That is what is most objectionalble in street driving.

All of the Koni's and some of the others use a teflon piston ring that doesn't have the sharp impact ride harshness of the Bilstiens... The Koni street shocks ride very nicely, and I am sure there are others that do too, I don't have any experience with the Eldebrocks, but the ride of the OE shocks isn't as nice as even the Koni Sport shock set to full soft. The Bilstiens are cheap, but you get the joy of living with it for thousands of miles. Also, if you get an adjustable shock you have the option of setting it up to your taste and can make the ride and handling compromise that works for you... I would do the street Koni's and dial them into your preference, it won't float and the ride quality is better. GM bought the Bilstiens because they were inexpensive. You don't have to make that compromise...

 

I have Edelbrocks on my 92. Gives me a smooth ride along with my Yokohamas. I definately can feel the difference from the Bilsteins but the Bilsteins were shot.

ps The Edelbrocks look cool too.

 

I'm going to try the Edelbrocks. I'll let you know my impressions.

Thanks!

 

i just pulled off a set of potenzas and put kumos on it was like night and day on ride difference

 

I just bought a set of Chrome ZR1 Wheels from Toms Wheels, and also a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s. They are going on this Friday after the wheels arrive. I hope this is a good combo as several on the forum have noted.... I'm going for ride quality and good performance.

 

I don't disagree at all with the ride quality comment, but I don't agree with the reasons you give. Back in the 80's and early 90's, I worked directly with Bilstein to release the shock absorbers for Corvette and Camaro applications. The Bilstein piston is made from powdered metal and uses a teflon piston band. The "stiction" with Bilsteins compared to conventional dampers has to do with the fact that it is a high-pressure monotube design.

I'm a fan of adjustable shocks. I don't think you can ever go wrong with Koni's, either.

Please note that GM did not buy the Bilsteins because they were inexpensive. In fact, they were considerably more expensive than the base package Delco shocks used through 1988. They were chosen because they gave racetrack performance very similar to Koni's and they were able to meet stringent durability requirements.

I am not trying to defend Bilstein products. I do not work for Bilstein, either. I just wanted to set the facts straight. Please do not take offense with anything I have written.

 

Bang for the buck wise, the Kumho MX's are a great choice, but I do not have any experience with them as far as ride is concerned.

Another tire choice you may want to consider is Yokohama AVS Sports. On my 89 Z51, they gave a huge improvement in ride harshness and impact feel. They are also quiet and have fabulous wet weather traction.

 

The comment about the ring material came from the Koni engineer that that did the valving on the sport shocks for the C-4's. I was assuming that he wasn't selling me a load of BS. But he may not have known what he real material of his competitior was. Maybe he was just seeing metal and assumed it was cast iron... Anyway he was right about the initial friction of the Bilsteins being higher than the Koni's, but you could likely see that pretty easily on the dyno if you knew what you were looking for. Perhaps they were attributing it to the ring material and not the gas pressure....