After putting KYB's on my 89, every pebble on the road now has its own personality. Even a not so significant pothole will make my CD player skip now; it's not a cheap CD player either. Anyway, I called Bilstein about 6 months ago to check the price on renewing my original Bilstein shocks and the guy quoted me $35 per shock plus $10 extra if I wanted the rods replaced. I believe he said shipping was about $15 because I live up in NorCal, but the catch was that I had to pay for it both ways.

Just my .02

 

Many, many threads have dealt with these questions in the past several years. In case the search function is not working properly (again?), I'll answer this one:
I replaced my Bilsteins with new Edelbrock (my, we're having difficulty spelling the names of shock absorbers today...) IAS units last year.
I soon felt that they were not a performance shock and replaced them...with new Koni's. The Edelbrock is a good-looking piece and rides smooth, but does not control wheel movement very well. Their advertising even states " The patented design is soft on rough roads..." This means, when you hit potholes or stutter-bumps, the shock flat gives up just when you need the MOST control.
That's my experience anyway...

Larry
code5coupe

 

man, I'm glad you said that about the edelbrcoks, i almost sunk the money to buy those.

 

Jake , thanks for your opinion. This will prove important when I need to replace my expensive FX3 Bilsteins, at least I can get cheap KYB's on there while I decide what to do about the Bilsteins

 

From my perspective, the springs have more to do with ride than shocks. The strength and travel of the spring determine whether your car is going to handle like a sports car or ride like a Buick.

Minimizing tire bounce is what shocks are about. Bilsteins are a large bore monotube shock designed for maximum stabilization. I recently read an article in "Kit Car" mag detailing why Bilsteins are better. Corvettes really need a great shock due to the suspension and giant wheels which need to be dampened. Keep in mind, the more those wheels hop, the more you'll feel it.

One of the scariest moments I had was the first time I went around a crappy highway curve and the car literally hopped sideways. Though the car drove well on most roads, new shocks cured that. I'm sure less expensive shocks would not.

I had less expensive (standard) shocks on my Jeep -- which has oversize tires (255/50x15's). Big meat! After replacing my Bilsteins, I decided to put a large bore, monotube shock on my Jeep (and the other shocks weren't very old). All the difference in the world!

Bottom line, if you want your car to handle like a vette, minimize tire wear, and maintain control on bumpy roads, don't skimp on your shocks. They can be purchased for about $70 ea. Yeah, that's kinda high, but you ain't drivin' no Yugo.

Finally, remember you can adjust tire pressure to a certain degree -- if you want a softer or firmer ride.

 

My KYB,s are fine around town or driving in a straight line, but high-speed curves are downright scary. Floats like a boat. I'll be going back to Bilsteins.

 

I am assuming that Bilsteins are the original stock shock out of the factory? Can anyone say if the Bilsteins are yellow? My shocks are yellow but are so old and worn that there is no label on them anymore. I am assuming that they are original factory which is why they need replacing (150K). They also "scrape" on bumps after sitting for a few days but with some movement they quiet down.

 

Yes and yes.

 

$280 ain't nuthin. Its about 2.5 times that for a set of four FX3 (Bilstein) shocks

 

I do. I would recommend the Bilsteins first, however, if I was on a budget, or just wanted to significantly soften the ride for daily driver comfort, I'd get KYBs.

I had Koni Sport adjustable shocks on my 88 Z51 and they were too rough for city streets. Great for the track or a good set of twisties, but brutal in town. I tried replacing the the Koni Sports with KYB. In my opinion the KYB is an excellent in-town shock for the price. Having gotten used to the superb corner handling, but harsh ride of the Koni Sports, the KYBs were a little too soft for me, especially when doing some hard cornering. Due to the rough ride in daily driving I wasn't going back to the Konis, so I ordered some new 88 Z51 Bilstein replacements and they fit my car and its handling capabilities the best. I feel that on my Z51, the Bilsteins are so much better in town and in the curves it is well worth the extra cost. In my opinion the Bilsteins are even better than the Koni Sports except in extreme racing conditions.

 

QA1's is what I want...

 

you may want to contact bilsteinfirst due to the fact they have a life time warranty, i got free replacements by contacting them, just a lil fyi and cash saved

 

A free liftetime warranty?? Then why are all these guys sending them to Bilstein to be rebuilt at the owners' expense? You must mean if they break or fail within some period of time, right?

 

I guess I'm really overdue, since my original Bilsteins have 120k on them

 

Does not apply to factory installed shocks.

 

I'm confused. What is Z51? How do you tell if your car is Z51? I'm trying to buy new Bilistein's but can't figure out which of the 3 different kinds I need.

Gas shocks with Z51 Coupe
Gas shocks except Z51
FX3 shocks

1992 Coupe

 

Slicked: check your option codes under the center armrest. With the codes make a search on this site. FX3 is easily eliminated: if you dont have the button between elect. seat buttons to adjust the suspension then you dont need the Fx3's.

Bilsteins are not very stiff so you really can install the Z51 shocks with base suspension as well. I did and then swapped them to Konis as I didn't think they were stiff enough (not enough outward dampening).

If you buy Koni adjustables you dont have to worry about the option codes. The shocks can be adjusted to your liking and to any suspension. Koni Sports (yellow) are available to 89-96 C4's (and 88 rear), standard red ones to older cars.

KYB, hmmm. Here in Europe those are the low end of low end shocks. When the oem Boge shocks in your -85 Toyota Corolla are totally dead and you need to sell the junker, you go and buy the KYBs.

 

Except that I've even run the KYBs when auto-Xing and they seem alright. This is perhaps though, a case of my abilities not having yet caught up to the capabilities of the car.

I'm sure glad I still have my 'crappy' factory Bose CD player. I don't recall it ever skipping over bumps.

 

The button between elec. seats is the Select Ride Control. So I guess I don't have the FX3 Shocks which is a good thing cost wise.

 

So, do you have the button or not? Sorry, dont understand what you say. If you do NOT have Select Ride Control then you dont need them. If you do have this **** you have the FX3 shocks (unless previous owner replaced them with normal shocks at some point).