Monroe or kyb shocks
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 323
Likes: 28
From: south wilmington il.
Monroe or kyb shocks
Time for new shocks, Monroe are on it now and are 20 years old. Looking for opinions on best shock around 50 bucks each. My car is floating in the dips on the hiway. Can't complain on the Monroe lasting 20 plus years. Kyb gas adjust shocks are around 200 to my door, Monroe is a little cheaper. Any personal likes or dislikes and why. I just want a better ride. I have a supercharger on my lt1 but am no longer racing it, can't afford gas and things breaking anymore. Racing gas here is already 8 bucks a gal. and going up daily. Thanks for your suggestions.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 6,245
Likes: 1,077
From: Vermilion OH
If you're on a budget and Bilstein is not in the cards, KYB are the best bang for the buck. They are stiff but give a nice compromise between handling and ride comfort. The car will ride well with them and will handle well. I have used them in the past and have been very pleased with them, especially for the price! I would not hesitate to use them again!
Pro
Joined: May 2025
Posts: 538
Likes: 119
From: OK
Trouble with recommendations like this and the way businesses do business these days is the Monroe you bought 20 years ago (or two months ago) may very well have nothing at all in common
with the Monroe you buy today. I've never had any luck with them, even more than two decades ago but I wasn't putting them on a C4 corvette either so that has little to no bearing on what one
might experience when doing so. With the KYB's back when they were still made in Japan the couple sets I've put on different vehicles have been alright, I have read here and there that they
had moved production for at least some of them out of Japan and as is always said the quality suffered but who knows. I've had the best luck with Koni's overall but they aren't available for
everything. Bilstein are expensive and stiff but generally extremely long lasting. If you aren't looking for performance in particular you might be better served
buying something local with a good warranty so you can swap them out without a lot of grief if need be.
with the Monroe you buy today. I've never had any luck with them, even more than two decades ago but I wasn't putting them on a C4 corvette either so that has little to no bearing on what one
might experience when doing so. With the KYB's back when they were still made in Japan the couple sets I've put on different vehicles have been alright, I have read here and there that they
had moved production for at least some of them out of Japan and as is always said the quality suffered but who knows. I've had the best luck with Koni's overall but they aren't available for
everything. Bilstein are expensive and stiff but generally extremely long lasting. If you aren't looking for performance in particular you might be better served
buying something local with a good warranty so you can swap them out without a lot of grief if need be.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 62,016
Likes: 1,715
From: Athens AL
C7 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist 2021
C4 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
Well I've got KYBs and they're too soft for my liking, but if you liked the Monroes then I'd go with KYBs. I'd never buy Monroe.
When i change again I'm going back to Bilsteins.
When i change again I'm going back to Bilsteins.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 6,245
Likes: 1,077
From: Vermilion OH
Bilstein shocks are the yellow colored shocks. The KYB shocks I commonly see for the C4 are the "Gas-A-Just" shocks and they are silver in color. Most Monroe shocks that I've seen are typically black in color. The original Delco shocks on my 84 were also black. I switched over to the Bilstein shocks in the 84 and I've been very pleased with them.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,485
Likes: 870
From: Communist Colorado
Back in the day Monroe shocks were yellow.... Id skip Monroe today... look at Koni shocks also. KYB isnt terrible, theyll do the job. That said, Bilsteins are top of the heap (in my opinion) if you can save up for them youll be glad you waited.
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