Shocks: looking for Blistein quality at KYB price.

RustyRatRod said
Yeah, but how many people TRULY NEED a .920 of larger bar?

And I want to clarify and say this. I don't discount anyone's advice here. Lord knows there are people here who have way more knowledge than I do on the subject. I appreciate ALL advice. However, one size don't fit all and not everybody needs 600 buck and up shocks, especially for a street cruiser. What did Chrysler use in the 61 NASCAR race where the Valiants kicked so much butt? did they even HAVE 1" torsion bars in 1961? I'd love to know the details.

Everyone. Seriously, find a car that weighs 3,000+ lbs that runs a 100 lb/in wheel rate. Nothing does and nothing has in at least 30+ years. Most modern cars in similar weight categories are much closer to 200 lb/in.

The moment you put radial tires on the car, the factory bars should go in the trash. Even for cruisers. The only exception being dedicated drag cars.

junkyardhero said
*everybody with 450hp small block "street and maybe occasional strip" builds have entered the chat*

Yep, doesn't even need to be that. Radial tires should be the determining factor.

72Duster440 said
I was running Bilstiens on my Duster, and over time they seem to have gotten stiffer, like so harsh it wasn't enjoyable to drive. Even pressing down on the bumper with all of my weight, I could barely get the front end to move. I ended up removing them and replaced them with a set of QA1 adjustables, it was a night and day difference, so much better. The Bilstiens I took off didn't feel quite right, they feel like something is wrong with one of them, I can barely move the piston in or out of it. I'm assuming something failed inside, which was not expected for the price and to have them last only 3k miles. I'm hoping the QA1s last as long as a shock is supposed to.

If they're RCD Bilsteins I believe they are rebuildable. You might try contacting RCD and see what they say about it.