'68cuda416
Well-Known Member
go away
Street shock absorber recommendation
- Thread starter 66Valiant528
- Start date
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A big block car with /6 bars?
The elasticity and profile of the bump stops will probably have bigger impact on the ride quality than the shocks will. At any normal-ish ride height with that set up you'll likely be on the bumps stops as much as you're off of them.
Simple test to check how much you use the bump stops is to put a dab of grease on them and take an nice easy drive around the block. If you end up with grease on the frame horns you know even a nice easy drive around the block uses the bump stops, which means you're on them all the time. If an easy trip around the block doesn't do it, you can make increasingly more interesting drives until you do get some transfer.
Heck, if the car rides that smoothly with /6 bars, you may already be on the bump stops just sitting in the driveway. Wouldn't be the first person. The factory bump stops were designed as an active part of the suspension system, but it's hard to improve your ride quality if you're bouncing on and off the bump stops all the time.
The wheel rate with a /6 bar is only 90 lb/in, which is realistically about half of what a basic economy car leaves the factory with nowadays and only about a 1/3 of what a sport handling car will have, even from the factory. Obviously a drag strip only car is a different story, but if you're running around more on the street than at the drag strip you might consider some larger torsion bars. It will change your weight transfer at launch some on the track, but how much depends on how crazy you go with the bars and how much your car is depending on that weight transfer for grip.
The elasticity and profile of the bump stops will probably have bigger impact on the ride quality than the shocks will. At any normal-ish ride height with that set up you'll likely be on the bumps stops as much as you're off of them.
Simple test to check how much you use the bump stops is to put a dab of grease on them and take an nice easy drive around the block. If you end up with grease on the frame horns you know even a nice easy drive around the block uses the bump stops, which means you're on them all the time. If an easy trip around the block doesn't do it, you can make increasingly more interesting drives until you do get some transfer.
Heck, if the car rides that smoothly with /6 bars, you may already be on the bump stops just sitting in the driveway. Wouldn't be the first person. The factory bump stops were designed as an active part of the suspension system, but it's hard to improve your ride quality if you're bouncing on and off the bump stops all the time.
The wheel rate with a /6 bar is only 90 lb/in, which is realistically about half of what a basic economy car leaves the factory with nowadays and only about a 1/3 of what a sport handling car will have, even from the factory. Obviously a drag strip only car is a different story, but if you're running around more on the street than at the drag strip you might consider some larger torsion bars. It will change your weight transfer at launch some on the track, but how much depends on how crazy you go with the bars and how much your car is depending on that weight transfer for grip.
Weren't you just given a vacation from this site for your behavior? Did you not learn from this?
Thank you. I will check that out.
AJ/FormS
68 Formua-S fastback clone 367/A833/GVod/3.55s
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1.03 bars are not overly stiff on my 68 Barracuda with a 360, even with the alloy engine top-end. and
My shocks are ancient Munroe adjustables from the late 70s and have been on two other cars. IIRC they have always been on the center of three positions.
And yes, my car is lowered, and yes, she occasionally gets on the bumpstops, but never harshly so. Probably because most of the time, I am steering with rear tire spin...........
And yes, she also has a Hellwig front bar; IIRC it's a 1.125..
It works for me.
No rear bar but 295s back there.
Good luck OP
My shocks are ancient Munroe adjustables from the late 70s and have been on two other cars. IIRC they have always been on the center of three positions.
And yes, my car is lowered, and yes, she occasionally gets on the bumpstops, but never harshly so. Probably because most of the time, I am steering with rear tire spin...........
And yes, she also has a Hellwig front bar; IIRC it's a 1.125..
It works for me.
No rear bar but 295s back there.
Good luck OP
I'm going to buy the KYB gas adjust. Raise the front end a bit and if need be ill slip some fatter bars in. After I check the bump stop issue
Rat Bastid
Dunamis Metron
IMO, the WORST shock ever. Again, my option but I would look at a Bilstein or something along those lines before I ever thought about those junky KYB’s.
Cue those who run the KYB ago chime in and say how awesome they are. That’s would be their opinion. I gave mine.
MidnightSwinger
Well-Known Member
You are comparing a $160 shock to a $50 shock.
I ran KYB's till the Bilsteins came out. Now all three Barracudas have Bilsteins. Also the 2001 Jeep Cherokee.
I tend to agree, I’d run Gabriel’s or Monroe’s before I bought KYB’s.
But KYB’s get worse as the torsion bars get larger. Their digressive valving (stiff right off the bat then softer as they work) actually kind of acts as a band aid for torsion bars that are too soft. It’s not the right way to deal with it, but it’s why guys with /6 or the small V8 bars can tolerate the KYB’s.
With larger torsion bars, like the 1.12’s I had on my Challenger when I had KYB’s, they’re an absolutely abysmal shock to run. When I tossed the KYB’s in the trash and went to RCD Bilstein’s the Challenger rode like a completely different car.
So I give a qualified worst shock ever to the KYB’s, they’re definitely the worst shock for any torsion bar larger than 1” in diameter. For a /6 bar they’re not right either, but the combo of too soft a bar with too stiff a shock with digressive valving kinda cancels out the worst aspects of both components. Still not good though.
I put KYB's on the back of my 360 duster (original springs but heavy duty) and they definitely improved ride quality and lean. I don't know how you can compare a 45.00 shock to a 150.00 shock. depends on the check book
Easy, you compare ride quality. Or the traction, or any other measure of comfort or performance that you choose. The KYB’s are bad in all of them.
If all you want to compare is price, you can compare them to a set of $26 Monroe’s because I’d run a set of Monroe Classics before I bought a set of KYB’s.
I feel the same way about the KYB's. Never again with that garbage. I've run Monroe's, I've run KYB's, I've run RCD Bilsteins and I've run the Hotchkis Fox's on one or another of my Mopars. The KYB's are the the worst of the lot, you can't make a legitimate comparison on performance or ride quality to the Bilstein or Hotchkis shocks. When I took the KYB's off my Challenger and replaced them with the Bilsteins it was like I completely changed the entire suspension, it was a night and day, massive improvement. On my Duster I ran the Monroe Classics a PO had put on there and ran 1" torsion bars for a bit before I upgraded to 1.12's and Hotchkis Fox's. The Monroe's weren't great by any means, they were too soft but they kept the suspension from oscillating so they did their job. They could have been a decade old too. If cheap is the only thing that matters I'd run them or Gabriels.
I have no idea why there's this fascination with the KYB's unless it's just marketing because they run ads in all the car magazines. They're horrific on torsion bars with larger than 1", the digressive valving will rattle your eyeballs loose in their sockets over minor bumps and mildly rough roads. And then they completely give up when there's any kind of actual suspension travel and the bars just dominate, there's no control at all from the KYB's with any significant travel with larger bars.
Even on factory sized bars they're too stiff with minor inputs and absent with larger movements. The "stiff off the mark" masks the too soft wheel rate at first, but when things actually move they quit. KYB's are the France of shocks, they act tough then surrender immediately.
I have a set of NOS Monroe non gas hydraulic shocks on Vixen. They ride good for what I do.
Haha that's a good one.
I don't like the KYBs either - as you mentioned the valving is backwards giving you a hasher ride but poor performance, run Monroe shocks if your looking at cheaper sets.
I run Koni's on most of my cars and they are very good shocks, only downside is they need to be removed from the car to adjust them but its not too bad.
Just bought a set of Bilsteins for my next project to see what they're like.
Well now that I've purchased the KYBs I'm going to give them a try. Hey at 52 bucks a pair I'm willing to give them a try. If they are horrible I will try my 3 way CE shocks on the middle setting and if the ride still isn't what I want I'll see if Mrs Santa Claus can wrap some Bilsteins for Christmas!
I was running KYB's and they were really harsh. Went to Bilstein's and day and night difference. I'm running 1.03 bars as well.
I'm running slant 6 bars, but do have 2 sets of thicker bars.
What bars?
I don’t want to immediately say run with the thickest, but you might end up there.
I don’t want to immediately say run with the thickest, but you might end up there.
Ot sure off the top of my head but I know the slant bars are in now. I'll check when the shocks arrive. But I am going to raise the front end a bit so that will mean an alignment. I'll have to talk to my front end guy. He's been busy and I will have to schedule an appointment.
Changing bars will likely mean another alignment too, as you know.
72Duster440
Well-Known Member
I run the Bilstein's on mine, also a big block up front, but I do have 1.03" bars. The previous ride with a big block, slant six bars and some old worn out shock was nice and soft, but felt like a boat when taking a corner, with the new setup, it feels like a modern day sports car in terms of ride stiffness, the body roll in the corners really disappeared, and I have since added a front sway bar, it stays perfectly flat now. I have an adjustable sway bar for the rear sitting on the shelf to install over the winter.
Apparently not. Oh well, maybe he'll get a "Permanent Vacation" from this site. Great Aerosmith song BTW.
I used KYB shocks in the past. They were 'ok' they did all right with stock torsion bars. Soon after I upgraded the torsion bars to PST's 1.03 in. ones. I had to change the front shocks, the ride became too stiff. I now use QA1's Stocker shocks in the front. QA1 TN501 QA1 Stocker Star NA Shocks | Summit Racing
The rears still have the KYB's for the moment, I will eventually change them out once I put in that 8 3/4 rear axle with rear disks and new leaf springs.
Why? If you set the same ride height, would it not be fine?
I never had an issue myself but perhaps I missed something?
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