Need Emergency Susp. Tech Advice, Shock-Strut Brand Recommendations:

[outrun]

Vehicle is 1k shy of hitting 100,000 miles.

Exterior and Interior are in showroom condition.

Money is not my biggest factor since it is a long-term keeper.

Problem:

On braking the car has begun to dive a bit, and on rear bumbs I am getting a crashing-hammer sound from the right rear.

I suspect the assembly line Decarbon Struts and Shocks are at there end.

What should I replace with? Primary concern, similar performace to OEM and long life.

Here are the brands I dug up, please post your recomendations and experiance on them.

I am leaning towards Decarbon, since some say Bilstein is bone jarring? Sensatracks are quite cheap$$$ wise. Although, they are cheap they eature a liftime warranty and rebate. My fear is skimming cost for quality.Tokico looks interesting on paper. Tokico, Monroe, Bilstein all advertise themselves as OEM suppliers.

I will do front struts and rear shocks all same time, maybe ball joints to depending on board advice.

Bilstein

DeCarbon.

AC Delco

Monroe SensaTrack

KYB

Tokico

Second, should the front strut mounting plates be replaced same time?

Third, is it true when replacing front struts, the ball joints are easy to replace same time?

If so is it the upper or lower ball joints or both that are easy to do then?

 

[brianl703]

Bilstien and Tokico offer "better than OE" performance, with "higher than OE" pricetags.

Bilstien is usually the most expensive, with Tokico being a bit less expensive, and KYB being cheaper than Tokico, with Monroe being still cheaper than KYB.

So in terms of decreasing performance (and price):

Bilstien (better than OE)
Tokico (better than OE)
KYB (slightly better than OE)
Monroe (an "OE" grade replacement)

I have no idea where AC Delco fits in terms of price, but that too is an "OE" grade replacement.

No idea about Decarbon.

This is all based on the struts and shocks available for the Mustang 5.0, based on information I've read at http://www.corral.net

 

[Steve S]

Kyb great shocks for the money ,if you went the mileage with factory shocks Kyb will work, Way better than Monroe .Bilstein ,no more needs to be said they are real nice top line big buck shocks you may not need them. If the car was a Porche for example Bilsteins would be the way to go, On a Toyota Camry, Kyb would be the way to go. replace all the parts that need changing that belong in the area that the shocks are connected to .

 

[cryptokid]

im a koni kind of guy.

 

[ChrisW]

I like bilstein shocks. Either thator koni.

and yes, you should always replace the strut mounts esp at that much milage. Otherwise, they may make noise and youd have to take it all apart again to replace them.

 

[Mickey_M]

quote:

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Originally posted by outrun:
Vehicle is 1k shy of hitting 100,000 miles.

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What kind of vehicle is this?

 

[Drew99GT]

If this is a macpherson strut suspension, you only have lower ball joints. Up top, you have strut bearings. Ball joints would be slightly easier to get out with the struts out, but not really, because they unbolt from the bottom half of the spindle, so you aren't gaining anything but space mainly by having the strut out. I'd go with KYBs. I just got Monroes, and they kind of suck IMO.

 

[outrun]

This be a red Camaro

3800 Series II w/4L60E Automatic

The front struts and rear shocks are factory French made Decarbon (orange) units.

As much as we love to make fun of the French, i'd be delighted again to have European parts on my car.

For some controverted way it makes me feel kewl. Perhaps it makes me think the car is a BMW or something.

I believe Bilstein's are made in Germany and Tokico in Japan.

Drew, I will do a catalogue look up to see if I also have both upper/lower ball joints.

Koni? I thought Koni's are great for the SCCA and oval track raver. Premium shocks/struts yes but not for the slight upgarded joe?

But too bone jarring even when set at the most "comfortable" level?

So we are now down to Tokico, KYB, Bilstein, and the decarbon's (assuming i can find them)

Keep the posts coming:

 

[Roger]

Well, FWIW...

I put KYB shocks on my '95 Club Wagon last August at about 115K miles. All I can say is, WOW! That van now has the best ride since I bought the darn thing.

At the same time I put a new set of KYB struts & shocks on my '01 Nissan Maxima, replacing the Koni eom's after 75K. Raised the car an inch. Lot less body roll. Otherwise, about the same ride quality as the oem. Not nearly as noticeable an improvement as in the van.

So I guess it all depends on the condition of your Camaro.

I picked the KYB after seeing a poll of most favorite suspension's on the Maxima.org site. KYB's enjoyed a slight majority. Got 'em from Tirerack.

 

[ikeepmychevytoo]

Just installed Monroe SensaTracks and I tought my AC Delco's were worn when the left front has started clunking only when cold! Now both of them are clunking at the hardest from the day one. Front-end is intact, every point has checked, we took test drives with mechanic so I'm sure it is the new shocks.

Monroe was indicating that their valving are adjusted for each OEM application so they are supposed to give the original ride/drive. That's why I hated them. There is very notable and excessive hi-way hop that I never experienced before. "Comfort zone" and "double valving" are not feelable at all. They are just plain harder actually feeling unforeseeable when cornering due to this harsh hop. Plus the clunking.

I will take out the new SensaTracks, will intall the well worn AC Delco's untill I get the new Delco's. For GM, I'd get definitely Delco's if they are the same with the ones at production cars.

Any ideas what to do with a new set of shocks? Garage door dampeners?

I'd inspect the tie-rods and lower ball joints, if they're worn and replaced together with the shocks you'll just need alignment once. Lower ball joint doesn't necessarly make the alignment off but having it replaced beforehand will guarantee the spec. camber.

 

[ebaker]

I'm a believer in Bielstein's. They are part of the reason that Mercedes ride so well. They frequently last over 80,000 miles. They don't get loose with age, old ones work at least 90% as well as new. They seem to progessively get firmer as speed increases. With the single tube design, the piston size (area) is over double concentional dual tube shocks. The cost is about $80 each for older Mercedes, more for struts. If Bielsteins are OEM on some Camaros the cost might not be so bad. I think many Corvettes come with Bielsteins, maybe the Camaro also had them as an option.
I've had Koni's on several cars. They are very nice, seem softer than Bielsteins. I don't think they will last as long as Bielsteins. Koni's are also high quality.
I've had bad experiences with Monroe.