The previous owner still had stock front shocks and had the air shocks put in the rear cause he wanted to give it a more classic muscle car look. (why he did not just buy front lowering springs and shocks confuses me)

I like the air rears but one of them blew when my wife drove the car and hit a pothole. So now the when the shocks have any pressure the right side looks about 5 inches higher than the left. That's the reason I am having to change them until I can afford the Koni's all the way around.

 

What makes the Koni's worth price tag? Adjustability? Performance? Ride Quality? Or is it a fine balance of all of these?

I'm not trying to hijack. The O.P. did mention budget. (At least for the time being.) So I hope the O.P. would like to know this as well.

I know its seems all LSx parts prices are inflated, but I find it hard to believe the price on these shocks.

 

You not hijacking my thread bro you asking a good question.

 

While Konis are expensive, they are definitely worth the money if your looking for a shock that delivers in every category you mentioned. The Koni 3/4 or single adjustable is only adjustable for rebound, and the Koni 4/4 or double-adjustable is adjustable for rebound and compression. The 3/4s are good enough for most people, myself included, but if you really wanted to hear the difference between the two id talk to Sam Strano.

 

Then you haven't looked at prices for other performance cars, most good performance shocks are well over $1000, where as we can get koni SAs for just over $800.
What makes them worth the money is everything combined (you can search for this) but to sum it up:
You get a lifetime warrenty (other shocks either have nothing, or only warranty with stock springs).
Adjustability (to my knowledge no other handling shock for cheaper has the adjustment range they do, this means they are capable of better handling and better ride) KYB's for example adjust both rebound and compression with the same ****, the koni SAs adjust just rebound. Other shocks like QA1, strange, afco etc. are drag shocks and do not compare.

 

Thanks alot. I'll have to do a little more research prior to deciding what I'm looking for. The Koni's have a great reputation on here and that's what made me take a look at what they cost. Before I purchase anything, I'll see if I can get any info from Mr. Strano. Thanks for the advice.

You're right. I haven't looked at prices for performance shocks for any other models. (I'm not really all that concerned with how my DD, a 99 Sonoma, handles the corners. LOL.) But it doesn't matter what vehicle we're talking about, though. $800 or $1000+ is alot of money for anything and I just asked the question I did to find out why they're worth this kind of cash. Thank you very much for info. Everything you mentioned are great reasons that help me understand what the money is being spent on. Like I said, thanks alot, man. One more performance part to add to the list.

 

You are very wrong with your description of the "3/4" and 4/4 koni's.

both sets are single adjustable.
both sets use the same front shocks.

the 4/3 uses a 3rd gen rear that needs to be removed to be adjusted, and has only 4 settings.

the 4/4 uses 4th gen rears and is on-car adjustable, with an infinite range of setting between full soft and full hard.

the koni double adjustable is a different animal altogether, and most consider it to be over-kill for fbodys.

original poster - be very careful with the info you read, some is garbage. Search is your friend. When your ready to buy quality parts call Sam Strano.

If you want some used decarbons to "get you by" shoot me a pm.

 

Good information here!
To the OP:
I TOTALLY understand your desire to save money and get better stuff later...it makes sense to those of us who don't have that kind of money to throw around.

you have a LOT of options here, what you decide is your choice.

The factory shocks are orange, deCarbon shocks. Brand new and depending on how you drive and if your vehicle is lowered or not, they could last up to 30k-40K miles, but that's if you're easy on your vehicle.

Now, you're saying cornering is what you're looking for, so naturally QA1 shocks or any other "drag" shock would be out of the question.

For inexpensive, temporary band-aid till you get the money to buy better shocks then the Monroe's and Gabriels are about as good as the factory deCarbons.

Don't get used ones, they're either probably blown already or longevity will definitely be shorter and you won't know when they DO blow cuz it will happen ever so slowly so you won't really notice the difference until you push your car HARD and she'll be skipping along the road surface and you'll be getting a lot of body sway WHILE TURNING

Not fun.

I'm pretty sure the Gabriels and Monroes cost less than the deCarbons and they're more or less equal in performance.

Now...

If your vehicle is lowered, well, this is another scenario where you could have issues too.

Someone earlier in this thread said that the SLP/Bilstein HD shocks mated with the SLP/Eibach springs(an SLP option for the SS's & TransAm's) are nicer than factory and if you're not a VERY aggressive driver then that would suit you fine for a long time.

Again, this is dependent on how you drive, how aggressive you are, and how you want your car to handle.

Suggesting that the SLP/Bilstein shocks and SLP/Eibach springs are NOT a compromise, well, that in fact IS a compromise if you want your car to be a GREAT handler.

For most drivers the SLP setup is fine.

For others who drive their cars to their limits, or for someone who WANTS to have a GREAT handling(read ******* OUTSTANDING) f-body, then the Koni's are the only way to go.

Again, not for everyone, but let me tell you buddy, I've had the deCarbons, Bilstein's, Tokiko's, and they aren't **** compared to the Koni's.

Period.

coupled with swaybars and stiffer springs like Strano's springs AND great sticky tires AND great brake pads and rotors, your car will be a BEAST in the twisties.

AND I have no problem proving the Konis being superior to the Bilstein's by taking anyone for a ride, and if you still think your Bilstein equipped car is a better handler than mine, then we can take it a step further and take it to the track or to the canyons and we'll see.


My .02

 

The above is all correct. Anyone can feel free to call me, I only ask they don't just pump me for information with no intention of giving the the chance at the business. Frankly it's happening a lot lately... Which is pretty sad because that is what keeps folks like me from giving out detailed information. Even I'm starting to be more careful what I say to whom, and when because I've been used more than few times in just the last month without even being given the chance for your business.

I'm here to support you guys but it's a two way street. I'm happy to answer questions, which is how pjb learned what he knows and was good enough to post.

 

YES!

Call Sam Strano, be honest with what you want your car to do, he will suggest suspension parts specifically for YOUR NEEDS.

Sam is a GREAT guy and he is the leading authority on f-body suspension.

Sam's done me GOOD.

 

What's up my 35thle.com brutha.lol. I'm saving for the Koni's right now, already purchased Strano springs because that's the package I want. From what I've read and learned that shocks and springs are a combination package. So concider that before you just go buy some shocks.
Can you just replace the one shock untill you get the package you want, i know it's not what you want but it'd be more livable untill you can afford the shock/spring package YOU want.

 

I'm a little confused but I was under the impression that Bilstein shocks are NOT suitable for lowering springs?

 

They're not.

I was talking about the SLP/Bilstein shocks that came with the SLP/Eibach level 1 suspension optional package that was offered with the 00-01 SS's & WS6's. This package was designed by SLP that offered VERY SLIGHTLY revalved(claimed) by Bilstein SPECIFICALLY designed for these SLP springs(they're made by Eibach). definitely better than stock but really, the SLP/Bilstein's weren't valved aggressively enough for the SLP/Bilstein springs anyway.

The over-the-counter Bilstein HD shocks are not meant for lowered springs, they even state that on their website.

The ONLY Bilstein shocks that were made for lowered springs were ONLY offered by Sam Strano, he would get Bilstein shocks and re-valve them to match the springs you were getting, he would also match them to his own springs and you got a DAMN good setup there.

At one point Bilstein stopped sending the shocks to Sam because they didn't have any to send to him, they ran out of them...

Don't know if Bilstein is currently supplying Sam with shocks so he can revalve them, can you chime in on this Sam?

 

Better yet, give Sam Strano a call.
stranoparts.com, he's a sponsor here.

 

There are HD's, and SLP's. Which today are largely identical. I use to do specific Revalves, but stopped a few years back because the time, cost, and lack of a warranty made it not very cost-effective vs. Koni 4/3's or KYB AGX's that are both adjustable--but very different in how they work.

I still do what we call Strano Spec Bilstein's, which are production HD fronts but I use a different rear shock that has less compression damping and more rebound damping than the production HD rear. The full warranty applies to these, and they are $435/set.

NONE of the Bilstein's are ideal for any real lowering spring (which I don't count the SLP springs as part of). I'm talking about Strano, Eibach, H&R, Vogtland, etc. type springs that are lower and stiffer than what SLP put out. Can you use Bilstein with those springs? Yes, but just like running a cam with stock vavle springs, it won't work as well as it could or for as long as it should. You are simply asking more from the dampers than they were designed to give.

Again, I sell all the versions of Bilstein's, and more than anyone else because we have the set I do and prefer over the HD and SLP versions.