'performance' shocks... worth it?

[00firebird]

i think i might need two rear shocks... i first was looking at bilstein and they were around 90$ each.. 180 total plus id have to find someone to install them. but i went to sears and they have monroe shocks, which are like only 30 each, plus they will install for 15$, which is very cheap. will the monroe shocks still work just as good and serve their purpose? i dont feel the need to have 200$ shocks if i can just get the monroe to work just as good

[DannyV6Camaro]

installing the rear shocks are EASYYY, i would buy the bilstein, thats what i have.

[T-Punk]

if you want really nice handling the bilstein's are a great choice, if you just want something that will work as well as stock the monroe's will do fine and thats not a bad install price (though when i worked there i know we charged a lot more).

[Den69RS96]

You get what you pay for. Don't expect $30 monroes to make you car handle like it has the bilsteins. Also, the bilsteins will last much longer than the monroes. I had monroe sense a suck shocks and stuts on previous cars and I don't care for them. I think the stock shocks are better than the monroes.

[LwnGy83]

I bought the monroe's from the parts store and put them on my old car. They weren't very good. They are exactly like stock. So if you're looking for an upgrade, get something else... if you're looking for something that's as good as stock, go for it.

[98goldbird]

If there's one thing I learned from the Suspension Guru himself (Mr. Sam Strano), shocks are THE NUMBER 1 IMPORTANT THING

Taken from LS1.com
------------------
· #3 07-06-2004, 08:51 PM
Sam@stranoparts.com
Sponsor Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Brookville, PA
Posts: 1,579

Shocks, shocks, shocks, Big front swaybar, slightly bigger rear bar, springs, then things like SFC's, Panhard bars and so on.

4th gens have piss-poor body motion control from crappy dampers, and poor dampers are the fastest way to make a car ride and drive like total crap.

If you drove a 4th gen that was bone stock with good shocks added alone, and nothing else, you probably wouldn't believe that's all that was done. HUGE change is an understatement..............
__________________
Sam Strano
2002 & 2004 E-Street Prepared Solo2 Nat'l Champion
2002 F-Stock ProSolo National Champion
Strano Performance Parts
800-729-1831 ordering
814-849-3450 tech-line
www.stranoparts.com

And then....

Quote:
Originally Posted by RomanK
Whats up fellas, the bulk of my problem comes from the fact that i got out of a Miata and into my 01 Z28 (only 20k miles) i figure i doubled in weight and tripled in power, but still, what do i need to accomplish with the suspension to get the car feeling somewhat close, i know it will never feel like a Miata thats not what i want, i just want to take the "tanker" feeling from the suspension and im not even going to include the brakes, those are pathetic, so help me out, i need specific steps and products that worked best for you and let me know


Ah, the open ended question..... You will get a lot of responses from all over the map.

Here is mine: A #1 are good shocks. They are what make the car feel like a marshmallow. The bobbing, the float, the feeling like the door handles will scrape turning into corners (and that the front and rear aren't hooked to the same car) are just some of the issues stemming from the p.o.s. DeCarbon shocks. There is not a single thing (even some multiple things) you can do to the car that will make near as much difference. And oh BTW, it'll have a lot less impact harshness as well.

I like to do larger swaybars next (big front, medium rear). Springs might be an option to, but of you need to decide if you want to lower it or not, and how much ride penalty you can live with. FWIW, the bigger bars make a much bigger difference for controlling body roll than can VERY stiff springs, and the bars do it with very little to no degredation in ride quality.

Honestly, the sky is the limit. There are so many parts out there for the suspension/chassis it's mind boggling. I suggest you read, A LOT. Use your common sense when listening to discussions, and call knowledgeable vendors. I'm a terrible salesman in the "you NEED this" sense. I spend a lot of my time educating instead of selling. It often costs me sales right then, I but I believe a happy customer will come back at a later time. Oh yeah, I also happen to know a little about making f-bodies handle (see sig.).