kyb gr-2???

[96fbody]

does anyone know if these are any good.

[mazzon]

Re: kyb gr-2???

i guy got a set never put em on yet . but i payed $78 for the rears . adn there supposed to be 15% better then the stock Decarbons. and the gas adjust are supposed to be 30% better but $80 a shock.

[StiLlsMoKiN875]

Re: kyb gr-2???

nice.....:tup:

[96fbody]

Re: kyb gr-2???

thanks. i hope they are good. i bought them today. i should have them tomorrrow. =D

[zlexiss]

Re: kyb gr-2???

I heard they're decent stock replacements for a street driven car.

[96fbody]

Re: kyb gr-2???

well i have them in my hands now. but being seventeen, i have to wait for my dads help. i asked him if i could do them myself, and he said no. so i said, well when are we gonna do it. he said sometime near the end of the week. ugh.:mad:

so also... i have told my dad that, according to this board, i NEED an alignment after install. but of course, he doesnt want to spend the money to get one done. how important is the alignment. as previously stated, i will be doing a self-install. with a little help with my dad.

[zlexiss]

Re: kyb gr-2???

Shocks won't change the alignment on their own enough to really worry about an alignment right away. But the install might cause a slight shift due to manufacturing tolerances, since things never bolt back exactly where they started.
You might be able to get away with seeing if a shop will charge a cut rate to just check the alignment, and then decide to pay the full price if it's out of tolerance.

[squisher]

Re: kyb gr-2???

GR-2s are a slight upgrade from stock, so nothing wrong with them (I have GR-2's on my Fiero).

Alignment? Depends on what you take apart really. If you don't mess with the tie rods or where the control arms sit (front) or the trailing arms/torque arm (rear) then I don't see any need for an immediate alignment. If you are due for tires soon anyway, don't bother now and just have it done when you buy new rubber.

It's required for sure on a McPherson strut type setup, but on (4th gen at least) you really shouldn't affect the alignment much at all, but they're really not that expensive compared to wearing your tires out too fast.

The shop I have been using charges $45 for a front-wheel only alignment (generally fine for FWD cars and econoboxes that don't have any adjustment in the rear) and $60 for a 4 wheel alignment. It's really pretty cheap if you compare it to having to buy tires prematurely.

[96fbody]

Re: kyb gr-2??? [long post]

$60 is better than having to get premature tires. my tires now are still very good. but one other thing is the panhard rod. ive only had this car for about 4000 miles. the person i bought it from said he installed "new"(they were pulloffs from a SS at the local scrap) shocks and springs (hes a liar) and i have noticed that the back end is severely shifted toward the passenger side. i was told that it was the panhard rod, because putting on new shocks can do that, but, once again, my dad does not believe me. he says that he has never heard of a panhard rod. and that he has worked on cars his whole life. but when i say have you ever worked on a 4th gen fbody. he says no... so how does he know what he is talkin about...:mad: after all that....... which brings me to the question of... how necessary is a panhard rod. is it just a cosmetic thing. or does it effect the driveablity of the car. sorry for the long post.

[zlexiss]

Re: kyb gr-2??? [long post]

The panhard rod is essential in our cars. It hold the rear axle in place side to side. (The LCA's hold it in place front to back, and the torque arm keeps it from rotating).

How far is it shifted? The car might have been in an accident that bent the panhard rod or otherwise messed stuff up. Shocks won't affect the rear centering. If you do a search I did the math a couple times, raising or lowering the rear an inch resulted in like 1/16" - 1/32" of side to side shift.

[96fbody]

Re: kyb gr-2??? [long post]

its much worse than that. its about a 3 inch shift. ill put pics later. but i also carmaxxed the maro. and the resulting report was... clear. no accidents. no bodywork. no nothing. like i said, ill post pics later.

EDIT: also, the panhard rod looks a little off center. the "u" bend is not perfectly under the ?rear diff?/"pumpkin".

[zlexiss]

Re: kyb gr-2??? [long post]

If it's 3 inches off it's been in something. I've never seen a car more than 1/2" off, lowered or not. Spun the car into a curb maybe. Carmax won't say anything if it was never reported to insurance.

[squisher]

Re: kyb gr-2??? [long post]

Yeesh, 3" off? Does it even come close to driving straight? I would imagine that the thrust angle would likely be hosed.

The "panhard" rod you're talking about that goes under the pumpkin that has the bend in it should be the rear anti-sway bar. The panhard rod is (should be anyway) a straight bar attached diagonally across the rear end. If it's bent, then you need to replace it. Just make sure you're actually talking about the panhard rod and not the ant-sway bar (also called: sway bar, anti-roll bar).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panhard_rod

Top right picture is simplified, but should give you an idea. I will try to remember and take a picture of mine. I've got an aftermarket panhard and lower trailing links in the back. Yours should be (if it's an OEM style) a stamped "U" piece of steel instead of tubular like mine, but it should be in the same place.

If your rear end is shifted 3", something is REALLY screwed up. The trailing arms would be at a pretty obvious angle unless their mounts on the frame are bent/moved as well.

[96fbody]

Re: kyb gr-2??? [long post]

i dont believe my car has a panhard rod. if that is possible. i dont know. i always thought that my rear diff was my phr. ill edit this post with pics once they upload. but you will see that my rear diff is wayyyy out of whack. but like i said. once they upload, i will post.

that is no joke. it looks just like that from right under my liscence plate. i made sure i was looking at it from directly behind, not at an angle.

[greasemonkey]

Re: kyb gr-2???

You just took a pic of your dif cover, sway bar, and panhard bar. You do have one.