Civic_GSR

Can anyone tell me what the hardest shocks on the market are? My shocks seem to keep blowing on me. I had Tokico Blues, and they were pretty crappy, I only had them on for one season. I have warranty on them but I want something better. Koni Yellows (SP3's)?


btw... I am dropped about 2.25". Let me know people.

theguy387

damn man how hard do you drive your car. where do you live. cause shocks shouldnt blow that fast.

Civic_GSR

i was driving on coilovers so my shocks died QUICK. i have proper lowering springs now.

94tegAddict

i hear blistens are good, but never tried them.. i had tokico blues as well.. lowered more than 2" on skunk2 coilovers, never had a problem. btw.. don't get skunk2 coilovers.. they SAG!!! if you can afford one, go for koni adjustables or Tein suspension.

qtiger

Koni yellows are the best off the shelf shock you can get imho.

Can't argue with lifetime warranty either.

smokedaddy

will those tokico blues be for sale once you get them back on warrenty?

MrFatbooty

That much of a drop is going to be abusive on any shock you use.

A bit of an explanation of suspension travel is in order.

Suspension travel, is essentially the available distance your suspension has to move up or down. Coil over kits or lowering springs naturally reduce suspension travel, because they keep the shock compressed while it is at rest and they don't allow it to fully extend. The shock is designed to offer up a certain amount of damping force over the full length of its stroke and while a reasonable amount of lowering is okay, too much eats up too much travel and the shock can no longer do its job properly.

There is really only one way to maintain proper suspension travel when lowering and it can be accomplished through two methods. The lower shock mount has to be shortened. The full length of the shock is not taken up by the shock absorber itself, so shortening the mount makes the overall length of the shock less, to match the lowering. This can either be accomplished with shortened shocks (i.e. Neuspeed/Koni SP3) or with a full coilover setup that has a threaded lower mount that lets you change the ride height while keeping the overall length of the shock/spring combo the same.

For the amount of lowering you're running, the only way to maintain decent suspension travel is with a full threaded coilover setup as I described above. You can run the Neuspeed/Koni SP3 shocks which will be better than running a stock-length shock, but 2.25" is more of a looks-oriented drop than one which is going to maintain optimum shock performance.

white_n_slow

wizigity:werd:


If you want truly bulletproof shocks, Ground Control or Koni will custom valve them for your car, taking in consideration weight, spring rate, travel limits, adjustability needs. That, however, would be total overkill in your scenario.

white_n_slow

the other way to do this is to extend the upper shock mount upward with a kit like Ground Control's upper mount. It basically bolts to the top of the strut/spring assembly, and raises the upper shock mount a little less than 2 inches, thus increasing travel by that same amount. This same approach can be done DIY if you're a decent welder (at least in the front)... simply extend the upper shock mount as far as hood clearance will allow.