KYB shocks

[Apolan]

Hi,

i'd like to know what are KYB shocks for ae86 like. im looking for normal long stroke non adjustables and as i understand Kayaba offers two types the GR-2 and New SR SPECIAL (which i only saw in japanese auctions).. So im wondering what are the GR-2's like compared to Red koni, Tokico blue?

Thanx,cheers

[robokill]

well the big difrence between koni tokico and kyb is that koni are oil shocks.

These always fele difrent than gas shocks. (you feel hte difrence better with softer springs)

The rebound of an oil shock is less firm than that of a gas shock

[Apolan]

wait i thought koni's are also gas?

[Mux213]

koni yellow is oil mate

[Apolan]

no the red ones? im asking abot the cheaper shocks for AE -> longstroke. (tokico blue vs. KYB GR2 vs. koni red)..

[Ivan141]

koni red is also an oil shock. Nothing wrong with them IMO, I have reds on the track volvo, and I like them.

[Apolan]

Ivan if i remember correctly you had tokico blues on your hachi. How do they compare?

[Ivan141]

The tokico's we're more comfort-oriented in my experience. Disregard what robokill said about the rebound properties of oil-shocks. The koni red's can be adjusted pretty darn stiff on rebound, but you cant change much on the compression side of things. Personally, I'm okay with that since the springs are meant to handle the compression side of things.. no need to overcompensate with stiffer bump on the shocks. The koni's are better suited to sportier suspensions since you can adjust them a fair amount. The koni red's changed my volvo 360 from a nasty understearing boat into a fun oversteering boat. I'm happy with that. For the rest my driving talents arent adequate to judge the merits of both the tokico's vs the koni's. If I had to choose, I'd take the koni's.

[Red]

Got the GR2's installed last month. They feel a lot like what I remember the original shocks were. Definitely not a "BMW" ride <G> but that's what the budget was.

Because one set of boxes was very old, I called KYB to ask about the shocks and why I felt the rears were harsher than the front and had excess axle hop. They suggested dropping a little air pressure from the rear tires, and sure enough, that's all it took to balance the ride out again, my tire gauge had gone psycho on me.

The ride is OK, the control is OK--but I'm sure you can get better response and ride if you want to spend more money on it. "OEM"-ish was enough for me.

[Apolan]

thanx Red! Tokico Blues are abit sportier as i've heard right? i think ill go with them.. i've sent 2 emails to Kuruma Motorsports in USA, they have Tokico HP and Tanabe GF210 springs pretty cheap.. but they dont reply..