[wayne50f1]

i want a good shock for mainly the rear of my 65 fastback.
are the Koni's worth the price over KYB?
Other than price, and i beleive you get what you pay for,has anyone used bothe?
im keeping my standard leaves, and most likely a rear sway bar will be next on the list, not a track car tho, im looking for sports car ride not a Lincoln ride, the ride now is just too soft for my liking .
I drive a work car 4 wheel drive ranger, and have a 4 wheel drive Explorer and even my Gran AM Gt ,all have a more firm ride, this has gotta change.

 

[bob_t]

For the price, the KYB's are a great shock, make sure you get the gas adjust, and not the GR-2. I have run them on many mustangs, and have always been satisfied for street driving, and canyon runs.

 

[66stangFb]

I use Koni's on my hot rods and have for thirty years. I like the shock and highly recommend them. But if price is a concern and your not racing the car, then I expect you will be happy with the KYB.

 

[kketell]

The Gas-A-Just shocks are pretty harsh. If you want a smooth ride and want KYB the GR2 is better suited.

Personally, I run the Edelbrock IAS shocks and have no complaints.

 

[ShanMan]

I have had both. For the setup you are describing I would suggest you get the KYB Gas-A-Just. The ride is sporty without being harsh. The Koni's are great no doubt, but you can buy a set of KYB's for a fraction of the price and simply would not be able to tell the difference. Speaking of your setup...if you are building a sporty handling street car and not an open tracker I suggest utilizing a 1" sway bar up front and no sway bar in the back. More often than not, you wind up having to run the rear sway bar so loose in order to avoid "pushing" that it was not worth your initial investment of money and time to install it in the first place. Just my .019999 cents worth. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[2bav8]

I really like the KYBs. There is a good post from a few days ago about them. Sure I'd love a set of Koni's, but they are too much $$$ for my meager budget.

Shan,

I've found the rear sway bar to actually loosen up my car, not tighten it. Mine is adjustable and it will scoot the rear of the car around easily in the aggressive position.

 

[Guest]

Boy, talk about night-and-day difference of opinion on the Gas-A-Just shocks. They're harsh! They're not harsh! It's a dessert topping!

Am I missing something, or are you all talking about different Gas-A-Justs?

 

[dodgestang]

Some people might have more posterier padding to smooth out the ride.

IMO Standard KYB Suck
KYB Gas adjust are much better
and Konis, well Konis are konis

I run Gas adjust on DT

 

[kcode1967]

I have KYB Gas-Adjust on my 66GT. When I first installed them, the rear shocks were very firm (could be described as harsh) but they loosened up a little after a few hundred miles. I think if I was building a touring type car, I would use the GR's. But, for conering I think I would buy Gas-Adjust. Of course, everyone is different and all cars are different. I have TRW replacement front springs for a 70 Mach, 1" front bar,export brace, MC bar and 70 Mach rear springs with underride traction bars. Firm and stable, but enough compliance to not be uncomfortable. I have never had Koni's,
but, I would like to try a set someday..... By the way, If you don't have an export brace and Monte Carlo bar, they are two of the best pieces you can add. They will make a huge difference in the ride and handling.

 

[kbmwrs]

Full suspension rebuild with Edelbrock's IAS./forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[bullit]

KYB s gas adjust.

 

[Dinosawnj]

Koni's were great shocks in 66 and are pretty good shocks today (no innovation inside). I run a set of Carrara shocks and am happy on the track, OK on the street. The Edelbrock shocks employ the most current technology and reduce unsprung weight by mounting the shocks inverted. They have street and race versions for 65/66's. Bob.

 

[beechkid]

I run KYB's Gas-a-just on my Mustang and 1990 F150 with handling package. I'm using KYB GR2's on the wifes 97 Cougar Sport (V8, fact lowered about 1"+, 600lb springs).

The GR2's are now equivalent to the Edelbrock IAS. I just purchased front & rears for the car after alot of research and talking to the tech guys at Koni, Bilstein and KYB. To get the Bilsteins to perform at the level of GR2's, I would have to order "Special Valving". Since the install and a 4 wheel alignment, I can honestly say the car will handle as good if not just slightly better than my good friends 700 series BMW (V8) which I drove just the other night in fact.

The real difference betwenn the two, is the Gas-a-just units have one constant dampening rate which is firm or sporty, a little soft for track use but plenty for street. The GR2's are a variable dampening unit which rides firm but the dampening increases considerably to where I would have a hard time really telling one from the other. At this point (and I really hate to say it), I think the Cougar will handle very close to my Stang in side by side road course (if not for the automatic versus the 4 speed). The Cougar can be put into a 4 wheel power slide, it is very steady and controlable, to the point I can decide whether or not I want to overdrive the front tires (still has the OEM profile Goodyears which I will be replacing with Michelins). FYI, I use to race SCCA class B and C many many moons ago, so I can state, that I know when a shock is performing and when its not.

 

[JohnnyBoy]

You've got a great looking car ShanMan.....

 

[edrivas68]

Go with KYB Gas-Adjust shocks.
Very firm ride and I like it.

 

[Ponyboy]

I have KYB Gas-Adjusts, they ride fine. Too stiff of springs will cause a harsher ride then the shock type.

 

[ShanMan]

thank you sir.....so do you!

 

[Arto65FB]

The shock absorber is basically utterly wrong term, shock absorbers don't absorb shocks, they dampen and control the spring bump and bounce and englishmen call them dampers just for that. The springs take the shock.

Shocks and springs should be about matched. You can't succesfully compensate worn springs with stiff shocks or soften too stiff springs with soft shocks.

Currently I have front: 620 -1 and Konis set to middle (third) position and rear: 7-leaf (yes, 7, probably some PO went to junkyard and raided two standard leaf packs), the rear spring bushings are goners and KYB Gas-A-Justs without rear bar. It is hard and doesn't handle. The problem is my rear axle is tad too wide and necessitates stiff springs. I will test try narrower tires (225/60/15 -> 205/60/15) and try standard 4-leaf packs and 3/4 rear bar. Then I am contradicting myself with KYB G-A-Js and soft springs, tell you later about how they behaved.

I will most likely get Konis to rear also (with heavy 9-inch unsprung weight is of little concern). The problem is that Konis adjustability is only the in and not out. But I would like two-way adjustable rear shocks. I don't know if Spax has them. Although the rear suspension looks simple and pretty much non-adjustable with live axle and leaf springs and one would easily think it is what it is, for handling the rear is as crucial as front actually and you can tailor the rear handling to your taste. I like soft (relatively speaking) rear to help traction and rear bar to control body roll and tailor the over/understeer tendency and then finetune the over/understeer into and out of corner with adjustable shocks.

And is there a point in here? Eh, dunno. You might consider adjustable Gabriels and I second your standard springs and (preferably adjustable) rear bar.