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| New cheap struts on the market | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 3 2016, 04:25 AM (1,373 Views) | |
| myredvert | Feb 5 2016, 04:26 PM Post #16 |
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myredvert
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t3, looking at it from a slightly different perspective, how would you asses some of the aftermarket struts you mentioned for those of us who may only be looking for an improvement over worn out struts on our Metros and want a nice ride and decent handling? Any of them in your experience you would recommending staying away from altogether? Of all the non-KYB options, any you would prefer? As I just recently bought KYBs because you da Metro/Swift suspension man and since you have said the KYBs were the ones to get, I'm mostly asking on behalf of others. I'm absolutely happy with my decision to spend a few more dollars on the KYBs over the ASTs and can't wait to get them in and see the difference they make.
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| suzukitom | Feb 5 2016, 06:22 PM Post #17 |
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Tom
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I had to re-read what you wrote a few times to make sure I was reading it right... (emphasis shown in italics)
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| myredvert | Feb 5 2016, 06:55 PM Post #18 |
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myredvert
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I like the way you read.
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| bikeAmusPrime | Feb 5 2016, 07:55 PM Post #19 |
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I'm still waiting on a response from kyb that if they will produce the agx series for our cars. |
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| bikeAmusPrime | Feb 5 2016, 07:57 PM Post #20 |
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But I still have two people that are buying struts regardless. I hope one of them bay a set to see if the ride is similar. Or decent for the money |
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| bikeAmusPrime | Feb 5 2016, 07:58 PM Post #21 |
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I totally get t3. I have my kyb struts running about 55-60k and they still dampen great |
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| Car Nut | Feb 5 2016, 09:14 PM Post #22 |
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So what is the agx series? I know I could google it, but I'm feeling lazy tonight.
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| bikeAmusPrime | Feb 8 2016, 04:57 PM Post #23 |
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They are adjustable dampening struts. |
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| t3ragtop | Feb 8 2016, 05:28 PM Post #24 |
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Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker
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on the question of the other brands of sluts, i was not impressed with monroe, gabriel, or ryder brands. early on, 12 years ago or so i got all sciencey about the suspension and used a sort of skid pad testing were i set up a g force meter to check side force g levels and limits. the above mentioned struts tested so far below the kyb gr2 struts that there was really no contest. i broke a set of gabriels within 6 months and the monroes leaked in 6 months. neither manufacturer honored their replacement warranty. conversely, i have had a single set of kyb gr2 struts on a car for more than 5 years and aside from rust popping through their tubes and covers, they were still fine when i replaced them for purely asthetic purposes. i'm still appraising the kyb excel g series struts but so far, aside from them being black instead of silver, they appear to be pretty much the same as the gr2 series. they seem to have pretty much the same valving and have survived 2 short summer seasons with my track springs and a 2+ inch drop. to be fair, i don't think that they get worked as hard with the track springs which are 350 pound coils on the front and 450 pound coils on the rear. it takes a lot to get the springs to compress and that limits the travel on the struts. anyway, i have a good 10 years of using the kyb brand struts and i have yet to have had any issues with them. they are a perfect match for h&r sport springs with even the 1.4" drop being within the struts' lifetime limited warranty specs. when you use the kybs with a lowered suspension you have to take care to adjust the strut snubber/ bump stop to accommodate the new travel range. failure to limit travel usually crashes the rod's piston into the valving which destroys the strut. i order 80a shore hardness polyurethane cylindrical tubing and custom cut snubbers from that. those snubbers can take a full hit without crushing or falling apart like the foam snubbers that come on the new struts. i have also run koni struts, didn't like them much as they are extremely harsh as well as twice the cost of the kyb struts. i bought a big dollar set of hot bits front coil overs and didn't like them, either. for $1500 i expected majik and they did not deliver. anyway, in my opinion, the kyb struts are the right combination of rugged durability, performance, and price which is why i like to recommend them.
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| 1DCGUY | Feb 8 2016, 05:33 PM Post #25 |
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Don't be a "Richard"
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Whoa there T3!! You may want to reread the first sentence of this post. If we are talking about other brands of sluts, we may want to take this to a different forum. Sorry, I couldn't help myself!!!!
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| bikeAmusPrime | Feb 8 2016, 06:36 PM Post #26 |
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I have all kyb strut on all of my cars except my gti. It has bilstein. I would love some heavier dampening though |
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| Car Nut | Feb 8 2016, 07:02 PM Post #27 |
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If I was to install the H&R springs, what brand/part number would be needed for replacement stops? How much of the stop should be removed? 1.4 inches to match the lowered amount?
Edited by Car Nut, Feb 8 2016, 07:03 PM.
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| PTA2PTB | Feb 8 2016, 07:36 PM Post #28 |
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I'm totally awesome! I swear.
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But whenever I come into a set of snubbers that are too tight, where stiction is limiting my piston rod's full travel range, I'll apply a light coating of kyb jelly to them. Works great!
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| bikeAmusPrime | Feb 8 2016, 07:49 PM Post #29 |
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Funny |
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| t3ragtop | Feb 8 2016, 09:03 PM Post #30 |
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Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker
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buck, what i have done and what i suggest is that you wrap a zip tie around a strut shaft and go for a little drive. as the strut compresses it will indicate its max travel in operation. the goal with the snubber dimension is to keep the strut's piston from crashing into the valving components at full compression. on my track suspension the polyurethane bumpers i cut are only about 1" tall even though the zip tie indicated full travel about an inch shy of the bumper. when i was still using the oem foam type snubbers with the h&r sport springs i did, indeed, cut them down by about an inch and a half. the foam snubbers are a little more forgiving in that they compress more easily so that when you bottom out the strut travel it doesn't jar you as badly. the flip side is that if you don't cut the snubbers down the new range of travel will shred the foam. when you lower the suspension on these cars you are actually moving the range of travel on the struts further towards the fully compressed end of the range. also, when you lower the simple suspension of these cars it moves the set point of the control arms so that they tilt up, from this --I to this --\ where the negative camber increases. the amount of negative camber with the 1.4" drop from the h&r springs isn't excessive and the negative camber that is induced actually makes the car track better. if you go to a more serious drop in the ride height you have to do something to correct the induced camber. you also loose suspension travel. what i did when i set up my track suspension was to build adjustable upper strut mounts that allowed me to move the strut shafts further out to stand the wheels back up to correct the negative camber i had after i shortened the spring height and strut stack height. i also had to tie the tops of the struts down with cables so that i could keep the springs in their perches and the strut stacks from opening up to the point where the bearings could get loose. the sport springs have dead coils in them to maintain strut stack height and the strut assemblies end up pretty much just like the oem suspension which eliminates any fiddling around with mods to make them fit. they are a bolt on deal and the strut assemblies go together just like factory struts. when the weight of the car is upon the springs the struts and springs compress to give you the 1.4" drop while the springs don't fall out of their perches when the suspension decompresses. when i used to cut springs i had problems if i cut much more than a single coil out. the reduced spring height would let the springs come off their perches whenever i got a little "air" like running over railroad tracks. i'd have to stop the car, get out, and kick the springs back into place. there's none of that foolishness with the sport springs.
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7:25 PM Jul 10