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| DaleD | How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Senior Guru
 
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I've had my car for a year, but it's now 21 years old. I have no clue when or if the shocks have been changed. I was reading Andy's write up on how to change shocks and got to thinking, how do I tell if mine are bad? I know on other cars, you check the bounce, that is, the dampening effect of the shocks. But, for a Corvette is it different? I mean, there isn't a lot of room for the car to bounce in the first place. The car seems pretty tight, not much bounce or sway, but, I had to ask.
And, if I did decide I wanted new shocks, what would be a good shock for a standard, non Z51 87? I'm not a racer, so I'd like a shock that is a compromise between a racer and a decent ride. |
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Posted on: 2008/1/5 3:08
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| jrzvette | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Posted on: 2008/1/5 3:44
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| j3studio | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Elite Guru
 
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I have a 1985 Z51. When I purchased the car a couple of years ago it still had the original Delco-Bilsteins at about 48k miles.
After a couple of years, I replaced them with the same type of shocks. The difference was astounding. The car didn't get much more comfortable (still rides like an old truck, as Central Coaster would say) but the handling improved substantially - I now feel that I'm getting a lot of handling to make up for my discomfort. |
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Posted on: 2008/1/6 4:30
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Grace, 2003 50th Anniversary Convertible |
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| JrRifleCoach | Re: How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Elite Guru
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quote="DaleD"I've had my car for a year, but it's now 21 years old. I have no clue when or if the shocks have been changed. I was reading Andy's write up on how to change shocks and got to thinking, how do I tell if mine are bad? /quote
Replace your shock if; The shocks are more than 5 years old. Leaking fluid on the body/tube. Or you have no idea how old they are. quote="DaleD"so I'd like a shock that is a compromise between a racer and a decent ride./quote You bough a Corvette so you could comprimise? It's a CORVETTE. There is no comprimise!! |
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Posted on: 2008/2/18 5:05
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| CentralCoaster | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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I drove my 85 to work with no shocks on there, and it was pretty bad. So I figure my current, 23 yr old shocks are better than no shocks at all!
The guys at the track would probably kick me out though if I told em they were original. |
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Posted on: 2008/2/18 5:50
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| BillH | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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The Stig Moderator
 
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JRrifle's right, replace them if they're leaking of 5 years. You could pull one and put it in a vice and find out it's still fairly hard to push in but, it will still be shot. A new shock will take all your weight to compress it, gas shocks will take even more.
Bouncing the fender only works on 55 Chevys :tongue: If the shocks don't look new, they probably aren't. The paint will start to fade in a coulpe of years and take a look at the mounting rubber. If it's cracked, they're old. New shocks are inexpensive, and they'll put a big smile on your face. |
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Posted on: 2008/2/18 16:19
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| dan0617 | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Quote:
years and take a look at the mounting rubber. If it's cracked, they're old. I'll take a set of inexpensive QA1's. Do you want my shipping address to send them to?  |
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Posted on: 2008/2/18 16:46
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´89 Vert, 383, 230/236 cam, AFR 195's, LT Headers, HSR intake, 2800 stall, Zex 200 shot, ET Street Radials, tune by me. Runs were with D36 3.07's. On spray, 10.55 @ 132.78, 1.55 60 ft. On motor, 12.08 @ 113.15, 1.66 60 ft. |
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| fnsblum | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Compressing will be easier by far than pulling it out. Later! Frank
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Posted on: 2008/2/19 2:58
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93 Red LT-1 Bought in Nov. First mod is a set of Magnaflows. |
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| jhammons01 | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Bouncing the fender only works on 55 Chevys :tongue: . That is a crack up because it is true. |
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Posted on: 2008/2/19 6:12
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| JrRifleCoach | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Quote:
The guys at the track would probably kick me out though if I told em they were original. You should BAN yourself! |
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Posted on: 2008/2/19 6:16
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| BillH | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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The Stig Moderator
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Quote: Ha, they're in the mail, but I sent them to Chambersburg since I grew up there. Stock type shock prices like KYB and Bilstein look inexpensive to me cause to rebuild just one of the steel bodied Koni's on my Formula Ford costs $165 and if I want to upgrade to Penske's, they're $875 EACH. |
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Posted on: 2008/2/19 16:16
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| dan0617 | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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and if I want to upgrade to Penske's, they're $875 EACH.  That's why my place is in the stands watching the race. |
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Posted on: 2008/2/19 21:19
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´89 Vert, 383, 230/236 cam, AFR 195's, LT Headers, HSR intake, 2800 stall, Zex 200 shot, ET Street Radials, tune by me. Runs were with D36 3.07's. On spray, 10.55 @ 132.78, 1.55 60 ft. On motor, 12.08 @ 113.15, 1.66 60 ft. |
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| MK 82 | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Senior Guru
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Quote:
+1 |
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Posted on: 2008/2/19 21:28
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96 CE Roadster LT4 |
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| jonecap | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Guru Newb
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KYB's seem to be a good cost effective replacement. Josh is running them on his car and there are some other guys who swear by them. Carquest has them.
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Posted on: 2008/2/21 13:26
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'02 Z06 - 11.58 @ 117.40 CAI & ET Streets only... Sold but not forgotten: '96 CE LT4 11.65 @ 118.76 LT4 hotcam, gears, tires, and exhaust 10.72 @ 128.90 on the jug ;) '90 Z51 6 speed- 13.10 @ 105.07 with lots of... |
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| BillH | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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The Stig Moderator
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Quote:
Quote: Yea but, watching is boring. |
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Posted on: 2008/2/21 15:56
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| Lichen | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Guru
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If you do any spirited driving at all, don't waste your money on KYB's. Go Bilstein.
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Posted on: 2008/2/21 16:10
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| sprint7677 | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Senior Guru
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They are easy to remove if the collapse very easy they are shot. Mine to zero effort to collapse. Boy did 4 new Bilstien's make a difference....rode like a cadillac!
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Posted on: 2008/2/22 3:13
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1984 Corvette mostly stock, many new parts |
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| Josh | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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If you do any spirited driving at all, don't waste your money on KYB's. Go Bilstein. Do you mean the stock Bilsteins, just re-valved? I had re-valved bilsteins on my FX3 92 corvette for awhile. While switching the ride/stiffness on demand was pretty cool, there are better shocks out there for the $100 a shock I spent having Bilstein install the Morrocan valving. I run the KYB's on my car, and for the money they are pretty much impossible to beat. They aren't a better road course shock than the re-valved Bilsteins, but they are an adequate replacement for any stock shock a C4 ever had. IMO, the next 'level' of shock that I would move to would be a Koni yellow. I've ridden in several C4's with Koni yellows, and unlike other cars with Koni yellows, the ride was pretty decent; and they are a fantastic road course shock. However, if all you do is blast the occasional canyon or tear up the neighborhood, I think the KYB's will be just fine for you. 99% of the people who drive these cars aggressively aren't skilled enough or don't have enough seat time to push the car to the point where the KYB's really become the limiting factor. |
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Posted on: 2008/2/22 3:43
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"Have ya paid your dues, Jack?" "Yessir, the check is in the mail." - Jack Burton |
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| Jer | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Guru Newb
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If you do any spirited driving at all, don't waste your money on KYB's. Go Bilstein.  Bilsteins aren't that expensive, may as well spend the extra cash and get what was installed from the factory. The consensus in the Mustang community about KYBs are they are fine at first but quickly ride poorly. This may or may not apply to Corvette shocks by KYB, but you normally get what you pay for. Sort of like cheap tires on a performance car. It defeats the purpose of having a performance car if you install cheap tires. I replaced my original Z51 Bilsteins on my '85 at 114k miles. I didn't really notice a difference. The old ones weren't leaking or anything. If anything, the ride may be a bit smoother. Nothing dramatic. However, the shocks were less than $400 and they were easy to install, so why not? |
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Posted on: 2008/2/23 0:17
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| 1Fast04Vert | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Elite Guru
 
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Bilsteins and Bilsteins only!
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Posted on: 2008/2/23 0:30
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2004 Vert. 475hp. Built by Vengeance Racing |
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| Ugolino | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Guru Newb
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I bought KYBs for my old c4 and was really impressed with them, the suspension felt much tighter. At the time I couldn't afford Bilsteins so I just found the cheapest ones I could find, and they turned out to be really great.
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Posted on: 2008/2/23 19:05
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| Danspeed1 | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Elite Guru
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If you do any spirited driving at all, don't waste your money on KYB's. Go Bilstein. I used KYB's for years on various vehicles I owned. For just a couple of $$ more you could get a set of Bilsteins and let me tell you; the Bilsteins are just awesome. You can't call KYB a shock after intalling a bilstein. DG |
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Posted on: 2008/2/23 19:16
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| LD85 | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Master Guru
 
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How to tell,,,, you have ample room on your Master card
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Posted on: 2008/2/24 0:30
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2005/Z51 |
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| Notorious | RE:How to tell if it's time for shocks? | ||
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Elite Guru
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How to tell if it's time for shocks? The car handles like crap?  Quote: KYB's seem to be a good cost effective replacement. Josh is running them on his car and there are some other guys who swear by them. Carquest has them. I'm not saying that a set of stock replacement Bilsteins wouldn't have been better. But when I bought my car, one front and one of the rear original Bilsteins were completely wasted at 81K miles. I saved the set and may still send them in someday for a custom rebuild. But my $28 per corner KYBs made it drive and handle like a new car. And they're still performing well after more than 40K miles. I'll be changing them again soon though, and so I'm still considering my options at this point. |
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Posted on: 2008/2/24 0:52
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