The tokico hp shocks I was looking at. Are they any good? Or which ones to get?

Tokico makes a good shock. They are an OEM manufacturer for several Japanese and American automakers.

I don't know how well they work on the Vette, but they are a quality part.

As for options, get a softer one... you don't need any more firmness.

I don't want them now, they are japanese!!!!

This is an American car, I think I will go with edelbrock or kyb. Where are kyb shocks made?

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Many of the OEM wheels for the Corvette were made in Japan. From what I can gather, KYB shocks are manufactured in a number of places around the globe.

I am a firm believer in the OEM Bilsteins.

Compared to what?

KYB are also a Japanese brand.

If you want American, take a look at the quality brands we offer... Monroe... Gabriel... oh, yea.

I have gotten past buying stuff because of where it's made; I buy because it's the best product offered. I am a big fan of Koni.

Listen to Gary; he knows shocks.

As an aside, I would feel more strongly about "American made" if more was actually made here... so much is made in Canada and Mexico it really annoys me. Then the companies play it as "American."

Within the Corvette, the Bilstiens are German made... the ZF6 is also German made... The radio is Japanese, IIRC. The brakes are from Australia... Most of the switches are AALPS, which is the Japanese parent firm for Alpine audio.

Time to put up those graphs?

Not just those Pep Boys brands, US made are: Penske, Pro, Afco, QA-1, and realistically, Bilstein (they have a huge plant here). I have dyno data (that we ran personally on a new Roherig shock dyno) of C4 KYB's and they are not very impressive (I am being VERY PC here). People get mad at me when I publish real data on shocks and to be honest, the more you know, the less you will want some of what is out there.

I agree. The upside to the KYB shock is price/value. Would I race on them? HELL NO! Would I drive to work on them? Sure, why not?

I did for 3 years. They gave me good service for that time. do I prefer the Koni's? Yes. By far a better shock. Would they hold up on the dyno? No clue.

Post numbers, Gary. I would love to see them. Protecting the consumer is a primary reason the Guru exists. I don't want us to be beholden to preconceived notions on what is good and not.

As for the brands you list, they are very high end... no question. The QA1 being the most affordable, from my memory. I had forgotten that Bilstein has a plant here... duh...

QA1, affordable? how much?

I will be glad to publish our Penske dyno data, perhaps you can get the other vendors to voluntarily publish their results.

If you're not banned on CF there's a guy there who has been an engineer for 25 years designing shocks for a major manufacturer.

I have his personal email, but not at liberty to pass it around.

I sent him an email with a link to this thread.

I would like to see the Penske numbers.

I would also like to know how the Koni's measure up.

QA1? I would have to check the pricing, but they ain't "cheap," just not expensive... Penske does have a loss leader at $400 each... the prices go up exponentially from there.

QA1 also owns Carrera shocks. I know the name, don't know the rep. Judging from what I have scanned at their site, figure $160 or so for a QA1 shock. You have to figure out which part they make fits the C4. It's not that simple with them.

oh, Koni Yellows are about $175 each from www.tirerack.com (check the banners on the top of the page if you decide to buy, they are showing limited inventory).

The Koni's are adjustable.

Bilsteins are $80 each, again from The Tire Rack.

Some of the vendors sell a full set of Bilstein's for $280 ($70 each)

It is hard to beat the Bilsteins on a dollar basis. The Koni's are adjustable but it is such a PINA that you won't bother. The KYB's are really soft, to the point that they are not really there doing much. These are shocks we tested,results may vary. Keep in mind except for the Penskes (lower right) we have had only one sample of each of the others and it is not good science to draw conclusions from one sample.
The upper left is a QA1
The lower left is Bilstein
Upper right is a KYB
Lower right is a Penske

I have much more data but some get all upset if I publish. Others can post as they see fit. Let's discuss what we see. I can say the Penske is the best curve, almost no hysteresis (i.e. the lines track the same going out and coming back in) and the KYB has very little of anything (however it was very used).

[IMG width=800]http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h287/gshoffman/Corvette%20shocks/Dyno1.jpg[/IMG]

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Of course I'm banned, I gave scorp518 what fur and they banned me years ago. Thanks for doing the leg work though.

Send me a Tokico and I will dyno it and publish it. I don't have a Koni either.