I hate asking questions like this because I know someone is going to say "search yo", But I'm having a serious delimma here, and after searching honda-tech, honda-acura.net, and even superhonda.com (I know), I haven't gotten the answers I'm looking for. I have settled on getting either Tein Stech's, H&R sports, or Tanabe S-oc II coilovers. Money is a real factor for me because I need as much money as possible for university, so I'd rather not dump the money on the Tanabe's, which would be about $1000 canadian + camber kit price.
I have always believed that what causes a strut to blow is the spring rate rather then the amount it is dropped, in which case the either strut should be fine with the Stech's, but probably not the sports. the Kyb's would be a simple choice but, I have heard soooooooo many stories about them blowing that it really scares me because I can't afford to replace struts every 2 years. does anyone have experience with either of these set-up's (or the coilovers), and how long have the struts lasted thus far?
thanks
p.s. pics of the drop would also assist in the decision.

 

somebody is also going to ask me what I'm using them for so I might as well add that now. I drive hard but comfort is very important to me since it is my everyday ride, and a lot of time is spent driving from a to b rather then in spirited fashion. the more comfortable it is the better (hence the Stech's, and tanabe s-OC II's)

 

KYB's don't recommend drops past an 1.5 or so. Get the Koni's or the Tokico's. Ground Control packages their coilovers with Tokico Illumina's. Also what alot of people don't understand is that struts/shocks need the protective boot cover. When they change the shocks, they don't replace it with the original or new boot cover and find out their shock has blown. I have known numerous people thinking Tokico has bad shock problems only to find out they didn't have a protective boot cover. Without it your shock.. no matter how good it is will fail on you sooner or later. Remember...

 

i've had my agxs for about a year and a half now and experienced no problems.
im riding dumped all the way around (tucking tires all 4 corners) and use my car daily.

haven't heard much about the koni's tho...

hope that helps.

 

I know the koni red's are not recommended past 25 mm drop, and I think the blues are the same (I am not a tokico fan). so basically the only shocks that are recommended for any spring except pro-kits are Koni sports which for the price of them and springs I might as well get the Tanabe's. someody needs to make a strut that's inbetween agx's and specials, there's just too big of a gap.

 

no more help????

 

i have never owned any adj strut but the regular kyb with ground controls is by far better than my tokico blue and groundcontrols.

also i would highly reccomend eibach pro kit if you are just going to get springs.

also why dont u look into the hr cup kit. those are nice and real affordable

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kyosoeg6 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i have never owned any adj strut but the regular kyb with ground controls is by far better than my tokico blue and groundcontrols.

also i would highly reccomend eibach pro kit if you are just going to get springs.

also why dont u look into the hr cup kit. those are nice and real affordable</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not to bash or anything... but the KYB GR2's shocks are no more than oem stock replacement. They aren't even meant for aftermarket performance. The nice thing about the GR2's is they come with the boot cover. Tokico's don't. But Tokico HP blue shocks by far outclass the GR2's. I give you 6months on GR2's with coilovers.. before they go out. I have never had problems with Tokico's, given the fact if they are installed properly. Don't forget the strut boot cover. Without it any shock is worthless almost. Why? Dirt and grime will eventually get into the shock..

The struts of choice should either be KONI or Tokico. KYB AGX is good too but isn't able to handle a low drop. Using GR2's is out of the question... but just my 2 cents.

 

The agx's are adjustable so really this shouldn't be a question

I have agx's with my ground controls and they work fine, If I were to do it again I would spend a little more and get Koni yellows but for the money agx's will do

 

I love my KYB: AGX's...

 

I got KYB AGX with Neuspeed sports on my car.

Rides very good, can't complain about AGX adjustibility.

 

for the people with Kyb's how long have you had them, and what springs are they teamed with????

 

I have KYB's for about 6 months and love them. I am also tucking all 4 wheels on my si and is alittle bumpy but totally worth it in my opinion.

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=874262

the cheaper alternative...

 

i've had my koni reds for about 3 years now... and have no complaints... my setup is with eibach sportlines.. which is about a 1.7" drop... so it's not bad... i'd definitely buy these shocks again..

 

I've had KYB AGX's and H&R Race springs on my hatch for about five months and no problems, I love em. Prior to that I had the AGX's on my g20t with about a three inch lowering spring on it for close to two years and again, no problem, loved it. its up to you though

 

I would reccomend that you get Tokico Illuminas. I've had them for about 7 months now and they're still riding awesome. I used to have a 3.5'' drop, but now im running Progress Lowering springs so I have a 2'' drop now and the ride is flawless.

 

I've got a 2" drop on AGXs, been fine for a while now. Gonna try 2.5" and see if they hold up well.

 

sorry if that's too many pics... hope this helps...

 

Koni "Reds" are compress to adjust which can be a pain, just don't leave them on full stiff and they should be fine. Also these shocks can be found very cheap. KYB's are externally adjustable giving them a slight benefit above the "RED's" but may not handle as much abuse.


Modified by beedoublejay at 11:05 PM 5/26/2004

 

I have had the AGX's on my 97 civic and now my 94 civic. They are the best for the price. I had tokico shocks and they sucked way to bouncy all using spring setups. KYB

 

OK sombasol....just to sum it up for you. I live in Saskatoon, Sk. Most of you American folk probably don't know where that is. But in the province of Saskatchewan we have the most highways per capita than anywhere else in North America. We also have the shittiest roads too. Our government can't afford to pay for repairs (See Alberta). To get to the point, I have had 3 sets of Tokico Illumina struts on 3 different occasions and I LOVE THEM! Kingston is a far cry from Saskatoon but hope this helps. Sorry for the long response!

 

Thanks for the canadian referance!

P.S. Go Flames Go!~!!!!

 

i'm using kyb-agx's with skunk2 coilovers, I like the shocks but I'm not happy with the skunk2's

 

I've had the AGX's on my 93 EJ1 now for a month with the Ground Control coilovers w/ Integ spring rates...and I love the way they ride. I have mine set on 4 all around and the ride is very stiff and responsive. If I were to do it all over again...I'd buy all the same stuff or just buy a Tein Basic.