M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => Suspension => Topic started by: brianw84 on April 28, 2006, 04:17:18 PM
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im not made of money and need new shocks but dont want to put crap on my car either. ill probably get bils. but it would be awesome to save some money.
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Tokicos are OEM for a lot of Toyotos and aftermarket ricers like them, even for competition. I've had KYB front struts for 2-3-years with 450# springs and they are still good. A lot of people are of the opinion that anything other than Bilstein or Koni's are junk. There's no doubt they are the best but also overpriced, especially as they are a major manufacturer and OEM supplier - like McDonalds there are millions sold. Bilstein Touring @ $250 for 4 are a good compromise. As for shocks for lowering springs, I don't feel any special ones are required from the standpoint of travel. Shocks and struts are designed to exceed the travel of the springs and suspension. It's obvious from looking at a strut.
I find it puzzling that shocks are like a lot of other stuff. The only description from a function and quality standpoint are vague subjective musings such as "Sport" and "Heavy Duty"
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Im running the tokico shock/spring combo off ebay. Has about 1.25in drop(tastefull, but wish it was a lil bit lower), and it drives like stock, except in turns :) Overall, for 300 shipped, i was pretty pleased.
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I've had KYBs on a bunch of cars and have had no complaints. If you can't spend the cash on bills or konis you won't be disappointed with another shock as it will be slightly better then what you have unless you're running brand new oem suspension, in which case KYBs would only be on par or slightly better (subjective). I picked up a set of bills for mine, but that’s only because that’s what I use to have on my last m42 and I wouldn’t want to regret not putting on bills if the setup didn’t feel the same. If you can you should try and get into another m42 with a suspension setup that you’re looking at just to see how it feels. Good Luck with your decision, hopefully you’ll get something you’ll be happy with…
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I'll be one of the few people that will be 100% honest with you about Tokicos. I had them on a 87 300zx turbo. The ride was horrible and too stiff for daily driving. I could barely go down a bumpy road. My drop was way too low after settling and I did not enjoy the springs at all. Mind you these springs were on the car for 2 years too, so I got to feel the full experiance versues the OEM ride.
I owned KYBs for a while, and they were okay. Ride was a little bouncey, but not stiff at all. If you're wanting a horrible stiff ride then buy tokicos, but really never cheap out on suspension, you'll be really sorry. If you're that concerned about saving money buy used m3 springs and blistien touring struts like I'm going to do. You'll at least get better performance and a good ride in the long run.
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the KYB on my wrx are very sturdy and strong, no quality complaints. With german cars, however, i like to upgrade mainly with stuff from that country...
It depends on your goals with this car, if i get a 318is my main goals will be suspension awesomeness, and despite not having much money i will work extra to get bilst. and IE stg 3s.
i wouldnt reccomend the tokicos, i have heard bad reviews about their adjustables on several vw's...different cars i know but still.
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i have them on mine. They work.... make the car a little sportier however they are nothing compared to my bilsteins sports and h&r sports i had on my 86 gti. if you need shocks though and don't have a lot of money they work
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Bilstein Heavy Duty with stock springs is what my mom has on her 325i 1990. It's fine for the road. Has good handling yet not too harsh. I much prefer my bilstein sport/H&R sport suspension though. Only 600$ from Turner Motorsport...best setup for quality/price in my opinion. (4 shocks and 4 springs...think about it)
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i still havent gotten any since some other expenses have come up, i would love to get the bils sports, and h&r, but im not sure if 200 extra is worth it when the car still needs a new exhaust, among other things. thanks for the opions though!
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i still havent gotten any since some other expenses have come up, i would love to get the bils sports, and h&r, but im not sure if 200 extra is worth it when the car still needs a new exhaust, among other things. thanks for the opions though!
"All good things come to those who wait"