Which sport shocks would you all recommend I get for my sedan. I am dropped with 350Z/Coupe springs. Was looking at Blistien, Koni, and Tokico.

 

Bilstein if you don't mind the non adjustable part and since your not talking about stiffer then oem springs.

D-spec if you want adjustablity.

Koni's are ok, but unless you need the rebound only adjustablility, cost can't be justified.

 

OEM G35 Tokico sport shocks (the red ones) are as good as anything out there for non adjustable sport shocks.

 

Your going to get much superior damping from the Monotube Bilstein shocks and the addition of much better shock piston stoke travel because they have shorter case lengths and shorter piston rod lengths, which on it's own add's a dynamic improvement to the ride and drive experience. Even Tokico HP would be a better choice, though they are not the answer when the OP is asking for the best.

While I had my Truehchoice suspension pulled to get dyno'd, I installed my oem sport shocks with oem 350Z springs. Poor control and living on the bumpstops made it a setup I could not wait to pull off the car.

 

Best???

Best Performance = Adj: Koni / Non-Adj: Bilstein

Best Deal = Adj: Tokico D-Spec or HTS(basically the same, whatever you can get cheaper) / Non-Adj: Tokico HP(350Z trim)

 

I have run the Koni's and they are still sitting in my garage, I would only class them as the best choice for the owner that know's he want's rebound only control as his tuning method of choice. Overall they are lacking in mid and high speed damping that is amplified as you try and run them with higher and higher spring rates. I have run my Koni's with the following rates.

314/342
314/427
358/375
358/427
448/342
448/427
560/427

Frankly, given my experience with the Koni's, I'd rather have the Bilstien shocks and you have the same shop services at your disposal if you wish.

 

noted...

 

Wow, I just looked at the Bilstein shocks; almost a thousand dollars for all four shocks. I say just sell your springs and get coilovers, like the BC ones, for a little more than you would pay for the shocks alone. The benefit will be damping that is matched to the spring rate and adjustability.

 

In what world does less suspension travel = dynamic improvement? The stronger(lowering)spring will work with whatever shock you chose a little more(make it move up & down more) as it was specifically valved to damp the oscillations of a spring with specific spring rate which is usually far less than any lowering spring. Increasing the spring rate(adding a lowering spring)should create longer duration system vibrations which may generate more energy over the life of the shock. Meaning whatever you chose will have to work harder regardless due to the higher spring rates. Having said that, are you trying to say that a shorter piston stroke on the bilstein will work better because thats all the stroke it was designed for in the first place? Or are you saying that it will last longer due to less movement? With either shocks damping(stroke) limited by the stiffer lowering springs are you saying that the bilsteins will keep you off of the bump stops more than OEM tokico's? Thats the springs job which is largely unaffected by ANY shock you put in there as stroke length is stroke length even if mildly effected by a piston size that is literally "microns" larger. Are you suggesting that you'll hit the bump stops softer? I might buy that.

And finally, we must have completely different cars because I have OEM tokico's and 05' revised Z springs and I've never hit a bumpstop on crazy *** busted up concrete 4" expansion cracked oklahoma roads. I only hit it when driving like a maniac over stuff I have no business driving over or falling in a pot hole that could eat a person. What are you doing 4 wheeling on powerlines? seriously?

 

The bilstein's show up on Ebay for $645 shipped all the time.

Matched damping on a coilover is far from a guaranteed thing, talk about lessor brands that lack R&D and are compelled to use less expensive internal contruction to delivery on a lower price point and it's even less likely. Though as most all suspension product review's tend to be penned in the very postive no matter what the product is, we tend to be a easy bunch to impress on the whole.

 

1. When you lower, you reduce piston stoke because the lowered the suspensin's working range in like kind. Shorten the piston and case length and you regain that lost piston down stoke, having less droop on extention is not nearly as important.

2.The OP is not running a stronger spring setup, it's the same as oem, nothing is in place rate wise to aid keeping you off the bumpstops. You cannot run anyspirng rate with any shock, oem sport shocks barely have enogh damping for the oem springs, going stiffer get's you into control issues related to frequency. Bilstein will work better because is have better valving and has better down stroke travel. Suggesting that you can somehow op for stiffer springs to overcome piston stroke issues is simply not supported by the aftermaket, be it shock or spring (spring rate or shock stiffness). Piston size, micron's larger,.......please explain

3. We don't have two different cars. I've run far too many different combo's and tested too many things to let something like that by me. Long shocks, weaking damping, and mild spring rates = Frequent bumpstop contact that caused easily detected ride and drive handling issues. I should have mentioned I was running shorter then oem bumpstops, still didn't prevent the issue. I have done very specic testing targeted at shock piston stoke ranges. This testing was conducted over a wide range of spring rates, rates higher then any G35 aftermarket spring provides.

 

Soooo.... What did you end up with?

I would like something that will work on the street and still be able to track it once or twice a year. No, I don't want coil overs. I have 350Z unrevised springs now which give me the perfect drop with no tire wear issues. I don't spend a lot of time on the "stops" either and I drive some very bad roads. I have the sport shocks now.

 

Well your testing does not support what TWO people posting on this thread with OEM sport shocks and 350Z springs finds as a daily reality. Hmmmmmmmm

 

so do we have a conclusion as to what the best setup as far as springs go for the red tokico's? I wanna make my car stick like glue and keep that slip light off.

 

I'm considering D-specs with Eibach Pros... G35Sedan? - I sent you a PM, no response... anyone have an opinion on this setup?... Like others in this thread, I don’t think I want to go the coilover route at this time - I was interested in the BC but have too many questions about the new design and wasn’t keen on the responses being presented in another thread - especially turned off that no one (including vendor that chimed in) could give definitive’s...

Anyway - would there be a better alternative to Tokico D-Specs if I were to keep Eibach Pros on a sedan?