hey guys i need to replace my shockers.. i have had a look around and got a few prices. i just wanted to know what you guys think of monroe gt's i got a pricee and it is $311 for front and rear. i currently have king springs lows. any info would be good.

im also not sure about struts and what they actually do. would i need to get them replaced as well

for that price, get it straight away! it's very very cheap!

I have Monroe GT gas too, they are good if you're going to be on smooth roads all the time, if you do rough track driving, i say they are too hard. . .

But yeah, GET IT.. do it your self so you save the labour. I got mine for $350 and that was already very cheap

That price looks too good. I've got two quotes for them and both are over $500, plus fitting.

When you get them check the part numbers. I don't know which Magna you have (I am TH Exec).

The are two numbers for the fronts on the TH: 35-0409 and 35-0410 for either sports or standard, but the latter number is for lowered cars.

The rears are different for Sport and Exec being 15-0348+ and 15-0347+ respectively.

Check which ones they are selling you as you might as well get the lower ones and probably want the sport ones as well. Retailers don't always know as much as they pretend unless they are a true specialist enthusiast. How many are prepared to spend the amount of time we do researching stuff like this?

I recently bought King Springs, Koni adjustables for the front and Boge Shocks for the rear. My car now accelerates better, has improved handling and may even be slightly more economical. Though they are expensive. I paid $1300 odd for the lot ($800 for the front and $500 for the back). When it comes to springs and shocks, unfortunatley you get what you pay for. If you want performance and quality, then get the Koni's. Koni are original equip for Lamborgini, Lotus, Aston Martin, etc.
Or atleast get some Boges like I did for my rear. Boges are cheaper and are German made. You cant go wrong with those Germans. Boges are original equip for BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Rolls Royce etc.
Then you have the HKS, Eibachs, Bilstein, Whiteline just to name a few. Any of these shocks would be worthwhile and it would pay to shop around for a good price. I would not put the Monroe's in the good list and would use them on my Hyundai if I had one.
Save some money or wait a little longer. Or you can start with the front, as the Magna is front wheel drive (dont get too cocky around corners, the back will still have crap handling without changing the rear).

what exactly do you do with your Magna that really requires $1300+ worth of shocks?

He probably paid too much, from memory (approx) I paid $800 for front and rears in KONI Reds... the Yellows were about $1,100K.

i had monroe gt gas on my tr, and all i have to say they are absolutely crap, like WD said "if you drive on smooth roads" then it will be perfect for it.
but do some track work or hard cornering then you will see that they are not worth it.
even with the help of a strut brace it didn't improve incredibly.

save some money and go whiteline or koni

thanks guys. i have been shopping around a bit but these seemed like the best price the monroes that is.

i was quoted $911 for pedders sport rider suspension $716 for comforts thats installed and allignment.

i was told that Koni sports were $250ea. KYB where $350 a pair. that with out istallation and allignment fitting is $90 and Allignment is $45.

what exactly do you do with your Magna that really requires $1300+ worth of shocks?

then i must be :nuts: then spending 2k on whiteline's kit

lol

Hey... where did my post go?

then i must be :nuts: then spending 2k on whiteline's kit

lol

Yeah but the whole kit includes more than dampers, this guy claims he spent $1300 just on dampers.

thanks guys. i have been shopping around a bit but these seemed like the best price the monroes that is.

i was quoted $911 for pedders sport rider suspension $716 for comforts thats installed and allignment.

i was told that Koni sports were $250ea. KYB where $350 a pair. that with out istallation and allignment fitting is $90 and Allignment is $45.

so pedders do a comfort? is that comfort springs, or comfort shocks or both?

Comfort dampers... and they are a sh1t progressive rate damper that does not work (believe they are basically Monroe Sensatracs). Mine lasted around 20,000Kms before they came extremely soft.

i got a quote for monroe gt reflex for 470 installed and allignment. what do you think

++++
Greetings All.

For my next mod, I want to lower 40mm front, and 30mm at the rear. Now with this in mind will i HAVE to get new shocks to stop me bottoming out?? Or will the stiffer springs be ok??

Cheers,
--Tonba
++++

you will eventually. how old are your current shocks?

++++
Greetings All.

Well...as far as i know...they have never been replaced or regassed. :shock:
Though I could be wrong. This would be making them nearly 6~7 years old. Im not totally sure if they have been replaced or regassed.

Cheers,
--Tonba
++++

Yeah i have lowered lovell springs and i found out today that my shocks are still stock (front ones are noticibly leaking aswell). My front right does sometimes bottom out going over speed bumps.

++++
Greetings All.

For my next mod, I want to lower 40mm front, and 30mm at the rear. Now with this in mind will i HAVE to get new shocks to stop me bottoming out?? Or will the stiffer springs be ok??

Cheers,
--Tonba
++++

u hit it there with "ok" ...but not great, cruising around or quick cornering be fine, twisty mountain road not enough control and car swaying around a bit.

Comfort dampers... and they are a sh1t progressive rate damper that does not work (believe they are basically Monroe Sensatracs). Mine lasted around 20,000Kms before they came extremely soft.

hmm i had sensatracs on my old TR wagon and they handled brilliant with the stock springs, but as you said did not last long. I thought it was because i had bottomed out BANG in a huge floodwash at 80kmh a couple months before the fronts died.

He probably paid too much, from memory (approx) I paid $800 for front and rears in KONI Reds... the Yellows were about $1,100K.

$1300 included the front/rear King Springs, front Koni Yellow and rear Boge gas shocks. Does your price inlclude springs?

got the monroe shockers installed yesterday. a noticable improvement in the ride not as bouncy as before. quite pleased :D

wow... $1300... hope that's delivered and installed. But if it's the Whiteline kit, I think that includes things like strut braces, sway bar, camber and caster kit, correct?

Anyway at that price it's pretty close to getting a set of coilovers for $1535 ($2255rrp) delivered. But I guess that's the ultimate in suspension upgrades. :bowrofl:

wow... $1300... hope that's delivered and installed. But if it's the Whiteline kit, I think that includes things like strut braces, sway bar, camber and caster kit, correct?

Anyway at that price it's pretty close to getting a set of coilovers for $1535 ($2255rrp) delivered. But I guess that's the ultimate in suspension upgrades. :bowrofl:

a set of coilovers without touching the rest of the suspension is a bit like going to the gym and only working on your legs. doing springs/shocks and a whiteline kit including all urethane bushes is more like a full body workout.

also true coilovers are compact design from open-wheeler racing cars, where the whole shock absorber is inside the spring, hence the name coilover (coil over shock) and it all is only about 40cm long, because they require only short suspension travel.

the "coilover" replacement for road cars is really a " semi coilover" its more like a mcpherson strut same as what you alrerady have, because the coil doesnt cover the whole shock. Anyway the benefits of these are they are a bit lighter and fully adjustable.

this only benefits for racing application where you want to cut every possible kilos,
also being fully adjustable means you can set the whole handling balance up as you like, eg If you are racing clockwise you will ultimately want the left stiffer than the right side. on road cars this is not an issue. and no-one races magnas. also on road cars compact coilovers are a bit noisy over bumps becuase the mountings are hard, not set in rubber.
another thing to consider is that unless you buy a well known proven coilover like Tien you dont know how long the damper will last before going soft, if you bought eg Hot Bits coilover and they lasted 50'000-70'000 km, you would need to take them out and send them back to the supplier to be rebuilt. you could pay thru the nose for the work plus you are up for freight plus stuck without your car. :cry:

Altera98, you are perfectly correct in saying you need other suspension upgrades and not just springs and shocks, that's why I have always pushed for strut brace, sway bar, caster and camber kit, etc along with shocks and springs.

Unfortunately I don't think Tein makes a coil over kit for Magna, nor does Whiteline at this stage with their Group 4. So really we are stuck with Hot Bits when it comes to coilovers. Although I am surprised that the Hot Bits will die within 70,000km, you had bad experience? But then again I guess anyone who purchases a set of coilovers would use them for track work or drop them low for the "ice" and show factor. In that case, I am not surprised that any shocks will die within 70,000km. Most shocks die at around 100,000.

I am a distributor for Hot Bits coilovers and we have even put them into a rally car to give it plenty of grief. So far, no problem, and getting plenty of air time too. :shock: Anyway for Magna, I'd say coilovers are for shows.

Ill be looking into new shoks soon, Whats everyone opinion of KYB??

KYB are great, i got them, cost me $2,100 though :cry:

worth it though

Altera98, you are perfectly correct in saying you need other suspension upgrades and not just springs and shocks, that's why I have always pushed for strut brace, sway bar, caster and camber kit, etc along with shocks and springs.

Unfortunately I don't think Tein makes a coil over kit for Magna, nor does Whiteline at this stage with their Group 4. So really we are stuck with Hot Bits when it comes to coilovers. Although I am surprised that the Hot Bits will die within 70,000km, you had bad experience? But then again I guess anyone who purchases a set of coilovers would use them for track work or drop them low for the "ice" and show factor. In that case, I am not surprised that any shocks will die within 70,000km. Most shocks die at around 100,000.

I am a distributor for Hot Bits coilovers and we have even put them into a rally car to give it plenty of grief. So far, no problem, and getting plenty of air time too. :shock: Anyway for Magna, I'd say coilovers are for shows.

im not knocking hot bits, cos i dont know how long they will last since they are a fairly new product. that was a big maybe that they would last only as long as an average shocker before needing rebuilding. Wheras for similar money with konis they have been around for ages and tho expensive are meant to be good for 300'000 km. perhaps the hot bits are equally as good but its an unknown for now. :cool:

Ultimately a coilover strut is never going to last as long as a macpherson strut when used in road applications. The springs in a coilover setup are in such small diameter in comparison that it really does not have the durability. Using such a setup on the road is definately not going to give you good value for money, as most people who run them on the road also do track the car on the weekend, or purely want them for the wow factor.

I have never heard of Hot Bits, you'll find that the Whiteline Group4 ones are made by Drummond Motorsport who do a lot of rally car work, and these are also badged as HKS coilovers too.

wow... $1300... hope that's delivered and installed. But if it's the Whiteline kit, I think that includes things like strut braces, sway bar, camber and caster kit, correct?

Anyway at that price it's pretty close to getting a set of coilovers for $1535 ($2255rrp) delivered. But I guess that's the ultimate in suspension upgrades. :bowrofl:

Yeah that was installed too. I called a lot of places and that was the cheapest price I was quoted. I even called Pedders and from what I recall they quoted an even higher price for their Sports Ryders. I think all mechanics rip you off and it all comes down to finding the best priced rip off or whether you know someone.

I got Pedders sports ryder shockers and springs for $1,200.00 and she drives like a dream now, but my car is older so really needed it especially with the 18" alloys, they lowered it 40mm front and back

I have Monroe GT Gas in my wagon (lowered only 30mm) and i have found out what everyone else is saying. Smooth road they are fine, but as soon as it gets rough, book yourself in for a kidney transplant. I cant stand having the wagon that rough especially since i do a bit of country driving.

I am after a shock that gives a good ride. Not to worried how well it handles.

Koni's are out as they dont make them for a wagon.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks.

fullysikmagna..... installed... that's good. I think usually places quote around $250 or so for installation right?

Not sure how old the Hot Bits brand is, but the guys who makes them have been doing suspension and coilovers for 15 years. From the amount of them that we have sold and abused, I'd say they are very good.

As for Whiteline's Group 4. I don't think they are made by Drummond because Jim (managing director) was actually bagging them and said how much different theirs is to the Drummond's.

Harro.... KYB is very good quality and value for money product. They are also good for super-low springs and is probably the most common for lightly modded cars. For a TE-TF, should be looking at around $550 delivered for all 4.