Front shock absorber recommendations
 

Hey gang,

My car is in the shop and the mechanic told me the front shocks are nearly gone. I think the current setup is Eibach Trak-Pro springs and Tokico Illumina shocks.

The mechanic recommends Koni Yellow shocks, but is quoting about $800 for a pair to be shipped from California, which seems high. He also mentioned Bilstein shocks. Coilovers seem to be out of my budget range.

My setup is street/track. The FD is not my daily driver, so I would tend to aim on the firmer side for better handling.

Cheers

Koni and Bilstein are both great recommendations. Koni's have some adjustment, and are what I happily ran until recently switching to Ohlins with much stiffer springs for more of a track focus.

What do you have in the rear? Getting all four at once to maintain balance is a good idea.

Quoted prices seem high. Check with some of the major on-line tire, suspension, and shox places.

Online prices are about $130-140 per shock, so $800 seems high. I'll consider replacing the rears as well, but budget is definitely a consideration. The mechanic replaced the front wheel bearing and the lower control arm bushing to fix some suspension issues.

Have no complaints on my Bilsteins. I understand they can be rebuilt/re-valved inexpensively too, but haven't really checked into it.
$800 for all four installed might be close. But it's not that hard to do on your own.

I just found out that the price quote is for all four corners, which makes more sense.

still a few dollars short is he quoting you parts and labor? or just parts?

if its jsut parts I'd order the parts yourself ..

I used to work at an auto parts store. and alot of mechanics who purchased from us ummm uppd the prices on the items in order to make a bit of money over hte top .. and I'm talking about EVERY SINGLE ONE. very few really honest mechanics .

Agreed, do all four corners. Only replacing the fronts will be a disservice to the ride and handling of the car. Can't go wrong w/ either Koni or Bilstein and both can be rebuilt in the US.

Mark-up is common and doesn't make them dishonest. What's unusual is to source parts at retail. I think usually a jobber will get them at a discount somewhere between wholesale and retail.
I think bringing the parts to a mechanic and having him do the installation is a bit like taking the bread, meat and cheeze to the deli and having them make you a sandwich....and taking responsibility for it if it's stale.

Thanks, guys. I decided to go with the Koni Sports (mechanic is ordering from Racing Beat) on all four corners at $800 installed, arriving in a week or so.

Good choice! That sounds like a reasonable price too. That should be a really good system with those springs.

yes installed it is a reasonable price.

I'm to honest to be a mechanic then . LOL if I have a job i cant do myself. I usually bring all the parts that are needed for the job.

I Guess I'm THAT assholee LOL

delete this please