New KYB GR2 vs. 75K mile Bilstein shocks

[454cid]

Today I worked on the front end of my 1-ton. My Bilsteins have about 75K miles on them, so I thought it might be a good idea to replace them. I bought a set of four KYB GR2s from Rockauto. The GR2s are supposed to be KYBs oem replacement grade. When I opened them up, I thought their compression resistance and rebound was a little light, but I figured whatever, they're not high performance shocks. Turns out the 75K mile Bilsteins rebound faster and compress harder than the new KYBs. Maybe the KYBs actually provide more rebound resistance, since they don't pop out so fast, meaning the spring has to do more work? When I pulled the Gabriels off that I had at one time, they had turned to mush. I guess the 50K miles shock life that I've read is typical doesn't apply to Bilsteins.

 

[df2x4]

Bilsteins are good stuff for sure!

 

[Ckeene]

It's all I use now on my trucks

 

[454cid]

It's all I use now on my trucks

They're super expensive, Though......About $300 now, from what I saw.

I cleaned up the Bilsteins and put them away in the KYB boxes.

 

[df2x4]

They're super expensive, Though......About $300 now, from what I saw.

Eh, it's all relative. When you compare them to the really fancy stuff like adjustable Konis or QA1s $300 starts sounding a lot more reasonable. The Bilsteins are quite a jump from the cheap stuff like Monroe, etc.