Can't decide between KYB or Tokico...

[Aciid]

I'm looking to lower my car and I'm in the process of trying to decide what brands to go with, with my budget I've narrowed it down to either the

KYB - Gas-A-Just Shock Absorber +
KYB - GR-2 Suspension Strut Cartridge
Vogtland springs

or go with some tokico HP series w/ eibach pro springs

I tried to do some searching and see what your guys opinions were of them and its about 50/50 for em. Some people hate the tokico's but others say they work just fine.

I want to lower it about 1.6" front / 1.3" rear and the closest springs I could find to that were the eibach pro kits (1.6" front / 1.4" rear). The Vogtland springs lower 1.5" front and rear which I think would drop my rear too low, I do have 2 12" subs in my trunk so it adds a lot of weight.

[BlueBMW]

I didn't lower my car, but I did install those exact KYB shocks. I'm very pleased with the performance out of them for the cost. I think I paid about $150 for everything (front and rear) Not sure how they'd do on a lowered car, but they did great on stock springs. Except for a little bit of roll, my car can take corners with the best of them!

[Lurker27]

KYB+Vogts, by far.

[HarryPotter]

kyb's!! For sure! Tokico is trash.

[Pennyw1se]

Just finished installing KYBs with M3 springs. Im happy with them.

[Aciid]

im gonna go with the kyb/vogtland combo. i dont go to the track or anything so i think they will work out fine. after reading the other thread people were saying good things about them.

[StereoInstaller1]

KYBs and B&G, at 70,000 miles: still nice and firm, but supple.

[mightywhitey]

Are those 17's?

[richardb]

I just ordered kyb's it was about 142 shipped on ebay for all four. Had them on my prelude before, they ride great.

[StereoInstaller1]

Are those 17's?

Yup; 215/40/17 on 17X7.5, ET20 (estimated, no markings) 10mm spacer on rear for looks only.

[heelN'toe joe]

My dad had Tokicos on his E30 318is w/ M3 springs. It rode worse than my IE3/Koni SA at full stiff... horrible.

I'm not sure what's so mis-valved about the tokicos but they have to be one of THE WORST damper sets for the E30 available. By the way it rode the compression was way out of wack - who knows.

When it comes to dampers, invest wisely!

[Aciid]

I ordered the KYB's + vogtland springs. Now newb question inc, is there anything else I need to purchase other then the struts and springs? I saw some people talking about strut mounts, not sure if I need to purchase new ones or if I have some on my car that can be reused?

[StereoInstaller1]

I ordered the KYB's + vogtland springs. Now newb question inc, is there anything else I need to purchase other then the struts and springs? I saw some people talking about strut mounts, not sure if I need to purchase new ones or if I have some on my car that can be reused?

If your strut bearings have over 10 years or 100,000 miles, replace them.

If your rear shock mounts have over 6 weeks on them, expect to replace them. They can be done on the car in minutes though, so don't worry.

You will need to do your control arm bushings at some point too...they are easy though, and can be done on car.

[Aciid]

If your strut bearings have over 10 years or 100,000 miles, replace them.

If your rear shock mounts have over 6 weeks on them, expect to replace them. They can be done on the car in minutes though, so don't worry.

You will need to do your control arm bushings at some point too...they are easy though, and can be done on car.

My car is almost at 110k miles, I picked it up around 101k. The car had 2 owners before me and I doubt they replaced anything on the car. (My steering rack went out shortly after purchase haha)

Okay so checking out bavauto.com, I've come up with
Part #33 52 1 128 819 - Rear Upper Shock Mount
Part #31 31 1 139 453 - Shock Tower Bearing Cap

The shock tower bearing cap is what comes up when I type in strut bearing so I assume that is the correct part? Bavauto suggested to buy the bearing caps when I was looking at the rear shock mounts.

The total with shipping comes out to $ 35.75. Not bad assuming if these are the correct parts I will need.

[HarryPotter]

My car is almost at 110k miles, I picked it up around 101k. The car had 2 owners before me and I doubt they replaced anything on the car. (My steering rack went out shortly after purchase haha)

Okay so checking out bavauto.com, I've come up with
Part #33 52 1 128 819 - Rear Upper Shock Mount
Part #31 31 1 139 453 - Shock Tower Bearing Cap

The shock tower bearing cap is what comes up when I type in strut bearing so I assume that is the correct part? Bavauto suggested to buy the bearing caps when I was looking at the rear shock mounts.

The total with shipping comes out to $ 35.75. Not bad assuming if these are the correct parts I will need.

The shock tower bearing cap is the wrong part. You need the actual bearing not just the little plastic cap.