Thread: Coil Over Shocks - Which brand?

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I'm changing my Model A rear suspenison from a 4-link with 1 cross mounted leaf spring to coil over shocks. Which brand would be a good choice - Heidts, Koni, QA1, Pro Shocks, etc.?

Bilstein is my preference

I used Aldan Eagles on my last build....
Aldan Eagle Shock Absorbers | Carson California | All Parts Made In America

I have the TCI All American on my '31 which I have been told by TCI are Alden. I did change springs and am using AFCO. When I was choosing springs I ordered a set of QA1 springs for the back as Speedway was out of the AFCOs at the spring rate I needed. The QA1's arrived one day and went back the next - chrome was peeling and one was so bent out of shape it would never go on my car. I waited - now have the AFCO's on all four corners and am happy.

It would also depend on what you plan on doing with the car...If it's just a cruizer, a quality pair of coilovers is about all you need. If you plan on some drag racing or curvy road excitement, then at least single adjustable and probably double adjustable coilovers are in order. I've used pretty much all the brands mentioned so far and have found little difference between them. When I'm going for more race oriented coilovers, I go either Bilstein or AFCO with the smaller diameter springs and dual adjusters, plus the race inspired coilovers can be run inverted which lowers unsprung weight. The correct angle and mounting methods, along with selecting the correct rate spring is very important regardless of what coilover you use....

As I had mentioned in an earlier post the shocks are the brains of the suspension and if you are looking for a truley good ride you all most cant spend enough. Most importantly you being the consumer have to identify which shock is appropriate for you and your car.

A quick generic run down on the types of shocks:
twin tube. A twin tube shock is as exactly the name implies. There is a smaller tube inside of the main body tube that the shock piston works in. The fluid inside of the shock is then transfered through to the top and bottom of the piston outside of the inner tube. Typically the transfer rate or dampening of the fluid is done through a base valve at this point. This is an older shock design that has been around for decades and is usually viewed as a less expensive way to manufacture shocks.
Mono Tube: A mono tube is exactly that... a single tube with a larger diamter piston that runs inside of the main single tube of the shock. The dampening rate of the shock is typically done through deflective disc. The amount and style of disc used is what determines the rate "stiffness" of the shock. Monotube shocks are typically a more expensive shock because they are more expensive and harder to manufacture however in most cases a monotube is a superior shock to a twin tube.
Adjustable and Non adjustable... this is where is it going to get a little tricky on you and this is the point that you need to be most honest with yourself. You can have the zoomiest, baddest ass shocks on the planet like our triple adjustable shocks but if you do not spend the time to properly tun the shock in then you are far worse off then by getting a high quality fixed valve shock that does it all for you. Recently I spent four days crawling under 182 street rods from the NSRA nationals performing weighing and ride quality evaluation. I have to say that the good majority of the "adjustable" shocks we had come across had not even been touched or were so far off base it wasnt even funny. Then I would talk to the owner and most of the time they would fess up to not even knowing what the heck the little knob did. Then when I would explain it to them... the typical response was.. " I dont care about ever adjusting the little knob... I just want it right"
To dive into that a little more... even if you know you have a knob and basically what the knob does... do you really "know" why you are turning the knob? Ive talke to a bunch of guys that call me with ride issues because the car is riding bad and they have essentially turned the valving knob all the way down trying to make it "softer". In reality they should have gone the other way to firm up the valving to control the suspension. Now their suspension is just running at free reign under the car with little to no dampening and the car rides like an ass wagon. All of this again boils down to being better off without a knob to begin with
If you do your homework and work with a relatively sharp guy... get him the correct info ie: accurate four corner weight, Coil over shock length installed at ride height he / she should be able to get you outfitted in what is going to work right and ride right. Refering back to what I was doing at the nationals, I had lot more recomendations for guys than simply bolting on a pair of our coil overs... and i would tell them that if they make the recomended changes and get them installed properly... it will be right... if you dont make "X" changes and bolt them on... then you are going to be right where you are at with less money in your wallet....

Wow,,,,very nice write up!!
Thanks

Originally Posted by buzz4041

Bilstein is my preference

I agree,,,,just bought a set of these from RCD!

i switched to RideTech single adj coil overs from the Aldans....my Aldans sprung a leak right before the Goodguys Lonestar event....i spoke with the fella's at the RideTech trailer and bought a set for the rear of my 39 Ford truck....i love them....made my truck ride like a caddy....AND they dont leak