Daily driver shock brands

[Crosley.In.AZ]

I have not bought shocks for a daily driver in years....  I drive the daily driver , then sell them off.

My 1/2 ton Silverado needs shocks. 2006:  2WD, basic crew-cab daily driver.  

Only 40 k miles on the truck, but is is over 7 years old now.

Back tires want to dance - bounce a little when I hit the brakes firm at road speed.  I looked at everything, narrowed it down to weak shocks

i used to buy only Monroe shocks.  Are they still a good brand?

[enjenjo]

There are better shocks out there, but for the price it is hard to beat Monroe.

[tomslik]

i've got gabrials on mine...DO NOT USE GABRIALS!!!!!

mine'll beat ya to death.... :evil:

we put KYB's on at work, they ride good at least

can't tell ya about monroes, haven't used 'em in years

[Crosley.In.AZ]

I did some looking around.  Wow .  

Bilstein, KYB, others.  Some seem 65.00 to 110.00 dollars a shock.  

Gabriel shocks had a bad rep years ago..

I thought I had bad shocks on this truck a few years back... turned out the Toyo brand tires were the problem.

I had the Michlien tires recently re-balanced, they are good

[wayne petty]

money spent on shocks...

depends on the load you carry...

if you have big tires.. you may not want a cheep shock as there is more mass to dampen...


if you have standard size tires and don't carry much of a load..

go cheep...    15 to 25 buck shocks will NOT beat you to death..

26 to 50 buck shocks will beat you to death without more than a stock load...

if you have a slip in camper than go big..  if you tow... well.. then you probably want to go big at least in the rear..


for your 2006 1/2 ton.. i saw 18 different shock options for the front.. i see 19 options for the rears...

some stores will have delco or gm originals .. if delco still sells shocks..

[Arnold]

money spent on shocks...

depends on the load you carry...

if you have big tires.. you may not want a cheep shock as there is more mass to dampen...


if you have standard size tires and don't carry much of a load..

go cheep...    15 to 25 buck shocks will NOT beat you to death..

26 to 50 buck shocks will beat you to death without more than a stock load...

if you have a slip in camper than go big..  if you tow... well.. then you probably want to go big at least in the rear..


for your 2006 1/2 ton.. i saw 18 different shock options for the front.. i see 19 options for the rears...

some stores will have delco or gm originals .. if delco still sells shocks..

 OR if you have springs so stiff(94GMC 1 ton ext.van  with the "Extra hd" suspspension option,01 3/4 ton extreme HD Police 4x4 'Burb) then you don't need shocks Springs,suspension don't move anyway
 Lwr.ball joint check on my van..conventional..jack under the L C/A
The springs are so stiff that it just lifts the corner of the truck up,the frame is so strong it starts to lift the entire L side if the truck up
Spring compression to take the weight off the joint to check it?
Nope.

[Mac]

I have been less than happy with Gabes on my `63 C-10 It was a bad sign when they started to rust in about 6 wks.
I just bought a set of KYB GR2s. We'll see.

[kb426]

Years ago I would swear by KYB's. The only shocks I've bought in the last 15 years have been for the 32. The first set were the oil P&J versions. After 16,000 miles, I had enough. I have Bilsteins on the front and what ever Chassis Eng. sells for the rear. I'm not planning on ever buying another shock that isn't gas filled again.

[Topsterguy]

I've run Bilsteins on my last three hot rods , they came stock on my 2002 S-10 Extreme, and they're GREAT!  They make a BIG diference on everything.

[Rrumbler]

Are you sure you're not getting some "spring wrap" when you brake hard?  For shocks, the current fave with the off-roading and street wanna-be off-roaders is Bilstein, for a easy off-on stock fit  replacement.  My grandson also likes Bilstein for his "Ricers".

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Are you sure you're not getting some "spring wrap" when you brake hard?  For shocks, the current fave with the off-roading and street wanna-be off-roaders is Bilstein, for a easy off-on stock fit  replacement.  My grandson also likes Bilstein for his "Ricers".

That spring wrap you mention is what I thought was happening because the rear shocks were OEM on the 2006 truck with 40k miles.

Here is what I did and results:

I bought and installed Monroe Reflex shocks on the front of my truck.  Very nice ride for a truck.  It is firmer, more controlled, a good truck ride , not harsh, not loose either.  I like these shocks.  I have a set for the rear ordered.

After checking local for these shocks, even at our wholesale warehouse we deal with,  I saved money at Amazon dot com.  20 dollars less 'each' than local parts houses, Each shock was still 12 dollars less than our warehouse supplier.


Then ..  I notice the front brakes are pulsing from high spots and this was transferring enough to make me think the rear tires were wanting to dance - jump around.

When I bought this truck (new) , in less than 2k miles, it had 2 brake jobs on the front. First was a brake rotor machine, no new pads. Rotors were turned down almost to the limit.  In less than 75 miles I was back at the dealer with brake rotors warped worse.  2nd brake job was new rotors and new pads after I mentioned how PO'd I was.  About 3 weeks later I received a fone call from a Canadian number.  Claimed to be a GM rep that a  follow up on my brake problems.  We had a nice honest chat.

Sorry for the length here....  new shocks on rear of truck next week, then on to the brake rotors.  I have drum brakes on the rear of this truck

[Canuck]

Ford Brand shocks on my truck.  Seem OK as far as ride.

Have only had to replace one so far with less than 12000 miles on them, due to leaking.

Don't think I would use them as a replacement.

Canuck