This question come up every day and I am so sick of seeing it.
KYB GR-2's are OEM replacment shocks, not high performance shocks. They will absolutly suck when combined with lowering springs, especialy higher rate coil over conversions.
Now any NOOB asking this question again can get flamed!
Mike
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There can only be one Icy Hot Stunta, Don't Hate.
My friend's business Performance Improvements, 9 locations throughout Canada sell thousands of GR2's a year.
We have talked to Chuck Gonwa from KYB and he ONLY warranties the GR2's when paired up with Eibach Pro-kits and Suspension Techniques Sport Springs. The setup will work properly do to the spring rates of the springs.
They DO NOT warranty GR2's used with any other springs and especially not coilovers.
So if the Pro-kit or ST sport springs are used, the GR2's will be warrantied.
My friend's business Performance Improvements, 9 locations throughout Canada sell thousands of GR2's a year.
We have talked to Chuck Gonwa from KYB and he ONLY warranties the GR2's when paired up with Eibach Pro-kits and Suspension Techniques Sport Springs. The setup will work properly do to the spring rates of the springs.
They DO NOT warranty GR2's used with any other springs and especially not coilovers.
So if the Pro-kit or ST sport springs are used, the GR2's will be warrantied.
The fact that they don't wear quickly does not necessarily mean that the damper will do a good job of handling the spring rate. The GR2's have too little compression or rebound damping to handle Pro-Kits.
I have normal sensatrac on the rear of my car and gr2's on the front. PLus i have h and r race springs. (this is my jetta i am talking about.) It is a bit rougher than stock but it is fine. Then again i dont race the jetta.........
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:fluffy: <--WTF is this thing!!!
Monotube ("gas') have certain advantages over twin-tube ("hydraulic") dampers:
- Monotube dampers, despite being more difficult to make adjustable, have a wider field of damping
- Cools faster, and is thus more reliable
- Sturdier piston rods and pistons can be used because of the bigger chamber for it
- Can withstand higher temperatures and pressures
- Does not need to be positioned right side up, or even vertically
Twin-tube dampers have two big advantages over monotube dampers, which still stand as the main reasons they're still used on certain passenger cars:
- Cost. Monotube dampers are expensive to make
- Twin-tube dampers are easier to make adjustable. This was the reason that for the longest time, Formula cars had twin tube dampers.
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Captain Slow.
Last edited by ReVerm : Jun 4th, 2004 at 10:43 AM.
There are guys at Maxima.org who think differently. They think that GR-2s are stiffer than stock and Tokiko HPs(blues) for the 4th Gen Maximas. They aren't adjustable, but they are supposedly stiffer. But if you want a stiffer than stock but don't care for adjustability GR-2s are a good buy.
I guess it's a matter of how you define high performance.
Making a blanket statement across the board for a shock on all cars may not work. The valvings may be different for a shock design from car to car. After all the weight of a maxima will differ from the weight of a sentra.
Making a blanket statement across the board for a shock on all cars may not work. The valvings may be different for a shock design from car to car. After all the weight of a maxima will differ from the weight of a sentra.
Good point, but it doesn't make this blanket statement invalid. Even on larger cars, GR-2's aren't meant to handle springs that are much stiffer than stock. They certainly are better than the stock dampers on many vehicles, but they don't provide enough damping for almost all decent lowering springs.
This sticky is here to prevent people from thinking that they can stick springs with rates 20%~100+% stiffer than the stock springs (ie: Eibach Pro-kits, Ground Control Coilovers) onto these dampers and get good or even decent performance out of their suspension system. A lot of people do it anyway or try to argue otherwise because they've ridden around on the street with that setup in the dry and think it feels ok. But as soon as they start pushing it or the weather turns ugly, they will realize just how underdamped their setup is (given that they are good enough a driver to notice when a car is underdamped).
I'm not saying that your initial statement was wrong. GR-2's are often better than Tokico Blues (I know someone tested the ones for the B14 Lucino on a damper dyno. The Blues have far too much rebound damping and far too little compression damping. It's bizzare), and they're an improvement over the stock dampers in most cases. However, this does not mean that GR-2's are capable of handling significantly stiffer springs. Nor does stiff = high performance. The valving is different across different cars (they'd better be), but the basic damper design is the same across the board, and so is the design objective. These things were not designed to be fitted on stiff lowering springs.
If there are exceptions, great. Please show us the exact setup on a damper dyno or a skidpad. We'll spread the news and hopefully help people save a few bucks. But until then, we can't sensibly reccomend the GR-2's as an acceptable pairing with good lowering springs.
woah...okay..
I was just gonna buy some GR-2.
my brother's got GR-2 with Eibachs on his grandam..and the ride is both sMOOTH and TIGHT, and doesn't bounce.
yeah.. it's a grand am... but I'm thinking and hearing that the shocks are good.
I got myself a set of tien springs.. and want to know what struts will be best for them.
I've done my looking around... WHAT OTHER STRUTS can I use!?!
1993 G20 I got.
There are guys at Maxima.org who think differently. They think that GR-2s are stiffer than stock and Tokiko HPs(blues) for the 4th Gen Maximas. They aren't adjustable, but they are supposedly stiffer. But if you want a stiffer than stock but don't care for adjustability GR-2s are a good buy.
I guess it's a matter of how you define high performance.
Making a blanket statement across the board for a shock on all cars may not work. The valvings may be different for a shock design from car to car. After all the weight of a maxima will differ from the weight of a sentra.
The Tokiko HP blue is another nearly useless shock.
Mike
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There can only be one Icy Hot Stunta, Don't Hate.
the AGX are crappy as well... I've blown 2 front sets with some 500lbs/in ERS coils (yes, the car needs that much of spring for my application). So, with that in mind, I'll say the AGX are best suited with street coils and nothing more. but.. for the price.. I guess I can't complain...or can I?
the GR-2 supposedly are 20% stiffer than most stock OEM dampers. Currently running them with a set of intrax, no problem so far.
Also, a friend of mine has been running GR-2 paired with GC on track with no problem on an L30.
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