I have kyb gas a just all around the car and they ride a hell of a lot better then the oe shocks.

OE and OEM are not the same in MB parts and Japanese shocks. I've had a few Japanese cars from new. Replacing OE shocks stamped KYB with KYB replacements didn't restore like new damping. In some cases the ride wasn't much better than with worn OE shocks.

Damping preference is subjective. Shock threads degrade into oil threads

Sixto
87 300D

Again, it's subjective. MB bean counters would gladly ship cars with KYB valving if it helped sell more cars. There are probably damping options on Euros.

Sixto
87 300D

Of course its subjective, just like having an opinion that Billsteins are better or their sports shocks ride harder.

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99 Gurkha with OM616 IDI turbo

2015 Gurkha with OM616 DI turbo

2014 Rexton W with OM612 VGT

Shocks will be different on different cars.

If KYB is OE on a Toyota Camry, the entire shock is likely engineered for that car, high volume justifies the engineering and tooling.

If KYB is only aftermarket on an Audi Allroad, chances are that they used the parts-bin as much as possible to "design" that shock, limited volume.

They might anticipate enough volume to put a little more development into the Golf/Jetta.

In the end, you will find that a particular manufacturer's shock might perform well on one chassis, not so well on another. My experience with KYB on my 124 was a very cheap feeling and that it was not properly tuned/designed for the 124 suspension/chassis. I have owned 9 Mercedes 124s, wagon and sedan, gas and diesel, 4matic and RWD, some of them new, so I'm not comparing a worn-out set of OE shocks to new KYB and saying "WOW, these handle great compared to the OE shocks". I have also done engineering and participated in instrumented testing in the 124 to find the natural frequency / resonant frequency of the chassis using sophisticated multi-point multi-axis accelerometers and vibration-measurement equipment.

And, some people might be fine with the bone-jarring ride of cheap shocks and tires, I figure if I wanted my car to ride like a BMW, I would have bought a BMW.

I invite anyone to ride in my sig-line car, a '95 with +1 Michelins and OE shocks, and say that their KYB-damped car rides as well, on any tires.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

I'm OK for now, with the KYBs on my latest 240D -at least so long as the bottom mounts don;t loosen up, like the the ones did many years ago on my '72 250.
But in any case, those KYBs are old, rusting, and I got new Bilsteins for less than some say the KYBs are costing now.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW