Man, those KYBs will rattle your teeth out, won't they? First time I encountered a car with those I thought the suspension was locked up.

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1981 Mercedes 300TD, 1994 Honda Civic Del Sol
http://mefi.us/images/fuelly/smallsig-us/67195.pnghttp://mefi.us/images/fuelly/smallsig-us/103885.png

The KYB gas-shocks I put on my Isuzu pickup years ago were OK (factory shocks were non-gas KYBs)
But a friend had me install KYBs on his '87 300SE, 'cause he didn't want to pay for Bilsteins. It rode like a truck but he liked 'em. He thought they were more 'sporty'!
At least with my old Mercedes, I'd rather have a good set of used Bilsteins, than new KYBs. When I was much younger, and poorer, I needed to replace the noisy rear shocks on my Fintail 230. Couldn't afford new Bilsteins, but a pair of used ones from a local import salvage-yard worked out just fine.

When I got my 240D, it had oversize, underinflated, dry-rotted Firestones and the car rode soft and handled likewise. A set of Michelin X tires improved the handling, but revealed the trucklike front KYBs. The new pair of Bilsteins cured that.

Sachs or Boge might make an acceptable alternative but I don't know who sells them, or if they're availible for some older cars. I put Boges on an old Audi wagon I had many years ago. A decent shock for that car, but when one failed a few years later, the were NLA for that car.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

I bought my Sach's shocks from a certain german sounding auto house in arizona. Cheaper than Bilsteins and they're doing quite well now so now qualms here.

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-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

Sounds like I will go with the Bilsteins to replace all 4 shocks. Which ones would you recommend - comfort-heavy duty OR heavy duty?

Any recommendations on where to purchase them on-line? Thanks.