Anyone have experience with them?

I am going to need some new shocks soon and I want something better than OEM (not to mention cheaper). I dont need D-spec's adjustability and I dont really have interest in dropping the $ for coils.

My Z is supercharged and is daily driven, maybe sees a couple track days a year, if that. I have hotchkis springs and sways. Would this be a good pairing?

 

i would only recommend Blues for OEM shock replacements with OEM springs.

if you have aftermarket springs, i'd suggest something that is valved a little better, such as koni or Dspec..

 

I was pretty happy with the OEM shock and Hotchkis spring combo, and they lasted me quite a while. i dont need anything more aggressive than that... what do you mean by "valved better" ? As is more aggressive or stiffer? or that they will last longer?

I dont know about the koni's but I know the Dspecs are about twice the price of blues and I dont need adjustability.

 

i've had blues on other cars (my maxima) with just eibach pro kit springs before, they barely lasted 10k miles before they were no longer dampening effectively, slight sag & bounce in the rear. i know its not the same vehicle, but for the shocks to go bad in 10k mi, i shoulda just gotten koni adjustables or something valved that were meant to be used with higher spring rates than OEM.

if you are happy with OEM shocks, why not get oem as replacements? people sell used OEM shocks all the time when they go to coilovers.. u can probably get two used sets for the price one 1 new one..

just a suggestion. good luck.

 

yeah not a bad idea... i was just hoping that these might be a little bit of an improvement over stock. Ive had tokicos on a car a long time ago, also with eibachs and i really liked them, but i dont remember if they were blues or what they were... this was like 6-7 years ago...

Did your OEM shocks last longer than the tokicos did on that car? how much was it dropped?

 

I have the blues with TEIN S and love the combo. But like it was said above, the blues are designed for a stock spring. I would go with koni's, that what I should have done. But it is much improvement over stock for a good price. If you are on a budget a great shock, I autox year all of last year with good results.

 

which koni's do you guys recommend?

 

koni yellows are the ones i've seen most widely used.. i've rode in WheatZ's car before when he had koni yellows (sport) and the hotchkis springs & sway bar kit.. very smooth and controlling. not overtly harsh. i believe his shocks were sed on medium ish setting. you can PM him to ask.

adjustable dampening is nice, although you will most likely have a setting that is most comfortable all-around, its nice for those days you DO see an Auto-X or track day to change it up. the option is always there...

another option 2 look at for smoother ride quality w/o coilovers, perhaps the Nismo Stune suspension, which i would assume is slightly valved higher than OEM shocks and accomodated for slightly higher spring rates... maybe one of the vendors can source you just the replacement shocks instead of the whole kit, since you already have springs.

 

I've used blues for the past 14 years [4 sets] with Eibachs on my Q45 the blues usually function for 4 years [40-48 months] and 60,000 miles before they totally lose rebound control and self expansion.

Pretty much the same as oem with oem springs............they measure 9%-17% stiffer rebound [on a shock dyno] at the same case temperature brand new.

Really depends on bumps per mile and road conditions.

 

^ great info. I guess the question is then, were you happy with them? Good ride and handling?

 

I have set of coupe oem shocks for sale. I was going to use them but I got a set of adjustable Konis for cheap.

Let me know.

 

Non adjustable shocks are like 3 Bears Story...........too soft in summer heat and rapid undulations and too hard on a cold winter day until they warm up........just right a few days in a year.

A trick I found with blues is to always replace them in late spring that way they are worn softer by the next winter.

 

thanks for all the good info.

Q45Tech... when you said 9-17% stiffer do you know if that is stiffer than the 03 unrevised shocks or than the 04.5+, because the 03's were stiffer from the factory right?

 

If you were to send me a single front and rear HP shock, I will dyno them for free and ship them back to you.

I already have done dyno's on oem unrevised shocks, revised rears and OTS Koni yellows.

If you were to time the shocks arrival to me on a tuesday, I can dyno them the next day and have them on the way back to you on thursday.

Only thing you'd pay for is the shipping cost to me.

 

There is a vendor on the G35 forum selling the Tokico blues. He has no idea what the stiffness rate is,. Maybe he would let you borrow a set so he would at least know what he's selling.

 

thats a better idea because im still deciding if I should get the blues or just oem.