[Hotrodjohn71]

What would be the best suggestion for the brand of shock absorber for one who would want a cushiony ride. A ride that would cushion out the road bumps as best as possible? I realize that some would like to feel the road as much as possible in some of their builds, but in this build I would like to feel as little of the road as possible. 67 firebird. Thank you

[Tim john]

I am fond of KONI Red shocks. DSE (Detroit Speed & Engineering) have their own special valved version of them. Check out DSE website for their offerings.

I had KYB Gas-Adjust and thought they were pretty harsh. You may be perfectly fine with a OEM stock type.

Tim john---

[78w72]

Most the performance shock like koni or billstein etc will have a firm to very firm ride. Also be sure the springs are OEM ratings as some replacement can be stiffer than stock, especially some of the leaf springs out there.

For a cushy ride an OEM replacement like monroe or gabriel or the base KYB excel g (not gasadjust) shock will give the softest ride. i have monroe & gabriels on 2 of my stocker street cars & they are definitely soft, even floaty feeling on big highway dips, but they work fine for normal driving and have a lifetime warranty, never had any problems after 10-15 years of use.

[ta6point6]

Air shocks will give you the smoothest ride. There is a reason they are on Cadillacs and now being put on newer trucks. I had air shocks on the TA and switched to sensatrac and regretted it. The ride was much harsher compared to the air shocks I had on there. I listened to all the people saying that air shocks would damage the mounting shock towers and stuff like that. As long as you are not jacking the shocks up to the sky they ride really nice.

[78w72]

Air shocks have little to no rebound control compared to a normal shock, there is no real valving control in them, just a air bag for the compression that pushes back under pressure on the rebound. I had air shocks for many years on the back of a 78 ta, they functioned but had no real handling characteristics and the ride was very harsh even when only pumped up about half way. Switched to some cheap monroe sensatrack that had much better ride on crappy streets & way better handling on corners.

Many modern trucks & SUVs have air assist for ride height control, but theres a lot more going on in the valving & control of those systems than old school air shocks. Some models of Modern SUVs like 4runners have air bags in the rear for ride height or towing/load control, but they have standard shocks in the rear for normal ride & handling.

As with anything in this hobby, personal preference varies for each person, some say a certain muffler is too loud while others will think its quiet, same for shocks & springs, some say one brand/type has a smooth ride others will think its harsh. Lots of variables with each car/suspension set up too.

[JLMounce]

If you want that cushiony, almost floaty ride, I'd opt for the stock type spiral shocks. They'll do just that.

I've had the Gabriel shocks on my 1969 Firebird and they are fairly supple as well.

[rohrt]

Since this is such a subjective issue you might want to look into adjustable shocks. I used the single adjustable RideTech's on my 64 Tempest. The single adjustable only effects the rebound rate. My springs and swaybar are still stock. These RideTech spring seems to keep the ride soft and the tires planted with the setting they are on. However they are really expensive.

[67drake]

I had air shocks on my ‘76 GP years back. Pretty rough ride. I finally switched out the rear springs and put a gas shock on. I thought “why didn’t I do this years ago?”
Anyway, I put these on my ‘71 GTO last week. I wasn’t looking for a “performance” shock. I want a smooth ride. My car was basically set up for street racing, and I am “retiring” it to cruising around duty. I pulled out the drag shocks, anti hop bars, adjustable control arms, and the 8.5 with 3.90’s. Went back to stock and new shocks and bushings.
I like the ride of these new shocks. I’ve put about 200 miles on in the last week.
https://www.monroe.com/products/rest...ks-struts.html