Cavero

My Tokico D-specs creak and squeak like crazy when it's cold out, have since they were brand new, and I know I've talked to other people with the same problem. Handling wise, they're great, and they've held up well against 2 1/2 years of potholes in the DC area.

But looking back, I probably don't need an adjustable set. I set them at 3 turns and haven't left it at a different setting since. Every once in a while I'll set them high or low, get reminded at how jarring or bouncy the ride is (depending how it was different from my good setting) and then put it right back to 3 turns.

SO I wouldn't really recommend D-Specs in my experience. You can either go with a matched non-adjustable set for a lot cheaper, or a higher quality adjustable set for a little more.

As far as ride quality goes, yeah mine got worse when I installed my springs/shocks, but it's a Mustang not a Mercedes and I knew with how much stiffer the Steeda Sport Springs are than stock. So It was no surprise to me how much stiffer the handling was and honestly I got used to it and like more feedback anyway. Part of the reason why my suspension setup makes me a faster driver than when my car was stock is that I can actually tell what the car is doing now.

That said, if your ride quality is unreasonably harsh, then I don't know about the shocks/struts. Correct me if I'm wrong (and knowing this bunch, you will), but stock struts/shocks should have less dampening than a set matched to your lowering springs. That would mean your ride would be more bouncy. If they were overdampened, then your ride would be very harsh. Maybe its a combination of how much stiffer your new springs are along with them not being dampened right that is making it feel not quite right.

I agree with everyone else though that you should get shocks/struts matched to your springs, for all the reasons they already said.

MCK3125

I only wish I had changed out the Strut/Shock and springs sooner. The ride is more firm but I feel more in control of the car and getting rid of the nose dive under braking was more than I could have imagined possible.

+1 on matching up the Strut/Shock with your springs.

sam strano

Of all the folks that have posted here you have a lot that found a huge improvement from aftermarket dampers, one who did not. And frankly I'm at a loss to figure that one out myself. I know one issue he has is a section of freeway that is known to be one of the worse in the US for the frequency issues it causes, and as I recall he could find settings that were good elsewhere, but not there. Fair enough, there is no 100% perfect answer for everyone. But I think if you poll 100 folks with upgraded dampers you'll find 95 of them found them to be much better.

As for the Track Pack stuff and Bullitt stuff. Not the same, not even close. In fact the dampers on a Track Pack were sort of based of some testing with D-specs (meaning that somwhere in there are settings used to build track pack shocks. Also the springs and swaybars are COMPLETELY different than the Bullitt as well. You may have heard that they are the same, or that the Track Pack is some development of a Bullitt but it's not true. In fact a Bullitt uses stock GT bars and springs with different (softer) shocks.

In the end, I'm glad you found something that makes you happy on ride. I'm not going to give you a thousand reasons why the other stuff didn't make you happy, frankly I don't know. What I do know, that's so rare it's not funny. In fact if you hop over to IMBOC and see what they say about Koni's vs. stock dampers you'll find they all love the difference too. Not sure what the variable is here, but it's not what I'd call the norm.

sam strano

Here is the flaw in that thinking...

1. You are looking at it as "I don't adjust them" where I see it as you have and settled on what you like best, that's not an option on non-adjustable shocks. Sure in retrospect you can say that, but the opposite is true, you could have bought say Tokico Blues and then been sorry you didn't leave yourself options.

2. You are assuming that you'd get the same damping from non-adjustable shocks, say Tokico Blues. That's not necessarily true. There is no marking that say set them @ X to be exactly like this non-adjustable.

3. It's like dyno tuning. Once you do it, and you find what works best, you likely don't touch it. But dyno tuning is not the same as having bought a canned tune (generic mail order type). Sure they work pretty well, but aren't dialed in for your exact wants or needs. Adjustable shocks are the same way, not really meant to be screwed with all the time, though you can if you want... but to find what works best for your tastes.

Clearly I sell both types of shocks. I, personally don't want non-adjustables on a car that I want to work as well as it can. My sister's car, fine. My winter beater, maybe (though I bought it largely because it had Koni Sports on it, just like I also installed performance winter tires, not squishy ice tires, I still like sporting). But if I had to put dampers on it, I'd likely do STR.T's, but it's a 222k mile 1994 BMW, not a new Mustang. To each his own, and you have to decide if a premium non-adjustable shock like a Koni STR.T or Bilstein is ok for you or not (though with the price of Bilstein's I think it's nuts to go that way when you could have adjustment even if you don't use it for actually LESS money right now).

Cavero

Only one way to find out. You should send me a set of Tokico blues for me to evaluate