What shocks to use....

As a christmas present to myself I wanna get 4 new shocks on the Bird...
What is my best bet?? Should I just go with some stock ones, or should i buy something like gabriels or monroe's?? And also i'm not racing or anything, so i dont need anything to exterme... Just something that will last a good while....

Thanks guys!!

I've always had good luck with Monroe's when I've installed them on other cars but the oem ones do give a nice ride and they last a long time since I haven't had to change them on my '95 yet.

I've always had good luck with Monroe's when I've installed them on other cars but the oem ones do give a nice ride and they last a long time since I haven't had to change them on my '95 yet.

How many miles on your '95?? 89000 on my 97, but i live where roads are SHITTY everywhere...

Thanks for the response!!

KYB are great shocks. A little more expensive then Monroes but still very good. Of course if you wanted to shell out some real money then you could go wth Edelbrocks or some other VERY premium brand.

As a christmas present to myself I wanna get 4 new shocks on the Bird...
What is my best bet?? Should I just go with some stock ones, or should i buy something like gabriels or monroe's?? And also i'm not racing or anything, so i dont need anything to exterme... Just something that will last a good while....

Thanks guys!!
I suggest OEM (Ford) '96/'97 T-bird/Cougar Sport shocks for the front - $65.00 ea (retail $84.95 ea)
& OEM '03/'04 Mustang Cobra shocks for the rear- $75.45 ea (retail $102.07 ea)
It's my understanding that Bilstein makes the Cobra shocks &
that the Cobra coupe shocks are slightly stiffer than the Cobra convertible shocks.

I prefer KYB, as intrcptr said they're a little pricier than the Monroes but worth it.

As a christmas present to myself I wanna get 4 new shocks on the Bird...
What is my best bet?? Should I just go with some stock ones, or should i buy something like gabriels or monroe's?? And also i'm not racing or anything, so i dont need anything to exterme... Just something that will last a good while....
Thanks guys!!

my dealer-installed ($140) rear shocks (or rather, the passenger side one) went after just 2.5 years - bought Monroe Sensamatics ($56 for the pair) and installed both in 1.5 hours - one of the few jobs that is really easy - tip - don't remove the rear wheels - just jack up the frame enough to get access to the lower bolt - the shock serves to limit the travel of the suspension - so if you remove the wheel - you then have to put a jack under the suspension to get the tension off the shock -

the fronts are McPherson strruts - usually a pain - but Monroe came out with the QuickSturt - just replace the entire assembly - spring and all - a little pricey - but you avoid the hassle of compressing (and danger) the spring and all that -

http://www.monroe.com/products/mp_detail.asp?cat=0&detail=Quick%20Strut

- tip - don't remove the rear wheels - just jack up the frame enough to get access to the lower bolt - the shock serves to limit the travel of the suspension - so if you remove the wheel - you then have to put a jack under the suspension to get the tension off the shock -



Wow thanks... I've been putting this off and just bought my shocks yesterday!! We'll be doing my rears ourselves, so that'll help... I'm gonna have my mechanic do the fronts... screw it... Thanks again!!