Hey, I was wondering what everyones thoughts are about those two shocks? My friend with a VW was saying that he heard a lot of bad things about the Illumina's wearing out quickly, and I was wondering if this was true on the RX-7 as well. How about performance? Which one handles better? I do mostly autocross and (very) fast mountain road driving, with some highway every once in a while.

Thanks,
Stephen

 

ttt

 

this is what I have gathered:
Illluminas = softer ride than compared to Koni Yellows (I know we're not talking about Konis) but they have lifetime warranty (assuming this hasn't changed)
otherwise they are considered to be more expensive than the KYB's & Koni's

KYB = best bang for your buck damper


obviously this isn't THE best review....but it's a start

 

I have the Mazda Motorsports team support sponsorship, so the Illumina's and the AGX are the exact same price, but the Koni's are prohibitavely expensive. Thanks for your input though.

 

I have AGX;s and love them, you can set them really stiff to handle good, then set them soft on everday driving you can tell a big difference 4 way adjustable front struts 8 way adjustable rear struts...

 

From what I have seen:
The Illuminas are very tuneable, and I have seen more autocrossers using these.

The AGX's have a wider range of settings, but I have only really seen them on street cars.

 

don't think you'll find a bunch of people who have used both :/

i use AGX's on my car and they're great in my opinion...but it hasn't seen a track yet. i do know of a couple guys who auto-x their cars with AGX's though.

 

mhmmmmm..... agx's.....

for sale in my sig

(yet another self serving non-helping post )

 

i have KYB's on my car and the ride is a little bumpy but still smooth and it handles pretty good although i wish they were adjustable

 

you've got the gr2's rite? the non-adj. kyb's?

 

i had kyb golds (gr2) and they sucked on my 323. they're just a stock replacement, and for a 323, that's not saying much.

i just wish K2RD would stop sucking goat ***** and 'finish' their new website, because we all know that takes a year to do.

 

im liking corksports website; their AGX are the same price as the illuminas from mazdacomp. does anyone have any thoughts on the reliability of the illuminas?

 

Tirerack has the best prices I can find on the KYB's


http://tirerack.com/suspension/Suspt...track&x=95&y=5

 

Sweet...$422 for all 4, even cheaper than my price for the Tokico's. Guess I'll go with the AGX, thanks guys

 

the tokico's you can change the settings on top, where as the KYB you have to change them from under neath the car.

 

Both are very quality units.&nbsp BS stuff about "bad quality" are usually started from ricers who slammed their cars to the weeds, which will break ANY shock in a few weeks.

The KYB AGX's have a wider range of adjustment, although the Illumina has one more detent.&nbsp The KYB is the best damper for the money for the FC3S, period.

*** Import used to sell them $370 landed in the continental U.S. - I dunno if they still offer this same price.&nbsp This price is really hard to beat.&nbsp I dunno what "Mazdaspeed" sells them for, but $370 shipped to your door is pretty damn cheap!&nbsp Even RD Enterprises http://www.shox.com/ states it is impossible to make a profit at that price level - they refuse to acknowledge they are being sold that cheap.

Yes, the KYB AGX rear is adjusted on the shock body, which would make it more convenient for those still running rear speakers.


-Ted

 

I have Illumina's all around. They've been on the car for a couple of years with no problems. I like them. I auto-x the car. The only comment I would make is that they do not fit any of the camber plates I have found without modification. You either have to modify the strut or the bearing in the camber plate itself. Someone may make one that works but I never found one. I modified the camber plates to fit.


One more thing. If you have a convertable you will have to cut two holes in the rear deck to get at the adjusters.

Rob

 

not sure because i they were on the car when i bought it

 

just got my KYB AGX Wed. waiting for my RB springs for installation. almost went to bed with the damn thing Wed night. lol i got mine from k2RD for $435 shipped, i think that's pretty good.
what this thing about not fitting with rear camber plates? is it just for conv?
any special procedure for installation on 10th anniv?(AAS equipped)

 

kyb is a large supplier of OEM shocks. if yours were non adjustable its very possible that they were simply replacements for the factory shocks.