Whats the latests recommendation for auto ride shocks?

[vjr021]

Options out there are limited... I went with the better quality front shocks... See how they are then I'll grab the rears...

 

[emilime75]

Red Rocket, like I said in the PM when you asked...maybe Arnott builds great products, my experience is with their "rebuilt" Autoride shocks, which is what this thread is about. They claim to be "fully rebuilt" but, that is not true. All they do is paint and replace the airbags. All internals are still the same, worn out parts. Autoride shocks cannot be opened up to be rebuilt, it's just how they're made. If you do some research, you will find posts about this, including those from folks who have managed to wring those details from Arnott themselves. I know it sucks to read this, I was bummed myself when researching replacement parts for my Suburban. The lifetime warranty is highly appealing, but dressed up, used parts are still used parts.

 

[Rocket Man]

 

[t.stimpson]

I think I said this in another thread but personally I liked the autoride myself. My 04 denali I removed the autoride shocks and put in billstiens and it was pretty rough, didnt like it. My 09 denali had blown shocks and non working compressor so I bought factory replacement ac delco shocks from amazon and a new compressor. Love the factory ride, much more smooth like a cadillac.

 

[Deephaven]

I think I said this in another thread but personally I liked the autoride myself. My 04 denali I removed the autoride shocks and put in billstiens and it was pretty rough, didnt like it. My 09 denali had blown shocks and non working compressor so I bought factory replacement ac delco shocks from amazon and a new compressor. Love the factory ride, much more smooth like a cadillac.

I just bought new stock shocks but really wanted something firmer, just frightened that the belltechs won't ride nice as I drove an all belltech lowered ford and it was awful

 

[emilime75]

emilme75, it's only you who made this about rebuilt shocks. The op just asked what the latest recommendation for autoride shocks, not what's the recommendation for REBUILT autoride shocks. I asked you in the PM if you had actual experience as in did you buy some and have trouble with them and you dodged the question, so I take it you haven't. I understand they have used parts in their rebuilt shocks, and I have done research also. These parts have to pass a test before they're reused in their shocks. They do the same thing with their top-of-the-line shocks in the exotic cars. The fact that they offer a lifetime warranty and offer rebuilt shocks for some of the most expensive cars in the world does say something to me. And like I said in my PM to you, any time you buy a rebuilt part you don't know how much mileage is on that part. Buying rebuilt parts has it's drawbacks. All you can do is hope they have testing methods to ensure it performs as expected, and offer a warranty in the case it fails. But to just get on here and call all Arnott's stuff junk is doing a disservice to forum members especially if you've never actually bought any of their products. You also misstated in another thread that buying their NEW replacement shocks disables autoride but maintains auto damping, which is exactly the opposite. So it looks like you just have a beef with Arnott and want to bash them any way possible. Sorry for all the rambling people, but I feel that members who come to these forums looking for advice deserve to hear from others with actual experience and also hear differing viewpoints. Emilme75, your opinion has been heard and now mine has too. Unsubscribed.

Dude, I don't know what your problem is. Are you the forum police, an Arnott fanboy or do you work for them? Maybe you're just ticked that you spent a bunch of money and got used parts?

As for "dodging" your question, did you miss the first 2 words in my PM reply to you, the ones that said "Personal experience"?

About the "misspoke" part...uhmmm, no, I didn't. First of all, Autoride is auto damping, along with self leveling so, I have no idea what you're talking about. If you can find a new shock from Arnott that keeps Autoride, show me... They don't have one. The new shocks they offer keep self leveling, but include bypass resistors for the auto damping portion. The only shock they offer that keeps auto damping and self leveling is the "rebuilt" OEM shock.

Anyway, it matters not what else Arnott offers and how expensive the cars are that they provide parts for. The fact is, the shocks they sell as "fully rebuilt" parts for our SUVs are not fully rebuilt and it is a lie, plain and simple. Why this is so hard for you to grasp, I really don't know and how can you possibly say that this info isn't pertinent to the OP's question is beyond me.

And what's this nonsense about all rebuilt parts having used components in them? Hard parts, sure, but we're talking about shocks with soft internals, like rubber seals...those wear out, it's what makes a shock go bad when they do... I mean, come on. Get a clue before you go all high and mighty and start telling everyone what you think others on the forum "deserve".

 

[Deephaven]

Just as a clarification as well. The non-autoride Arnott kit is $880 + $37 shipping for a total of $917.

4 AC Delco shocks and a Dorman Compressor/Dryer is $939 shipped from Amazon. And this is a NEW dryer, not a rebuild kit.

Depending on your state you may pay tax for either, but obviously the $20 is a no brainer.

The only other choice IMO is to change to normal shocks. A Belltech 4 shock kit from Tony is under $350 shipped.

In the end, the uncertainty of changing cause me to choose the OE route. At this point, the Arnott route makes zero sense.

 

[Rocket Man]

Also to clarify, I stand by my previous statements but have removed anything that could be taken as directed toward any members. Emil, I apologize if I angered you. I don't work for anybody at the moment, especially Arnott. I didn't buy used Arnott , I bought their new stuff. I paid around the going price for the complete kit, $690 plus shipping.which is all 4 shocks, compressor and dryer kit. As far as maintaining autoride, I guess we can say we split hairs there. Some consider "maintaining autoride" as meaning we keep the compressor and air shocks. I understand the full system also incorporates the auto damping. If you read through most posts in the forums, when someone is discussing maintaining autoride, they are talking about the air. I don't have a problem, I just know that when I read through forum posts on a subject, I want to know all the facts. Again, I apologize but I stand by what I've said. I am happy with what I bought from them and I would argue that my truck has autoride although obviously some of you would say I don't. I like the fact that when I hook up my trailer I can still run lowered and my tires don't rub!

---------- Post added at 07:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:40 AM ----------

I also want to say thanks for the info on the other alternatives. If I had known about the Delco shocks when I was replacing mine I would have considered them. All I found was the factory ones and the Arnotts.

 

[t.stimpson]

@Deephaven, yeah thats what I purchased from amazon. The dorman compressor works great and was very easy to install. The ac delco shocks also ride very nice. To me its a no brainer cause it just rides like a brand new truck. I cant say I would ever remove the factory ride for something else after that mishap with billstiens.

 

[denali01]

ok so you guys are talking about arnott and ac delco products. But i havent seen anything mentioned about monroe. I read somewhere that they made the delphi stock units. Might have been on the reviews on the amazon page. They are here for the rear. or the non dampening with air here

is this not the case? has anyone tried these and if so are they worth having? Thanks