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Things today are not as cut and dry as "Made in America", we are in a global market these days, and companies based here may have items made or assembled elsewhere. It is almost impossible to tell what ties an American company may have to ones overseas.
Unless you are looking for high performance shocks, or simply want to "Buy American only", brands like Monroe are still good ones for everyday use. I am building a car and using Koni's all around, and they appear to be of good quality too. Their website is vague on where the shocks are actually made, though.
I got about 200,000 miles each out of two sets of Konis, and am now running Bilsteins which seem quite good. I have heard that Monroe shocks are comfortable and lower-priced, but are not expected to last as long.
Things today are not as cut and dry as "Made in America", we are in a global market these days, and companies based here may have items made or assembled elsewhere. It is almost impossible to tell what ties an American company may have to ones overseas.
Unless you are looking for high performance shocks, or simply want to "Buy American only", brands like Monroe are still good ones for everyday use. I am building a car and using Koni's all around, and they appear to be of good quality too. Their website is vague on where the shocks are actually made, though.
According to Motorsport Koni is an excellent way to prove the world that the shock absorbers manufactured in Oud-Beijerland of the Netherlands, So. Holland, are of very high quality. They ship to 35 different countries.
Stay away from Monroe. They are garbage quality even though they are U.S. made.
As a matter of fact, many U.S. made things aren't as well made like they used to be. Washers and dryers are one of them, it's better to buy a set of vintage Maytag or Whirlpool sets from the 50's-80's that will outlive you, compared to the cheaply low-quality constructed "made to break" (last maybe 5 years at the most) new ones. U.S. Companies just don't care anymore like they used to it seems, as they sold their souls off to the one the lurks below us years ago.
I went thru 3 different pairs of Monroe shocks on my 94 Cadillac Fleetwood since they all started leaking within a year. I went from the Monroe-Matics to the OEM spectrum shocks, and it still didn't make a difference as they all leaked oil in such a short amount of time.
Surprisingly I went with Gaberials 2 years ago, and I haven't had any leaks or a deterioration in the way the car rides and handles.
King Shocks, Fox Shocks, Icon Shocks, all designed, engineered, and made in the USA. They are extremely high quality OEM and custom made shocks, so they are a lot more expensive than you’re run of the mill Sears stuff. Bilsteins, while German, are assembled in the US.
Standard shock absorbers for American car. Not struts. Not quick struts. Just shock absorbers.
Called Gabriel - they are all made in Mexico. Not sure of other brands.
Any shock absorbers still made in USA for American cars.
Why? Misplaced patriotism isn't helping anyone. If you want top notch shocks, look no further than Bilstein, Koni, Tokico, etc. Buying an inferior product simply because of its country of origin simply encourages said country to produce crappy stuff. That's the opposite of patriotism.
If you want a truly first class shock, probably Bilstien or Koni is what you want, made in Europe. Just IMO of course.
When I replace shocks or struts I use Bilsteins now. I have tried the Ranchos, MX6, SensaTrac, KYB, and I have yet to find a better shock. Most of those mentioned blew out within a few years. I don’t have the time to screw around with changing shocks constantly and wasting money so I buy better shocks now.
I remember I had a shock go bad about two years right before a long camping trip. Figured out the issue about 150 miles into my trip. By the time I got home (about 1700 mile trip) that tire was so scalloped up I had to put it on the back it was so noisy due to the scalloped wear. This was 8 years ago. That truck got bilsteins and they still are ok.
On a truck I was selling I put some Ranchos when the originals wore out because I was looking at selling it otherwise it would of gotten Bilsteins . Still ok shocks but in a few years I’ll be changing to bilsteins. My wife’s Infiniti got Bilsteins a few months ago.
I had Gabriels on my f150 that i used to have and they lasted over 100k miles and they were made in Mexico
they still worked with 120k miles when i traded the f150 in
They're also fantastic. I've never bought a shock with as much attention to detail in even the fit and finish as those Bilsteins and they weren't super expensive either. Like maybe $70/ea? I normally just buy Monroes or whatever but probably not anymore...
Depends on the model bilstien. They have standard replacements, and then higher end performance shocks/struts.
The Bilstien HD's I want are $650/set and on national backorder. I've been waiting 4 months for a set so far.
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