What shocks should I get?

I've got an 08 Speed3 with around 83K miles. All of the suspension components are still factory original so I'm planning on refreshing it a little it bit this spring/summer. Planning on new Mazda sway bar endlinks, a new rear motor mount (probably going to get the corksport one), and fresh shocks. I've got no idea what shocks I should get. The more I search and think about it, the more options I find, and the less I know what to do. I've autocrossed the car a lot in the past, but I mostly use my Miata for that now so I don't really need a super aggressive or adjustable shock; just a nice shock for my fun daily driver. I can get a new set of stock units for around $400 through Mazdaspeed, the Koni FSDs look nice but are $750 through tire rack, and there are plenty more options are in between (the corsport adjustable are around $500, for example). So I'm looking for some advice...talk me into something!

I don't tank you can go wrong with any Koni or Bilstein product.

We have Koni FSD on our 07 Mazda3, combined with the Eibach springs that were packaged with them from Tire Rack at the time. The ride and handling were both improved over stock. After 70k miles they still work well, no signs of any loss of dampening. The spring/shock combo makes a perfect sporty daily driver suspension, totally recommended.

I'd say FSD or Bilstein HD

http://streetwiseparts.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Bilstein-UMS-Flyer-Rear.pdf

I've got the FSDs and stock springs on my MINI and they're great. Ride and handling were improved a bunch.

I don't know if they make one for that car but if it is just a DD that gets driven aggressively on occasion I would look at KYB. I put a set of then on my 190 2.6 and it transformed the car. I really liked them!!! As good as Koni (what I run on my Porsche)? No but for the $$$$$ it was a great shock.

Tried KYBs on our Chumpcar once and they were shot about halfway through a 14hr at Road ATL. Tokicos on one of my trucks -- were good for a little while, but got soft quickly. Had FSDs on a MINI, and they were good. What is the price delta to upgrade to Koni Yellow? If nothing else, it's nice to be able to compensate for wear with additional rebound adjustment. I've never been disappointed with Konis.

At least for the MINI (R53), the yellows are cheaper than the FSDs. Are the FSDs that good? I'm debating what to put on the MINI, but I do know it will be a Koni. To me, they've always been worth what extra I pay, and usually I'm disappointed when I stray to another brand.

I've been very happy with my Bilstein HDs. Be careful with Koni. Their good stuff is really good, but they do have some super cheap parts-store junk that are pretty bad.

dean1484 wrote: ...if it is just a DD that gets driven aggressively on occasion I would look at KYB. I put a set of then on my 190 2.6 and it transformed the car. I really liked them!!!

I just bought a set of Eibach Pro-Kit springs and KYB dampers for my 300CE-24 coupe. It's a daily driver, so I wanted to maintain some ride quality on the Hồ Chí Minh trail (a.k.a., Cross-Bronx Expressway).

From what I've read, this Eibach/ KYB combination should be about the same as the OEM "Sportline" suspension package. We'll see...