I know I have had parts of this in other threads, but thought I would compile it all here. I ordered the Progressive Monotubes in February and had them installed this winter. I was like a seven year old waiting for Christmas, as I waited for the snow to melt and things to dry out. The first ride out I hit my front brake to check the dive and there was a "clunk". It would occur at both fast and slow speeds each time the front brake was applied fast. If the brake was eased into slowly, there was no clunk. The dealership ruled out the neck bearing and the floating rotor. They couldn't get rid of the clunk. The second problem came when going over a rain curb into the gas station, where it bottomed out. I went over it several times and each time there was metal on metal and it actually hurt. A couple of times with my wife on the back end, hitting a manhole cover it would bottom out. It made us cringe whenever we saw a bump coming that I couldn't go around. Progressive company seemed interested in helping at first, but after a couple of phone calls, Frank at Progressive dropped the ball and wouldn't call back. I lost faith in him too. I asked him to send me a new set of Monotubes and I would return mine for their quality control dept. to look at. They weren't interested because it had never happened before, (remember, it only took one run away Toyota to start something). He did send me a free set of preload spacers because mine didn't come with any. But I would have to spend the $175 (2 1/2 hrs labor) for them to be put in. Frank said they wouldn't help with the bottoming out though, just the height. I got a set of Ricor Intiminators and had them put in instead for the $175 labor it would have cost me to put in the spacers.
Ride comparison after 200 miles on each:
They were both stable and smooth to 105 mph.
The Monotubes had quite a bit of front end dive when the brakes were applied or when the front end was bounced. The Intiminators are very firm, but not hard, when the brakes are applied and there is no dive. Today I had a turkey walk out of the ditch in front of me and I had to apply the front brake hard( it wasn't him I was worried about it was the next two or three), it was firm and I had a lot of control as I slowed. I do a lot more slowing with my front brake now than I ever did before, it's kinda fun.
As I said the Monotubes bottomed out when I went over a quick bump. The Intiminators have never bottomed out. The first thing I did with them after they were installed was to ride to the gas station and hit the curb at different speeds. It was smooth each time. They feel like you are riding over rubber when you hit a hard bump.
The measurement from the middle of the front axle to the lower end of the "cowbells" was 12 1/4" for the Monotubes and is 13 1/4" for the Ricor Intiminators. But I didn't have the preload spacers in, as the early ones didn't come with them. I don't know what the measurement is with them in----can anyone help here?
Both shocks improved cornering at high speeds. With the Monotubes, I felt some fading at 15mph over the posted speed around corners and had to slow down. They were definitely better than the stock shocks. I don't feel that fade with the Intiminators. I can consistently corner the twistys at 15-20 mph over posted speed. When more confidence comes, I'm sure I won't have a problem leaning even harder and slingshotting out of the curves. I also feel more confident in the corners when the road is not completely smooth.
I feel as though the Intiminator valve makes the shocks feel harder when you push down from on top, as in bouncing them in the driveway or putting on the front brakes. But when the "push" comes from down below, as in a bump, they are very smooth and resilient. I like the ride much better than the Monotubes. It feels more secure to me at both high and low speeds. I would highly recommend the Ricors if you're looking for some better front end shock handling.
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Topic: Comparing Progressive Monotubes to Ricor Intiminators (Read 3383 times)