Shock absorbers KYB or KONI

I like the MonoMax, good bang for the buck

I installed Koni orange shocks (and most importantly new bump stops) last year and absolutely love them. I didn’t want a crazy firm ride, or to mess with adjustable shocks, so they were the best option for me.

I got koni yellows because I didn't want cheap coils and didn't want to spend thousands of dollars and I'm really happy

I just put a full set of the kyb shocks into my vy ss. But they seem pretty good. Can't fault them.

OEM springs the special active are fantastic. On sports suspension slightly harsh/not perfect dampening and rebound at the frequency of bumps and speed but still really comfortable and firm up well at speed

I like KYB shocks for daily driving because they’re softer than bilsteins or rancho. I’m running Moog constant rate springs with KYB shocks and it’s a smooth predictable ride. I used them in a Pontiac torrent and wrangler with the same results.

In my experience shopping for a miata, generally there isn't a huge difference in value between all-stock and "OEM+" cars that have minor tasteful mods from reputable companies. Koni and billstein shocks are pretty common and may even help resale a little bit. Repairing worn-out parts with slightly better aftermarket replacements doesn't hurt either. Any car with new bushings (provided they are rubber and not poly) will probably be preferred to one with the original, whether they're OEM or the slightly stiffer IL Motorsports ones that are common. Ditto for things like bump stops, shock mounts, et cetera.

I had Koni yellow with stock springs. Maybe a little better than the stock shocks but started leaking after a few years. Didn’t want to screw around with sending them back to Koni and waiting for their warranty.

I've been using the Koni Golds (FSD) for many thousands of miles. They are really really good at 80mph, but in town they shake my teeth loose and bump and klunk like crazy.

I bought KYB shocks from a distributor to install in the struts in my '04 crv, and they lasted less than a year.