Shock absorber brands — owner verdicts

Tags: #shock-absorbers

Which aftermarket and Kayaba/KYB, Zekkert, Lynx, Narcin and other brands owners tried on the X80, and their verdicts. Overview: Shock absorbers — overview and platform baseline. See also front damper type and brand experience and fitment and quality issues.

Brand comparison: Kayaba shocks are considered overpriced relative to their performance. Lynx offers about a 3,000 RUB (RU market, September 2024) saving over Kayaba. Narcin is recommended by one owner as the best value alternative — cross-reference the Narcin part number against Kayaba's OEM number before buying ¹. Disagreement: a separate, unidentified user instead recommends Masuma shocks, sourced from the DRIVE2 parts database ¹.

Cosmetic variation: a purchased pair of shocks arrived with mismatched hardware finish — left unit had black-painted mounting bolts/brackets, right unit had unpainted/silver hardware. The parts were otherwise functionally identical; if the OEM part number and date code match, the cosmetic difference does not indicate a functional problem (likely different manufacturing batches/suppliers) ².

Long-term rear "soft ride" fix: one owner replaced springs five times and added buffers/spacers without success (suspension kept settling immediately under load). Installing Zekkert-brand shocks (sourced via chinaavto, St. Petersburg) fully resolved the issue — the rear stayed soft with no bottoming-out even carrying ~200kg cargo plus 4 passengers. A KYB model 344363 had been tried first and failed (too short); universal Mazda 6 shocks were also ineffective. Conclusion from this owner's experience: rear ride softness depends primarily on shock absorber quality, not spring stiffness ³.

Rear shocks — Zekkert via Wildberries: an alternative rear shock absorber, Zekkert brand (described by one owner as "better than stock"), available on Wildberries. Model compatibility spans FAW B50/X80 and Mazda 6 — the same dampers are usable on both platforms. No left/right differentiation is needed; the same part number works on either side ⁴⁵.

Brand comparison — Lynx preferred over Zekkert: Lynx-brand suspension components are reported to be universally preferred over Zekkert for X80 use, offering better performance and reliability; Zekkert is considered the lower-quality alternative in this comparison ⁶⁷.

Rear shock option — Kayaba, factory-spec match: Kayaba-brand rear shock absorbers are available and were purchased by one owner as a factory-spec-matched replacement for rear suspension service ⁸.

Marshall brand — untested: Marshall-brand suspension shocks/struts are sold on the market (Ozon link shared), but as of the report no community member had reviews or hands-on experience with them yet ⁹.

Budget path — Stellox (Chinese) shocks, no fork swap required (April 2026): Stellox-brand shocks (Chinese, budget option) can be installed directly onto the standard Chinese-spec forks/struts already on the car, with no fork replacement needed. They are less expensive but lower quality than Japanese brands such as KYB or Monro ¹⁰¹¹¹².

Rear shock upgrade — KYB 344363 vs KYB 349033, and stock-vs-KYB dimensions: KYB 344363 rear shocks reduce rear sway somewhat but not dramatically — adequate for street driving, not a major improvement over stock on rough terrain with passengers. KYB 349033 is about 1cm shorter and noticeably stiffer than the 344363 — a more aggressive setup that some find too extreme for daily driving. Dimensionally, the stock FAW rear shock measures 466/317mm inter-bushing spacing, 48.5mm body diameter, 62.4mm bushing length; the KYB NewSR NSF2065 alternative is 453/301mm inter-bushing, 45mm body (1cm shorter overall than stock, which reduces wheel-arch clearance slightly), same 62.4mm bushing length. By ~280,000 km stock rear shocks are typically worn out and due for replacement. Pricing: Kayaba 344363, ~8,900₽/pair via Emex (June 2026) ^{1314151617181920}.

KYB NSF2065 — discontinued in Russia, and how it compares to stock: KYB NSF2065 rear shocks (Mazda GG-spec, already documented above) are reported as no longer available in the Russian Federation as of June 2026 (last units purchased the year prior). Compared directly against a worn stock shock: the stock unit is about 1.5× easier to compress by hand and rebounds about 1.5× faster; stock shocks at ~140,000 km are still functional but noticeably softer/worn. New KYB units are stiffer and pricier. One owner separately reports puncturing a KYB NSF2065 strut body on a pothole in winter, losing all its oil — "money down the drain... not made for our roads" ^21222324.

Front shock upgrade path — Mazda Kayaba after 38,000 km, and a manual-vs-automatic spring/shock weight difference (Sept 2026): owner Андрей installed Mazda-sourced Kayaba front shocks after 38,000 km on the original setup, replacing the forks (вилки) at the same time as is standard for this swap (see the Mazda-fork notes in the Mazda GG fork swap card). Separately, owner Victor 🇷🇺 reported having bought a set of Kayaba shocks two months earlier but had not yet installed them, planning instead to run the original factory struts for roughly another 40,000 km before swapping. In the same exchange, discussing why rear springs seem inconsistent between cars, Victor noted that the automatic (АКПП) and manual (МКПП) versions of the X80 differ in curb weight by about 40kg, which he suggests means the rear springs themselves likely differ between the two: the automatic may use a thicker spring, while the manual is confirmed at 13mm wire diameter ²⁵²⁶²⁷.

Media

Two shock absorbers side by side showing mismatched hardware finish (left black-painted, right silver/unpainted)

Product photo of Zekkert rear shock absorber box

Related pages

• Shock absorber fitment/quality issues
• Shock absorber prices and costs
• Shock installation, bump stops and mounts
• Shock absorbers — overview and platform baseline
• Front dampers — gas-filled type and brands

Sources

This page is compiled from 27 community messages. Every fact carries a numbered reference to its original author and message.

Last updated: 2026-10-29