I am going to wade into this one... since I am the customer who marolf101x is refering too in his post.
The Penskes are an excellent shock and we have used them for nearly three years with very few problems or issues (a couple of which casual users would not have even noticed) but last fall we made the decision to move away from the Penskes and go with the new RideTech T3 shocks. I have no complaint with the ride quality of the Penskes, yes in my case they are firmer than the RideTech shocks but there are different ways to skin the same cat - with the Penske shocks we had stiffer shocks and softer springs whereas with the RideTech shocks we have a softer shock and a stiffer spring - two paths to the same destination. As Matt points out, the stiffness in not an integral part of the Penske shock - it is how we asked for it. You order it, they deliver it; you want council on what to do, just ask.
I personally made the decision to move to the RideTech shocks for a couple of reasons.
- First off, the new RideTech line of shocks (fixed, single, and triple adjustable) is (IMHO) every bit as high quality as the other brands mentioned in this post; these shocks are manufactured side by side with some of most respected dampners in motorsports to RideTech's specification - the move to me is a lateral move.
- Second, my Penske's were double adjustable and during the Silver State this year Mary and I had a "conversation" (at 140 mph) about how nice it would be to be able to have a bit more adjustability in our shocks for open highway events like the SSCC so I was really looking around at options to improve on what I had.
- Third, my Penske's were at the limit of their adjustability - they were set at full soft and we were hoping to get a bit softer for weight transfer and fine tuning - not a criticism of the physical shock, but at my valving.
- Fourth, my Penskes were in need of what was going to be their third (or fourth?) trip back to Penske for an update/rebuild - my experience has been that they need to be rebuilt/maintained regularly and possibly more often then you would like - they are a fine tuned instrument and if you don't maintain them you lose some of what you are paying for. I am an exception to the rule wrt use - and I am going to be hard on whatever shock I use.
- Finally, I have been nothing but impressed with RideTech's customer service, responsiveness, and quality so when I looked at my options - Penske, Ohlin, Spax, RideTech, etc. - I chose to support a company that I know personally.
I should have a "re"build thread started soon for our improvements - including the RideTech shocks - and I'll link it once it's online.