I'm not a big fan of KYBs.  The PO of my 944 replaced all four shocks
before I bought it; the rears he did himself with KYBs and the fronts
he paid a shop to do, they used Gabriel.  The rears started clunking
and rattling within a year; I didn't think it could possibly be the
shocks and I had visions of bad trailing arm bushings or similar.
Since this is my daily driver I just took it to an independent Porsche
specialty shop rather than try to fix it myself.  Good thing I did; the
shop owner put it up on the lift and immediately condemned the shocks.
He replaced them with a pair of (pricey) Bilsteins and I haven't had a
problem since.  He called me up and basically told me never, ever,
under any circumstances to use KYBs ever again - apparently this is not
an isolated incident.  I had to explain to him that they were on the
car when I bought it until he regained any respect for me :)

Similarly, my landlady has an old POS Nissan pickup truck.  She just
had four new shocks put on it and unfortunately they are KYBs.  I
didn't know what work was done on the truck, I just drove it home from
the shop for her as a favor.  When I got home she asked me "so how did
it drive?"  My response was "fine, but I think you need new front
shocks, the LF is blown and rattling."  That's when I found out about
the new KYBs...  deja vu all over again...

I have also used Boge Turbo Gas on an old VW; they worked OK when new
but quickly lost their damping within 30K miles.  I replaced them with
a set of used Koni Yellows which were still on the car when I sold it.

The Gabriels on my 944 are still fine, although they don't feel as
stiff as the Bilsteins.  I've also used Gabriels on several old
Studebakers mainly because Gabriel is the only company that still makes
direct fit shocks for them; I haven't had any issues with them.

So my advice to the OP is, buy the Gabriels unless you are looking for
a sportier feel, in which case see if Bilstein or Koni makes a shock
for your app.

nate

I bought some of those at Harbor Freight too.  They work okay in some
circumstances,
but I ended up going to the parts house and buying some better ones.  Some
places
will lend you the tools.  The impact wrench was my best addition...it sure
helps get everything
on and off faster, and allows you to run the compressors up and down with a
minimum of cursing.

I bought Bilsteins shocks for my Dodge van, and it was money very well
spent.
I have used Monroe and Gabriel cartridges for GM products, and dont really
have a preference
yet.

I made 6 spring compressors by heating up 3/8" rebar with my
torch and then bending them into sort of straightened C's with hooks
on the ends.  With the spring compressed by the weight of the car I
slip them onto the spring and jack up the car.  The springs stretch
but leave enough unstretched (about 1") to work with.
The cost was a bit of heat and my time.  The rebar was free.
They won't break or come off.

I was planning to use a set of those cheapo harbor
freight compressors. They have double hooks on one end and
an adjustable hook and wing nut on the other to help
them say attached to the spring. I'm planning to use an
air ratchet or impact wrench to deal with the bolts.
I've used them before, they are a bit of a hassle and you
have to be very careful that they are properly attached,
but they do work.
If you're worried about using something like
this you can probably rent something better.