I had only heard that they are bad, I admit that i have no data to back this up.

Seems that most lowering kits just cost a little less than some 412s anyway though.

 

Same here, have no hard data other than common sense/logic to tell me shocks are better. The stock connection points and shock angles are not what they are just because that was the best place to drill the hole. And when you install lowering blocks, you are making a significant change to that angle. Maybe you can't feel the difference but I have seen posts on this forum that said their shocks had been damaged after using lowering blocks. I doubt they have undisputable evidence that says the blocks caused it though.

The lowering block kits I've seen are around 100 bucks. I bought a new set of shorter progressive 412 HD's for about $180 shipped from eastern performance. I really just wanted to lower the rear end a little but I got some better handling and a better ride out of it too. That is also arguable by some but I know what my "****-o-meter" tells me and it rides better than it did on stock shocks.