I'll second what Steve had to say. The Tokico Illumina 2s on my car started getting floaty after about 50, 000 miles or so. I've put Konis on the back for now, since they're easy to change, and the rears were getting worse than the fronts. I'll do the fronts in the winter time.
When you talk about Gas Ryders, is that Gabriel shocks you're speaking of ? Remember, anything other than the Tokico stock replacement or Illumina 2s will not go with your firm-ride system. Price some stock replacement shocks, maybe they're not much more than the Gas Ryders. And I'm sure that they would offer better ride and handling than the generic parts store shocks as well. You have a nice performing car, it's worth spending a bit more money on things like shocks and tires to get the most out of the SC Bird, IMHO.
cheers
Ed Nicholson
SCCoO