Went to my local Firestone dealer to have some Potenza RE750s put on to replace my 730s they put on many miles ago... During the alignment they noticed that the struts were shot and would no longer allow the car to be pulled into spec. So oviously I need to get new struts on ASAP so I don't ruin the new tires.

Instead of getting OEM replacements, I'm looking at buying some KYBs, or letting them put on some monroe's, since they're a dealer for them. My question, though, is what has proven to be a good replacement for the OEM struts? The car isn't lowered, and I'm still using the stock Rims and tire size. Only other suspension mod is a rear sway bar I got from the GPStore several years ago.

Sooo... should I get the KYB replacements? What about the Monroe Reflex? Or the Sensa-Tracs? The Koni's are out of my budget range, so that's not an option.

- Brian

I've heard good stuff about the KYB's. For the money, they're not a bad route to take.

Brian, get a quote on the install before you do anything. KYBs are suposidly good but install can be expensive if you are having a shop do it.

NTB quoted me a price of $650-700 for Their Monroe sensatracs installed.

Local Pontiac dealer said if I bought OEM Gm shocks it would be over $1,200 because GM charges an assinine ammt of money for the stock shocks ((something like $200 EACH).

They even said go by KYBs (which prob cost about $250 for the set) and they would install them for approx $350-400.

You have to compress the spring and take the entire strut apart to replace the shocks. Its somewhat labor intensive. Those quotes didnt include replacing any bushings or mounts if needed.

For $900 you can get the 4 way adjustible Konis WITH GMPP springs, new mounts all, assembled and ready to go in and do it yourself. 5 bolts on each corner, remove old replace with new. Or so it seems. Im saving my pennies My shocks are shot at 60,000

Jeff

I've got the KYB replacements and I like them. Although, they weren't as stiff as I thought they would be. I've always put KYB's on all of my cars since I can remember. I've always loved the stiff ride they give, I like to be able to tell the difference between a penny and a dime when I run over them. I've had KYB's on all sizes of cars from as light as an '89 Grand Am to as heavy as a '70 Ford Torino GT. They all seemed to have the same rigid ride. The KYB's I put on my GP didn't have that rigid feel to them. Now I'm not bashing them, I still love how they handle, I just wasn't use to the soft feel of cruising down the highway. They do perform when needed and the ride is better than stock, and I know that these KYB's will last a lot longer than the stock units.
End result: I'm very happy with the ride, and think that a sway bar will help me get the feel I want in the corners.
As for any other brands, I really can't comment on them because I have never used anything other than KYB's when replacing shocks and struts.
Oh yeah...you can't beat the price of KYB's for the amount of performance that you get out of them, that's my opinion.

Thanks for the replies. Are the KYBs direct bolt-in replacements? The shop that told me I needed new struts said they could install the Monroe's for 800-1000 for all 4. They also said I could buy something else and they would install it, at a shope rate of $79 an hour. He said it would take 1 hour per wheel, and then another 60 bucks for a 4 wheel alignment when they were done. Since a set of KYBs is only 250 or so, with the labor charge it would be a little over 600 bucks.

I've done the working-on-cars thing before, and it takes me 50 times longer than I think it will, so I'm going to leave this one up to a shop.

One odd thing, though... Where I work, I've got a next door neighbor that does auto engine work. He's been a general mechanic for many years before that. He seemed to think it was impossible for the struts to be so far gone that the car couldn't be aligned because of them. He insists they're just trying to sell me stuff I don't need. Just to keep them honest, I'm having another shop look at it today. But I was curious... is this a possibility? That struts are so worn that a tire can't be aligned? And if so, is it the actual strut, or the spring around the strut? Without taking a peek at the car on the rack, I can't picture what could be causing this problem.

If you are going to have new struts put in i would have the strut mounts and bushings that the springs sit on replaced as well. You already spending about 800 bucks what is another 200 dollars to have all the parts new. Other wise those mounts will go out and cost you almost as much to replace them. I did my strut work myself on my 98 and didnt replace them. i regretted it very much and never replaced them becuase it takes about 1.5 to 2 hours each. But i always had a clunking that was the cause of those not being replaced. Other than that i would not get anything other than kyb for dailing/sport driving. especially for the money. GM shocks suck by the way.

Oh yeah...get those mounts changed too. A couple of months after I had my struts replaced, it was back in the shop because one of the struts broke through the mount and was hitting the underside of my hood. I could have saved $250.00 in labor if I had them changed with the struts.

Anyone have the part #'s for the mounts and bushings? What I'd like to do is buy all the parts myself and bring them somewhere reputable and have them do the installation.

tirerack.com has the mounts and struts.

The only thing tire rack doesnt have which you will need to get from the dealer, correct me if im wrong, is the rubber bushing the spring sits on. replace it all and enjoy it more