looks I need of new struts, what to choose?

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
IME Bilsteins are among the finest made anywhere. Factory OEM on my car and still perfect at 90k miles with lots of track time and a big heavy car.

There are a ton of options but if you want to think long term Bilstein is actually cheap!


This. Steve nailed it.

+1 without a doubt although there is nothing wrong with Koni either if they have them for this car.

 

[CharBaby]

IMHO, any good replacement strut will work fine for 4-5 years especially since most carry a lifetime warranty. And if installing them yourself, the loaded struts(front) will be a breeze.

Summer 2013, we replaced all struts/shocks in my daughters '06 Mazda3. KYB loaded struts in the front & Monroe OE Spectrum shocks in the rear. It was just the way it worked for the availability for the shop as we needed the car sooner than later.

I didn't do the work myself as I had recently gotten out of the hospital and she needed the car sooner than I could have provided it.

I will probably do my Altima this summer and order from RA. Either KYB or Monore. I have used Monroe over the last 35 years without any issues and I've kept vehicles for long stretches of time. I can't answer for which company has the higher quality and IDK if Bilstein makes'em for a Mazda3 as we didn't want more performance, just good replacement(OE quality) shocks/struts

 

[Trav]

Like some other companies Monroe is not the old Monroe. Newer ones may or not be the same as the old ones in quality.
Tennecco (Tennessee Gas Transmission Company) owns them along with Walker, Rancho and a bunch of other names. They may even outsource for some parts.

This is a real problem today, good old names are just that, names that are used only because of their brand recognition eg Craftsman.
Fact is most people wouldn't know how a high end shock/strut rides and performs unless they have driven/ridden a car outfitted with them.

 

[CharBaby]

Very true & well said!

I am very happy with the OE quality ride/handling/braking with our vehicles so therefore, I want to keep that intact!
Should I want for a bit more, I'll research and test(if possible) a vehicle like ours with other options. Sometimes, a tire upgrade is all that's needes for our driving style/climate and maybe an upgrade in brakes as well.

 

[KrisZ]

Thank you guys very much for your opinions. I greatly appreciate it.
Blisteins make the strut only, so I would have to get new top bearing mounts and of course reuse the springs. I will do the work myself so in reality I will probably still save money even if I go with Blisteins as compared to having someone else install some of the cheaper options.
On the other hand, a complete strut assembly from KYB does sound tempting.

 

[Nayov]

I just put a full set of KYB regular gas struts (made in Japan) on my Sentra and the ride is very hard. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it rides dramatically harsher than even when new. In a way I like it because though the car is decidedly not a sports car, it handles terrifically now but it can overwhelm easily the tires while taking a corner fast. So the bottom line is that it rides better (or assertively) but harsher than when new, but when new and onwards the handling felt crude, so this is an improvement but with acceptable costs and trade offs.

 

[tommygunn]

@Nayov, how long have you had the KYB's on?

Some people experience some settling after a few thousand miles after driving on them a bit. They need to go through a few compress-and-rebound cycles first.

Also, KYB is supposedly 10-15% more firm than OE, "to account for wear in other components of the suspension," according to KYB. This is true even cars that came with KYB OE fitments.

 

[Nayov]

They've been on for 400 hundred miles. Can't say they've loosened up, but they are definitely more tolerable, but I think that's because I'm getting used to how it rides and looking at the positive aspects of a stiff ride. Also, the frost heaves have subsided and warmer weather thins out (?) the struts' oil so they aren't as sluggish. Just speculating.

Monroes are said to be on the soft side, according to Internet chatter, and that same chatter says that KYBs are on the stiff side.

 

[CharBaby]

I have actually noticed a better controlled ride/handling in the Mazda3. With better bump absorbsion over the broken roads and a tighter "turn in" when going around corners under normal driving(not pushing the car hard).

This didn't make the car feel brand new, just much better than it was with the 105K miles that it had. Also added one new control arm and half shaft.