2007 Accord - Shock Recommendations

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Folks,

I did an inspection of the girlfriend's car and found some moderately worn compliance bushings. Given the mileage on vehicle (95k+), I think I am going to go ahead and replace the shocks as well so that I will only pay for one alignment.

From my research so far, I am considering one of these options:

1) Koni STR.T
http://www.koni-na.com/street.cfm

2) Tokico Blue

3) Genuine Honda

I am not interested in the garbage KYB or Monroe options, so don't bother suggesting those.
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At the moment, I am most interested in the Koni STR.T shocks strictly from a cost standpoint. I can get a set for about $275 shipped and they appear to be a well-made, mild performance shock. I am mainly interested in a high-quality replacement shock that rides decently well, but delivers a bit more performance than the originals.

What do you guys think?

Thanks
 
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Put in too sporty of a shock and she may not like it, and it will not end well for you.

Are kyb',s bad? I thought they were supposed to be good?
 
Good luck finding some Tokico blue (tokico went bankrupt some years ago).

I personally hate Gabriels esp. struts. They failed on my a few times before, costing me time RE&RE.

Monroe OE Spectrum shall last an easy 80k.

KYB (NA built Honda OE supplier) are all over the place: true jpn made KYB struts can easily last 100k; NA made KYBs can fail sooner (had that failed on some HOndas during factory warranty, usually around 43~60k).

Stay away from Sensen or Leecrea, unless you want to pay for RE&RE again in fairly short order.

If you can find some Showa (jpn OEM Honda supplier, alongside with KYB), that would be fabulous also.

Q.
 
Originally Posted By: JamesBond
Put in too sporty of a shock and she may not like it, and it will not end well for you.

Are kyb',s bad? I thought they were supposed to be good?

True.

Yeah, KYB Excel-Gs are really lousy these days. Poor durability (from my experience - both the OE and aftermarket ones), ride is nowhere near the same as OE (aftermarket Excel-G versions). Ride quality is on the soft side - all of the Excel-Gs that I've installed ride softer than the factory shocks.
 
The OE Honda Genuine shocks may very well be KYB. Also, I looked them up on ebay, and they're made in Thailand! (according to this listing )(You'll see the supplier's name near where it says Honda, as well as the country of origin).

I'd spend the extra coin on the Tokico HTS or Koni yellow

But of three you're considering, Tokico HP

Many Tokico Blues have been farmed out to China and Thailand, and of course the STRT's aren't real Konis (they're made by Corven in Argentina, not sure whether they're the Corven Plus or the Corven Sport).

Sachs might also be a good choice.

95k is low for Honda. Plenty of life left on it. So get some really good shocks that you won't have to replace for a loooooooong time.
 
I have had the Koni Orange STR.T on my 2004 Civic for about 10k miles - no complaints.
 
Is the Accord a v6 or i4?

Years back, Honda made a HFP suspension kit for the v6 Accord coupe but will bolt on directly to the sedan. It includes uprated springs and Tokico shocks. Slightly lowers the car by an inch, it's a popular upgrade in the forums.
 
Had Monroe on my e36 m3. They were okay, actually said the shocks were made in Europe (I think Spain or Belgium)

Tokico blues have horrid reviews for the tsx, which is similar to the accord. My moms old coworker was married to the owner of Tokico, I'll ask if she heard about the bankruptcy.

Compliance bushings were just replaced on our tsx. The old one was completely torn on one side. It can be diy if you have a press or have the shop press the bushings in and out. Where are you seeing str.t for $275?
 
Originally Posted By: zeddy
Had Monroe on my e36 m3. They were okay, actually said the shocks were made in Europe (I think Spain or Belgium)

Tokico blues have horrid reviews for the tsx, which is similar to the accord. My moms old coworker was married to the owner of Tokico, I'll ask if she heard about the bankruptcy.

Compliance bushings were just replaced on our tsx. The old one was completely torn on one side. It can be diy if you have a press or have the shop press the bushings in and out. Where are you seeing str.t for $275?


CARID has them for that price.

I was going to get the 9circle or SP Tools tool that allows you to replace the bushings while the arms are still on the vehicle.
 
Not sure if it’s available for the Accord, but I recently installed Bilstein B4 struts on my Mazda 3. I read really good reviews on them, they are made in Germany, price was very reasonable when compared to Chinese made ones and so far they feel very good. I bit stiff, but I don’t think they are fully broken in yet.
 
are the bushings causing drivability issues? Seems like unnecessary spending if the bushings are slightly worn and on top of that, you are spending hundreds on shocks. My 01 integra has 170k on its original bushings and still ride very well even though i see some surface cracking(normal). Not bad for oem rubber bushing that has dealt with an aggressive suspension setup(koni yellow sport with eibach springs) for the past 100k miles.
 
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Decided to keep the OE shocks on there for a while longer. They're still okay and the driver isn't as picky as I am, so I'll let them go for now.


Originally Posted By: garlicbreadman
are the bushings causing drivability issues? Seems like unnecessary spending if the bushings are slightly worn and on top of that, you are spending hundreds on shocks. My 01 integra has 170k on its original bushings and still ride very well even though i see some surface cracking(normal). Not bad for oem rubber bushing that has dealt with an aggressive suspension setup(koni yellow sport with eibach springs) for the past 100k miles.


No drive ability issues, but you can definitely see the potential for improvement. The bushings aren't all that expensive anyway at $40/set from the dealer. I got the 9circle tool for $80 to press them out.
 
Update:

I replaced the front compliance bushings with new OEM bushings from the dealer. The new bushings greatly improved the ride quality. The bushings were around $40 (IIRC) from the dealer and the special tool from 9-circle was $80.

After the bushing replacement, I had the car re-aligned at the dealer; the front toe was found to be -0.20 on both corners, which is quite odd. My guess is that the car was previously aligned with worn bushings?

However, during higher-speed driving (50mph+) on curvy roads, I still notice that the car feels noticeably bouncy. The fronts seem to be worse than the rears, so I'll first start with replacing the front shocks.

Since the gf is sensitive to ride quality, I decided to order a pair of front struts from the dealer. Honda's shocks usually last a while (unlike Toyotas), so the dealer shock is probably the best choice anyway. The front shocks/dampeners were $116/ea shipped, and I also ordered a new boot ($6) and lock-nut ($1) in order to properly complete the repair. I will keep y'all posted on the outcome.
 
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What year accord is this? 95K is low for worn shocks unless you see some leak on the shocks itself. I have a 2000 accord with 160K miles with all original shocks. My TSX is also still on original suspension. Although I am seeing the compliance bushing torn a little bit, but still good if you dont feel play or clunk on potholes. Glad you went with oem honda if you wanna keep the car for long. They are the best IMO. Honda IMO has mastered the double wishbone set up on their suspensions, it is the best. Sad to see the new TLX with a macpherson setup.
 
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