Replacement shock/struts for my 2010 Frontier?

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Rock auto has some great prices on both the KYB Excel-G and the Monroe OESpectrums. They are both about the same price, but the rebate from Monroe is $35 more for a set of 4 ($75 vs $40 for the KYBs).

I have the KYBs on my wife's Pilot, and I'm impressed with them. Much better feel over the stock units. I've never ran the Monroes before.

My question, which would be better for my truck do you think? At first I was thinking about the yellow/blue Bilsteins, but I think those will rattle my teeth out of my head. I had them on an old Ranger years ago, and they were stiff riding. I think I'll be happier with the OEM replacements, just don't know if there's a big difference between these two brands???

Thanks!
 
Monroes generally ride quite a bit softer than KYBs. If you're already happy with the feel of the KYBs on Pilot, I wouldn't even think of installing Monroes on your Frontier. KYB all the way regardless of rebates or whatever.
 
Keep in mind that the Monroe rebate is also good on Rancho too. Since your front shocks are coilover, it means quick struts are the way to go, so that you don't need to use a spring compressor. But the only quick struts available for your truck are the Rancho, which raises it 2 inches. I'm not sure why Monroe doesn't make a regular quick strut for it though.

If you choose KYB, get the Gas-a-just shocks for the rear. They will most likely be more durable.

OTOH, if you're anti-quick-strut and don't care about the rebates/cost, Bilstein HD would be the best option. The set is $305 on shox.com
 
If you have big tires/4wd suspension on that frontier I would us gas-a-justs all the way around. You need a monotube to properly dampen big wheels/heavier suspension.

If not GR2/Excel-G will be fine.

I put gas-a-just on all 4 wheels of a prerunner taco and they were barely harsher than a gr2-excel-g. And smoother than the worn out tokico blues.
 
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The Monroe OESoectrum I bought for my Hyundai were simply rebadged struts made by the OE supplier, Mando. I can't speak for other applications, but in my case they performed exactly like the OE struts and were made by the OE supplier.
 
Originally Posted By: surfstar
gas-a-just were a decent upgrade for my rear Vue shocks.

I 2nd the mono-tube recommendation for truck use, also.


My usual advice is to find out if your SUV or truck comes with monotubes from factory. If so go gas-a-just. If not, go gr-2/excel-g.
 
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