carrottop

car badly needs struts, but not sure what type to get and from where, what do u guys have and what should i get? 2000 max

djshwini

iTrader: (1)

http://www.shiftice.com/spring_strut_decision.html

pinellas50

I did a lot of research on here when I did mine and there is a lot of stong opinion to use OEM. So I bought mine from Nissan.

phatboislim

iTrader: (27)

if you are staying at oem height...just go to advance or w/e and get replacements. or if you are an oem freak, go back to nissan and get some.

Rods03Max619

iTrader: (5)

Went with the Tokico HP Blues some say it like Oem or a little better....

bullet187

Get OEM Struts from nissanpartswarehouse.com. The orignial struts are good for everyday use.

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

Really? OEM? That's interesting and news to me.

Meh, why not do a slight upgrade. Cheaper and better.

Agree. Another alternative is KYB GR-2, which I highly recommend.

And are more expensive than replacements that are better.



OP, decide first if you are planning on lowering your car. If you are, then pick your spring (use post #2 from djshwini for that). THEN pick your strut based on your spring choice. THEN lastly you should get replacement hardware regardless of anything you pick.

Where are you located? I'm happy to give you advice based on the countless suspensions I've done. Just PM me.

Rochester

iTrader: (3)

No, there isn't. So by that reasoning, no, you didn't.

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

Lol

bullet187

It all depends on what you think is better. My OEM struts lasted me 130,000 miles and never had any problems with them. You get what you pay for.

OnOiShNo0dl3Z

iTrader: (2)

At first i was all I must have done my research somewhere else when I decided to go with KYB GR2's vs Tokico Blues.

At least he's not bumping old threads to get 15

pinellas50

WTF? Type struts into the search function and you will find all kinds of stuff about people suggesting to use OEM for stop suspension applications. I guess I missed the threads from the "gurus" in this thread.

You kids can't find something better to flame than what I typed?

Mabey my "search" was biased towards the fact my Maxima is the wife's car and the kids are in it all the time instead of looking for street performance.

And yes, I have 16 posts now. I have been here for almost 2 years but rarely post because of this kind of juvenile stuff.

jtm02011

iTrader: (16)

^ I've never found that information.

After doing my "research" in this forum and the NYC forum, I went with Illuminas. Better than OEM and they have a lifetime warranty provided you don't have >1.5" drop. Only thing OEM you should put in are the strut bellows, those seem to be the best.

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

Yea, offering advice based on actual experience from many many installs is real juvenile.

There's no flaming going on here. We're all just trying to help. The issue is that everyone has an opinion, and it's difficult to differentiate the ones that are anecdotal from the ones that are actually proven through tests or persistent exposure to the products.

OEM simply isn't all that great, whether they're for your wife's car or not. They're sloppy struts. And I actually mean sloppy, not 'comfortable' because they're soft. There are better alternatives for your money.

Rochester

iTrader: (3)

And stay off my lawn!

Rochester

iTrader: (3)

Reminder, DJ: the OEM struts on the SE were made by Tokico, and are not the same struts used in the GLE or GXE. Of course, that doesn't mean they're as good as Blues or Illuminas.

I'm just saying, is all.

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

Thanks dude - I did take that into account when I made my umbrella statement

silver5andahalf

So I have the famous clunking noise on the front of the car, both driver's and pass' side, jacked up the car and found the lower ball joint to be shot, the wheel moves a little bit as if i were turning the steering wheel, it is more pronounced on the pass' side that driver's but still on both sides, so i know i have to replace those.

This is the wife's car, which i drive occasionally (i rather driving, than being passenger ) and that is why i dont plan on lowering the car or anything like that, just want her to drive around comfy and safe. I agree the stock ride is too soft, and would consider upgrading to something a bit more stiffer for handling, IMO it bounces way too much, given the fact that i'm used to drive my MSM which is lowered and has sport suspension, the car has 72k miles and i'm sure the shocks(struts) have never been updated so here are my two questions:

1. How do I know if my current shocks are done?(if they are) the boots are, well they are not boots anymore,just a pile of rings over the shock, so i would say they need to be replaced?
2. If i had to change shocks, i would keep the stock springs just wanna update the shocks if i have to ($$$$ flow is low right now ) which is a good option as replacements? I've read tokiko blues are close to stock but not as reliable? same thing for the KYB GR-2 (actually less reliable than blues?). most of the ppl here have changed springs and shocks so the opinions and reviews i've seen kinda dont apply to my case.

Keep in mind that this car will NOT see the track or autox, just want a confident ride, stock scares me a bit. Feels like a minivan to me Thanks guys

PD what about monroe sensatrack shocks?or other monroe?

Rochester

iTrader: (3)

I can't speak to reliability on the Blues and GR-2's as compared to OEM. It's possible they don't last as long, but we're only just now getting to the 2X life-cycle for suspension parts on the 5th gen. (In the broadest statistical sense, because there are always exceptions.)

The overriding sentiment that I see here on the Org is that Blues and GR-2's are a better quality suspension part than OEM, with better performance and lower cost. You've maybe come to a different conclusion. For my personal experience, I can say Blues are a cost-effective replacement part, and a handling upgrade, albeit a minor one, intended for OEM springs.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

^The clunking is the ball joints or your Strut bearings from the sound of it.

If you want to upgrade, look for low mileage OEM SE struts, or as suggested, go with some KYB GR-2's, they're cheap and a close match to the SE struts from Nissan.


Monroe is garbage >IMO< I wouldn't install any monroe components on any car I owned, unless they were given to me, installed for free, and warranted for free replacement/labour for the rest of their life.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

I think everyone needs to re-examine the 'reliability' portion of their suggestions.

I think this is a good base for comparison:
Stock SE Struts seem to hold up for at least 2 years when put under the extreme stress of a 1.5"+ drop

KYB GR-2's (stock replacement style, most closely compared to the SE strut) seem to hold up about the same.


The notable thing here? The OEM struts in this example are ALREADY OLD & USED before they get lowering springs.


Obviously, this isn't a perfect example. The point is, Nissan's OEM struts are built to higher build quality specifications. They are very likely more reliable from a Stock daily driving point of view.

It's also hard to say any other struts are 'as' reliable, because there are VERY few people that have actually had KYB or Blues replacements in a stock driving condition for as long as the OEM struts on the 5th gen.


All that being said, I'd choose KYB GR-2's or Tokico Blues without hesitation if I was looking to replace my stock suspension with a stock-like replacement, and I'd be sure that they'd last for another 'suspension cycle' (< I like that term BTW)

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

I agree with Rochester.

Blues are similar to a GLE/GXE, whereas KYB-GR2 are like an SE. Thus, GR2's are EVER so slightly stiffer than Blues, nearly unnoticeable.

Whichever you pick, definitely get replacement boots, and front strut mounts while you're at it.

With respect to the clunking, I disagree with TunerMaxima. Clunking is not typically a symptom of strut bearings or ball joints. If there's play in your wheel, additional diagnosis is necessary to actually locate the culprit. Could be a tie rod end, or even a motor mount.

Best of luck to you

bullet187

1. If your current shocks are done they will leak oil, they will bounce more than once if you press down on them, or they can be stiff and not move at all (thats what happened to my rear struts).
2. You can keep your stock springs. I would recommend changing your strut mounts and bushings, you don't have too though.

Do not buy monroe struts they are a lot softer than oem struts. If you want struts close to OEM and cheaper buy KYB. If you want to upgrade to stiffer struts buy Tokico Illuminas (they are also adjustable). If you can afford paying for OEM struts made by Tokico, I would recommend them for everyday driving they tend to be balanced in the stiffness/softness and have a lot less vibration at idle compared to other struts and will last a long time. It all depends how much you want to spend and if you want stiffer, balanced, or softer struts.

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

Disagree. Illuminas are overkill for stock springs.

Rochester

iTrader: (3)

Like any part prone to wear, (brakes, struts, tires, front-end), the replacement will feel like an "upgrade" because 9/10 times you're replacing something worn out. That's a difficult thing to keep in mind when making an assessment. I'm guilty of it too.

For me, Blues felt softer overall, but with a significantly better rebound control. For what I want out of a 4-door sport-sedan, that's perfect. [edit] For the price.

bullet187

So stock springs wont fit with Illuminas?

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

I re-read his post, and I realize I got the original impression that he had it diagnosed, after re-reading it seems he just looked at it quickly himself.

So I agree, he needs to get it properly inspected, but I disagree when you say clunking is not a symptom of Strut bearings, that's the most common symptom of poor strut bearings, clunking and clicking when turning.

Either way, the clunking, etc, likely has nothing to do with how good/bad your struts themselves are.



That would be a bad match, Illuminas are designed for lowering spring rates, not stock rates.

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

That's not what I said. They'll fit without issue.

But the added adjustability and capability that the Illuminas provide are simply not necessary for a stock spring. It's like putting Pirellis on a Pinto.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

They fit fine, he was just saying they're not a good match, and the cost is not worth it for stock springs.


EDIT: Too slow today!

And DJ, what if the Pinto has a 302?

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

Clicking, yes, rumbling even, perhaps. But I've NEVER heard a bad strut bearing clunk. But maybe we're disagreeing on what we define 'clunking' to actually be.

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

Haha good discussion guys. I'm out of here - enjoy your day.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

This is not true. You can have bad struts without any of these symptoms.

It's all a matter of what a 'bad' strut is defined as. IMO, a bad strut is one that is well out of it's original damping abilities.
This can be seen in poor/uneven tire wear, wheel hop under hard accel, rough ride, soft ride, sway bar links/bushings wearing quickly, etc.

You can have bad struts for a LONG time before you notice ANY of the symptoms you mentioned.

The only real accurate way to check is a damper dyno, but no one is going to do that just to check their stock struts.

bullet187

I didn't say that was the only symptoms of bad struts. They are the quickest and easiest way to diagnose struts. Just because you have wheel hop or uneven tire ware doesn't mean that your struts are bad. I also had bad struts and my sway bar bushings still felt and looked brand new.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Yeah you`re probably right. I would agree it`s more of a click than a `clunk`, depends on how bad it is. My 4th gen got to a `clunk` point, I`ve heard it.

sascuderi

Maybe I missed it, but how do you know you need new struts?

Recently I'm in a similar situation and after reading this and several other forums I came to the conclusion that if you are not lowering the car a good OEM replacement is either the Tokico Blues or the KYB GR-2., as others have said.

There is a guy on the Group Buy/Sponsor forum (Importrp) who I bought my Rotors/Pads from who will give you a good quote on struts.

Good luck!

cabernet

I went with Monroe because I wanted a softer ride and have regretted it ever since. They are garbage as others have said. Wish I had gone with OEM now.

Tokico Blues are available on ebay for about the same price as Monroe but I've seen online Nissan parts dealers selling OEM ones for about the same price. That was 2-3 years ago so things could have changed.

silver5andahalf

WOW been busy and didnt have time to come back to the forum. thanks for the replies!

So, like i said, the wife drives it mostly and the ride is barely, just OK for me. Cash flow is a bit of an issue, so if i can save some $$ i will. I did an inspection on the front end, and the only thing that was "out of spec" were the lower ball joints, esp the pass' side, there is a lot of play and the clunking noise comes only when going over rough/repaved/messed-up (you get the picture) roads. It def sounds like metal-to-metal, the rest of the components look fine. used the pry bar and nothing stood out other than the LBJ, the struts seem to be fine according to bullet187's descriptions (the bouncing thing was the first thing that i tried) no oil leaks or anything else unusual.

I have not looked at the illuminas as they offer a lot more than what i am looking for, if the purpose of the car were different i would consider them. so i guess that what i'll do is just get the LBJ replaced and wait till the struts dont "damp" (for lack of a better word) anymore and take it from there, right now i could use the money It started to chew on the driver's front tire's sides but it was low on pressure...fixed!!!

Andy2000max

Just a suggestion. I just did all 4 corners on my 00. I went with KYB GR2. The ride seems a little stiffer than stock, but the ride stability is much improved. However, one of them on the rear was completely blown.

If cash flow is an issue, Advance Auto is a decent option. It let me use two different coupon codes online (a 20% off whole order, and a $20 off $200) plus free shipping. All four struts came to $330. I picked up OEM bellows and reused the strut mounts. Mine weren't making any noise and the bearings looked good when I took them apart (might save you some cash)

As for the clunking noise, I would definitely change out the sway bar end links and bushings. My front end clunk went away after this changeout.

nelledge

iTrader: (6)

That's too bad. Local .org vendor importrp sold me all corners for about 275... shipped. Another Advance-Auto-coupon fail.

exandr

iTrader: (3)

I've been m.i.a for a minute, but I just had some front end work done this weekend.

I went with Blue's, Moog Mounts, and Moog lower ball joints. So far, I like the feel of the Blue's, but I haven't drove it enough for an accurate account of how they feel vs OEM. Having dealt with struts before on other Max's that I've owned, I can tell you that you will be able to tell when it is time to change them. And if you change your struts and not your strut mounts....:matt93se:. Do it all at the same time.

As far as diagnosing the car for the clunking, clicking, knocking, rumbling or whatever sound you think you hear....don't go on what everyone else is telling you. Everyone's car doesn't have the same problem at the same time or in the same order. If you run with someone elses diagnoses of YOUR car and spend $$$ on it without letting your mechanic check everything out first...! Real talk.

I still have the front in noise and according to my mechanic, who might I add just saved me $300.00, my outer tie rods need to be changed. So, I got moogs and they're up next!