Illumina's or AGX's?
 

Hey guys, debating between the two I will be using Eibach Pro kit springs which are already on the car with stock SE struts at present! Let me know especially those who have either combo? thanks

1) Illumina's

or

2) AGX's

**illuminas** they are well worth the money you pay

I heard from a lot that AGX can be pretty rough

Illuminas will run circles around AGX's in ride control and their ability to absorbe bumps while maintaining vehicle stability.

As one org member put it, "they make the AGX's seem flawed in design."

:wall:

Yup, Illuminas hands down!!!!!

The AGX has a tendancy to blow very quickly so don't even bother with them (mainly the rears).

bump......

Wow!
A couple of "strong" posts from a couple "well-tested" members.
It is good to hear that kind of feedback from the "older" guys that have been around here for quite some time.

I have heard the same....pick Illuminas over AGX. They are a lot, but supposed to be the best. They really get bragged on.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

illumina they are adjustable...good for the daily driver/2poor to afford two cars enthusiast like me :)

AGX are adjustable as well.
That is why he is trying to decide between the two.

I've heard that AGX don't handle cold weather well (which I expect you have a bit of in vancouver :))

I truely didn't notice a difference between the hot and cold weather and I believe mine blew within 1000 miles of installing them.

Illuminas all the way

wow, deezo, that quickly?

I'll tell you like this, I installed them about a month before I bought a set of new tires. After I had the tires installed is where my noises started and I didn't understand it. I thought it was something in my trunk and I even had my coworker drive the car around with me laying in the trunk and I couldn't find where the noise was. I just decided to live with it. I go to rotate my tires and I look at the right rear and there's dirt all over the strut that stuck to the fluid that leaked out.

Bump.......

koni yellow

just to confuse people, happyricefob?
ha ha ha

Wow, talk about a problem solver.

:)

and I'm 6'5.

phew this is making me happy :) i have a set of Illuminas coming in the mail!!!!!

hmmm... i thought that agx's rarely blew (according to what i read in previous forums) which is why i decided to get them. they cost around the same right? darn me and my inability to read up on all the available choices.

Illuminas are just the best shocks for the maxima period. I couldn't be happier with them

Illuminas
 

Illuminas have them on my 1997 MAX.

Specs:
Weapon-R Dragon Intake
Budget Y-Pipe
Straight Racing Pipe
Optima Red Top
17"x8" Konig Tantrums
Ventus HRII 235/45
Generation II Altezzas
Custom Maxima Front Strut Bar
Tokico Illumina
TEIN S-Tech Springs 2.2"FR/1.8"RR drop

I have a brand new set for sale if anyone is interested! :thumbsup:

I think AGXs are still good. I know a lot of people that have them on other cars other than Maximas, and they are good struts.

Also, the Illuminas are not the same cost as the AGXs. The Illuminas are always more.

ok I've seen all of these agx or illuminas answers but no ones got any technical info to back up they're reasoning do they?

somtimes experiences of using them and seeing what others have said about them after use out weighs technical info.

It seems the AGX blows (pun intended) thing is new. When I bought my AGXs they seemed to be the strut to have...I read very little negative about them. Now a year later everybody and their mother is saying Illuminas. My AGX's are about a year old and are already making clunking noises. I had the car checked by the dealer to ensure it wasn't any other suspension stuff and indeed it wasn't. So I'm looking down the barrel of my second set of struts in a year.

I was thinking of trying the Konis but people do seem pretty amped about the Illuminas. I wish Bilstein made shocks for our car...

OH and BTW...those posts you read about the KYB dust boots being garbage? 100% accurate. KYB is just a crap company. Everything they make is garbage. I have heard nothing but complaints from people with all different stups/cars/products lately.

What dust boots can you use? Would new OEM ones fit aftermarket struts? Or I might remember hearing something about miata and mustang boots or something maybe?

Just get OEM dust boots, they are all the same.

I like my AGXs...they are about a year old. I haven't had any problems with them. The first thing with my H&R to mod on to my car. I love them but want a comfortable ride. I hear that Illuminas are closest to a comfortable ride.

I've had the Illumina's in for about two weeks, they are awsome :thumbsup: . I was riding on h&r/gr2 now h&r/Illumina. I believe the reason why they are sooo comfortable yet handles very well is because it controls compression and rebound. I think the AGX's only control compression.

I would show you a picture of the blown strut but it's in the trash. After having both struts on the car, I KNOW the Illumina is a better strut. Tom knows also because he went from AGX's to Illuminas.

I've had my AGX for 2 years now, no problems at all. They are pretty stiff. I do want a smoother, more comfortable ride, so I might get some Illumina's this summer. If I had to do it all over again today I would def get Illumina's.

From what I gather from a buddy of mine who just replaced the struts on his Coupe GT and talked to a pretty knowledgeable salesman, the thickness of the shaft going into the strut can affect how much it is able to bend under stress...the more it bends the more it will wear the strut unevenly and the quicker it will blow. This theory seems to be backed up by the fact that the shaft on the Billsteins he bought is MASSIVE as opposed to the KYB's he had previously. I wonder how the Illuminas compare to the AGX's...

A strut or shock is mounted with a rubber isolator that allows the piston to float slightly. The piston never bends or sees latteral loads, the strut/shock mounts are what flex to keep things in line. Suspensions are designed so that the strut or shock's piston load is up and down, not side to side.

AGX / Illuminas both have the same size shaft. It's the valving thats superrior in the Tokico Illuminas which produce awsome handling with an amazingly smooth ride.

Billsteins are awsome struts but there is no application for our Maximas.
Konis are harsh just like AGX's and they only adjust for rebound, not compression.

I ran AGX's on 3 different spring setups. They remained stiff as he11 throughout there 25,000 miles of life on my car. The rears got noisey but still seemed to work perfectly. A great product for what there worth.

The Tokico Illuminas are hands down a better strut for smooth ride control and handling.

Yea, I know it's designed to create up and down and not side to side loads, but I think that was actually part of the point...that in practice there may be some lateral pressure applied...which would obviously be something that the strut isn't designed for and would cause it to wear unevenly and become less effective/leak.

The discussion was obviously over struts for lowering springs, so I wonder whether there isn't some slight lateral loading when the suspension is compressed which becomes constant when you lower the car and therefore causes the strut to blow. I'm not saying I know what I'm talking about but it sounded like a reasonable theory. I am def not an expert on suspension design/loading :)

If that's not it, though, then what causes struts to blow more quickly on lowered cars? Why do we need "better" struts when we lower them? Why is it that the same Maxima will blow stock struts or GR2's or, apparently, AGX's in under a thousand miles when lowered, but the same strut will be fine for tens of thousands of miles on the same roads if the car is at stock ride height? Why is it that for his coupe the Bilsteins, with the ridiculously thicker shaft, are the ones that everybody says are the ones to get if you don't want to be constantly blowing struts if you lower the car?

I guess what I don't understand is what is it that is causing increased stress on struts on lowered cars? I mean maybe there's a little more stress from the stiffer spring, but overall the strut will probably not be moving through quite as much distance, so I can't see how a lowering spring would cause blown struts with just the up and down loads. If there was some lateral pressure as a result of the suspension not being at it's stock ride height, that would make sense in terms of wearing it unevenly.

Not trying to argue...I just genuinely don't know/understand. :)