kyb gr-2's vs. koni sport vs. tokico blues
 

looking to replace my stock shocks on my 99 maxima that has 125k on it, so i dont want to spend the extra for illum's. any suggestions from these three that similary priced? My max is dropped 1.5" cause i have 18"s w/ pirelli rubber and the gap between the fender and tire looked like ***.

like many have said, get the illuminas. Save the money and due it right the first time or you will regret it later. not one person has blown an illumina strut yet. and if you plan on lowering ur car, u would already have the best quality strut. i recommend saving the extra cash, it will be well worth it. just my $.02

Dont spend more money than you have to. Alot of people reccomend the illuminas, but it really isnt worth the $450 if it isnt going to serve your purpose. If you just want a better upgrade from stock go with the cheaper non adjustable shocks and good springs like H&R that dont drop it too much. You wont have a big problem with blown shocks if you dont drop it so low. I dont even think you want a drop so any of the brands you listed should be fine.

Well, Koni's are better struts than the Tokico HP's and the GR2's. That is what I have heard anyway.

Of the other two, I would go with the GR2's, becuase the Tokico HP are not supposed to handle anything other than stock springs. They are stock replacement.

koni yellows are the best you can get.

AGXs or Illuminas

My setup - H&R's with KYB-Gr2's is absolutly perfect for me. So comfortable with a decent drop and TONS better handling then stock. I was going to save up for adjustables but to be honest I didnt see myself climbing in the wheel well to adjust them. I researched for almost 6 months before I did the install and I couldnt be happier! My .02

What springs are you on? If H&R, I woudl do the Tokico HP. They ride as well or better than stock (there, I said it) and handle much better. After that, there are a lot of guys on GR2s, and thye are a good strut. Koni makes a good strut as well, but there is little feedback on here regarding the Sports.

If you are on H&Rs and don't plan to go lower, try the HPs.

T Blues have got to be the worst ever
Illuminas are really nice.

Not in my experience. Have you owned them? Have you ridden or driven with with paired with H&Rs? I have. On what are you basing your statement?

i have H&R's and Hp's. I love it. Rides really well and still has a responsive to it. Remember people suspension helps... but so do tires.

i have progress springs with agx's in the rears and tokico blues up front.


i can definitely say to this day, i feel every damn bump on the road...im not found of the blues myself.

Illuminas are cool! But...I wonder what I missed out on if I was to use the koni Yellows.
I like Illuminas! Illuminas are good food! Food for the suspension aspect of car!!
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Park Royal 2 Condo Prathumnak

What does everyone think about the Eibach springs? Cause all i keep hearing about is the H&Rs.

On eibach springs and just my stock shocks/struts.

For eibachs, I know that people have had great results with GR2s. If it were H&R, I woudl stand by my recommendation of Tokico HPs, but with Eiachs, try GR2s. Look around, though- even if you go GR2 up front, you can get GOOD deals on illumina rears for some reason. I found a special of $160 shipped for the pair of illumina rears.

found a set of gr-2's f&r $230 shipped on ebay. Know where i can get them cheaper?

I don't know of anywhere cheaper. Is that new?

i just got a set off ebay for 230 shipped! Cant beat that price.

^^^ Same Here!

I have Gr-2's with progress springs, a bit bouncy would not buy again but no other complaints besides too bouncy

^^^ Damn Im pairing them up with progress too. I guess It'll be better than the blown struts im riding on though.

i have maxspeeds with gr-2's.....pretty good ride....alittle stiffer than stock....but overall a pretty good setup for the price....struts = 230 springs = 100

I've got koni yellows with stock springs, and they're great. Install's tricky though...

They are posting them as "new". its on ebay right now.

I bought my Gr-2's from Performance Parts Store (north coast motorsports) from ebay. $230 total with insurance. Tracking # was given and shipment was quick. It was on my doorsteps 3 days later via fedex. Each strut was individually boxed in mfg boxes. I thought it was a great price because foreign autoparts told me about $100 each strut. For that price I would have went with illuminas. The $230 price is even better than the most recent gd I saw for the gr2 at $270. That beats any local places I asked. Performance parts store on ebay seems to be pretty trustworthy. Just a heads up if you guys are looking for them.

Performance parts is their ebay member name?

What spring/shock combination do you recommend if i want to lower my car about 1.5" and i still want to have a smooth ride and good performance when it comes to cornering, braking, etc. I also want the best bang for my buck.

Performance_Parts_Store

H&R or Tein H-tech for springs. Read the suspension threads (like this one) that come up every few days if you want more info on strut choices.

I have two questions about the suspension.

1. Should someone use camber kits when upgrading their suspension? My friend told me he didn't do it the first time and did it the second time. He said the guys were basically guessing with his alignment without the camber kits.

2. How difficult is this really to install? I'm not a car mechanic at all. However, I'm willing to learn since the cheapest place I've found charges a little under $400 to do this.

Right now my plans are to get H&R springs with GR2s. I think it still has the factory struts. The guy told me the rears are shot when I got the car inspected. It has 122k on it and I just got it about a month and a half ago.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=325710

This link is to the Canadian forum, there is a new seller on ebay- Canuck motorsports- offering lowering springs for $120 Cad. Read through the thread to find out what we've discovered. Possably one of the best deals yet.