Watup guys. I have had my 97 slammed to the lowest setting on Ground Controls with stock shocks for about 2 years now. The ride has been okay, until recently, now I think it's time for new shocks/struts. I see a bunch of these KYB GR-2's on Ebay for about $230 shipped. Are they any good for my setup? If not, what would you guys recommend for around $250 at the most? I need these within the next week. Any help is greatly appreciated, THANKS!

 

If your going to lower your car you'll need something better then GR-2's.

Tokico Illuminas or KYB AGX's.

 

i'm not really looking for the best out there, i just want something that will be okay for the car

 

they will ride rough, i have heard they get worse in the cold weather. they may blow out early on a bigger drop. just spend the extra bucks now and you won't have to later down the road.

 

The thing is, I really don't mind bumpy rides, they're not that big of a deal to me. Also, I just recently got an S2000 and the Maxima is now just a beater car used to get me to work, I don't want to spend anymore than I really have to. Will the GR-2s blow out quick with my 2.5" drop? If so, how quick? Thanks for all the replies guys.

 

the problem is not a bumpy ride... the problem is they will bottom out and eventually blow, especially on a 2.5 inch drop. Even if your a$$ can handle the roughness the struts won't.

 

Considering my 2.5" drop, at how many miles should I expect them to bottom out and blow? Less than 75k? 50k? 30k? As I stated before, this car is only going to be used to get me to and from work, Im not going to be doing any type of racing/hard driving in it.

 

GR2 are the worst lowering shock out there, very bumpy ride depending on the spring drop. I wouldn't put ground controls on them but you said you have had them on stock struts so it can't be any worse I guess. I would spend the extra money on illiuminas they are not much more and ten times better.

 

If you bring the coilovers up a little it will be better but the GCs are way to stiff for GR2s. Who knows for actual milage but it wont be a lot.

Just wait and buy better struts or coilovers, if you dont care about the ride, then driving on blown struts wont be that big of a deal.

 

Why waste money on something that you'll know will last a couple of months when you can spend a little more and get something that will out last the life of the car.

 

You also have the option of Tokico blues or HPs.

 

Quit being cheap and buy good quality. I have GR-2's and they suck. I wish they had illuminas when I bought these. Just save a little more money and buy illuminas. I would say get AGX's but those are still too stiff inspite of being adjustable.

I wouldn't buy coilovers unless you are going to be autocrossing. They are not really made for everyday driving. People on here wll say they love them and you'd have incredible handling but like I said they aren't really made for everyday driving.

 

Hey I have a set of KYB AGX and it sittin on my garage i'll sell it to you for 200 plus shipping, the milage on it is less than 5000, cuz i got Ksports for present so, yeah KYB is useless for me now. I got it install October 2005 w/ S-tech Tein. But if you just want the AGX then i take it a part and sell it to you, its still in mint condition if yu wants it pm me.

 

i'll send you pics if yu want, ride quality all is pretty smooth, great handling w/out FSTB, better with it. Anione interest in just pm me

 

Tottally wrong, am rolling in Ksports right now, handling 100% killer, ride quality is perfect a lot smoother than KYB AGX ( i owned one, so i kno), trust me on this. Not a daily driving if front and rear spring rates are > 9kg, than that be too rough.

 

I dont think the tokico blues are any better than the GR2's I remember owners complaining about them too. If you are going to do that Id say go with the adjustables. You already have the springs and stuff, from what Ive heard an extra 200-250 can get you the Illuminas.

 

Illuminas...

 

I have GR-2s. The ride isn't bad at all. I think they are smoother than OEM and they handle a little better. I got a good price for them on ebay. I paid a little over $200 for them. They have a lifetime warranty but I think It's only if your car isn't dropped lower than 1.3 in. I think any lower than that they will blow out and void the warranty. But I like the overall ride comfort and handling for the price. Whenever I come up with more cash i'm gonna get better struts and drop it lower.

 

Ksports all the ways, or coilovers all the way

 

Well you can promote coilovers all you want but as for everything I looked at in looking at coilovers the conclusion I came to was that they are best suited for autocross. Yes you will have better handling, better, everything, but they weren't designed for street use. They were more designed for roadcourse. In the big discussion in the struts section, almost all the gus have had at least one of their coilovers blow out. Yes it was covered under warranty, but it's still a hassle. I have also found that many will take the coilovers off in the wintertimes because they don't like cold conditions either. In this guys case he should go with Tokico illuminas.

 

You must be lying to yourself if you think the GR-2's are smoother than stock. Even if the stock suspension was blown they would still ride smoother than GR-2's. I will agree they handle better but that is what they were designed for. On the other hand they have terrible comfort. You must have come from a car that had some bars for suspension.

 

If you say so. I think they are pretty decent on comfort. I think they ride better than stock. My rears were blown so I replaced them all and I happen to like them. But that's just my opinion.

 

I guess to each their own. In my opinion I think they suck, I hate mine. I've just been too cheap pay out for new struts.

 

I put GR-2s on my 96 GXE and the ride is too rough now. It actually rode a bit better with the worn OEM struts (it cornered poorly, but it rode better). The GR-2s make it feel stiff and have brought out quite a few rattles. I should have gone with a basic Monroe or something like that.

 

they are crap dont waste ur money man... take it from me...

 

I have had them for about 45,000 miles and like them. I have them with stiff springs, the ride is firm and handling is really good. I like them alot and will get them again.

 

no Koni no care

 

The GR2's are not bad at all. I dont know why everyone bashes on them. Of course they are not goin to be as comfortable as stock, but thats not what you are looking for. Why spend more money on illuminas when you dont need adjustability? The maxima suspension sucks no matter what shock you put on them. You should know that after driving the s2000. I say get the GR2's and save some money. They will work fine for what you need.

 

btw i've had them for about 2 years and 30k miles on a 1.5 inch drop and driving on ****ty roads they have been fine.

 

ok.. heres the lowdown on your strut issue.
first off, i think a deciding factor is going to be on how long you plan on keeping the car. if you plan on gettin rid of it in a year, then go ahead and put anything in there. if your keeping the car for a while, you get what you pay for. you trade off initail price for an inferior product.

a toykico blue is a stock replacement strut. yes, some people do use them on a mild drop and they last for a little while, but the fact of the matter is they will blow permaturely, just like a stock strut would. they are not designed for lowering applications.

the gr-2 is also a stock replacement, but meant to give a more stiff, sporty ride. after having 2 maxima's with these struts, i can promise you one thing. they will by no means blow on a lowered car. the problem with them is that when you eliminate 2 inches of travel with lowering springs, they become WAY too stiff, and allow little travel at all. combine the stiffness of those struts with lowering springs with rates that are 50% stiffer than you stockers, some bigger rims, and you will literally begin to slowly twist your car apart. take my word for it, if you want every part of your car to rattle when going over the smallest of bumbs, then by all means get the gr-2. it make take a few years for it to happen, but believe me it will.

i promise you that any memeber riding on gr-2's that can even remotely claim its a good ride, is on stock springs, with smaller rims with large sidewalls on their tires. like i stated earlier, ive had 2 max's lowered on gr-2's (until i finally switched to illumina's), and i spend every minute in my car stressed out over the rattles now.

in order to retain your sanity, and keep your car in decent condition, you need a strut that will still allow travel, and not blow. enter the illumina's and agx's. they still absorb the bumbs in the road, without merely transfering the impact to your car's underside. the stiffer the strut, the more energy gets displaced into twisting your floorpan. in case your havent noticed, our cars are uni-body, and have no frames. there is just the this floorpan holding the car together. very easy to twist, which is why most of these cars that are lowered turn into rattle boxes.