Recommended Struts
09-29-2006, 05:40 AM
#1
Recommended Struts
Hey everyone. Our 99 GLE is due for struts. She wants to maintain the factory ride. I don't want to cheap out but AGXs would be overkill for this car's purpose; kids, daily driver, comfort. Our 96 SE had KYB GR-2s and the car rode very hard and she hated it. Any suggestion for a quality strut with a factory ride? Thanks in advance for any input.
09-29-2006, 12:14 PM
#7
Originally Posted by d00df00d
She hated the SE on GR-2s? Wow...
Probably best to stick to OEM.
Probably best to stick to OEM.
09-30-2006, 07:33 PM
#10
Yes, Illuminas could be adjusted down, but in this case it wouldn't be worth taking the chance. If these people think a stock SE with GR-2s has such a punishing ride, it's best for them just to go with what they know will work.
10-01-2006, 03:36 AM
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 467
Go with Monroe Sensatracs for the best stock ride. Anything else will be stiffer than she wants. I'm pretty sure every aftermarket strut will be 10-15% stiffer than stock. I put Illuminas on my stock '97 SE springs and hated them...even on the lower settings. The handling was great, but he car was twitchy and felt every little bump and crack in the road. The swap back to stock and Monroes was significant. The car is much more smooth, confortable and controllable for me. Just goes to show you that a stiff spring and stiff shock don't make for a good ride. I have a FTB and Stillen rear sway bar, and the handling is perfect with the Monroes for everyday driving. You can check out factory struts, but I think they are very expensive.
10-01-2006, 11:43 AM
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: New Haven, CT
Posts: 481
Originally Posted by goldmax
Go with Monroe Sensatracs for the best stock ride. Anything else will be stiffer than she wants. I'm pretty sure every aftermarket strut will be 10-15% stiffer than stock. I put Illuminas on my stock '97 SE springs and hated them...even on the lower settings. The handling was great, but he car was twitchy and felt every little bump and crack in the road. The swap back to stock and Monroes was significant. The car is much more smooth, confortable and controllable for me. Just goes to show you that a stiff spring and stiff shock don't make for a good ride. I have a FTB and Stillen rear sway bar, and the handling is perfect with the Monroes for everyday driving. You can check out factory struts, but I think they are very expensive.
I think Strauss sells Monroe but I'm not sute if it's Sensatracks
10-01-2006, 11:53 AM
#17
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TOKIC...spagenameZWDVW
Are those the blues?
dang that price seems pretty good
Are those the blues?
dang that price seems pretty good
10-02-2006, 05:07 AM
#21
my dad put gabriels on his 95 max SE and the ride is def nice. He also somehow got a lifetime warranty on them, so just to keep the struts and shocks fresh, he goes to get them replaced every year or two! Yeah, he's pretty good about convincing the shop that they need to be replaced even though they're practically new. But anyways, I can tell you that gabriels are pretty frickin nice and comfortable. I rode my dad's car from Pheonix to the Grand Canyon and it was very enjoyable...and with the stock SE springs, I can still push the car a little in the cornering department. Monroe's may ride just as good, if not better, and they may be of better quality. I have OEMs on my 98 max which desperately need to be replaced, but the ride is still good enough at 114K mi where I can say, consider OEMs as well.
10-03-2006, 08:59 AM
#22
Guest
Posts: n/a
Originally Posted by goldmax
Go with Monroe Sensatracs for the best stock ride. Anything else will be stiffer than she wants. I'm pretty sure every aftermarket strut will be 10-15% stiffer than stock. I put Illuminas on my stock '97 SE springs and hated them...even on the lower settings. The handling was great, but he car was twitchy and felt every little bump and crack in the road. The swap back to stock and Monroes was significant. The car is much more smooth, confortable and controllable for me. Just goes to show you that a stiff spring and stiff shock don't make for a good ride. I have a FTB and Stillen rear sway bar, and the handling is perfect with the Monroes for everyday driving. You can check out factory struts, but I think they are very expensive.
and thanks for the warning re Illuminas. I was considering those, but not anymore.
10-03-2006, 08:28 PM
#28
Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 51
OK, so the idea I've got was to go with the blues. If the car was put onto some lowering springs, would these struts be a good match with it? I was thinking of tweaking my suspension but was concerned about pot holes and stiffness. Out here there are pot holes and odd hills and what not, I'm a little concerned about the car bottoming out and scraping everytime I drive. Is there a decent spring/strut combination that would allow me to have a nicely tuned suspension but not suffer from extreme stiffness or problems with bottoming out and scraping?
10-03-2006, 09:39 PM
#29
Originally Posted by supaneko
Is there a decent spring/strut combination that would allow me to have a nicely tuned suspension but not suffer from extreme stiffness or problems with bottoming out and scraping?
How much do you want to spend? If you have about $1.5k, you could get H&R springs, Koni struts, and a bunch of chassis bracing (subframe connectors, stage-2 lower tie bar, and front strut tower bar). That'd do the trick.
Otherwise, you're taking chances no matter what you do: Lowering your car always means risking bottoming out and scraping unless you get stiff springs that make the ride hard.
If you could do without lowering your car, Koni struts paired with springs from a 5-speed Maxima SE (if you don't already have a 5-speed SE) would be your best bet.
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