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.

 

Tokico Blues......some say they are tad bit stiffer......but Meh....or just get some OEMs from the dealer

 

Or Illuminas.

 

If AGXs are overkill then Illuminas would be too...by overkill it think he means the adjustability factor because its his wife's ride

 

Tokico Blues are the way to go, u won't be disappointed ... I have them on my rear and they are excellent. There are many good deals (eBay) where you get the pack of 4 for $300.

 

She hated the SE on GR-2s? Wow...

Probably best to stick to OEM.

 

I don't know why but I even thought the car rode rough. I could tolerate the ride but she hated it. I will not be going with adjustables for sure. I've used GR-2s on other cars before and they were ok.

 

Do the blues with the tokico springs lower the car at all? If so how much front/back?

**Forget it I found out**

 

How much are OEMS?

Couldnt illuminas be adjusted down to be real soft?

 

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.

 

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.

 

OEM struts will also last a lot longer than the Monroes....

 

Just get the blues. They're cheap, confortable, and they handle good. My girl doesn't complain at all. They take bumbs and pot holes well.

 

Go with the tokico blues, I have them on my 97 gle and love them. Great ride.

 

How much did you pay for Monroes ?

I think Strauss sells Monroe but I'm not sute if it's Sensatracks

 

I know a bunch of the allante guys use sensatracks and love them.

Wheres the best place to get blues?

and again how much are OEM ones?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TOKIC...spagenameZWDVW

Are those the blues?

dang that price seems pretty good

 

He didn't mention cost as a factor and no one suggested konis?

Jeebus, what has the world come to?

 

id go oem... cuz i agree, at least u know what u will be getting.

 

would you guys just listen to D00df00d.. the guy REALLY knows his stuff, well on most subjects

 

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.

 

how do the sensatracs compare to stock SE struts? softer? I'm looking for a softer ride on my 99SE and am debating OEM GLE vs. something else. I really don't care about handling at all.

and thanks for the warning re Illuminas. I was considering those, but not anymore.

 

Don't replace only the struts. Replace the springs as well.

GLE struts are made for GLE springs, which are softer than SE springs. That combo is asking for a poor ride and accelerated wear.

 

aren't the front springs the same for SE/GLE/GXE? i know they're different for auto vs. 5sp.

 

Oh yeah. Duh... Sorry.

The rears are definitely different among trim levels, though.

 

If a set of 350$ AGX were overkill, would a set of 600$ konis not be?

 

he DIDNT mention cost as a factor....He mentioned stiffness, not cost

 

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?

 

Not really.

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.