Basically the front end of my Maxima is gone. Struts are basically non-existent and lets not get into the front end alignment issues. I'm coming out a horrible financial spot and with my frugality distracted I want to spoil my car the way it deserves...So back to the point I want my car to feel like an SE nothing less, but i'm still very budget minded and will work around everything i can to get something not cheap enough to say I "just bought shocks to say I bought them" but also they don't need to be worth more than the car itself....

...Basically something that says SE: Worth the pennies I did splurge with, more fun because of the ones i didn't... lol

 

Tokico Illuminas + OEM SE Springs = exactly what you want.

 

Illumina Struts and H&R Springs. SE ride, but better look/stance.

 

I agree 100%, that combo is a dynamite ride.

BUT....

The Illuminas aren't cheap.

I was on the Illumina/OEM setup for a while. The Illuminas finally had enough and I wasn't about to dump 400+ into struts on a 10 year old car. So off to Advanced auto to pick up a set of Monore Matics. I think $200 bucks was all it took to replace all 4 dampers. The car rides nice and tight, not quite as smooth as the Illuminas, but for a budget strut, you can't go wrong. I'm pleased with their performance.

Keep your eyes on the ads on top of the forum pages, Monroe is offering an $80 rebate. That's a home run if you ask me.

 

since you said your on a budget, just buy struts from an auto parts store with a lifetime warrenty. if they go out just take them off and replace them. you can probably get another 5-10yrs out of them.

i'm lowered on k-sport springs and need rear struts before i even put the springs on and just going to get struts from an auto parts store with life time warrenty (like my axles) and just replace them whenever they go out. but then i like messing with my car so it works for me...

 

Would I need to replace the coil at the same time if I wanted to get those tokico struts? I'm trying to figure out exactly what i'll need to do this job. The chirping is killing me!

 

go big or go home lol agx's and eibachs thats what i have i love it

 

just get some gr2's, nice cheap (like 200 for all 4) and give a really nice ride quality for stock springs.

 

I'm happy with the GR2. 4 pack is $240 on ebay - Bing = ~$215. Can get fronts for 141 - Bing = ~130

 

purchasing from e-gay and tokico will NOT allow you to make a warranty claim. I talked with them about a month or two ago.

just fyi.
kyb agx I found to be really temp. dependant. Meaning you can feel the difference in the quality of the ride with a 10 degree change in temp. I am more please with my tokico /H&R set up than I was with my kyb agx setup.

 

Thanks everyone for the info, I found a good website for the Tokicos and the GR2s, but,... on the Autozone website they have Gabriel Ultra Struts 59.99 a piece for the fronts anyone have any experience with these??? I figure they'll be good for about 20-25k then upgrading to the Tokicos will be the finishing touch to my Max...Any thought???

 

i was considering those, but i went ahead and bought illuminas. the gabriels seemed like a decent strut and i found generally good reviews, but there were a couple of posts about fitment issues.

it really just depends on how much you want to spend.

 

Hi guys,

What about replacing the OEM strut boots on these Maximas? Are they dealer only? When doing struts on my Mazda 323 and MX6 I had to get the boots from the dealer and they nearly cost as much as the struts.

Thanks,
JackMeUp.

 

There is a group buy here on the website that I used, and got the KYB's. I am very happy with them and they have a lifetime warr.


Zack

 

Tokico HP, seriously, stock struts are Tokico. Anything else is a waste of money. GR-2 ride like garbage.

 

anyone have experience with d2 coilovers?