It's time for the suspension to get replaced. Was wondering if Tokico Blue are a good choice for a soft ride. There are full sets for $360 with shipping on ebay, which seems reasonable as I just got a quote for 450 to change the front struts.

 

It can depend on a few things. Are you just replacing the struts? Or are you lowering etc? I know its not the same car but i had tokico blues with skunk2 coils on my 91 integra and it was one hell of a bumpy ride. Ive have tokicos on a 91 crx with coils ik cant remember what type but it rode smooth as glass.

But ya to answer your question tokicos are decent struts

 

I have Blues with HR springs. I love it. Sporty but comfortable

 

I'm not lowering the car. Just replacing stock that have seen their best miles already. I sure don't want a bumpy ride; I don't really do anything that needs a race-stiff suspension. I'm not a grandma in need of a hip replacement, but I would say I want a nice ride. I don't want shocks and struts that I'll have to replace in a year, but I suppose that goes without saying.

There's no adjustment on these Tokicos for softer or stiffer suspension? I can deals with sporty but way the hell over on the softer side, he he if that makes sense.

How do I tell if the coils need to be replaced. I've mostly done highway miles.

 

I got blues w/ the H&R springs and i love it. THere is no other way to put it.

THe blues still gonna give u a comfy ride but the ride gonna be a lil stiffer cuz the strut is stonger than stock. What this means is that if u go over a bump, the suspension wont depress as much with the blues, cuz the blues have more "strength" than the stock.

Stock strut/suspension will depress more cuz its meant to. Its a softer strut that depresses more to give a more softer comfy ride. But stock wont give u a sporty ride, cuz in the turns the stock is already depressing whereas the blues is holding like a motherF lol.

U have to understand that when it comes to suspension, u trade sportiness for comfort. The blues still gonna be comfortable but its never gonna be stock comfy. They arent meant to be. They are a upgrade to increase handling and performance, i.e. sportiness. Illuminas are adjustable so u can go from super comfort to super sporty, from 0 - 5. The blues are Illuminas on the middle setting, 3. From what i hear from other members, illuminas on the 2 setting is stock.

I have had stock and the blues. Im never gonna get stock struts again.

EDIT:

Your stock springs should still be good.

 

The HRs lower the car though right?

The stock springs will work fine on the Tokicos?

 

The Blues ride very smooth, actually more compliant then the stock setup. Their rebound dampening is softer then OEM. A great strut for a nice compliant DD ride.

 

Stock springs will work fine with the blues.

Im telling you man, the blues are good. SEARCH the org, you will read a lot more positive reviews than neg.

The stock struts dont hold as good as the blues. And when we say stock, we talking OEM, not no autozone brand.

Lowering the car will give u better handling than jus the blues alone. I been dropped for 2 months and no issues, jus better handling and performance.

 

That good huh. How much did your drop? HR's are about 1.5 inches front and back, little more drop on the front. What does that look like? Can you tell looking at it from the side that it's dropped?

 

DAmn son, SEARCH. I already made a thread about my drop

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...ighlight=blues

 

Thanks. Nice thread.

 

maybe its just me, but i had tokico blue with sprint springs (mild drop), and my struts went out in a couple months, maybe i just got a bad set

 

Blues are good.

 

HP + stock springs = awesome
Stock struts are Tokico BTW.


To all that are pairing HP's and lowering springs.... of course they are blowing or riding rough. They arent ment to be paired with drop springs. They are stock replacements. Ive seen them sold with Tokico springs which must be nearly soft as stock. Maybe, just maybe H&R's can be used. Still I wouldnt pair any drop spring with a non adjustable strut.

Sprints are not a mild drop. Before Suck techs and Gaysports they were the lowest available.

 

I've seen this statement posted a few times by multiple people. I have to disagree. Tokico HP struts/shocks are NOT a stock replacement part, they are intended to be used as a high performance part for people on a tight budget. They can be used safely with lowering springs assuming the rate and drop is mild. Tokico includes a warning with the HP's to not lower the car past around 1.25 inches lower than stock...because they SELL a lowering kit that does exactly that. Are they the best struts/shock available? No, but they will perform fine for someone not doing any serious track driving.

If you don't believe me ask maximum motorsports. They might be a mustang performance company, but they know suspension products (for their application) better than almost anyone...and they sell and recommend HP's for mild drops at lower spring rates. You can call it apples vs oranges, but I think it is a good tidbit to know.

I ran HPs with oem SE springs for a few thousand miles with no complaints and now I'm lowered with H&R sports...rides great. (10x better than my brother's 01 GT convt with eibachs and bilsteins IMO)

 

I have a koni sport yellow and H&R spring set up. they are adjustable and i had them soft for the first 2 yrs and i have cranked the front up this past year but left the backs soft, cus you have to take them off the car to adjust stiffness, and the fronts you have a ****, bad move i know, anyway my front have just started going I love a stiff ride. personal preference, i'm looking to replace them and right know online they are 270 for the front set 240 for the rear set i mean personal prefence i like the ride and you can adjust the front stiffness at will just wouldn't recomend long term driving with a totally dialed up front and a totally dialed down rear.

 

Congratulations you just reiterated what I said. You can run very mild springs. I do bet H&R/HP rides well, its a mild drop.

Ive had HP's I know how they ride. Ive seen them paired with just about every spring. People run Stechs/HP and claim it rides great. Fact is most dont have a clue how little suspension travel we have. A 1.5" drop yeilds about 1/2" of travel if youre lucky.

 

How did I reiterate what you said? Contradict slightly, yes. Reiterate, no.

I'm not some suspension newbie, I understand completely what the limitations are for our suspensions. Many Nissans have this issue. This is why I had koni coilovers customized (cut, shortened, and welded) for a B13 se-r I had years ago.

My car with stock springs, HPs, and 18" 6th gen wheels with 225/40/18 tires rode rougher than it does now...with H&Rs, HPs, and stock 16" SE wheels/tires. (barely) The roads aren't trashed where I live though. People that live up north may need every bit of comfort they can muster out of the suspension. YMMV...I'm happy with my choice.

 

Tokico does have that disclaimer on their site. If a company says u can only lower a certain amount then i wd listen to them about THEIR product. For this reason, i got the H&Rs which were comparable in drop.

I did read and was surprised that tokico was the original manufacturer for the OEM struts.

I understand that no strut will last forever. No matter what i buy, they eventually gonna blow. And becuz im lowered, the struts prolly blow even sooner.

Will tokicos last longer than KYB or KONIS?? IDK man. I jus know that im lowered and my ride dont suck and dont look stupid ricer. If it last 45k to 60k, then thats cool. With my drivng 60k is about 2 - 3 yr , around the same amount of time i plan on keeping the car.

Now, suppose the HPs blow in 6 months. i know i had a problem and they werent supposed to be lowered on H&Rs or anything lower. Then i wd buy blues again and reinstall the OEM springs. Im jus never gonna be on a track and im not tryin to be adjusting anything. And If im not adjusting them, then why buy adjustables, JMO.

Or i might jus try those KONI yelllows. See what Sutter be talkin all this time


EDIT:

When i was researching what to buy, I called tokico. They sd Illuminas are blues that are adjustable. Neither is any stronger. Tokico claimed they werent separate "entities".

Now if tokico sd the illumina were a completely different design intended for extreme drops then thats different and i prolly wd have gotten the illuminas instead of the HPs. In that case I wd expect the illuminas to last longer with a mild drop than the HPs. But since they vritually the same, jus that Illuminas have a separate chamber to build pressure to increase strut stiffness, I didnt think the adjustability vs additional cost was worth the extra money. However, if u want stiffness or even more performance then its DEFINITELY worth it gettin the adjustables. I jus didnt want that.

 

I had heard this too. Just because illuminas cost more doesn't mean they're better quality or more durable...you're just paying for tuning flexibility.