My 98 maxima with only 70k miles is in great condition. However its a loud ride with those control arms.. Wondering what are the very best after market/OEM struts and shocks to put on the car to make the ride a lot more quiet? Thanks in advance ..

 

Seems to me that noise in cars is usually caused by the tires, and not the shocks and struts.

 

I think, if you’re looking for OE-ish replacements, either Monroe or Gabriel would suit your needs.

Also, if you look at Rock Auto’s listings, they’ve current got both brands for < $10 each.

 

what are the best shocks and struts for 4th gen maximas ?

 

I did extensive research for my wife's '97 and was very disappointed that the KYB's I had been using were no longer available. I purchased a set of Monroe's. One of the front shocks was completely loose and I returned it. A month after installation the right rear cap began rattling. It drives me nuts but I'm not going through the replacement effort AGAIN. It's a great car hobbled by the lack of quality parts availability IMO.

 

The good stuff was:
Tokico made the original struts. The HP (blue) were considered an upgrade, Illuminas (white) even better.
Koni Sport (yellow), one of the best we could get, tough install for the front. STR.T (orange) were short lived.
KYB GR-2 (silver) now Excel-g (black) or AGX (red) were good but not nearly as comfortable as the others.

I think all but the Excel-G have been discontinued. Sachs is another current option, I have no experience with them. After that, get quick struts from the local auto parts store with the best warranty. Save your old stuff just in case.

 

I agree with JS Wholeheartedly.

All the complete aftermarket Strut Assembly manufacturers suck for 4th Gen Maximas. I went through KYB, Monroe and Moog and finally realized that all the consumable parts on replacement assemblies had to be OEM Nissan and the best available Strut was the Koni STR-T (Orange). I did all four myself and was finally happy with a quiet, tight and responsive ride, still comfortable.

But whatever Strut you ultimately, ONLY use.... NISSAN Consumable Components. (Strut Bearings, Mounts, etc.) The only thing I didn't use was their Spring Insulators. Which usually are the first thing that fail and make the biggest noise problems. I used Heavy Walled Heat Shrink Tubing and that should be the INDUSTRY STANDARD. And use the Strut Mount for the SE models from Nissan. It's the most durable.

The Heat Shrink Tubing was DSG-CANUSA 0750 in 4ft lengths.

Here is the Thread I did: https://maxima.org/forums/4th-genera...op-bottom.html

 

I installed 4 Monroe quick struts on my 120-something-K 1997 and no problems with them so far. I couldn't locate anything rated as markedly better. The Monroe raised the car about 1.5" from what it was and the ride settled in fairly quickly, which amounts to comfortable with no noise (yet). It doesn't handle like a mazda3 but it corners pretty well without too much body roll at sane speeds. Certainly a lot better than what it was before the replacement.

 

I couldn’t decide for my 96 i30, the Tokio/OE’s weren’t available so since I was also lowering for better handling, I went with coilovers.. Impressed with the overall experience except it’s lower than I hoped it would be.. I sold parts for 20 years and I couldn’t decide for my needs but for no lowering or hard driving I would’ve chosen the Sachs from Rockauto for best oe replacement.. I put a set on my 97 gxe for regular use and they were nice..