What company manufactures the stock shocks on your max. I had the wheels off today and I was really surprised to see that mine are Tokico. I guess they must be a cheap version or high volume production type. They are black. Am I correct to assume everyone with stock shocks have Tokicos?

 

MacPherson makes struts for Maximas, and have been for quite a while. Surprised you have Tokico. You got your car new or used?

 

New car and have serviced it at teh dealer only

 

Hehe, well I guess you guys in Dubai have a deal with Tokico, while our US/CA Maximas use MacPherson. There's a reason why everyone says Tokico Blues are stock replacements, probably. Were your struts blue colored by any chance?

 

My factory struts where also tokicos as wheel. I had changed with tokico blues. The rears blew out at 12k hope the blues are a better line than the OE Tokicos that came on Max.

 

yUp my stock struts are also tockico just bought Kyb Gr2 my stock Tockico blew at 13.5K

 

um...I don't think so. MacPherson is not the brand name of the struts, it is the "type" of strut setup (i.e. the "MacPherson strut").....

MacPherson Strut: A suspension system that consists of a combination coil spring and shock absorber in one compact unit at each wheel. With this "independent" suspension design, road shocks at one wheel are not transferred to the opposite wheel. MacPherson struts use fewer parts, meaning a reduction on weight and fewer elements that could wear out.

this as opposed to using leaf springs......the majority of cars these days use MacPhereson struts, while some trucks/suv's still use leaf springs....

Tokico makes the OEM maxima strut, which is the same as the "tokico blue" except it's painted black....

 

Learn something new everyday. I always thought MacPherson was a brand.

 

Yeah I used to think that too.....

 

Are the Blues in any way "stronger" than the stock struts? Cuz I know how stock struts can't really handle any lower springs. Or do ya mean they're literally the same thing just different colors?

I was gonna get Blues with Eibachs or Maxspeeds but if the Blues aren't any different from stock I might as well just save the money to get the Illuminas...

 

Can't say with certainty, but seems like alot of people have blown their blues on lowering springs here......the illuminas are made specifically for higher performance (i.e. lowering springs and hard driving) and so are tougher than the blues, which are advertised as OEM replacements (meaning they are the same as OEM when it comes to toughness, performance, etc...)

 

tockco blues are 10% stiffer then stock.its like having an illumina on 2. kyb gr2 are the same as the agx on setting 2. iused to have the chart form both companies but have to look thrugh all my stuff to find it. tockico blues(hp) and kyb gr 2 are sold as replacements but offer alittle more then stock in dampening. just like eibach pro kits are 10%-25% stiffer then oem springs. really the combo of eibachs with either strut is what your car should have oem.( thats in the eyes of those manufactures) race drops and sporlines offer higher spring rates lower drops which is really meant for optimum handeling.

 

Well, the Blues are stiffer. But just because they're "stock replacements" as some have touted them doesn't mean they'll break down on you. You won't experience the same result with new springs and stock struts down the line (i.e. blowing the struts) as you would with springs and new struts.

Reason being is because the struts you're putting on are brand new and have absolutely no wear on them, so you're starting with a fresh and sturdy strut. Make sense?

 

tocrapo makes stock struts and make even worse aftermarket

 

What's with the hate? Did Tokico kill your dog?

 

So you're still saying that if I had brand new stock struts and brand new Blues, they're gonna be the same thing? Or will the brand new Blues hold out better with slightly lower springs than brand new stock struts? Sorry, this is still kinda confusing ....

 

Thanks.... makes sense..... so it seems that any lowering springs I get should go with something like the Illuminas or AGXs and not Blues or GR2s?

 

You'd get much better results with Blues. You'd have a higher chance of blowing new stock struts because they're not as stiff as the Blues; but you'd be able to get a couple of thousand miles out of them for sure. The blues will definitely hold out better because of their stiffer setting.

Consider this: if you're going for Eibach, Maxspeed or Tein H-Tech, then Blues will last you a while; because neither of those springs drop you more than half an inch altogether. If you drop with Progress, Tein S-Tech or certain other "low" springs...then I wouldn't recommend the blues and would suggest getting a sturdier and stiffer strut.

 

Thanks Arnold K.... I appreciate your explanations and patience... as you can see I'm still learning about the whole suspension mod thing....

 

It's cool. I'm learning too.

 

But I thought Eibach, Maxspeed, and H-Techs dropped between 1.3-1.6" in the front and between 1.0-1.3" in the rear? Or am I missing something here?

 

Btw, I was looking here for that info.... http://www.innerbean.com/housecor/sp..._decision.html

 

Right, none of those springs go beyond 1.5 all around. Only the H-Tech drops you 1.6 up front, but up back it's a mere 1 inch. If all around the springs dropped you more than 1.5 (front and back) then you'd need stiffer struts.

 

Gotcha... thanks....

 

Yes, stock struts are made by Tokico, and I believe they're made to Nissan's specifications (e.g. Nissan designed them, and had Tokico manufacture them)

I like my Tokico Illuminas (their top-of-the-line adjustable aftermarket) very much