I'm prob gonna order some Tokicos to match up with my new H&R lowering springs. Are the Tokicos really as bad as everyone says? I'm a 95% suburban driver, and I don't push the car too hard, will they be a good fit for me? I don't understand how some people say they blow out in 6 months, and some say they last 80K miles. Maybe cause they have them on Eibachs?? Either way, they're better than keeping stock right

 

yo maxrod....you sure like posting about ur future spring/strut setup.
go with what you think is right. u know konis are pricey but are the best. u know tokicos go bad in 6ks. actually ive read some people that had h&rs with tokicos and the same thing happen.

i got my H&Rs and my stock struts are str8 dead. after maybe 3ks now im all bouncy. cant wait till i get some konis.

 

Frankly, the tokicos blues are probably just repainted OEM struts. Afterall tokico does make the oem shock. And don't you find it interesting, atleast I do, that tokico was/is the only one that has a direct replacement strut no inserts like Konis.

If I could do it all over again, I would have gone with Konis. But at this time, I am going to wait on the AGXs next summer...

So yeah, tokicos suck. If you want to save money, get Konis, cause in the long run you will.

-Shing

 

heard kyb canceled their production plans.

 

Or whatever it's called. That's the standard KYB shock, and I think there's an available fit for the Max now. I saw a regular tune up place in Katy(TX) with a sign saying that they sell KYBs, and I figured it was the GR2 rather than the adjustable AGX. Nopi has them too. Anybody know if these would be worth the money?

 

O

GR2's are just oem replacements.

I will FAQ this....

-Shing

 

Phooey. I have Tok's on both of my cars and they have been fine. Blow out in 6k miles? NOT! My 91GXE has prolly about 40k miles on the Tok's and my 95SC has about 30k miles on them and no bounce. These miles are all on not-so-good NJ roads.

IMO, springs make the most difference in ride firmness. How much are Koni shocks/struts? If they are not much more than Tok's then I'd give 'em a try...otherwise, I'll just get another set of Tok's when the time comes.

Jim

 

I've had my toks for right around 10k and have had no probs with them. Haven't gotten soft, haven't blown, or any other problems.

 

can't you send them back under warrenty??? i'll be pissed if not..

 

Heh, come have a ride in my car...

Even my girlfriend said "man you shocks suck" over the weekend.

Zero damping control. The AGX on the crx have amazing control. I just hope that they build the AGX for maximas the same way....

-Shing

 

i think streetmaster suspension? they have struts/shocks and springs plus camber kit all in one package. the springs lower 1.7/1.5, i don't know the website, "Got Rice" knows it.

i too am waiting for the AGX's unless this company is offering a great price for the package.

 

Shing, how many miles do you have on them? If you think they have failed prematurely, are they still under warranty? Why would mine last longer?

You're not comparing your CRX and Max suspensions are you?

Jim

 

I have had the exact same experience as Murphy_TX_Mike and Shing. I had Tokicos first. They were great for about 3 months, maybe 6, then softened wayyy up. After 2 years and 35K miles, they were dead. Zero rebound dampening. Terrible. When I pulled the fronts, they were obviously gone. The rears seemed to be okay, though. Even when I first put them in, the Tokicos were only a little better than stock. Primarily, they seemed to be stiffer in bump (compression), which yielded a little better response from the car and more planted feel. But that died quickly, like I said.

Now I have Konis. Rebound is totally different. Is sooo good. There is NO bouncing at all. All bumps are immediately absorbed. They are not harsh, either. Firm, but totally comfortable with H&Rs.

Springs do make the biggest difference in terms of ride harshness/firmness, but a good set of struts are absolutely necessary if you want to have a good handling car. The car needs to move when YOU tell it to - can't be waddling around all over the place on it's own due to bumps. My car has been transmormed - more than any other mod I've done - by the addition of Konis. By far the best mod I've done. I'm completely satisfied.

 

The tokicos has now got lots of miles on them. But as Keven said, and I am not making this up, right after I put them in I said to myself "I think the stock ones performed better than this".

They lost rebound control a long time ago. Right now they are ok, but they are certainly not what I would call performance anymore.

I was really comparing perse... I was just saying that on the CRX the AGX works really well and was hoping the AGX for the max would as well...

The funny thing is Tokicos on Civics/Tegs work really well...

-Shing

 

Dang, now I'm really confused/paranoid. Maybe my Eibachs are making up for the Tok's in some way? Seems like most of you guys had Tok's with H&R springs... My car behaves as you describe yours with Koni's. The car tracks straight over bumps without losing it's heading. Just the initial bump and that it. No bouncing afterwards. My stock struts were dead at around 61k miles. I have 87k miles on the car now which is about 26k on the Tok's and the car still feels like it did when I first had the springs/struts put on at 61k.

How much are Koni's?

Jim

 

over 40K miles and IMHO, I think they are fine. I live in NYC, where the roads can be quite harsh and they still seem to be going strong. Yes, they have softened up after the first 10K, but they have not gotten any worse since. I use them with H&R's. For the summer, I went to a 17" wheel,
and now the suspension feels...for lack of a better adjective.."ponderous". I will be going back to 15" this weekend for the winter. The Tokicos were an improvement over stock for me (I have a GLE). I am not sure what others look for in shocks, but at $330 (3/98)for the set vs the dealer cost of $360 for each front strut and $90 for each rear, for stock replacements ($900 total). Lower cost and improved performance....for me that's a win-win situation.......
40k and 2+ yrs later, they still seem to provide satisfactory handling for me.....

Disclaimer: I am not a mechanic nor do I play on on TV. I do not claim to have any professional expertise on suspension setups. I am just enjoying the ride.
Barry

 

My Konis ran $480 for all 4. Quite expensive but well worth it. I've seen better deals since then...think there was a group deal for $440 awhile back.

I do drive my car quite hard. Out here in Texas, there are loads of windy, bumpy back roads. I take them all the time...even to work. So I do tax my suspension quite a bit. Then again, I had been driving primarily interstate routes the first 6-9 months I had the Tokicos in, and it was over that period (~15K miles) that they softened up. Maybe just a bad batch, maybe I beat the hell outta the things, maybe I'm just very picky as to how I think the car should handle. Irregardless, I was not happy with them, hence have switched.

 

I've had two sets of Tokico and am questioning the ride and longevity. It seems my rebound is pretty sloppy. Where can I get a set of Koni struts? I assume they make a matched set for the front/rear?

 

Don, you might want to consider only doing the fronts. I drove for a week with the new Konis in front and old Toks in the rear (didn't have enough time to finish), and the car drove surprisingly well. I'd guesstimate that it drove 80% as well as it does now with Konis all around. Apparently, the rear Tokicos do an alright job. The sloppy rebound was all coming from the front. The only real difference with the Konis in the rear is that the compression (bump) is a little stiffer, so the car understeers a hair less. I really don't notice any difference in rebound from the Tokicos. They fronts are ****-adjustable at the top, so you get that flexibility, too. Rear Konis require removal for adjustment, which makes them essentially unadjustable (except for the first time).

Try http://www.shox.com. They have the best "all the time" prices I've seen. I think they have the full Koni sets from $470/80. Don't know exactly what fronts alone would run, but I imagine ~$300 or so. Not bad considering you're getting the majority of the benefit of the full $480 set.

[Edited by Keven97SE on 11-28-2000 at 11:50 AM]

 

Haha..I know Bus, consider me a Maxima idiot . I just don't want to spend $300 on Tokicos that not even be better than stock. Thanks for all the help guys.

 

I think that they sell the Koni's at carparts.com So you could you the coupons if you want, but be careful. People have had problems with carparts, make sure the items are in stock....call up and ask.

 

Now what about the Cattman Coilovers? How does it compare to say a Eibach/Tokico install?

 

nah i dont think that. i would do the same thing if i wasnt sure. 300 bucks is three hundred bucks.