I am Fairly new to the org I bought my 96 SE last april from this ORG... with 130K miles, now it has 158K and I think its time to change the shocks... I am basicly looking for a OEM replacement shock that will be as comfortable and will last me a while.... The gabriels are fairly cheap and seem like a good replacement.
The model im looking at are the: GABRIEL ULTRA™ SHOCK ABSORBERS
Any thought or opinions?

my springs are stock and im not planning to drop my car, (Brooklyn roads)...

 

There are better choices. Like the KYB GR-2s. They cost something like $220-250 for all four.

 

The Gabriel shocks are good for what you're looking for.

 

I think GR-2's will be too stiff with stock springs, and will give a bumpy ride.
I also looked at the Tokico blues but those are more expensive about 300, where i can get the GABRIELS for like 150-180.

any body has them on and likes the ride?

 

stay away form Monroe or GABRIEL shock, they only last about one to two years on NY road. spend the money on KYB( little stiff in the cold winter) or OEM brand "Tokico" Blue Shocks or OEM if you want stock replacement.
http://maxmods.dyndns.org/index.php?MaximaShocks

 

The roads in NYC suck so how it is that KYB's are going to last longer than a good Gabriel shock? I would even recommend KYB's to anyone after my experience with them.

I've had Gabriel shocks on my Toyota pickup and they took a beating and lasted for years. Get a heavy duty shock and worry about aftermarket brands.

You can get them cheap from www.jcwhitney.com

 

The GR-2s are intended as an OEM replacement.

If you've already made up your mind, why did you ask people for their opinions?



Just get the Gabriels.

 

MilesA <-- I didnt make up my mind yet, but im leaning toward the Gabriels... Just wanted to make sure no body has any horror stories of them blowing.
also the GR-2's are 15% firmer than stock, so im not sure how they are intended to be stock replacements.

 

The Gabriels are OK. The shocks you are looking at are very low cost, they are the house brand for Midas, so if you want those you might as well go to Midas. I don't think they will blow prematurely, but they will probably be too soft and your ride will be too uncontrolled, IMHO. My past experience with Gabriel and Monroe is that they are just OK.

If the GR-2s are 10-15% stiffer than OEM, then that is about right for my taste. I don't like a floaty, boat-like feel to the ride, personally. My mechanic swears by the GR-2s as a good product and puts them in as OEM replacements routinely. Even so, I went with the Illuminas because I wanted something I could be happy with long-term. Your mileage may vary.

 

TOYOTA PICKUP!!!!!!


Struts are very important. I would say get KYB GR-2s or Tokico Blues if you want to keep stock springs and a really smooth ride and don't care about handling. The KYBs will be stiffer but possible cheaper. The blues would be a very good choice though.

everything you need to know:
http://maxmods.dyndns.org/index.php?MaximaShocks

 

thanks for all the quick replies...
Ill try to hold off on the struts alittle longer to save up and get the tokico blues, I know these are the BEST, but the low price tag of the GABRIELS seemed very attractive....

 

Yeah and.........

Any stiff strut is going to blow driving around in NYC in no time. You guys don't know this because you've never driven around in NYC. He clearly said he didn't want to spend a lot of money on replacement. If the Gabriel's were strong enough for the abuse I put them through while on my truck, they will stand up while ona Max.

I swear, some of you guys think the only good parts around are name brand aftermarket stuff. Gabriel has been around for a looooooooooooong time and they make a good product. My mechanic didn't tell me to say that either.

 

i thought monore have lifetime warrenty on them
so if they blow bring it back to the store and have them replace?
so what the issues here?
lifetime warrenty on nyc roads are a must
i agree with deezo about not everything in life have to be aftermarket.
some of the monroe struts/shocks can give the kyb a run for their money

 

That depends on what you mean by "good". For you, I guess that means they don't blow up?



I said they were "OK". That's as far as I'm willing to praise them.

Remember, he is putting these shocks on stock springs. You think the Tokico Blues or KYB GR-2s are too stiff? You think they are just going to blow when a $19.99 Gabriel shock won't? Whatever. I didn't realize NYC was the only city in the world with bumps and potholes.

 

You know what I mean by "good". You guys are stuck on some BS GR-2's and they are a waste for city driving, especially in NYC. I know Gabriel shocks are "good" because I've abused mine with carrying loads back and forth to NYC, Philly, NJ and Delaware from MA. I've run over all kinds of shyte that would destroy a performance strut. I bet all those NYC taxis are running performance struts also. I gaurantee their replacments are Monroe or Gabriels.

For heavy duty NYC driving situations, I would not be recommending this fella buy a semi-performance strut which is made for smooth roads. They will not handle the abuse. If Rancho made struts for the Max, I'd be recommending those struts. The case here is NYC driving. VA and most other places out of the NE have smoother roads than NYC. I now live in MA (and MA has smoother roads than NYC),I still couldn't get away from blowing my KYB AGX's and they were on the car for 2 months.

So just because everyone around here is driving on Tokicos (Illuminas are the best IMO for city driving but cost a lot), KYB's or even Coilovers, it doesn't mean they're being used for the correct application.

So back to the question asked, "Are Gabriel shocks any good?" Yes, they are a very good shock. For the cost, you will not find a better shock. Just because people on the org aren't using them, doesn't mean they're bad.

 

I have them on my wife's geo prism and i they ride wonderfull. They should work great with stock springs.

Nick.

 

I'm not sure why Deezo thinks that a slightly more firmly valved damper (GR-2) would be any less durable on rough roads than a softer damper.

KYB makes quality products, regardless of the damping curves.

 

My KYB's weren't quality and there are others with that had the issues with them blowing prematurely. I felt they were a waste so I moved on to the Illumina.

 

Okay. I'm still not seeing how that's related to the stiffness of the damper...

 

We could all tell our stories of why we favor one shock over another.

I had KYB Gas-a-just shocks on a VW Super Beetle and they put up with abuse for years. I also had Monroe shocks on a Mazda MX-6 and they turned the ride and handling to mush. I have never owned a Toyota pick-up truck.

Next?

 

Oh, I just remembered, I have Gabriel shocks on my Nissan truck. Top notch so far.

 

My KYB were to stiff for roads in MA, therefore they blew on some harsh road I was commuting on. I know that driving around the Big Dig surely caused it. If they weren't so stiff, they wouldn't have blown. Stiffer struts hold higher internal pressures than softer struts.

 

It's about what the guys question.....next?

 

Maybe they wouldn't have blown if they weren't painted red.

 

Ok Ben...

If there is something you know, school me. He was looking for something not expensive and I told him the Gabriels are good.

 

No, not really. I'm just not convinved that damping force (independent of anything else) has anything to do with overall durability, that's all.

 

I agree with Ben here. I don't see that the stiffness of a shock has anything to do with durability. Durability has to do with design. Example: the R-package Miata has extremely stiff Bilstein shocks. They are known to go up to 100,000 miles before they need to be replaced or rebuilt. The usual reason they need to be rebuilt is because the seals wear out, so they start to leak. It doesn't have anything to do with the internal pressure.

How do you know your KYB's blew because they were too stiff? That's just a guess. Were you running on lowered springs? Maybe you exceeded the limits of travel for the shocks.

Anyway, no one said the Gabriels were bad. Just that there are better choices. You say the Gabriels are good for the money, Borka already knows that. Borka also said he might save up for the Tokico Blues. So I am not sure what we are arguing about except who gets the last word.

 

For how much a pain it is to replace maxima struts/shocks, I'd go with at least the KYBs, IMHO. Gabriel/Monroe are inferior and will probably fail way too soon. Leaving you to repeat the process and spend more $.

 

Thing is, I know that the KYB's won't last in NYC.

 

Not true. My 95 had...still has for all I know (sold it) Gr-2 for over 2 years with Suspension Tech springs (very stiff) and they never blew

 

So you've driven around NYC (Brooklyn in particular) every day for 2 years on GR-2's?

 

my dad has these on his camry pretty decent he has 200000 on his car rides pretty good

"and no the mileage is not a typo"

 

Nope not Brookyn. Upper Manhatten/Bronx, Newark, Clifton.... Oh the Cross Bronx was such a pleasure. And don't think that Brooklyn has the corner on crappy roads. The back road to my complex was really crappy and the overpass was the fun one. They would make anti-potholes...fill it with so much patch that you get a small mountain to go over. Get going fast enough and you can play the Dukes of Hazzard

 

I don't know about where you live but I'm amazed that you could handle driving the Cross Bronx with any stiff strut and lowering spring.

 

Slow is the key...not that the Cross Bronx is anything other then slow

 

gabriels arent a bad shock if all you are looking for is a stock replacement. at autozone they do come with a lifetime warranty so if your changing them yourself then them going bad isnt a problem. if you plan on having someone put them on just wait til midas or sears is having some kind of special because then youll be getting pretty much same stuff but atleast you wont hafta foot the bill in chaning them