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Hi,
A year and a half ago I replaced both front strut/coil assemblies with Gabriel from autozone. Six months later, I replaced them again because they were bad and I upgraded to a more expensive Gabriel assembly. The replacements are again bad and I want to buy a different brand.
I decided to buy the complete assembly because I didn't want to deal with compressing the original springs and all that.
I would like to know what you think about Monroe shocks. Are they better than Gabriel?
I was told that KYB are good quality but I would need to buy coil springs and install them (which I don't think I will have a problem but it will add $$ to the final cost)
I am NOT looking for sporty ride.

Thanks,

*****

 
Rep Power: 209

Pretty sure KYB is stock strut manufacturer. Gabriel and Monroe are garbage..use KYB is probably th ebest option for the price. Should be able to use the current springs..here's a link to KYB: https://www.partsgeek.com/mvv577t-ho...Strut+Assembly

Other brands to consider are: Tokico, Tien, Koni.

 
Rep Power: 126

bilstein dont forget,... i run monroe front they are ok for regular oem feel.. i doubth they will make 200k like the OEM's .. they lasted so far 2 years no problem..

 
Rep Power: 511

My vote goes for Tokico (HP a.k.a. blues). Great quality, but they do run a bit more expensive than the aforementioned ones you can find at like.. sears and pep boys.

over at THmotorsports.com, full set of 4 will run you $510.62 shipped. A bit of a forewarning, though, make sure you buy struts made to fit 01-02 civics. If you buy ones made for 03-05, the crash bolts won't fit, well, at least in the fronts. Well, not without modding the struts. 01-02 use 14mm crash bolts, 03-05 use 16mm

 
Rep Power: 366

for stock feel, KYB

what's wrong with removing the parts from the last set you have and install in the new shocks?

wasn't gabriel an off-shoot of monroe? Anyway, even my old VW from the 80's 90's do not go well with monroe/gabriel.

 
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Thanks for the replies. Since I bought a pair of struts/coils, I trashed the old ones so if I want to use a good brand, it seems I will need to buy all the parts separately. I don't mind to put them together (even though I bought assemblies to avoid putting them together) but I can imagine the price for all the parts will make the whole thing more expensive than I was planning. I know you get what you paid for but I am trying to save some bucks.

 
Rep Power: 366

No, you still have springs and top hats on the car. No need to buy new springs or top hats if you swap them to the new shocks

 
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this is what I bought: https://www.autozone.com/suspension-...71_239362_2888

I bought a pair of those, remove the three top nuts, the two bottom bolts, got rid of the whole thing, and replaced them with the whole assemblies. Sorry for the misunderstanding; I do not know the name of all the other little parts

*****

 
Rep Power: 122

I noticed that the loaded strut is cheaper than the strut alone from gabriel... thats a red flag for me

 
Rep Power: 366

you don't need to buy any of the other parts that are in the whole assembly.

you will need to disassemble it and transfer to the new shocks

 
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I finally get what you mean. Sorry for being slow...