Need new front strut assemblies. Brand suggestions?
 

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,

Willy

Re: Need new front strut assemblies. Brand suggestions?
 

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.

Re: Need new front strut assemblies. Brand suggestions?
 

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..

Re: Need new front strut assemblies. Brand suggestions?
 

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

Re: Need new front strut assemblies. Brand suggestions?
 

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.

Re: Need new front strut assemblies. Brand suggestions?
 

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.

Re: Need new front strut assemblies. Brand suggestions?
 

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

Re: Need new front strut assemblies. Brand suggestions?
 

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 :)

Willy

Re: Need new front strut assemblies. Brand suggestions?
 

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

Re: Need new front strut assemblies. Brand suggestions?
 

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

Re: Need new front strut assemblies. Brand suggestions?
 

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