Advise on New Suspension

[Marcov71]

Hey guys, need some advise. Took my car to the mechanic. My rear shocks were shot so ill be replacing those along with the bump stoppers. Now the question I have, should I replace my front struts as well? The car currently has 82,000. My mechanic said that the struts still looked ok but usually at this mileage, it might be best to replace them as well. Only thing availble that is affordable are the KYB. I'm wondering if i should just keep the OEM struts on until they are shot, since they are supposed to be "performance" struts or just change them out for the KYB's and risk losing some of that "performance".

[kconklin33]

Doesn't surprise me about your rear shocks. They have a tendency to go. The front OEM's should be KYB's? I've replaced mine with another set of KYB's and they handle awesome!

[Marcov71]

Kconklin, At what mileage did u change your front struts? Did u change them because they were shot or because u had purchased the new lowered springs?

[Moto]

You won't lose any performance to a kby strut if your current fronts have 82k on them. It should be a noticeable improvement at this point.

Money would likely be the deciding factor as I expect an additional two struts + labor to set you back an additional $250-400. (Looks like about $80 a side for parts with new rubber.)

[Marcov71]

Yeah, so I ended up just ordering the rear shocks and bumpnstoppers. My tires are shot and I will have to get a new set soon. So I had to decide between the two. Gonna trust my mechanic word about my fronts still being "ok"....gulp...lol

[golftango]

@82K, your struts are probably fine.

You can check the condition of your struts easily. Open the hood and press down on the top of each strut tower. Does the car pop right back up with no further movement? Then the struts are good. If you press down and let go and the car bobs up and down a few times, you need struts. Typically struts are good for over 100K miles. Shocks on the other hand tend to need replacing sooner. But with NY potholes and winter salt, best to check them every 6 months.

[KuroNekko]

The Kizashi's suspension problem is contained to the just the rear shocks and largely due to the faulty rear bump stopper design. While 82,000 miles is rather high, I think you'll be fine for a while longer. After all, the front struts and rear shocks are quite different in design. I've had my rear shocks replaced under warranty a while ago (over 2 years ago, I think) and with the new rear bump stoppers, my rear shocks are just fine.

[Marcov71]

Thanks guys you def. made me feel better about my decision. Since I ended up saving money on the front struts and labor I pulled the plug on wheels and tires. Got the following combo:
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direc ... w=8&cs=235

With these Wheels:

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direc ... wd=18&rw=8

AND I got back $200 in rebates and no interest financing....too good of deal to say "NO". Pretty excited

[kconklin33]

Glad to hear you got a new set of shoes! Although I'm a fanboy for the large wheel manufacturer's (Work, Rays, WCI, etc..) I dig the style and they should fit nicely.