My 88 Celica GT needs rear struts, bad. It's hard to find them new, Canadian Tire lists two different brands for my car, one is 84, other is 145. None in stock, and probably won't be able to get them for a while because they're on backorder or something. Carquest has 2, but they want $105 a piece. That's a bit much for me, so I called a junkyard. They want $75 a piece for the complete assembly, that's the spring and all. After tax, two used struts would cost me about 165 bucks! That's a lot for used parts. I was looking on eBay, and I found an auction for 2 Gabriel VST that would fit my Celica. $40 US, and 30 US for shipping. All together, that would cost me roughly $95 Canadian. $95 for two brand new Gabriel's, sounds better than paying $160 for 2 used ones, right? Anyway, I'm just wondering what these struts ride like. Can't seem to find a whole lot about them searching through Google.
Aonyone here use Gabriel VST struts?
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plenty of recent info on how people feel about specific brands. consensus gabriel on low end. do a search. kyb,monroe,bilstein,tokico,koni...
CarQuest repackages Gabriel struts in Canada so don't bother cross border shopping. I put a pair on the back of my VW Golf and didn't notice a difference except under hard cornering where a jerking motion disappeared. I put them on because one of my bosi? struts was leaking all over the place. The fact that I'm running 44PSI instead of 26/28PSI in my tires probably has a lot to do with the ride quality but I'm all about fuel economy. The CarQuests come with a lifetime warranty and my dealer said he hasn't had any problem with a lot of returns.
Steve
Steve
bet ya 84CAD for Monroe struts.
If you just want them to last no more than 1 year, get those Monroes.
If longevity and reliability is of concern, it will costs you badly (145 is not bad, but dunno what brand they are).
Nowadays I will only go with Tokico Lumina struts (and inserts of course) for all Japanese imports. For others I would try getting Bilstein/Konis.
for performance I go with Tein/Bridgestone shocks/struts from Japan. Of course, a set of 4 HKS/Tein can run you close to 1,800CAD.
If you just want them to last no more than 1 year, get those Monroes.
If longevity and reliability is of concern, it will costs you badly (145 is not bad, but dunno what brand they are).
Nowadays I will only go with Tokico Lumina struts (and inserts of course) for all Japanese imports. For others I would try getting Bilstein/Konis.
for performance I go with Tein/Bridgestone shocks/struts from Japan. Of course, a set of 4 HKS/Tein can run you close to 1,800CAD.
I prefer Gabriel over Monroe in the "resonably priced" shock market.Napa,Carquest are the major suppliers in Canada for Gabriel.I have used the "Hi-Jackers" with great satisfaction and the "Max-Control" mono-tubes work good for my Cherokee thus far.Both my Jeeps have the NAPA (Gabriel) steering damper on the steering linkage and for the money and warranty you can't beat them!
Two votes then for the Max control monos then, so far 13,000 miles on them and going strong on the F250.quote:
Originally posted by Greaser:
I prefer Gabriel over Monroe in the "resonably priced" shock market.Napa,Carquest are the major suppliers in Canada for Gabriel.I have used the "Hi-Jackers" with great satisfaction and the "Max-Control" mono-tubes work good for my Cherokee thus far.Both my Jeeps have the NAPA (Gabriel) steering damper on the steering linkage and for the money and warranty you can't beat them!
I'd like to make that 3 votes for the MacControls, I've got them on my Mountaineer and very impressed with them. Nice and firm, yet controlled ride.
well there shocks suck i bought 4 of the gas ryder lt,s from autozone for my 90 ford high top van 3 years ago after 3 months they started leaking
Keep in mind that Monroe makes several types of dampers. The base Monroe does fit in the "lasts about a year" category. The higher end Monroes will last as long as the stockers, or longer.
If you enjoyed the stock handling of the vehicle, the KYB GR2 would probably be the best strut for the money. If you want a cushier ride, while retaining good control, the Monroe Sensatrac would be a good choice.
If you want substantially better handling and adjustability, Koni offers a Sport strut for your car, but they are about US $170 each.
KYB makes an adjustable AGX for the front only. about US $120 each.
Of course, even the low-end Gabriel is better than no damping at all...
If you enjoyed the stock handling of the vehicle, the KYB GR2 would probably be the best strut for the money. If you want a cushier ride, while retaining good control, the Monroe Sensatrac would be a good choice.
If you want substantially better handling and adjustability, Koni offers a Sport strut for your car, but they are about US $170 each.
KYB makes an adjustable AGX for the front only. about US $120 each.
Of course, even the low-end Gabriel is better than no damping at all...
KYBs are great. GR2s are their low pressure model which gives a smooth ride and better control over stock. I have the gas-a-just shocks and they are firm but they soak up the bumps. Its a minor exchange for piece of mind. I made an evasive manuever the other day at around 45 mph and the Jeep handled it fine....the tires... thats a different story.
For an SUV, the Monroe Reflex is great. Put a set of those on the '94 Explorer Sport. I was very impressed with the combination of bump soaking and firmness in roll/pitch. It actually handles high speed heaves better than any of our other vehicles now.
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