KYB or OEM Toyota shocks?

I’ve gone OEM for the least drama - yes, there would be a cost savings with the KYB Excel-Gs but also the potential warranty drama if they leak oil and soften up. I also need to grab the boots and order one more control arm for a front-end refresh.

that's what I did with my scion tC. So much aftermarket junk out there, I just spent a little more and bought the Toyota stuff.. once that saying.. pay once, cry once. lol! but the toyota stuff wasn't that much more (for the tC at least) than the aftermarket.
 
Sachs and TRW rear shocks for Scion tC are same KYB part but they have different rates, maybe just different oil. One of them was modified in the U.S.
 
Sachs and TRW rear shocks for Scion tC are same KYB part but they have different rates, maybe just different oil. One of them was modified in the U.S.

No they are not the same.. KYB and sachs/trw are completely different companies. Neither of those companies supplied Toyota/Scion the shocks Toyota used for the scion tC. The Scion tC was made in Japan for the US Market. I replaced all of my scion tC suspension parts with Toyota/Scion brand parts I got from the dealer. They lasted a long time so I went back to that same part, plus they rode very well/handled well. But to say what is said here in the quote that I'm responding to, just wow.. not-true
 
No they are not the same.. KYB and sachs/trw are completely different companies. Neither of those companies supplied Toyota/Scion the shocks Toyota used for the scion tC. The Scion tC was made in Japan for the US Market. I replaced all of my scion tC suspension parts with Toyota/Scion brand parts I got from the dealer. They lasted a long time so I went back to that same part, plus they rode very well/handled well. But to say what is said here in the quote that I'm responding to, just wow.. not-true
You seem a little trigger happy. I know that the tC shocks were supplied by SHOWA. I also know that ZF purchased its tC shocks from KYB, and that the TRW one feels about 20% softer than the Sachs when compressed by hand.
 
You seem a little trigger happy. I know that the tC shocks were supplied by SHOWA. I also know that ZF purchased its tC shocks from KYB, and that the TRW one feels about 20% softer than the Sachs when compressed by hand.

well good, thanks for the clarification..(y) I see what you're saying now, the aftermarket.. not the ones directly from Toyota.
 
Car in question - 2009 Prius, 177K

I’m due for new shocks on this car. 13 years of urban driving and commuting took its toll on them. I have two choices - OEM Toyota which will be good for another 10+ years or KYB Excel-Gs. This car’s last destination is the junkyard but I also want to keep it safely running for the next 5 years while I take care of the finances and before a new car purchase. The car has stayed in the family since new.

I’ve heard the KYBs ride stiff and soften up/leak out. I’ve seen The Critic having to swap them out for warranty reasons despite lifetime warranty. A part of me wants to say f-it and throw on a set of Monroe OE Spectrums - what was the old Sensa-Tracs but the track record seems mixed on those. I’ll buy local if I want Monroe for warranty reasons.

should I do?
F…it get Monroe’s keep paperwork for Warranty. Never a fan of KYB, I saw Monroe stand by Warranty.
 
What you did not post was how you use your truck, I can tell you we sold large qty of Shocks and Struts, i customer didn’t like return as defect and use credit to by different brand
 
"My friend did go with the Toyota OEM. I had him compress the piston of the rear TRW's and it was so loose.." yeah I didn't see this. My bad.
 
I used KYB because they are very well made and 90% OEM supplier for Toyota. I had installed Gabriel Ultra Struts and KYB rear shocks on my Altima 02 and they holds well 70k miles before I sold it. KYB metal finish is much better than Gabriel Shock and both have lifetime warranty from Autozone and advanced autopart. I installed KYB on Sienna 04 rear shocks and Prius 06 fron struts, big improvement over 180k miles original shocks. No more lurching when braking and they hold well too. I bent the struts once from accident and the replacement the autozone warranty is stupid easy, just phone number and done.
I have not tried TRW/Sachs but Bilstein B4 is also a good alternative especially price wise for TRW that often 1/2 price of KYB or Bilstein.
My suggestion, get the one from local shop like Autozone or Advance/Carguest. The warranty is great and you can order online if necessary and pickup locally with coupon.
 
If I were doing the work myself, I may try to cut cost on the rear shocks (w/lifetime warranty) my vehicles as the rear are easier to install myself. But the front may still get OE as even the aftermarket(w/lifetime warranty) will not only need to be replaced again(sooner than OE) but will also require the expensive(~$100) alignment. And I like to keep this cost and the extra level of work in mind when replacing front struts.
 
I put Bilstein B4s on my Chevy Trax. Rides better than stock. I had to get them from Germany. Ordered them and they were on my front porch in the USA 3 days later. Amazon can't beat that.
 
I had a set of kyb gr2’s years back. They were notably more controlled. I thought that would make them harsh over things like speed bumps, but their valving turned out to be more advanced than the oem Subaru struts on my legacy. They floated over speed bumps but stayed pretty locked in over the road. If you like to corner with spirit, which I know some Prius drivers do (surprisingly quick cars), they’d be excellent.

the only Monroe I had any respect for was the reflex, which seemed to be limited to trucks, suvs and minivans. it was a totally different animal. It would let the suspension travel, but it was also well controlled. They did loosen up some a bit sooner than you’d expect.

i also bought a used Jeep with sensatrack shocks on it. the result was a tuning that felt very oem japanese import, like any accord or crv.
 
Not seeing many votes for Bilstein but I would consider them. Usually more money but well worth it. They are a bit stiff first 10k miles then ride better. My Montero handling and ride is much better than OEM.
 
Used KYB Excel-G on a Camry I refreshed back then for my inlaws. I used GR2 on my Corolla back then too. It works, it lasted 10 years without bouncing, still worked when I sold / crushed the cars later, it is stiffer than the original OEM that came with the car, but it is a heck lot cheaper than OEM and it is "good enough" for a beater. It was like $50-60 each from Rockauto back then, OEM would probably run $100-200 each easily.

I've also used Tokico Blue before they went out of business, I'm not impressed with that and I'd rather pick KYB GR-2 / Excel G if I were to do it again.

That is a bad blow to their trusted brand in my book and making (or buying them) in China is even worse.

Last I heard they were building Prius in China as well (and they do build a lot of cars there), so you might get lucky and get a real OEM rebadge. Still, if you don't trust it you should definitely return it, instead of thinking about it every time the car was not riding right.
 
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