KYB Strut Plus SUCK

[Kira]

Soooooo.....it's looking like OE or OEM or Bilstein are the only choices.

PERSONAL OBSERVATION: I once saw a racing team member who was in charge of shocks and he'd rebuild them. Fine.
He had drawers and drawers full of plastic valves and disc shaped things to swap into these units.
An 'el cheapo' assembly won't ever be near any target of performance.

Are AC Delco shocks/struts good?

 

[dfarr67]

My old AllTrac had shock cartridges- or I made them, been along time and makes for less waste.

 

[IndyIan]

My pleasure. I would stay away from these assemblies as they do not ride like OEM. KYB states that they make the Strut Plus units 15% firmer than stock to make up for worn out suspension but that’s rather ridiculous IMO since some of us change out if not all, most of the parts in the suspension. Toyota just had 25% off all parts and it was a great time to buy some OEM stuff! I wouldn’t shy away from OEM struts. Coilovers are fun but they can have issues with the sleeves rattling and spring perches loosening up over time.. I use to have Ground Control coilovers back in the day on my 90 Integra and they were a pain to say the least..

For me the stiffer valving is a selling feature, as its what I wanted. KYB's have always been a nice cheap shock upgrade/replacement for my cars for autocross. If I want factory ride or something "smoother" I would go with something else,
For my Focus the KYB front strut mounts work very well, once I tightened the top nut on one, they absorbed square edged hits better than the ones in our new Outback at the time!

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Soooooo.....it's looking like OE or OEM or Bilstein are the only choices.

PERSONAL OBSERVATION: I once saw a racing team member who was in charge of shocks and he'd rebuild them. Fine.
He had drawers and drawers full of plastic valves and disc shaped things to swap into these units.
An 'el cheapo' assembly won't ever be near any target of performance.

Are AC Delco shocks/struts good?

ACDelco shocks and struts are reboxed Gabriel

The exception, of course, is the OE shocks for GM cars, listed as GM Original Equipment.

 

[Twisted1]

I put Monroe Quick struts in a 2000 Camry (4 cylinder) a few years ago and they are still doing great.

I think I’ll be more than happy with new OEM Toyota struts and springs

 

[DuckRyder]

IMO you can expect a quick strut to be assembled to a price point.

 

[Twisted1]

For me the stiffer valving is a selling feature, as its what I wanted. KYB's have always been a nice cheap shock upgrade/replacement for my cars for autocross. If I want factory ride or something "smoother" I would go with something else,
For my Focus the KYB front strut mounts work very well, once I tightened the top nut on one, they absorbed square edged hits better than the ones in our new Outback at the time!

You’re absolutely correct about that. The firmer ride is great on Excel G’s if that is desired…

 

[Twisted1]

IMO you can expect a quick strut to be assembled to a price point.

Bingo

 

[zzyzzx]

I think I’ll be more than happy with new OEM Toyota struts and springs

It's a 2000 Camry, not a race car.

 

[proveitwithdata]

So does this mean FCS or Monroe kits are better value for money?

 

[Twisted1]

It's a 2000 Camry, not a race car.

That is precisely why I said I’ll be happy with the OEM stuff.

 

[Twisted1]

So does this mean FCS or Monroe kits are better value for money?

Depends.. if they’re all getting their bearings and spring insulators from the same factory then possibly no..

 

[D60]

I put KYB quick struts on the front of an '09 RAV4 not too long ago. I hope they don't start this. I didn't notice any noises on my brief test drive

 

[D60]

So does this mean FCS or Monroe kits are better value for money?

Maybe. Or depending upon anticipated use, maybe a quality compressor is a better value? If you could find a wall mount Branick in the local classifieds for $400 or so......

(basically, any excuse to buy cool tools!?)

 

[researcher]

I think I’ll be more than happy with new OEM Toyota struts and springs

I'll add in my experience.. a couple years ago when I was rebuilding the Project Civic car (in my sig) I tried to order KYB's shocks/struts.. Every one of them came leaking in the box. Nope, the box wasn't damaged they were already junk in the box! I must've order 8 different times, forget it. Lots of people will defend KYB but the fact is they are junk, maybe they (the supporters) got a good batch but was from old stock when KYB was actually good quality. But in my opinion they're just as bad as monroe now! And when you @Twisted1 saw the cheap quality of the upper bearing mount, it just shows this company really doesn't care.. So why spend money supporting such a company? Don't care about the customer.. customer doesn't care about your company. simple..

And please.. everyone, don't tell me that KYB is a supplier to the OEM. We all know from oil filters that the OEM specs are NOT the aftermarket brand version!

I'm glad you were able to get the Toyota stuff.. I did that with my Scion tC, and if they lasted 13 years then I'll get another 13 out the new ones! Oh and no noise or binding at the top mounts either! I did follow the service manual that says to ONLY tighten the center nut (strut rod nut) when the car is on the ground with the weight on the tires.

 

[Twisted1]

I'll add in my experience.. a couple years ago when I was rebuilding the Project Civic car (in my sig) I tried to order KYB's shocks/struts.. Every one of them came leaking in the box. Nope, the box wasn't damaged they were already junk in the box! I must've order 8 different times, forget it. Lots of people will defend KYB but the fact is they are junk, maybe they (the supporters) got a good batch but was from old stock when KYB was actually good quality. But in my opinion they're just as bad as monroe now! And when you @Twisted1 saw the cheap quality of the upper bearing mount, it just shows this company really doesn't care.. So why spend money supporting such a company? Don't care about the customer.. customer doesn't care about your company. simple..

And please.. everyone, don't tell me that KYB is a supplier to the OEM. We all know from oil filters that the OEM specs are NOT the aftermarket brand version!

I'm glad you were able to get the Toyota stuff.. I did that with my Scion tC, and if they lasted 13 years then I'll get another 13 out the new ones! Oh and no noise or binding at the top mounts either! I did follow the service manual that says to ONLY tighten the center nut (strut rod nut) when the car is on the ground with the weight on the tires.

Thank you for seeing my point! I agree with you on many points that you listed.. My wife always says that cheaper is always more expensive later, and boy is she right about that. KYB that is supplied at OEM specifications is kinda like KYB bringing out the “fine China” when vehicle manufacturers are at their dinner table. Like you said, the stuff available to the public are “paper plates” per se.. Not built to the same degree and standards as how they would come on the OEM.

 

[97prizm]

After owning these for a few weeks and having to warranty the driver front assembly 3 times, I finally give up. It’s not fair that I nor anyone should have to pay over $500 for 4 new struts just for them to make noise and also for us having to spend our precious time installing and removing them numerous times because of faulty/low grade parts that were used to initially build them at the factory level.

Out of curiosity, I ended up taking apart the driver’s front strut top mount on the KYB Strut Plus assembly. I discovered that the chintzy bearing was pretty much seized. It literally looked so cheap to the point where I wasn’t surprised at all at the problems I was having with these units. I put it back together and sent them back to RA (awaiting for refund atm).

I have a 2000 Camry and these are not great for my application. But I would still steer away from these or at least right now because the current production on them are garbage. I discovered over at the CRV forums that those owners LOATHE these assemblies because they cause so many issues like the ones I’m having. I don’t think KYB even cares that they’re doing this to people since they throw a rebate your way possibly in hopes that you turn a blind eye at the issues.

I took advantage of Toyota’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday 25% off sale on all parts (thanks slacktide_bitog for the heads up!) and bought all new Toyota struts. I even went to the junkyard and found a low mile V6 Camry like mine that had all original shocks and springs and removed them and brought them home since I needed all of the OEM parts from the assemblies (top mount plates and such). The PO of my car had some real low quality quick struts and I also found out that they left out some hardware too.. I know myself and I knew that this wasn’t going to slide under my ownership.. I’m all OEM or OEM Manufacturer loyal when it comes to purchasing parts for my vehicles.

In the end I’m paying out the wazoo for an older Camry but this is just in my nature. I won’t settle for less nor treat any of my vehicles in any other manner. If I own it, I keep it as pristine as possible and do everything I can to recapture that original drive and feel of these cars from when they were new from factory.

Thanks for reading my somewhat long suspension saga lol

Is it possible that they are counterfeit?

 

[IndyIan]

Thank you for seeing my point! I agree with you on many points that you listed.. My wife always says that cheaper is always more expensive later, and boy is she right about that. KYB that is supplied at OEM specifications is kinda like KYB bringing out the “fine China” when vehicle manufacturers are at their dinner table. Like you said, the stuff available to the public are “paper plates” per se.. Not built to the same degree and standards as how they would come on the OEM.

That hasn't been my experience so far, but last ones I bought was 5 years ago, and I'm still using the rear shocks with ~100k miles on them. I would be using the front struts still but they don't fit in my latest Focus unfortunately...
The Outback needs some rear struts soon and I want a stiffer shock than the OE, so likely KYB is going in, unless I read terrible experiences in the Outback forums.

 

[Twisted1]

Is it possible that they are counterfeit?

I would hope not as I got them from RockAuto

 

[Twisted1]

That hasn't been my experience so far, but last ones I bought was 5 years ago, and I'm still using the rear shocks with ~100k miles on them. I would be using the front struts still but they don't fit in my latest Focus unfortunately...
The Outback needs some rear struts soon and I want a stiffer shock than the OE, so likely KYB is going in, unless I read terrible experiences in the Outback forums.

It could be a crapshoot but my experience wasn’t the greatest. I have two other vehicles with Bilsteins so I want a more plush OEM ride so Genuine Toyota struts are a-go for me