KYB vs OEM struts

[Kira]

Sorry to say I've only glanced at shock/strut threads over the years.
KYB came on the scene back in the '80's when the Japanese economy was expected to rule the world, no?
Could they be a hallow name? ....a vestige of a regional "get rich quick" scheme?
They always seemed to be marketed to high school boys. The posters were so butch.

1) Friend had a Chevy S-10 w/80K-90K and the shocks were great. He thought they were made by Bilstein.
Seems not likely given GM's inherent cheapness.

2) 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero shocks all started grunting loudly so I went with Bilstein H6 (their Heavy Duty).
AAA+ feel. What else is there? They helped sell the car to a Saab lover far, far away so no current data.

3) Bought Bilstein H6 for the rear of my Volvo V70 (wagon). The fronts were done recently by the PO at the dealer so I held off purchasing struts.

Believe me, I'll let everyone know the minute I see any seepage or problem.
I don't expect to.

 

[nthach]

GM used Bilstein or their French inhouse DeCarbon shocks on their higher-end suspension RPOs(Z06/Z28/Z71) - but they also made their own shocks in the US until Tenneco won future bids.

I remember KYB from the 1990s, it was Tokico trying to go after the "ricer" crowd but I've read mixed reviews. Tokico is part of Hitachi and they are OEM on Nissan and Subaru.

 

[PandaBear]

I've heard that Tokico stopped warranting their defective struts / shocks, it is a brand that should be avoided now.

 

[tenderloin]

I have had great use on a half dozen sets of Gabriel Ultras on my work Explorers. Several with 100,000 miles on the shocks and still going strong.

BTW with OEM one has to be careful. Auto companies like Ford (Motorcraft) make a cheaper shock along with their "original" shocks/struts line.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: MaximaGuy
Unanimous to stick with OEM then, if quality aftermarket shocks are not living up to the quality.

It isn't the price that bothers me about Tirerack, why sell it in the first place an inferior product compared to OEM.

What bothers me is getting to do it all over again, freaking sucks.

Marketing. Aftermarket always sells their premium line as meet/exceed OE.

Originally Posted By: nthach
Originally Posted By: The Critic

Interestingly enough, I did install 1 full set of Monroe OESpectrums several years ago and they are still performing okay (a bit softer than new, but no leaks or noises) after 30K miles on an Infiniti I30.


I never had luck with SensaTracs when I used a set on a old van my parents had and I also installed two front ones on a friend's truck.

I wonder if Monroe changed up the OESpectrum series?


The I30 had 100K when I installed the OESpectrums. The OESpectrums were free warranty replacements for the Sensatracs that were on there. I do not know how long the SensaTracs were on there, but since there was only 100k on the odometer, it could not have been very long. All I know is that the SensaTracs were so worn out that there was zero dampening whatsoever.

Originally Posted By: MaximaGuy
Originally Posted By: 14Accent

Just doing a quick look, you can find OEM Toyota struts (most likely made by Tokico) for around $120 each. KYB's on Rockauto are $95. $50 a pair is small change for OEM parts.


Could you pl. send me an URL for OEM struts that are $120/piece, all my dealerships here charge $198+tax


It depends on the VIN. Some of the Highlanders with the 2AZ-FE called for less pricey struts in the front.

Originally Posted By: tenderloin

BTW with OEM one has to be careful. Auto companies like Ford (Motorcraft) make a cheaper shock along with their "original" shocks/struts line.

Correct - nissan has a new line of "value advantage" shocks/struts as well.

Originally Posted By: nthach
GM used Bilstein or their French inhouse DeCarbon shocks on their higher-end suspension RPOs(Z06/Z28/Z71) - but they also made their own shocks in the US until Tenneco won future bids.

I remember KYB from the 1990s, it was Tokico trying to go after the "ricer" crowd but I've read mixed reviews. Tokico is part of Hitachi and they are OEM on Nissan and Subaru.


Tokico is supplying some of the OE Toyota/Lexus shocks now. Most notably, they supply the rear shocks for the 2010-15 RX350/RX450h and they are not known to last very long in that application.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: The Critic
The world has changed - folks are interested in quick availability and low prices. Like many other industries, auto parts are being commoditized. It is essentially a race to the bottom. Resellers are no longer able to sell on value or quality - it has become a price game for most sellers.


Absolutely true. The relentless consumer demand for low prices drives this...


Same as everything else like Houses, vehicles, tools, appliances, electronics, wooden furniture, you name it.

 

[MaximaGuy]

I am reached out to Tirerack and they provided me a Warranty Information for the product.
There is no way the warranty covers customer, it is written to suite their needs.

Time to move on and never ever purchase from Tirerack. Lesson learnt.

 

[Trav]

Contact the strut manufacturer directly by email. You just might get some new struts in the mail.

 

[d00df00d]

One of my favorite sayings: If you pay peanuts, expect monkeys.

They might not come, of course. But if they don't, consider yourself lucky.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
One of my favorite sayings: If you pay peanuts, expect monkeys.

They might not come, of course. But if they don't, consider yourself lucky.


Speaking of peanuts, this showed up last week:



2014 Prius v with 61k. As you can see, the OE supplier was Tokico. The cost for new from the dealer - $47 msrp. Perhaps that is why the service life is so short. Should I put KYB’s on it?

 

[28oz]

I've only ever had good results with KYBs. Monroes and Gabriels? The ones I've had, I would've been better off putting bags of marshmallows in between the springs.

 

[MaximaGuy]

Originally Posted By: The Critic

2014 Prius v with 61k. As you can see, the OE supplier was Tokico. The cost for new from the dealer - $47 msrp. Perhaps that is why the service life is so short. Should I put KYB’s on it?


I would stick w/ the OEM, anyway it is the client who is paying.
You just need to tell them non-OEM struts are useless and if they insist non-OEM, though the labor cost onto them.
I bet the labor is easily 2 hrs and in CA it could run up to $140/hr (stick the $300 labor bill at them and then they will get their senses right)

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Did you use quick struts or just the strut itself?

I thought KYB was OEM for this car. I know KYB is OE on most Toyotas

FWIW, I had good luck with Gabriel Readymounts on an older Camry

 

[willbur]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
One of my favorite sayings: If you pay peanuts, expect monkeys.

They might not come, of course. But if they don't, consider yourself lucky.


You won't get any monkeys with peanuts-they don't eat peanuts

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: willbur
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
One of my favorite sayings: If you pay peanuts, expect monkeys.

They might not come, of course. But if they don't, consider yourself lucky.


You won't get any monkeys with peanuts-they don't eat peanuts

 

[klt1986]

I partly blame companies such as Advance, AutoZone, & O'Reilly's for the cheaper grade of parts. My dad owned and operated a couple of private auto parts stores in Southwestern VA and East TN. He sold them in 1989 or 1990 and retired fairly young. I heard dad tell numerous people the reason he got out of the business was because he could not compete with the pricing of the "big box" auto parts stores even though, they were a cheaper grade of parts than what he sold.

 

[MaximaGuy]

In short the companies are making us buy new vehicles and not fix them. The OEM parts have a different line from the OEM manufacturer and non-OEM parts suck.

Thought Tirerack (been their customer for a very long time) could do better, they want my struts sent back and KYB will determine if they are faulty.

Tirerack sold me a defective piece and they cannot stand by their products/

There is nothing called "exceeding OEM(moog)/meeting OEM/direct OEM replacement", they are false marketing gimmicks. Same goes with ATFs / coolants, the list goes on

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: klt1986
I partly blame companies such as Advance, AutoZone, & O'Reilly's for the cheaper grade of parts. My dad owned and operated a couple of private auto parts stores in Southwestern VA and East TN. He sold them in 1989 or 1990 and retired fairly young. I heard dad tell numerous people the reason he got out of the business was because he could not compete with the pricing of the "big box" auto parts stores even though, they were a cheaper grade of parts than what he sold.

I was a kid back in the 1990s, and even then I knew big box parts are bad - I started wrenching in 1998, and if it wasn't OEM me and my dad went to the local parts houses and there was a difference.

Now, not too many of them exist but what's scarier I see shops install ValuCraft or O'Reilly's BrakeBest/MasterPro on newer cars. While some of that stuff is good, I wouldn't use it on a daily driver.

 

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted By: MaximaGuy
Tirerack sold me a defective piece and they cannot stand by their products


TireRack sold you a product that is made by someone else.
They are not responsible for anything other than shipping the product you bought.

If you want to be angry at anyone, be angry at KYB, because its their product that failed.
It wouldn't have mattered where you bought that shock from, it would have failed no matter who you sourced it from.

In fact, I bet when you opened the box, there was a piece of paper inside of it that said that if you have any problems, contact KYB, and not the seller of the product.

If you want your product replaced for free, you need to go through the hoops that the manufacturer wants you to go through.

Also, this is the very reason why when I replaced the rear shocks on my CX-5 last month, I kept the good oem one in a box on a shelf, just in case I have one of the replacement shocks fail, and I need to send it back for "testing".

BC.

 

[MaximaGuy]

I agree w/ you, if you have an issue based on complaints over the years a defective product was sold, common sense dictates that you do what best to resolve the problem in the interest of credibility.

Sure Tirerack has a history of which products had claims, they need to be not stonewalling and get KYB clearly document the years they had a problem and resolve it right away.

They lost a long time customer forever, I will stick with OEM in the interest of my sanity and time