Replaced rear shocks

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Dec 6, 2014
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Minnesota
Replaced the rear shocks in my 2010 Civic this weekend. One was leaking a little bit so I thought it was time. Went with the KYB Excel-G. Besides not have Honda stamped in them they look 100% identical in every way. $40/pc sure beats $130 for the Honda version.

I noticed the new shocks "expanded" after being fully compressed 4-5 times faster than the old ones. Does that mean the old ones were bad?
 
Replaced the rear shocks in my 2010 Civic this weekend. One was leaking a little bit so I thought it was time. Went with the KYB Excel-G. Besides not have Honda stamped in them they look 100% identical in every way. $40/pc sure beats $130 for the Honda version.

I noticed the new shocks "expanded" after being fully compressed 4-5 times faster than the old ones. Does that mean the old ones were bad?
Just means your new shocks have a higher gas pressure inside.
 
They are made in USA. This is from the marketing blurb:
"Excel-G is made on the same KYB OE assembly lines, uses the same OE quality components" 🤷‍♂️

The ride before and after is the same.
 
Excel-G is made to be a near OEM dampening, so if they rebound much faster, yes it's usually a sign the old were wore out. If made for higher dampening like their Gas-A-Just, not so much.

You should notice more of a difference in control on bumps, curves, etc. Low riding cars don't put as much stress on shocks/struts, all else equal.
 
Excel-G is made to be a near OEM dampening, so if they rebound much faster, yes it's usually a sign the old were wore out. If made for higher dampening like their Gas-A-Just, not so much.

You should notice more of a difference in control on bumps, curves, etc. Low riding cars don't put as much stress on shocks/struts, all else equal.
Again, marketing. The tuning with Excel-G's seems to be a crapshoot. The few 06-11 Civic's I've done with them, the ride quality improved because they are tuned to be much softer than the OE units. In other applications, they are stiffer.
 
^ Of course they market them as OE replacements, but I wouldn't necessarily call ride quality "improved" because a shock/strut is softer than OE. I consider too soft a shock/strut to have poor ride quality, unless all your commute is straight, flat highway. I also haven't heard of many people stating it is softer than their worn out, OE shocks unless on a sports trim level vehicle that had firmer shocks than the base model. Which vehicles does this apply to?
 
I also haven't heard of many people stating it is softer than their worn out, OE shocks unless on a sports trim level vehicle that had firmer shocks than the base model. Which vehicles does this apply to?
Too many over the years - haven't tracked this. Most owners don't care.
 
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