Monroe now makes quick struts for the 06-11 Civic

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Just in time for the rebate
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Part numbers
172286 and 172287

Only the front is struts on this car; the rear uses shocks

Nice to have a decent quick strut for this car, as KYB's isn't out yet and the Chinese cheapies aren't worth buying.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
So... How many different spring rates did Honda Fit as OE in those years?


Quick struts are dumb. Most people don't realize or care the automakers DO use different spring rates for the same model. Cheap manufacturing and the growing desire for quick and easy brought these things to market.
Below are some different springs Honda has listed in the OEM parts diagram for the front right alone.
51401-TK6-A12
51401-SLN-A03
51401-SLN-A13
51401-TK6-A02
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
So... How many different spring rates did Honda Fit as OE in those years?

Exactly. I wish I had kept the original springs from my wife's Corolla when I installed the Monroes. They work fine, but they are softer than the originals so I was pretty disappointed.
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
So... How many different spring rates did Honda Fit as OE in those years?


Quick struts are dumb. Most people don't realize or care the automakers DO use different spring rates for the same model. Cheap manufacturing and the growing desire for quick and easy brought these things to market.
Below are some different springs Honda has listed in the OEM parts diagram for the front right alone.
51401-TK6-A12
51401-SLN-A03
51401-SLN-A13
51401-TK6-A02


One-size-fits all means all beaters.

Even for vehicles that have I4 and V6 models they produce only one quick strut.

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Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
So... How many different spring rates did Honda Fit as OE in those years?

Exactly. I wish I had kept the original springs from my wife's Corolla when I installed the Monroes. They work fine, but they are softer than the originals so I was pretty disappointed.


Did you keep the springs? If so, you could order a new set of struts and have a shop install your old springs onto them, then swap in at some later date when the quickstruts wear out.
 
There are washers and numerous bit and pieces that you normally reuse from the old strut assembly. I don't know if quick struts use the exact same parts.

Unless you kept all the original parts most shops throw everything out, so if you want to go back from quick struts the only viable option is to get strut assemblies from the junkyard and put new struts on them, or get everything new from the dealer.

I have a personal vengeance against quick struts. Your shocks will be good after installing them, but you will have messed up ride height and handling.
 
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I thought quick struts were mostly used by backyard mechanics? As in, anyone who didn't want to mess with compressing the spring. I guess a shop trying to do a quick/cheap job could use them too, but they are more apt to have a compressor.

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I put in 4 Monroe quick struts for my 2000 Accord about a year ago with about 190k. Lately I have these annoying squeaks, it seems like every time the car moves. I am not sure if I can blame it on the Monroe quick struts. The only way to prove it is if I re-install the old struts, which I still have in the garage. Also, when I installed the Monroes I also did other suspension works, upper ball joints in the front, tie rods and stabilizer links. So I am not quite ready to blame the quick struts yet.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder

I wish I had kept the original springs from my wife's Corolla when I installed the Monroes. They work fine, but they are softer than the originals so I was pretty disappointed.

Did you keep the springs? If so, you could order a new set of struts and have a shop install your old springs onto them, then swap in at some later date when the quickstruts wear out.

No, as mentioned I did not keep the springs. All four original strut assemblies went to the metal recycler when I was done. That ship had sailed hence my disappointment afterward.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
So... How many different spring rates did Honda Fit as OE in those years?

Exactly. I wish I had kept the original springs from my wife's Corolla when I installed the Monroes. They work fine, but they are softer than the originals so I was pretty disappointed.


Did you keep the springs? If so, you could order a new set of struts and have a shop install your old springs onto them, then swap in at some later date when the quickstruts wear out.

Didn't have coffee yet ?
 
Apparently not...

When I first heard of quick struts it seemed wise to me to keep the old hardware, and swap springs onto the next set of struts. I had that though stuck in my head.
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv


Quick struts are dumb. Most people don't realize or care the automakers DO use different spring rates for the same model. Cheap manufacturing and the growing desire for quick and easy brought these things to market.
Below are some different springs Honda has listed in the OEM parts diagram for the front right alone.
51401-TK6-A12
51401-SLN-A03
51401-SLN-A13
51401-TK6-A02


Quick struts are awesome
smile.gif


So what if the spring rates are different? They will still work fine with no problems. The people who care about spring rates will probably be using some other aftermarket spring anyway (H&R, Eibach, etc) along with performance shocks/struts (Tokico, Koni, Bilstein, etc).

After 200k, all of those springs will be sagged a few inches anyway. The difference between new springs and old springs is MUCH greater than the difference between sagged Si sport springs and sagged DX standard springs, for example.

But for daily drivers that don't need high performance, there is nothing wrong with quality name brand quick struts. But I did say quality name-brand quick struts and not the Chinese [censored] like FCS, Unity, and Sensen. The Monroe Econ-Matic is also mediocre (and the new Gabriel Guardian Readymount is likely similar to the Econo-Matic).
 
Originally Posted By: camrydriver111
There are washers and numerous bit and pieces that you normally reuse from the old strut assembly. I don't know if quick struts use the exact same parts.


They don't need to be the exact same. They just need to work. And besides, at such high mileage, all the parts will need to be replaced anyway. You can't reuse anything. Quick struts are awesome since they come with all-new parts and for the easier installation.
 
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Exactly. I wish I had kept the original springs from my wife's Corolla when I installed the Monroes. They work fine, but they are softer than the originals so I was pretty disappointed.


On my car it was the opposite problem. The front springs were wayyyy too stiff.

They jacked up the front ride height over an inch. I've put new OEM springs in the rear to try to compensate and that did nothing.

The mechanic said "the springs will settle down". Pure horse manure. They did not change at all.

My car rode very harsh, and it didn't feel as stable at high speed. It was honestly better with "sagged" OEM springs and blown shocks than with brand new quick struts.

I think they are a garbage product, and they also seem to have convinced people springs are a regular maintenance item.
 
I like quick struts, and from a shop perspective they make sense because they keep cost down and are relatively easy to install. Also much safer than using a spring compressor. We've only ever used the Monroes.
 
Originally Posted By: camrydriver111
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Exactly. I wish I had kept the original springs from my wife's Corolla when I installed the Monroes. They work fine, but they are softer than the originals so I was pretty disappointed.


On my car it was the opposite problem. The front springs were wayyyy too stiff.

They jacked up the front ride height over an inch. I've put new OEM springs in the rear to try to compensate and that did nothing.

The mechanic said "the springs will settle down". Pure horse manure. They did not change at all.

My car rode very harsh, and it didn't feel as stable at high speed. It was honestly better with "sagged" OEM springs and blown shocks than with brand new quick struts.

I think they are a garbage product, and they also seem to have convinced people springs are a regular maintenance item.


I suspect they raised the car an inch because your stock springs were totally shot.
 
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: camrydriver111
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Exactly. I wish I had kept the original springs from my wife's Corolla when I installed the Monroes. They work fine, but they are softer than the originals so I was pretty disappointed.


On my car it was the opposite problem. The front springs were wayyyy too stiff.

They jacked up the front ride height over an inch. I've put new OEM springs in the rear to try to compensate and that did nothing.

The mechanic said "the springs will settle down". Pure horse manure. They did not change at all.

My car rode very harsh, and it didn't feel as stable at high speed. It was honestly better with "sagged" OEM springs and blown shocks than with brand new quick struts.

I think they are a garbage product, and they also seem to have convinced people springs are a regular maintenance item.


I suspect they raised the car an inch because your stock springs were totally shot.


I should have been more specific, an inch is versus the factory specs, which is measured with brand new springs.

If you compare it to the old springs it's even more than that.

Monroe produces one quick strut for both I4 and V6 models of my car. I had the I4 and I suspect that's why my car was jacked afterwards. Even if you knew nothing about the car, if you just looked at it, it looked goofy with the front end jacked up.

They are easy to install, but your customer has to live with the result.

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