5th & 6th Generation (2002-2006 & 2007-2011)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 2002-2006 & 2007-2011
Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance all involving America's favorite family car, the Toyota Camry.
Is the toyota dealership the only place I can purchase the OEM SE struts for my camry? or does Toyota use a certain brand for the SE that i can buy outside of the dealership? Im looking to upgrade my LE with SE struts and TRD springs, any info is greatly appreciated
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Last edited by Dropitmore; 11-22-2007 at 07:57 PM.
Is the toyota dealership the only place I can purchase the OEM SE struts for my camry? or does Toyota use a certain brand for the SE that i can buy outside of the dealership? Im looking to upgrade my LE with SE struts and TRD springs, any info is greatly appreciated
I have a question. What makes SE struts an upgrade if you're going to use TRD springs?
I have a question. What makes SE struts an upgrade if you're going to use TRD springs?
+1
SE struts aren't much of an upgrade, especially if you're lowering your car. SE struts aren't designed for lowered cars just as much as LE and XLE struts aren't designed for lowered cars. Sorry to say, but "upgrading" to SE struts is a waste of money.
__________________ 2009 Audi TT 2.0T --- THE BEAST! 2002 LE 4Cyl --- Gone, but not forgotten. 06/28/09
Glaring blue HID bulbs are NOT classy, and don't make your car look nice, no matter what that kid in the Civic told you.
the TRD springs are made to work with stock shocks, and they just arent for the SE model....theyre designed to work with all camry/solara oem shock setups, and your standard LE shocks will work just fine....save the money and buy the TRD rear sway bar and front strut bar. youll be glad you did.
Yeah, thats an overpriced counterfeit (even though its not really a "copy"... but I say counterfeit 'cause they're slapping the "CAMRY" name on it). I wouldn't pay that much for it. The price for that isn't that much less than a TRD one for say the Gen 5. Hell, I got my TRD strut bar for like $70 or so from someone on here.
__________________ 2009 Audi TT 2.0T --- THE BEAST! 2002 LE 4Cyl --- Gone, but not forgotten. 06/28/09
Glaring blue HID bulbs are NOT classy, and don't make your car look nice, no matter what that kid in the Civic told you.
the TRD springs are made to work with stock shocks, and they just arent for the SE model....theyre designed to work with all camry/solara oem shock setups, and your standard LE shocks will work just fine....save the money and buy the TRD rear sway bar and front strut bar. youll be glad you did.
Oh I know the TRD springs will work with my LE struts, but this is where research makes me ask a dumb question, because there have been a few threads Ive read that have LE owners complaining that their ride quality suffered greatly when combining their soft struts with TRD springs. Then Ive read that SE struts are stiffer than LE struts.
When SE owners upgraded to TRD springs, they didnt feel that much of a difference in ride quality, yeah it got a little stiffer, but not that big of a change, because they were already used to a stiff ride. Only when the LE owners upgraded to TRD springs, they noticed a huge drop in ride quality and I know its because of how soft the LE is from the factory, I mean mine feels like a boat, it just so nice, but if Im looking into lowering it, I want a good strut, regardless if its not a performance strut, i still want the best option and not half ass the quality of the ride. Ultimately, performance springs with too soft of a strut just dont go well, even though they may work together.
Many threads later, Ive come to find out that LE, SE, XLE all have the same coils, unless this is false information, but if its true, its not like the springs are making the difference in the way the vehicles differ, ride quality wise from factory.
So with that, I'm led to assume that the SE struts have to be a bit stiffer, because the ride in the SE is stiffer. Since there are no performance struts for these vehicles, the only other route is the KYB GR-2s that everyone mentions. I figured I may "upgrade" to SE struts since there must be a difference in the way they damper the ride.
Im just spitting out what ive read, cause I know how it is to have a newbie ask dumb questions without looking deeper into it. But this search has brought me to this question. Correct me if the information ive come across is incorrect, let me know if "upgrading" to SE struts or GR-2s are not really an upgrade and I wont notice a difference between the LE struts and SE struts when combined with the TRD springs for both performance and ride quality. And if I dont make sense, let me know that too, cause its too damn early in the morning to try to make sense of anything....
...Damn Black Friday, if there were only automotive performance shops around here that actually had sales like these retail stores do, it would actually be worth getting up at 4am....
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Last edited by Dropitmore; 11-23-2007 at 12:43 PM.
The reason why SE owners don't notice much of a difference..in some cases..is because we're used to the stiffer ride already. Do what you think is best for you. If you want a stiffer more "sporty" feeling ride, get the SE or GR-2s(i've only had them in my Z24, so i don't know what they're like in a Camry) struts. But like everyone said..the LE struts are fine and you can spend the money you save on a TRD RSB and STB to improve you handling!
The reason why SE owners don't notice much of a difference..in some cases..is because we're used to the stiffer ride already. Do what you think is best for you. If you want a stiffer more "sporty" feeling ride, get the SE or GR-2s(i've only had them in my Z24, so i don't know what they're like in a Camry) struts. But like everyone said..the LE struts are fine and you can spend the money you save on a TRD RSB and STB to improve you handling!
Yeah I definitely want that sporty feel to it, and since you brought up the BMW, I love the way my dads 5 series feels, the vehicle rides stiff and has that sporty feel to it....So maybe thats my goal, to try to resemble something similar to that, well, as close as I can get and I dont think the LE struts will do that for me I hope to one day, before i drop my camry, take a ride in another camry with TRD springs and it wouldnt even matter what struts they have, just something so I could get an idea of what it feels like and I can work from there
Quote:
Originally Posted by CorCamrySE
the TRD springs are made to work with stock shocks, and they just arent for the SE model....theyre designed to work with all camry/solara oem shock setups, and your standard LE shocks will work just fine....save the money and buy the TRD rear sway bar and front strut bar. youll be glad you did.
Check this out, a blast from your past ...your one of my inspirations there are a few ive read out there that have said similar:
Quote:
Originally Posted by CorCamrySE
TRD springs offer a slight drop, and improve handling slightly as well....if you dont have an SE, i'd suggest upgrading to the SE struts for more of an improvement in handling
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Last edited by Dropitmore; 11-23-2007 at 11:07 AM.
Yeah I definitely want that sporty feel to it, and since you brought up the BMW, I love the way my dads 5 series feels, the vehicle rides stiff and has that sporty feel to it....So maybe thats my goal, to try to resemble something similar to that, well, as close as I can get and I dont think the LE struts will do that for me I hope to one day, before i drop my camry, take a ride in another camry with TRD springs and it wouldnt even matter what struts they have, just something so I could get an idea of what it feels like and I can work from there
i never mentioned a BMW lol, but i understand you want that feel...fly out here and you can test drive mine with SE struts and Eibach springs
By your definition then, its still a waste of money to get SE struts. The SE people said there was little change because it was already stiff. If you put springs on LE/XLE struts, it will stiffen the ride, and still make it about the same.
Oh, and you won't get a BMW feel to it. It'll just feel like a stiff Camry. You're more than welcome to drive to the San Fernando Valley and I can drive you around in my Camry with Teins and stock LE struts, and I've been lowered for close to 30k miles now.
__________________ 2009 Audi TT 2.0T --- THE BEAST! 2002 LE 4Cyl --- Gone, but not forgotten. 06/28/09
Glaring blue HID bulbs are NOT classy, and don't make your car look nice, no matter what that kid in the Civic told you.
Last edited by white3ch0c0late; 11-23-2007 at 01:32 PM.
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Stupid Question: OEM SE Struts
and I dont think the LE struts will do that for me 
I hope to one day, before i drop my camry, take a ride in another camry with TRD springs and it wouldnt even matter what struts they have, just something so I could get an idea of what it feels like and I can work from there
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