Better Struts - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

albertcua · 06-09-2005, 04:07 AM

Im battling which struts should I put on my gen2 camry. I notice a lot of TN guys are using GR-2 and some guys are using TOKICO. The price is almost the same but im not sure about ride and handling difference of the two? please give some info..Ive only own my gen2 for a year now...

atobe · 06-09-2005, 07:37 AM

gr2 gives u more of the OEM feel while tokicos are a lil it more sporty.

88 LE · 06-09-2005, 11:36 AM

Tokicos for gen 2 Camrys will only work if you have non-sealed (serviceable) struts. They come as cartridges.

If you have sealed struts, go with the KYB GR-2.

89SV21 · 06-09-2005, 01:59 PM

The KYB's are pretty damn nice, I've had em on my 89 Gen2 for about 3 years. I also installed Intrax lowering springs and the combination is quite appealing. The ride is nice and firm and in the twisties the car stays much flatter. I'd recommend a Whiteline rear sway bar and some stickier tires to round out the handling improvements.

albertcua · 06-10-2005, 12:15 AM

GR-2 struts it is! no wonder most TN guys are using GR-2. I like the OEM feel than sporty..maybe for my civic i'll go sporty but not my gen2 camry.. It will be my next project..I wanna get the whiteline rear sway bar but the brand new is kinda pricey I wonder if anyone has a used one sitting around..if any of you guys come across with one please let me know..appreciate all the info

Wangan · 06-10-2005, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 88 LE

Tokicos for gen 2 Camrys will only work if you have non-sealed (serviceable) struts. They come as cartridges.

If you have sealed struts, go with the KYB GR-2.

I'm sorry could it be possible for you to explain a bit better how I can tell if my struts are servicable or not. Is there anywhere I can find pics or a part number on it I can tell by.

Thanks ahead of time.

I want a sporty suspension so I'd like to go after the tokicos.

Wangan · 06-10-2005, 11:38 AM

Ok nevermind. I found out how to tell teh difference by searching. Now I want to know if the struts are interchangable or not. Can I switch my non servicable for servicable? I didn't find that in the faq.

atobe · 06-10-2005, 11:48 AM

if you have non-serviceable ones may be you can buy serviceable ones at the junk yard and drop in the tokicos that way.

Wangan · 06-10-2005, 12:07 PM

Thanks I haven't checked yet so if they are indeed sealed then I'll buy some servicable ones at the junk yard to replace it with.

Now since I'm swapping in the tokicos I just have to get a servicable housing that's not dented and the tokicos drop right in right? I'm not suppose to care if the servicable ones i'm getting are blown right?

88 LE · 06-10-2005, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wangan

Now since I'm swapping in the tokicos I just have to get a servicable housing that's not dented and the tokicos drop right in right?

Yup, but its easier said then done though.

The nut that screws into the top of the strut housing can be a pain in the ass. Especially if its rusted.

Quote:

I'm not suppose to care if the servicable ones i'm getting are blown right?

Doesn't matter if their blown. Your going to dump out the internals anyways.

Quote:

Now I want to know if the struts are interchangable or not. Can I switch my non servicable for servicable? I didn't find that in the faq.

The only difference is the strut housing. Sealed or non-sealed (serviceable).

If you want to use Tokicos, you need non-sealed (serviceable) strut housings.

Wangan · 06-10-2005, 03:44 PM

Thanks man. I'm putting my car up on a lift this weekend to check if they are sealed or not. I'm praying they aren't sealed. But the thing is the suspension was replaced last year at sears so I'm guessing that they're more than likely sealed. I have a friend who owns a shop so all my stuff is done by myself or labor free with some help.

Wangan · 06-13-2005, 09:42 AM

Well unfortunately my struts were sealed.

So now the search is on for some unsealed ones. So I can order the tokicos asap.

Blackhawk3D · 06-13-2005, 01:44 PM

What does sealed/unsealed mean? Can't you just replace the whole strut?

Wangan · 06-13-2005, 08:04 PM

When you have a sealed strut you have to replace the whole strut. When you have an unsealed strut you just have to replace the cartridge that screws into the strut housing. If I wanted I could make life easy and buy some KYB GR2's instead of sourcing out some unsealed struts to screw tokico cartridges into. However, by searching on this site people all agree that Tokico has a sportier feel to it than KYB so since I can careless about my stock feeling. I'm going after Tokicos.

Hope this helps.

Anthony.

Blackhawk3D · 06-14-2005, 09:29 PM

You can't buy a whole tokico strut? Do you have a link that explains it in more detail? Also, would my 96 have struts that could accept them? I don't think they have every been replaced.