KYB Strut Plus's are hard, Moog Quik Strut are soft, Gabril's are debatable in terms if quality. Don't know what you mean about Private Label Package.

 

I honestly don’t know what the private label package means - but it’s on there on the RA website. And their FAQs page is less than useful in terms of what that means (they state it’s parts in private label or white boxes, but don’t state if the contents are exactly the same I.e. KYB struts.

Also I was planning on getting the struts and re-using the springs with new strut mounts and bellows. I already have spring compressors.

What is your goal? Are you looking for a firmer ride? I'm also doing my struts, my findings
Oem feel= kyb excel g, have had many people with these in my shop and feedback is fairly positive
Koni orange srt= slightly firmer than o.e.
Can't go wrong with koni yellow/ bilstein

My goal is to have a smooth riding but not floaty or boats daily driver. I have my project car with B6s, Lesjofors springs and poly bushings along with strut braces and larger sways front and back. That set up is harsh for a DD with the roads around here.
Admittedly, I didn’t get the car till just over 100k miles. So no idea what the original OEM ride was like.

 

What is your goal? Are you looking for a firmer ride? I'm also doing my struts, my findings
Oem feel= kyb excel g, have had many people with these in my shop and feedback is fairly positive
Koni orange srt= slightly firmer than o.e.
Can't go wrong with koni yellow/ bilstein

 

I don’t think the corolla is all that great on smoothness. Family owned since new and I started driving it since 77k miles on the top of my head. I think it would be nicer to move up to a luxury car for good suspension feel. My Acura is very plush riding... just more expensive... maybe 3x to 5x more expensive to operate. About 2-3x more comfortable.
Personally, I wouldn’t put any money in struts for better feel. I did find that going to a wider tire helped tho. 205 60 15 Yokohama Avid Ascend GTs on Prius rims.
Looking to change out the 9th gen?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks @Esso, that’s good to know. My frame of reference was my Nissan R51 which has very long travel suspension, is BOF and has huge sidewalls. Really absorbs the bumps with 100k miles old shocks and struts.

I’ll hold on to the struts for now till they fail. I’ve debated moving on from the Gen.9, but the Gen.10 isn’t really much of an upgrade for me. In terms of gas mileage, the noticeable gains I can see are only in Gen.12 which are still new and haven’t depreciated enough yet.
I couldn’t find anything else in the market that would be as reliable, have significantly better gas mileage and better safety features for a decent amount of money (admittedly, I do envy how quiet the Chevy Cruze is, but it won’t be anywhere near as reliable).

I can get 33mpg going 75mph and 31 going 80mph. I tried going 70mph once, but that was suicidal with the maniac drivers here.
A buddy of mine with the Mazda3 “Skyactiv” got 36mpg on the same trip, same road at 75mph. So really not seeing how they claim their 42mpg highway....

Very long story short, going to keep my Corolla at least another couple of years.

 

Don't mess with the struts if there's nothing wrong with them besides the dust boots.Those boots have been gone for 100,000 miles. Same deal with my 8th generation Corolla. Look, it isn't a Celica. It's a great daily driver and will remain a great daily driver if you have a good set of tires on it. While you might find some suspension upgrades, that might not be satisfying enough on a car you plan to dump in 2 years. If it doesn't drink a bunch of oil just enjoy getting where you need to go dependably.

 

I just put KYB’s on mine a month ago. I got them from Autozone just to have the lifetime warranty and throw them on their counter when they fail. They do ride a little stiffer but after a month it’s not nearly as bad or I’ve gotten used to it.

 

if it hasn't been mentioned in this thread, but i believe that kyb struts are OEM, and i've put them in every car i get. i love the way they handle.

 

Private label just means the parts were made to be sold under a store name. The typical private label I buy from rockauto would be Trico wiper blades. And the private label those came under have always been NAPA. Not sure about struts/assemblies. I use Monroe QuickStruts assemblies or OESpectrum struts (not their cheaper Roadmatics).

Just for reference, I'd be a Bilstein B4 and not a B6 person. KYB (aka "K"eep "Y"our "B"ilsteins ) for me is too harsh in not able to soak up road cracks and lane tiles the way Monroe QS or OES can.

If you're getting rid of the car in a couple of years and if it rides fine now maybe just leave it. However, if it clunks and crashes sometimes, I personally would consider changing out at least the 2 fronts with assemblies. Don't mess with plain struts. You'll have to decide based on the condition of the struts and if they seem acceptable to you.

For lower cost, Rockauto has a new brand PRT and of course the more familiar FCS. You'll need an alignment afterwards. If I want to experiment with these low priced assemblies I'd give PRT a try just out of curiosity. Assembling using new parts often end up costing more than an assembly.

Rear Strut replacement question

Im replacing my rear struts on an 07 fwd 4banger. I want to keep the factory springs because Ive heard quickstrut replacements often leave your car riding higher or lower. So IM going to replace just the shocks, or struts I guess in this case. I have torn dust boot so I'll buy those but what...

www.toyotanation.com

 

The “private label” struts do make me a bit concerned. I’m going to hold off for now on the struts and ride them out. I like your acronym for KYB lol.

Has anyone here used the FCS struts assemblies? Are they an improvement at all over stock struts? Both PRT and FCS have lifetime warranties, which is interesting given than they are half price compared to the Monroe.

I was hoping Monroe would do their spring promotion this year, but seems like no dice on that unfortunately.

 

The reviews I saw online was either FCS ran fine or they were really stiff when cold (oil thickened). A recent thread on TN confirmed the cold weather stiffness I read about:

FCS

Has anyone had any problems with the fcs struts (if used them) after installing with the tires rubbing the bottom of the spring plate? Or why would they do that because the original ones with 160,000 miles i replaced never rubbed the tires.Im on my 2nd set on the rear same thing

www.toyotanation.com

Another on 4Runner (I think OP meant FCS), "The ride is harder than my grandpa watching golden girls." LMAO!

Toyota-4Runner.org

The Largest 4Runner Community in the World

www.toyota-4runner.org

If you have gravel roads and other less than mirror-smooth roads to deal with, Monroe's QuickStrut or OES might work out better. Your Lesjofors springs and B6 on the project car - those are good stuff. Then again, it's if you want to change anything on this car at this point (or as you said just ride it out before you get rid of the car) and how much to spend in case you do. I suspect PRT too would be valved more like KYB than Monroe.

I was waiting for Monroe's $100 cash card rebate last year. That never happened I guess because of the lock down. Now the prices are like $20-25 more each! And what else but toilet paper prices are going up in June too according to Kimberly Clark.

Kimberly-Clark to raise prices in June — including on toilet paper

www.morningstar.com

 

The reviews I saw online was either FCS ran fine or they were really stiff when cold (oil thickened). A recent thread on TN confirmed the cold weather stiffness I read about:

FCS

Has anyone had any problems with the fcs struts (if used them) after installing with the tires rubbing the bottom of the spring plate? Or why would they do that because the original ones with 160,000 miles i replaced never rubbed the tires.Im on my 2nd set on the rear same thing

www.toyotanation.com

Another on 4Runner (I think OP meant FCS), "The ride is harder than my grandpa watching golden girls." LMAO!

Toyota-4Runner.org

The Largest 4Runner Community in the World

www.toyota-4runner.org

If you have gravel roads and other less than mirror-smooth roads to deal with, Monroe's QuickStrut or OES might work out better. Your Lesjofors springs and B6 on the project car - those are good stuff. Then again, it's if you want to change anything on this car at this point (or as you said just ride it out before you get rid of the car) and how much to spend in case you do. I suspect PRT too would be valved more like KYB than Monroe.

I was waiting for Monroe's $100 cash card rebate last year. That never happened I guess because of the lock down. Now the prices are like $20-25 more each! And what else but toilet paper prices are going up in June too according to Kimberly Clark.

I like that expression lol.Grandpa’s gotta have a life I like the Lesjofors and B6s, but DDing that car would be painful around here. I can barrel through corners superbly but you can feel every expansion joint and imperfection on the road. I read a thread on the Honda forum where they mentioned that FCS got really stiff in the cold. So I don’t see any reason to switch my struts to those at this point. But reading the thread you posted on TN is helpful to get an additional data point that validates it.

I like that expression lol.Grandpa’s gotta have a life I like the Lesjofors and B6s, but DDing that car would be painful around here. I can barrel through corners superbly but you can feel every expansion joint and imperfection on the road. I read a thread on the Honda forum where they mentioned that FCS got really stiff in the cold. So I don’t see any reason to switch my struts to those at this point. But reading the thread you posted on TN is helpful to get an additional data point that validates it.

If your car bottoms out (is that what you meant by "crashes"?) when going over dips/potholes, then your struts, springs, or mounts are worn out. When it comes to brand, those discussions can be awfully anecdotal. Everyone says "KYBs are really stiff". I haven't found that to be the case in the Camrys in which I've installed them. They seem fine to me. I thought the Monroes were very soft. Almost as soft with Moogs. Haven't tried Gabriel. My daughter's Honda had just the front right strut replaced with an FCS strut (front left was original OE strut) and it seemed to ride just fine. Doesn't normally get very cold here, so that reported issue with FCS is not an issue here.

That being said, I have 409K miles (a lot of highway miles) on my 2004 Corolla with the original struts. Yes, the boots are all torn up. The ride is fine, though.

Not sure if it bottoms out, but on the sharp ridges on ruts, you can certainly feel the road imperfection. Normal potholes and surface unevenness are handled acceptably, this not being a luxury car I guess. My thought about using KYB was because they’re on close out on RA. But I don’t know what I would receive in “private label packaging”. I’m not too impressed with what others have shared in other threads about the strut mounts on the KYB quick struts. Admittedly, the strut mounts on my car get noisy once the weather dips below 35.

^ would you say FCS feels more like KYB? My guess is FCS and PRT on rockauto would base their valvings on KYB. PRT seems to have dust boots and spring seats that look closer to OE than on FCS.

Gabriel's Ultra seems to have gotten softer since they moved from US to Mexico. I didn't think they were as good now because they're too soft for me. If there's a preference for a softer ride than OE, then Monroe's OESpectrum struts (or their QuickStruts assemblies that uses them) would be my choice now.

Back with Gen 5 supposedly KYB and Gabriel started working together. I've read posts where people got KYB and Gabriel struts on different corners from the factory (couldn't find those posts now). And Cressidaadr here bought some Gabriel struts from Autozone, guess what, they were KYB struts in the box. So maybe I'd be happier with today's "firmer" Gabriel (=KYB) LOL!

"I was surprised to find the Gabriel was the exact strut as the KYB that I was returning. The only difference was that someone had placed a sticker on the KYB strut that said - - "KYB" and it was in a different box. "

Anyone have experience with FCS struts?

Title says it all. Anybody? I'm coming up on 151k and 18 years with original struts. Even though the ride isn't bad, and I don't have any irregular tire wear, I'm sure these original struts are pretty worn. I'm usually a die hard KYB kind of guy, but on a 2000 I find it hard to justify spending...

www.toyotanation.com

I think KYB and Gabriel’s are now made in the same factory. So perhaps they are damped the same now?

I think I’m going to hold off on purchasing struts for now (so I say to myself). I don’t want to get new quick struts like FCS that won’t really make a difference with the ride. So as I see it:
A. Do nothing and continue driving till the struts truly fail and switch to Monroes or KYB
B. Buy the “private label” KYBs on close out and see what they are.

How complicated is it for one person to do a strut swap? If I went this path, I would use Gabriel mounts, Moog boots, stock springs and the above mentioned struts.

I have sprint compressors used to switch Sachs struts to B6s on the project Volvo. But I had a buddy helping me at the time which might not be feasible now.

 

If your car bottoms out (is that what you meant by "crashes"?) when going over dips/potholes, then your struts, springs, or mounts are worn out. When it comes to brand, those discussions can be awfully anecdotal. Everyone says "KYBs are really stiff". I haven't found that to be the case in the Camrys in which I've installed them. They seem fine to me. I thought the Monroes were very soft. Almost as soft with Moogs. Haven't tried Gabriel. My daughter's Honda had just the front right strut replaced with an FCS strut (front left was original OE strut) and it seemed to ride just fine. Doesn't normally get very cold here, so that reported issue with FCS is not an issue here.

That being said, I have 409K miles (a lot of highway miles) on my 2004 Corolla with the original struts. Yes, the boots are all torn up. The ride is fine, though.

 

^ would you say FCS feels more like KYB? My guess is FCS and PRT on rockauto would base their valvings on KYB. PRT seems to have dust boots and spring seats that look closer to OE than on FCS.

Gabriel's Ultra seems to have gotten softer since they moved from US to Mexico. I didn't think they were as good now because they're too soft for me. If there's a preference for a softer ride than OE, then Monroe's OESpectrum struts (or their QuickStruts assemblies that uses them) would be my choice now.

Back with Gen 5 supposedly KYB and Gabriel started working together. I've read posts where people got KYB and Gabriel struts on different corners from the factory (couldn't find those posts now). And Cressidaadr here bought some Gabriel struts from Autozone, guess what, they were KYB struts in the box. So maybe I'd be happier with today's "firmer" Gabriel (=KYB) LOL!

"I was surprised to find the Gabriel was the exact strut as the KYB that I was returning. The only difference was that someone had placed a sticker on the KYB strut that said - - "KYB" and it was in a different box. "

Anyone have experience with FCS struts?

Title says it all. Anybody? I'm coming up on 151k and 18 years with original struts. Even though the ride isn't bad, and I don't have any irregular tire wear, I'm sure these original struts are pretty worn. I'm usually a die hard KYB kind of guy, but on a 2000 I find it hard to justify spending...

www.toyotanation.com

 

^ would you say FCS feels more like KYB?

The only FCS I've ever driven was on my daughter's CR-V with about 100K miles. It was installed at the front right corner and I could tell no difference between that and the 100K mile original strut at the left corner, but I don't know which manufacturer Honda uses. Do they use KYB? In any event, it felt fine and it's probably been about another 10K to 15K miles since then and my daughter hasn't mentioned anything about the ride being problematic.

 

I just bought the KYB for my 05 Matrix AWD and got a rebate. I haven't installed them yet, but I plan on keeping my car for at least three more years, so it was a no brainer for me. My current shocks must be factory lol and I can tell they are soft. Another thing to keep in mind is hard for some, is soft for others. I have a 99 Montero 4x4 and I run monomax shocks there, every review I read said they were harsh when combined with 33" tires, I had just had back surgery and I couldn't be happier with the ride. So for what is worth new shocks are better than busted shocks. Also keeping mind your springs might be fatigued by now.

 

Yeah I think you’re right. Better to get a name brand part when the time comes. I was actually able to find the certification page on PRT’s site. The ISO/TS expired in 2017 but later down they claim their are now IATF certified....
So maybe PRT is an acceptable choice?

The KYB deal isn’t great. It’s only going to save me $25 vs the previous deals of buy 3 get 1 free.

Sway bar end links are starting to get tired but don’t have enough play that could result in noise.
The control arm rear bushing is definitely tires but again I don’t think it’s worn enough to warrant replacement I think?

 

Yeah, you could still ride those control arm bushings out. As long as you aren’t experiencing bad tire wear it should be alright. Mine looked like this before I changed them out for polyurethane ones and they were fine. I did notice the flex on braking and flexing when torquing my wheel lugs so I changed them out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Sounds good.


Sounds good! I haven’t noticed any flexing while torquing the lugs. And I measure tread depth every 6,000 miles during tire rotation and all tires are wearing evenly across

+1, those bushings still have life left in them.

I haven't tried any of the budget struts, but going through them in recent discussions I'd be willing to experiment with PRT, knowing FCS might be too hard for colder regions. It's a crapshoot but at least PRT's willing to tell you those certifications that others didn't, expired or not.

You know how Bilstein B6 feels like on those gravel roads, then maybe try Monroe QuickStruts at least on the fronts. The rears you can probably experiment with PRT.

Anyway, let me see, just playing with the numbers:

All four corners (plus tax and shipping before 5% off rockauto discount):
FCS about $199,
PRT $234,
Gabriel Ultra ReadyMount $340,
Monroe QuickStruts $352,
KYB $400 (-$50 rebate) = $350

Or a mix of two brands:
Gabriel fronts + Ultra-Power rears $267,
Monroe fronts + Ultra-Power rears $274,
Gabriel fronts + PRT rears $281,
Monroe fronts + PRT rears $288,
KYB fronts + Ultra-Power rears $293,
KYB fronts + PRT rears $307.

Or just the front corners first:
Gabriel Ultra ReadyMount $186,
Monroes QuickStruts $193,
KYB $212 (-$25 rebate) = 187.

Or a crapshoot on a budget brand to see how they ride, rear assemblies first:
Ultra-Power $80.58,
PRT $95.

KYB rebate tiers:

KYB Feeling is Believing

It was 62F outside after a long time and the car rode really nicely. No bumps or thunks. It’s amazing the difference in ride quality between 20F , 40F and 60F. If today is any indication, I’m going to leave it alone. I’ll just assume that I have struts that are equivalent to FCS lol

But I agree, of the budget brands, PRT seems the most legit. And they have their head quarters in MI!

That being said, thanks for putting together the pricing options. My biggest temptation with trying ultra-power is that the part numbers are the exact same as the Monroe Quickstruts, which makes me wonder if they aren’t the same thing just in different boxes?

Hopefully someone on this forum tries them out and tells us how good the PRTs are. If my struts do go bad, I’ll probably do PRTs up front and ultra-power in the back (but only if I get name brand part in the box). Otherwise I’ll be rolling the dice on PRT upfront and maybe Gabriel’s in the back.

I’m torn between spending top $ on a car that’s 16 years vs cheaping out when the car has been so reliable taken me on so many road trips.
Sad reality of life is, I’ll most likely sell it in the 2-4 years age range depending on how rust progresses (which is minimal as of right now). Such is life in the rust belt, sigh!

 

+1, those bushings still have life left in them.

I haven't tried any of the budget struts, but going through them in recent discussions I'd be willing to experiment with PRT, knowing FCS might be too hard for colder regions. It's a crapshoot but at least PRT's willing to tell you those certifications that others didn't, expired or not.

You know how Bilstein B6 feels like on those gravel roads, then maybe try Monroe QuickStruts at least on the fronts. The rears you can probably experiment with PRT.

Anyway, let me see, just playing with the numbers:

All four corners (plus tax and shipping before 5% off rockauto discount):
FCS about $199,
PRT $234,
Gabriel Ultra ReadyMount $340,
Monroe QuickStruts $352,
KYB $400 (-$50 rebate) = $350

Or a mix of two brands:
Gabriel fronts + Ultra-Power rears $267,
Monroe fronts + Ultra-Power rears $274,
Gabriel fronts + PRT rears $281,
Monroe fronts + PRT rears $288,
KYB fronts + Ultra-Power rears $293,
KYB fronts + PRT rears $307.

Or just the front corners first:
Gabriel Ultra ReadyMount $186,
Monroes QuickStruts $193,
KYB $212 (-$25 rebate) = 187.

Or a crapshoot on a budget brand to see how they ride, rear assemblies first:
Ultra-Power $80.58,
PRT $95.

KYB rebate tiers:

KYB Feeling is Believing

 

So an update, I got my hands on Monroe Quickstruts which were on Amazon under their “warehouse deals”. $114 shipped for both front struts - caveat being they reduce the warranty to just 30 days. Put them on and wow, the car rides so much smoother! Replaced the sway bar end links with Mevotech ones off RA.
I have the right rear strut assembly on the way as well. Going to leave the left rear as is since it seems to be riding fine of the 4 and replace it later in the summer.

 

So an update, I got my hands on Monroe Quickstruts which were on Amazon under their “warehouse deals”. $114 shipped for both front struts - caveat being they reduce the warranty to just 30 days. Put them on and wow, the car rides so much smoother! Replaced the sway bar end links with Mevotech ones off RA.
I have the right rear strut assembly on the way as well. Going to leave the left rear as is since it seems to be riding fine of the 4 and replace it later in the summer.

I'd recommend replacing the shocks in pairs being that they're not super pricey, but take note of your alignment and monitor your tire wear

 

The camber adjustment can only be made if you purchase fast camber hardware. It is just a bolt.

I typically get a thrust alignment.

 

The fronts have toe alignment and for the rear, shims can be used. But you are correct, no adjustment available. Check the condition of your rear trailing arm bushings. Over time the rear axle can get bent.

 

They’re alright. There are cracks for sure on both sides, but I think I have a long ways to go before they need to be replaced. There’s no flex when I torque the wheels down - at least that’s been my check for replacement thus far!

 

The way I did it was to install the top 3 nuts and get them hand tight.
After that I aligned the knuckle to the strut assembly housing by pulling up the rotor from the bottom - getting the 2 bolts in. Then tighten the 3 top nuts to 29 lb-ft followed by the 2 19mm bolts to 113 lb-ft.
Hopefully I didn’t screw up the camber and toe too much?

But I’m really pleased with how the car rides. $114 for the Monroe’s (with only 30 days warranty though) - I’m hoping they’ll last the time I plan to keep the car.

 

Can someone please tell me what the torque for the large nut at the bottom of the rear strut is? I torqued the 2 nuts and the 14mm bolt all to 59 lb-ft. From what I read, the bottom nut is either 59lb-ft or 188lb-ft (NO WAY!).
What do I put it at? Also should I torque this with the car lowered down or is it ok to torque this with the car on jack stands?

 

Can someone please tell me what the torque for the large nut at the bottom of the rear strut is? I torqued the 2 nuts and the 14mm bolt all to 59 lb-ft. From what I read, the bottom nut is either 144lb-ft or 188lb-ft (NO WAY!).
What do I put it at? Also should I torque this with the car lowered down or is it ok to torque this with the car on jack stands?

It's 59 ft lbs. The Stabilizer bar at the rear axle beam is the one that is 144 ft lbs.

The torque specs shown below have ft lbs as the last number:

 

Awesome, many thanks @John Anthony!! Torqued it down to 59 lb-ft.