Best I35 struts

[DblOsmith]

I tried to do a search for this, and I didn't find anything. I recently bought an 2002 I35 and I love it. I wish it had a 5spd auto, but it's all good.

The only think that really irks me is the floppy ride. When I'm on the freeway going 70 with the wheel anywhere but forward, if I hit the smallest bump it feels like the car might go sideways and flip. Plus it rides fine on surface streets, but as soon as I hit the freeway, it rocks in an unsettling way and makes me almost seasick. The car has 90K miles, and they might be the originals, so it could just be that time. Can anyone recommend good struts I can replace them with? Something nice and firm, but not completely unforgiving?

Another consideration would be... Although I have a garage now, I don't feel comfortable doing the install myself. So, I'll probably go to Lesschwab or BigO or NTB or somewhere to have them installed.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[johnnyd6404]

Tociko HPs (blues) are acceptable OEM replacements and tend to be a little firmer than OEM if you've got the cash splerge on Illuminas fully ajustable so you can make them as firm or soft as you want.

[DblOsmith]

How easy is it to adjust? Is it just take the wheels off and a couple of wrenches or do I need to be a tokiko rep to do it?

[johnnyd6404]

The front is simple open the hood and use a flat head screwdriver to turn the selector its located on top of the shaft. The rear is a little more trickey cuz its in a tight spot but the same process all you need is a screw driver. I'll post some pics tomorow for ya.

[DblOsmith]

Thanks a lot, man. If they're that easily adjustable, then I'm inclined to get those. Pics would be great. Is that what you have in your Max?

[ridinwitha35]

Same car, same issues....though one thing you should check is your sway bar endlinks & bushings. Also get an alignment & check your tire wear. I would check those before buying new struts, especially since you just bought the car.

PS: I just bought my car too, and had the exact same feelings as you regarding the ride quality. I was going to add a front strut tower brace (fstb) and rear anti-sway bar (rsb) but after going to the dealer, they discovered my endlinks were bad, alignment was off, and uneven tire wear though I still had some tread left. So I say check those first then look into upgrades.

[DblOsmith]

I'll check those first, thanks. Did those things help you when you got them replaced?

[DblOsmith]

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Same car, same issues....though one thing you should check is your sway bar endlinks & bushings. Also get an alignment & check your tire wear. I would check those before buying new struts, especially since you just bought the car.

PS: I just bought my car too, and had the exact same feelings as you regarding the ride quality. I was going to add a front strut tower brace (fstb) and rear anti-sway bar (rsb) but after going to the dealer, they discovered my endlinks were bad, alignment was off, and uneven tire wear though I still had some tread left. So I say check those first then look into upgrades.

...and if you did, how much did it cost?

[Eikon]

DblOsmith

Thanks for posting this thread.

I just picked up an I35 myself this weekend.

I was horrified at the handling on the highway! I thought I had something terribly wrong. I even stopped at a fellow NICO staff member's house on the way home and put the car up on Jacks to investigate to see if something like a tie rod end was broken... to no avail!

We did find that my front right tire was wearing horribly on the inside of the wheel. I'm not an expert with suspension at all.. but I'm trying to wrap my brain around it... My thinking is that I have bad struts. The springs push the wheels down away from the body. The shocks/strust are supposed to counteract that by refusing to stretch out away from the body. The two fighting against each other keeps the wheels "suspended" at a nice level and helps dampen all the bumps. Well, with the one tire I looked at being so worn on the inside, I can't help but think that the shock isn't pull the wheel back up like it's supposed to. That is causing the geometry of the suspension to allow for too much camber. So the tires are riding on the inside. While it doesn't seem like the struts are blown because the ride isn't as bouncy as I would expect.... I'm also not used to the car yet. I'm fairly sure I have blown or bad struts.

So, my quest to fix the handling on a car that I otherwise love will begin very soon.

I'll keep you in the loop as I go.

I've already ordered a front strut bar and have picked up new swaybar end links.

I'll put the sway bar links on in the next couple days and report back on this thread to see if it made a big difference.

Next will be the strut bar.

I haven't decided yet.. but I'm probably going to bite the bullet and get a set of Tokico Illumas adjustable struts and some new springs. I'll probably lower the ride height a bit as well with lowering springs while I'm at it. That should make a major improvement!

[audtatious]

Find people local with a lowered max to see what different springs feel like. The Eibachs are great on a smooth road but once you hit ruts and bumps it's jarring

[DblOsmith]

Yeah, there is a bit of lean too that kinda bugs me. I eventually plan to do the whole suspension setup. Bushings, struts, STB... at least.

Are the bushings and endlinks very difficult to install? Could those be done by the same people at the same time I have my struts replaced? I'm not too familiar with suspension setups.

[DblOsmith]

Yeah, I just took my first kinda roadtrip.... Granted I had 4 other people in the car of average weight, the ride was horrible, jarring, and one more than one occasion, bottomed out. This can't continue.

Bushings, End Links, Struts and STB. Does anyone know, if I buy everything separately, can I bring them all, to a Firestone, BigO, NTB, Lesschwab, etc. and have them install them all at once? Any place you would recommend to do that?

Thanks!

[Eikon]

The struts are the only one of those that will be time consuming to install. The others are very simple. So whoever you take the car to for the struts, you can certainly have them replace the other items in one service appointment. Just don't let them charge you much for the install..

Do the strut tower bar yourself. There's nothing to it.. just undo the bolts on top of the strut tower in the engine bay and put the strut tower bar over the top with the bolts going through the holes and then put the bolts back on... very very easy!

If you bottomed out that makes me worry that your springs might be shot as well.. You might want to check that out.. perhaps it would be worth doing springs at the same time as the shocks.. It shouldn't take much additional labor so the cost shouldn't be much more than the cost to acquire the springs. . They are pretty cheap.

[DblOsmith]

It definitely felt like I hit the bump stops... which will come with new struts too, right? When I put GR2's on my Celi, it came with BS's.

Yeah, STB is easy, I just wanna go, OMG and have everything on at the same time, and be wow'ed. heh.

Yeah, if I have any questions on springs, I should get them done at the same time. Any recommendation on springs? I kinda thought springs were permanent features and never needed to be replaced unless you were raising or lowering. hmm..

[lil754boy]

I have had mine for over 3 years and it has been doing it for the past 2. I was just about to buy the Tokyos until I read this forum. I have a road trip in a few weeks and would defineitely like to put these one prior to the trip. Please help. The car does not feel sturdy.

[Eikon]

I don't think springs are immune to wearing out.

They will wear out over time and lose their "bounce". I'm sure how long they last will depend very much on the environment you drive on. Some might degrade a little bit, but never really get to the point where they need to be replaced.

I've actually had a spring snap on a vehicle before. So they are certainly not immune to problems.

I'm going to try to keep my stock springs for now. I just ordered a set of Tokico Illumina's yesterday, so I'm going to install those when they come with my stock springs and see how it goes.

If I'm not happy with the springs afterwards, I'll probably upgrade to Tein H-techs based on the recommendations I've heard from other NICO staff members and experts.

[lil754boy]

Do you know if the Tokyos can be bought locally or must they be purchased online?

[Eikon]

I bet you could find a local shop in Atlanta that can order them for you.. or perhaps even have them in stock.

But, you'd probably save money if you bought them online.

Here's the best deal I found. http://www.racetechperformance.com

email Jason - [email protected] him you're from NICO club and see if he can offer a discount from the online price.

[DblOsmith]

I've tried to look up information on spring, but seems like people are only selling lowering springs which I'm not interested in.

[lil754boy]

I have the struts, does anyone have any install directions.

[Eikon]

zerothread/214767

I just did it on Sat. so it's pretty fresh in my mind. So let me know if you have any questions as you go. I will say that getting at the top bolts for the rear struts mounts was a huge pain. They are hard to get at in these little boxed in spaces behind the rear seats.

[fixer]

believe it or not when the car was new we used to get complaints of rear bottoming on I35 and qx4. thats the way the veh was designed. I dont think the springs are worn but if you want to fix that problem you need to replace the springs with stiffer ones. be aware that it will change the ride comfort as well

[DblOsmith]

Has anyone used KYB GR2's on their I35? How are they? Soft? Firm? They were fine on my Celica, but I don't know how they'd be on a car that weighs 1000 lbs more.

[parksmopar]

Hey guys,

Its like this, I own a 2003 I35 and was having the same issue. I called Cattman Performance and talked to Brain Cattman. He hooked me up with a set of struts, springs, boots, and bump stops and a rear sway bar for a good price.

The struts were KYB and the springs were from a company called Progressive.. *shrug* I do that I LOVE the way my car feels and drives right now. I have had them on for about 3 weeks now and its a whole different ballgame. You will need to get an alignment done afterwards but ya'll might want to check in with Cattman.

He doesn't let you order through the website so you have to call him. He is Very knowledgable about our cars and nice to boot.

Hope this helps.

[DblOsmith]

How

Hey guys,

Its like this, I own a 2003 I35 and was having the same issue. I called Cattman Performance and talked to Brain Cattman. He hooked me up with a set of struts, springs, boots, and bump stops and a rear sway bar for a good price.

The struts were KYB and the springs were from a company called Progressive.. *shrug* I do that I LOVE the way my car feels and drives right now. I have had them on for about 3 weeks now and its a whole different ballgame. You will need to get an alignment done afterwards but ya'll might want to check in with Cattman.

He doesn't let you order through the website so you have to call him. He is Very knowledgable about our cars and nice to boot.

Hope this helps.

How much was yours?

[DblOsmith]

Has anyone used KYB GR2's on their I35? How are they? Soft? Firm? They were fine on my Celica, but I don't know how they'd be on a car that weighs 1000 lbs more.

How are GR2's?

[parksmopar]

Well, as far as the GR2's I love them. gives the car a firm but soft ride.. if that makes sense. I haven't gotten around to putting the sway bar on the rear yet but the suspension combo is top notch. I enjoy the ride alot better now that when it was stock. I also put roughly 100 miles aday on my car so I spend alot of time in it.

The whole cost was around 800 for all of it. Of course take away the sway bar and everything it will be around 650.

Call Cattman.. its the way to go.

[Markc]

Before the suspension change did you experience the "skate sideways" over uneven road on mild cornering as well?I've got the same car, same issue as well. It only has 69k miles on it and doesn't seem like the struts are bad. I just bought it 2 months ago. Other than this "clunk or thud" sound from the right front when going over bumps and the "feels like it wants to skate sideways" thing, (it acually doesn't skate), but feels less than assuring, I love the car.I bought a FTSB but don't like the way it crushes part of the hood liner so I took it off. I bought a different type & it does the same thing!

[NewDad=4drs]

I have an 03 that my wife drove for a couple of years and I have started driving it since late last year. I hate how it feels too. MUSHY. I know it felt much firmer and "sure footed" when we bought the car or I wouldn't have bought it. The car has over 115K miles on it now and OF COURSE parts wear out so this shouldn't be a surprise. I just don't normally own cars this long or old. I have been spoiled.

SO, I have priced some Tokico Illuminas and have plans to order them this week, but after seeing parksmopar's post I am debating just calling Cattman. He is a nice guy, I have talked to him in length about a full exhaust in the past. I want to keep this car but I am having some serious "new car wants" after sailing my boat to & from work 37 miles each way every morning and evening at about 80 mph. And allowing any of my employees to ride with me to meetings and what-not is just flat out embarrasing. Most people feel that the I35 is a nice car when they see it and the first speed bump heading out of the parking lot makes me cringe and always sparks a comment from the passenger...

My only concern is getting into the "while you are at it, might as well"s... if you know what I mean. I have gotten rid of all of my toys due to my natural desire to pour A LOT of money into them making "improvements", as I like to tell my wife .
Modified by NewDad=4drs at 12:11 PM 8/22/2009

[DblOsmith]

Hey,

The front is simple open the hood and use a flat head screwdriver to turn the selector its located on top of the shaft. The rear is a little more trickey cuz its in a tight spot but the same process all you need is a screw driver. I'll post some pics tomorow for ya.

Hey, Johnnyd, I just got my illuminas installed. w00t. Can you post the pics on how to adjust them on an I35? I've scoured the internet and I can't find any pics anywhere.

Chris

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