Shock/Strut Replacement Recommendations

[mega4ce]

I need to replace the shocks and struts on my 01' 4x4 Pathfinder and wanted to now what you guys have done in the past. I was looking at KYBs, as I have used them in the past on other trucks. I like the gas-a-just but they only have them for the rear. I like a stiffer ride but dont want there to be to unbalanced if I use the GR-2s up front. Any comments?

[Towncivilian]

I have KYB Gas-A-Justs and GR-2s (which have since been renamed to Excel-Gs - they are identical to the old GR-2s though. I actually have one of each and they are different colors!). The ride is stiffer, yet smoother compared to my old 135k mile worn KYB OEM suspension parts. I used Raybestos Professional Grade strut mount kits, since there have been anecdotal reports of issues with KYB strut mounts (I don't know if this is still the case). You will also need to replace some fasteners: upper and lower strut mount nuts as well as the strut mount center nut, and the rear shocks' upper and lower nuts. Provide your VIN and I can look up exact part numbers for these.

While I have no issues with the Raybestos mounts, I suggest going with OEM parts. They are not much more expensive than the Raybestos ones. I can give you a number of a dealer in Texas who has the lowest prices on most (if not all) OEM parts.

[Gold503]

I just replaced my struts and shocks with KYB Excel G units and the Raybestos mounting kit. The ride is stiffer than before, but it was on 155k original equipment so really I don't know how it "should" drive. Overall I am very happy with the results and would do it all the same again if I had the choice. I also replaced the upper trailing arms, lower trailing arms, and sway bar end links in the rear. In the front I also replaced the sway bar links and sway bar bushings. Not sure how much how much it helped to change this stuff out, but I am overall glad I did it.

I am happy with the Excel G's and would do it exactly the same if I had the choice. FYI - I ordered the KYB GR-2 shocks and struts off Amazon and they sent me Excel G's.

[donald]

unless you do some serious off-roading, I think the majority of R50 owners use the KYB GR-2/Excel-G struts and KYB Gas-A-Just shocks.

One thing for sure - the KYB Gas-A-Just shocks are (IMO) approximately 40%-50% more stiff than the KYB GR-2/Excel-G shocks (note, not the strusts) - and this is based on my common-person test;
I purchased both the KYB Gas-A-Just shocks and the KYB GR-2 shocks.
Compressing the Gas-A-Justs was noticibly more difficult to compress than the GR-2. The GR-2's were pretty "easy". I'm 5'11", 210lbs and the way I compressed them was to to push down on the piston rod as fast as I could. Using this "metric" , I figured the Gas-A-Justs were definitely stiffer.

I do 0.1% of my driving off-pavement (note, not off-road ). Sometimes I drive in the dirt or gravel, but I never go off-road.
I also have OME medium-duty springs (gave a settled rise of about 1" to the 124k mi suspension I purchased the car under). So, my impression is that the rear is definitely "stiffer" than the front - but this would make sense, since a lot more weight is at the front (engine, driver) and barely anything is in the rear.

To give you as best impression as I can of the difference between front and back (in the LEAST technical terms possible - because I don't know any technical terms):
When I go over a speed bump (those narrow ones, that measure about 1.5ft from the front to back, and about 4" high at its peak) the front will bounce (down-and-back-up cycle = 1 bounce) about 1.6 times (.6 is goes down again, but not as far as the first bounce, and returns up to normal extension). The rear will bounce 1.1times (.1 meaning it barely goes back down after the first bounce)

again, my apologies for the horrid lack of technicality contained in this post

[mega4ce]

Thanks for the responses. I think I will be going with the gr-2/excel-g struts up front and the gas-a-just in the rear. I am partial to a stiffer ride and would like better cornering that comes with that.

Town - I punched in my VIN to the Nissan Parts site to look up part #s for the strut mount kit. What all do I need to replace? The entire upper assembly? I understand that the bearings generally need to be replaced but not sure about the rest of the parts, other then the nuts you already listed.

Donald - Thanks for the non technical description. It actually made perfect sense.

[Towncivilian]

For the front, you need strut mounts and bearings, as well as the three nuts that secure the strut mount as well as the nut in the center of the strut mount. You also need the two lower strut mount nuts.

For the rear, you need the upper and lower nuts and that's it.

Provide your VIN and I will give you a list of correct part numbers as well as a phone number to that dealership I mentioned earlier.

[mega4ce]

Is there a way I can PM you my VIN?

[Towncivilian]

Yes, but you need 10 posts to access the PM feature (anti-spambot measure). Sorry about the inconvenience!

[mega4ce]

No worries. Better that then to be bombarded with refi spam. 1 down 1 to go

[mega4ce]

sent pm