[Rockwood]

KYB here both front and rear. Thumbs up!


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[cnn]

I have done struts and shocks in many cars and very often I wonder if:

- The car has sagged down over 80K-100K, so you get used to the sagginess, then once you put in new strut/shock, whether it is Honda OEM or KYB or whatever, it feels better instantly.

My questions are:

1. Is KYB better than Honda OEM or it is the same stiffness?
If the same, then the only advantage is pricing, saving a couple dollars buying KYB.

2. Longevity Honda vs KYB, which lasts longer?

 

[planomateo]

Good questions cnn, I don't know the answers.

My service guy at the local Honda dealership who I use for any warranty covered work has replaced a rear shock at least once, if I remember correctly, I've had two replaced.

Now that the rear is riding better, I think I feel the fronts are bad - these are twice as expensive to change and probably 2-3 times as hard. Crap, been wanting to swap out the fronts on my Tundra with some new Bilstein's, so maybe I'll do them both.

 

[Sugarbug]

Just replaced the rear shocks in our 2007 Ody, the driver side was completely shot - I compressed it after taking it off and it never budged the whole time I was putting the new one on and the van back together.

I ended up going with KYB, model 349105.

Here is the one I mentioned above about me compressing it and it never moving - this was about 30 mins after I compressed it.

Haha. I changed some shocks on a lifted jeep wrangler I bought used about 6 years ago. It was a 98 jeep and I'm pretty sure it had the original shocks on it. Compressed them like you did there and left them in the garage for about a week. They never moved.

Thanks for putting the part number for the KYB shocks; just ordered two myself.

 

[amati5]

It's hard to compare with oe shocks/strut because it's been a while and now even the car has new shocks/struts it has other issues as well, like worn bushings on the A arms or different tires... But if I have to guess, I think KYB is more firm, especially the rear ones. According to my mechanic friend, KYB don't last as long as Honda's.

 

[bbui13]

Hi JamesInLV,
Do you still have those Monroe's shocks. Please contact me thanks

 

[JamesInLV]

Hi JamesInLV,
Do you still have those Monroe's shocks. Please contact me thanks

Sorry...sold those a long time ago. I just bought 4 online with the best deal I could find + coupon, then got the Monroe rebate, and then sold the extra pair for cost so both the guy who bought them and myself got a great deal. You could do the same if you're willing to find another person to buy the extra pair too.

 

[TSM_Pikachu]

I have done struts and shocks in many cars and very often I wonder if:

- The car has sagged down over 80K-100K, so you get used to the sagginess, then once you put in new strut/shock, whether it is Honda OEM or KYB or whatever, it feels better instantly.

My questions are:

1. Is KYB better than Honda OEM or it is the same stiffness?
If the same, then the only advantage is pricing, saving a couple dollars buying KYB.

2. Longevity Honda vs KYB, which lasts longer?

The car will drop down a bit and you will get used to the sag of it, I had one car that went up 2mm after shocks were done. LOL I use KYB, Monroe, KONI, and Bilstein in our shop down here in SoCal. Never had any complaints on KYB at all and they perform well as I use them on my own EXL which is droppped on H&R's.

It's hard to compare with oe shocks/strut because it's been a while and now even the car has new shocks/struts it has other issues as well, like worn bushings on the A arms or different tires... But if I have to guess, I think KYB is more firm, especially the rear ones. According to my mechanic friend, KYB don't last as long as Honda's.

KYB's will last as long as OE shocks, but it also depends largely on driving and road conditions too. Around SoCal, i've found that KYB does just fine as does Monroe's but personally i'll never buy a OEM Honda shock. The price just can't justify the performance aspect for me but for someone who is a brand loyalist, i'd say go with OEM if it helps you sleep better at night.

Sorry...sold those a long time ago. I just bought 4 online with the best deal I could find + coupon, then got the Monroe rebate, and then sold the extra pair for cost so both the guy who bought them and myself got a great deal. You could do the same if you're willing to find another person to buy the extra pair too.

If I had this deal i'd have gone Monroe too haha where did you find the coupon?

 

[JamesInLV]

Rebate deal is back as of yesterday...$30 on a set of four. Buy from Rockauto.com for $34/ea + shipping, and add discount code for an extra 5% off. That's about the best price you'll find now. Looks like these have gone up a little in cost...I got mine net of coupons and rebate for about $25 each, but looks like closest you'll get now is about $30 each. Still not bad.

 

[xr500t]

Rebate deal is back as of yesterday...$30 on a set of four. Buy from Rockauto.com for $34/ea + shipping, and add discount code for an extra 5% off. That's about the best price you'll find now. Looks like these have gone up a little in cost...I got mine net of coupons and rebate for about $25 each, but looks like closest you'll get now is about $30 each. Still not bad.

Hi James,

How's the ride on the Monroe's by now? I'm looking to get the kit from rock auto and some h&r's. I know for a fact that the kyb's are harsher than stock, but it also has to do with spring rate. However, I'm leaning to pair up the Monroe's OE spectrum with the H&R's. I've read good reviews on the H&R's and middle of the road on the Monroe's...... Sachs are available for the oddy, but I can't seem to justify the price since I'm going to replace every bushing on creation in the van.

Thanks,

Ray

 

[JamesInLV]

Hi James,

How's the ride on the Monroe's by now? I'm looking to get the kit from rock auto and some h&r's. I know for a fact that the kyb's are harsher than stock, but it also has to do with spring rate. However, I'm leaning to pair up the Monroe's OE spectrum with the H&R's. I've read good reviews on the H&R's and middle of the road on the Monroe's...... Sachs are available for the oddy, but I can't seem to justify the price since I'm going to replace every bushing on creation in the van.
Thanks,
Ray

Honestly, I'm not sure my rear shocks were shot in the first place, but with the Monroe's there was a noticeable improvement and the ride has been the ride has been fine for ~24k miles now. Not sure I'll have the van until it dies, but at the very least if the Monroe's don't last much longer than stock I'll find out how well that lifetime warranty works out.

 

[xr500t]

Honestly, I'm not sure my rear shocks were shot in the first place, but with the Monroe's there was a noticeable improvement and the ride has been the ride has been fine for ~24k miles now. Not sure I'll have the van until it dies, but at the very least if the Monroe's don't last much longer than stock I'll find out how well that lifetime warranty works out.

Actually, it's good to know that you weren't comparing them to totally blown shocks! Some people will compare new shocks to a blown shock and say it's a great improvement (duh!)of course any shock at this point is an improvement. 24k is a good benchmark to go by and as long as you feel they are still performing well... that's all I need. I expect that by mid next week I'll get the job done....with a follow up in about 6 months.

Thanks again!

Ray

 

[xr500t]

Actually, it's good to know that you weren't comparing them to totally blown shocks! Some people will compare new shocks to a blown shock and say it's a great improvement (duh!)of course any shock at this point is an improvement. 24k is a good benchmark to go by and as long as you feel they are still performing well... that's all I need. I expect that by mid next week I'll get the job done....with a follow up in about 6 months.

Thanks again!

Ray

Good stuff and bad stuff to report. I used rock auto with positive and negative results. The negative was that I ended over ordering in a couple of items as some parts were included with others( their description did not specify) also, they sell "camber bolts" and they did not specify front or rear...I thought they were for the rear and they weren't.

The Monroe's OE spectrum's were a disaster (at least RA took them back) I did the rears first, and they just felt way too bouncy once installed (yes, I did pump them)...when I took the front struts out of the box and pumped them, there was no rebound control at all! the rears had some but felt too soft, even my old stock struts an shocks were reacting better. I didn't even bother installing them. Needless to say, the Monroe's went back (front and rears).

I ended up with the Sach's that were just a little more expensive than the Ro's. OUTSTANDING is all I can say of the combination with H&R . I was afraid my wife would say they felt too firm...she didn't, she loved the ride. This is better than stock, coming up on a year.

I also replaced the Lower Control arm bushings and used a MOOG solid bushing, this thing is awesome, no deflection on the suspension now. The rear control arms came from Honda 'cause the bushings weren't replaceable. The camber bolts needed to be cut out as they were frozen in place...just be careful not to hit the mounting brackets. It all goes back in quite easily, and the van rides and handles like a dream!

 

[mike_james]

Too bad to hear about your experience with Monroe. We sell Monroe where I work and they have been nothing short of excellent, including the Odyssey shocks sold for the 3rd gen. We had a full line of KYB and had a number of significant trouble areas. That and their coverage was not up to par with Monroe.

 

[xr500t]

Too bad to hear about your experience with Monroe. We sell Monroe where I work and they have been nothing short of excellent, including the Odyssey shocks sold for the 3rd gen. We had a full line of KYB and had a number of significant trouble areas. That and their coverage was not up to par with Monroe.

Like I said in a previous post, I read middle of the road reviews on the MRO's and decided to go "top of the line" with the spectrums, but, it was not meant to be. I just couldn't believe my luck. At least RA shipped the new parts quickly.

 

[bkeeper]

I recently bought the KYB rear struts, it won't fit right so I purchased a Monroe OE spectrums. I wasn't impressed with the softness of the Monroe, so I bought a Honda Rear shock to compare. The Honda shock hasn't arrived yet, but I can confirm the KYB is much firmer than the Monroe OESpectrum. The lower strut mount is different on the KYB than the Monroe.

 

[xr500t]

I recently bought the KYB rear struts, it won't fit right so I purchased a Monroe OE spectrums. I wasn't impressed with the softness of the Monroe, so I bought a Honda Rear shock to compare. The Honda shock hasn't arrived yet, but I can confirm the KYB is much firmer than the Monroe OESpectrum. The lower strut mount is different on the KYB than the Monroe.

While the bottom mount "looks" different, the overall width when measured, is the same. A little disconcerting when you look at it but the fit is there if it's the correct shock. I had the same condition with a pair of Koni's for my Accord, same exact look. I thought I would need to shim, but not at all.

 

[123zorn]

I ended up with the Sach's that were just a little more expensive than the Ro's. OUTSTANDING is all I can say of the combination with H&R . I was afraid my wife would say they felt too firm...she didn't, she loved the ride. This is better than stock, coming up on a year.

You are one of very few that seem to have gone the Sachs route, are you still happy with the Sachs choice? Any further info or updates?

 

[xr500t]

You are one of very few that seem to have gone the Sachs route, are you still happy with the Sachs choice? Any further info or updates?

I have to say, those Sachs shocks have performed and are performing extremely well (they were slightly softer than stock). The shock body still looks really good and not rusty. (as opposed to a set of Koni's I used on my Accord. The Koni's lasted and performed excellent, but the shock body rusted unbelievably bad. They only failed because the shock body rusted. The Sachs are a diffrent story as far as rust is concerned.)

I'm about to trade in my 2000 Oddy for a 2016 Touring Elite and while the ride on that is very nice, the handling on the '00 Oddy is much better. She will be missed after 285,000+ mi! My kids are grown now and for the purpose of people cargo I don't need it, but, it's such a versatile vehicle, that I can't see anything else taking on that role. Amazing and emotional.

 

[jackrabbit000]

I recently bought the KYB rear struts, it won't fit right so I purchased a Monroe OE spectrums. I wasn't impressed with the softness of the Monroe, so I bought a Honda Rear shock to compare. The Honda shock hasn't arrived yet, but I can confirm the KYB is much firmer than the Monroe OESpectrum. The lower strut mount is different on the KYB than the Monroe.

From post #36:

I know this is a old thread. But, does the raised part (on inside of the mounting holes) on the mounting tab of the KYB shock cause any problems with not sitting flat against the body when mounted? Seems to me with the raised part that there will be a gap between the tab and the body when tightened down. The Monroe on the left doesn't have the bump and will mount flush.