I have a 2000 Nissan Crew Cab for my daily driver. Despite some high mileage it's in pretty good shape, mostly thanks to spending the majority of it's years in the south west states. Maintenance has been pretty minimal but last fall I put new shocks on all 4 corners and snow tires because RWD and open diff... I'm running KYB gas-a-just in the rear and Gabriel Max Control in the front. The fronts are way too stiff, especially on high speed bumps. It feels like I'm hitting a curb as I drive over the 4 sets of speed bumps health and safety had put in the driveway at work... I live on a pretty well maintained dirt road and I get shudders bad enough for ABS to kick in on really mild road that my wife's Saturn Vue handles with ease. Not exactly a high standard of performance it's failing. The shocks that the Max Control shocks replaced were OE nissan of unknown age and miles. I don't want to shell out Bilstien money for an appliance vehicle but I'd love to hear some recommendations for decent shocks that don't follow a "more is better" philosophy.
I've had very good luck with both Bilstein and KYB monomax has on my trucks
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
I went Billy's on the Sierra. There's a reason they were a factory option, they're just good at doing what they're supposed to do.
Hate to be the guy to chimes in with the same answer, but I also have Bilsteins on my truck. I went from stock, to some high zoot desert bro truck stuff and then to Bilstein and I'm happiest with the Bilstein by far.
However...... looking at Rock Auto, Bilsteins are something like $330 for all four while KYB GR2's are more like $105 for all four. And then you can put on Gabriel Guardians for a couple dollars over $50 for all four. In that case, the Billies look like a crazy luxury shock.
The Bilsteins are almost buy it and forget it for as long as you own the truck. Almost. I've had good luck with GR2's on other cars. They tend to work ok for not as long. The Gabriels are the shocks you buy if you're giving the truck to your brother in law.
And if it matters, there's a $40 rebate on a set of four KYBs until the end of April. That was enough for me to go for them for my budget Saab project.
Happy with the Bilsteins on my GX470. 6112's up front and 5160's in the back.
I can't argue with the recommendations functionally on the Bilsteins. I think the digressive valving would solve the high speed bump issue. I just have a hard time justifying the price point. Do the Bilsteins realistically last 2X+ as long as the KYBs in daily driver use? Seems a shame to have Bilstiens on the truck before the RX8.
Apparently the OE shocks are Nissan branded KYB and GR-2 equivalent. They were acceptable, I just thought I was upgrading.
Reviews seem promising
https://www.amazon.com/KYB-344469-Excel-G-Gas-Shock/dp/B000HDH4EU#customerReviews
I have never replaced a bilstein due to failure. And i buy them used at pullapart from worn out gm trucks. They were factory, and i reuse them at 20 years old and 200k.
So, from my experience, i think its safe to say that they will easily outlast the rest of the truck.
Dusterbd13-michael said:
I have never replaced a bilstein due to failure. And i buy them used at pullapart from worn out gm trucks. They were factory, and i reuse them at 20 years old and 200k.
So, from my experience, i think its safe to say that they will easily outlast the rest of the truck.
Well,. I'm going to keep that in mind.
Dusterbd13-michael said:
I have never replaced a bilstein due to failure. And i buy them used at pullapart from worn out gm trucks. They were factory, and i reuse them at 20 years old and 200k.
So, from my experience, i think its safe to say that they will easily outlast the rest of the truck.
Yeah, ours did not come with the factory Bilsteins. It had teh small delco blue shocks that were done in 60k miles. Truck's now at 110k and it feels like the day I put them on.
And here I am about to pull a set of Bilsteins off my Grand Cherokee and replace them with Fox because I want better compliance. Come to think of it, I pulled Bilsteins off my Vanagon and replaced them with Konis for improved ride there too.
They have a characteristic high speed compression behavior that leads to the "Bilstein jiggle". Feels sporty, but it's not something I'm terribly fond of when it comes to a compliant ride.
Keep in mind that factory Bilsteins and aftermarket Bilsteins may be valved completely differently. Just because they came with them from the factory doesn't mean you can buy the same thing at Rock Auto.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I've heard this from Lee Grimes at Koni too. Some vehicles Bilsteins work flawlessly for eons. Some vehicles they are terrible. On the GMT800 2wd they are fantastic.
Mazda has been putting Bilsteins on Miatas for 25 years. Of those 25 years, only 5.5 have been legitimately good shocks (2013-15, 2018-19 with two different Bilstein setups available for 2017). Some of the rest were okay, most were awful.
