who would you recommend to supply a set of struts that behave properly? KYB? Koni?
------------ I am a firm believer in original equipment, genuine Toyota parts. There is no risk if you have Toyota install them because the replacements come with a lifetime material and labor warranty. That's what happened in my case - one made a knocking sound out of the box and the mechanic checked everything else before finally deciding it had to be the new strut, but that is the only time I've ever had any problem with a new Toyota part, so I expect this is extremely rare. My circumstances were perhaps slightly unusual. I had just purchased the car that month. Today, I'd be doing the work myself. I was replacing the Monroe Sensatrac struts in like new condition installed by the previous owner because there was a certain bridge transition I drove daily that sent a jolt all the way up through the steering wheel and I couldn't believe the original Toyota struts would be that harsh. I'd had aftermarket shocks on other cars, and they never softened up. Seems to me, my personal opinion only, that a lot of people think a harsher ride means better handling, but I'm not convinced that is true. The Toyota parts are designed specifically for your car and should give the best overall compromise between ride quality and good handling. They work with the stabilizer bar dimension, and tire size on your exact model. The stock struts are filled with an inert gas (nitrogen I think) to reduce internal oil foaming and resultant fade in damping characteristics. I was very impressed when purchasing shock absorbers for my Toyota truck, I had to go out and count the number of leaf springs in the rear to get the exactly right part. Would expect that generic aftermarket parts probably don't even differentiate between four and six cylinder Camrys. Also, the companies you mention may not even offer struts for your vehicle. Plus you're likely to get a harder ride (over stock) which doesn't sound like what you want. There may have been something funny going on with my individual struts anyway. I felt the local dealer service department prices were just way too high, and found a better price for installation in the next city, but had a good relationship with the parts department, so I purchased the struts and rubber accordion dust shield/ mounting pads, there. Problem was, they only had one in stock and got the second from another dealer in a city to the North near the ocean. I suspect that was the bad strut and will never know if they "unloaded" a questionable part on the other dealer or was just an innocent mistake. In any event, the third dealer, who installed my parts, replaced the defective new strut with one from their inventory at no cost.