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Gas charged shocks on '97 4 cyl

Dear Community

Other day I bough gas charged KYB shocks as parts of replace front suspension I brought then to mechanic and he highly advised not to install them. He motives this as gas operated shocks are too hard for rest parts of suspension and I will lose more money on long run on changing mounts and etc. He says will be much wiser to stick with original from Toyota.

I used to trust this guy and he always could find the right reason of problem with my car and fixed them perfectly. But in this case ... I am not so sure. As I know KYB makes shocks for Toyota and they would not recommend this model (I got GR-2) for Camry 97 if something would be wrong ... In result I get a little at lost and would like to ask you to share you opinion or expirince using gas charged shocks .

Reply to
VS
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If they are rated a sportier -harder ride , maybe yes. Monroe gas are not rated sportier, I have them. But it depends how much harder they are.

Reply to
m Ransley

not

recommend

Reply to
Jason James

not

recommend

One of the considerations that has to be taken into account when ordering shocks for your car is,..how soft are the springs ?,..or put another way, are the springs matched to the shocks in terms of stiffness?

If your car has soft springs expected on a family sedan, then fitting harder shock than normal; (regardless of which brand)will cause the shock to carry

*most* of the suspension movement, rather than just damping any oscillations. In extreme cases, the shock may fail.

I suspect your mechy is really saying "these shocks are too far mismatched to the cars spring-rate and suspension travel.

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

Your mechanic has a point. He has nothing to gain from installing one brand over the other. He sounded like he only had your best interest in mind. KYB's do make shocks for Toyotas but with different specifications. KYB can make shocks hard or as soft too. It is possible that the ones you bought are too stiff. Older Toyota's do wear out their mounts and putting stiffer shocks will exacerbate the situation. If he knows thiis, he seems like a good mechanic. He probably recommended the Toyota shocks because he knows that it is perfectly calibrated for the car.

Shock calibration is a complex science and the engineers took a lot of time to dial it in when designing the car. Aftermarket manufacturers have to make shocks for a whole variety of cars so it is far more generic and not specifically for one car, other than fitment. Who says that would work better?

Next time you are doubting a mechanic that has served you for a long time, ask this question: what does he/she have to gain with this? Are they just trying to get more money?

Reply to
Viperkiller

Stick with the Toyota parts, you will not get a better ride with those things you have and possibly make the ride much worse...I had new toyota shocks put on mine at 140,000 miles and wow what a difference, I am now pushing

190,000 miles.
Reply to
ROBMURR

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