cisconj

hi all,

Mechanic told me i needed to get new shocks for my car, Can anyone recommend best shocks available for the smoothest ride possible? Also the car height is low and looks really bad with a passenger or 2 in the rear. What would i need to keep this from happening or even maybe raise the ride height a bit.

LeX2K

For the best possible ride get the struts from Lexus (NOT Toyota). The ride height being too low maybe the people riding in the back are quite large? These springs don't normally sag or wear out if you want to increase the ride height then you'll have to get a very expensive air suspension system. Or Camry wagon springs might work but the car will look ridiculous.

cisconj

Thanks for the quick reply. The passengers are just normal size so not sure why it drops so much. To order the struts then i have to call lexus directly? I cant get them from a site like amazon or some other auto parts website.

LeX2K

Here's the part numbers -

rear
LH
RH

front
LH
RH

Here's something I've discovered, the Lexus struts are now changing up to Toyota part numbers which means you will not be getting the Lexus specific valving. The Toyota struts will be noticeably better riding than KYB. Monroe is similar to the Toyota strut in ride/handling but the quality/longevity probably not as good. KYB struts in my experience are very well made, the ride will be firmer and will feel more like a sports sedan than a luxury one.

A strut does not affect ride height so don't expect to replace the strut and have the car lifted. You may also need other components such as rubber insulators, sway bar links, upper strut mounts especially the fronts. If you get the Toyota struts search the above part numbers in Google to find the best prices, or you could try to negotiate with a local dealer.

If you want to go inexpensive get KYB on rockauto.com don't buy KYB strut mounts, OEM only for these. Some may recommend Monroe Quick Struts I personally hate them.