Just hit 95k miles on my 15’ AWD Base. Starting to notice a little more brake dive and body roll, so I think it’s time to go ahead and replace the shocks. I know KYB is the OEM supplier, but which model line? Is it the gas-a-just ones on RockAuto? Is there a better replacement? Want to keep a smooth ride and get something reliable. Performance is secondary. I run Michelin CrossClimate 2’s year round which aren’t the softest tire, but I’m hoping new shocks will help get me close to that Lexus glide.

 

This comes up a fair bit, OEM supplier is not the same as you buying that brand in the aftermarket world. Lexus demands a certain spec (meaning ride/handling) from KYB which could very well differ from the aftermarket version. I don't know if this is the case for your car and to what extent. Do you have adaptive suspension? If it was me I'd go with Lexus parts unless the cost is unreasonable.

 

It’s the Gas-a-Just; but the part number will vary if it has AVS, so check on the KYB website ,or awd vs rwd. KYB is the OE shock so get those. It will take it right back to stock feel - they are great in the car. Very soft and compliant around town, at normal speeds, but then when you push it they firm up and dampen harder and and make the car superbly controllable at high speeds. Great shocks. The replacement shocks come from the same assembly line as the OE shocks, they are explicit about that.

If you are re-using your stock springs (no reason not to), the fronts are tricky because they need to be indexed to fit that c-arm lower mount around the front drive axle. You have to line it up near perfectly when re-assembling, which is tricky with spring compressors.

I recommend doing the LCA spring-compressor trick. That is where you unbolt the shock nut on top, loosen your suspension then drop your lower control arm so it pulls the shock down and free of the spring slowly, safely. Then you swap in your new mount and shock and lift it back in, and you can align the bottom of the shock and that c-arm as it tightens. This is way easier. I didn’t know about this issue when I did mine and wasted 1/2 a day doing jsut one side, and still had to get a side-grinder out to chew on the arm to make it go back together. Then I did my homework and learned about this….