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My struts/shocks are long long blown. I am looking for an affordable option for replacement struts that give a somewhat similar ride to stock. It can be a little stiffer or softer but somewhere in the same realm as stock. Does anyone have any recommendations for front and rear struts? Also, anything else that is a must when replacing struts would be great 👍👍👍
1996 Lexus ls400
Also, I may be interested in selling my baby at some point if anyone is interested. Or trade for another vehicle.
Yes the KYB KYB 341159 are what you're looking for. They should be Excel-G, and should be all black. I'm not sure what those silver ones are in that link.
The biggest problems with the aftermarket are the subtle changes with non-obvious things.
OEM on the right, KYB on the left. Notice how much smaller the rubber isolation bushing is on the KYB compared to the OEM. Not to mention what the internal valving & durability differences are.
OEM shocks are about twice as much, so $200\corner. The rears are so much more difficult to replace, so personally, I went with KYB up front and OEM in the rear because I never wanted to look at the rear again.
isn't KYB the oem supplier? i guess toyota has certain exact specs that the oem struts are built to which aren't available aftermarket
I know some products in other industries have the same specs and production line, one thing goes into a AAA box, one thing goes into a BBB box. Same production line, but one is a "premium" brand and they charge 30% more. I know for some Aston Martin parts this is the case, where the brake caliper or the starter motor or whatever is off of a F150 or Ford Mondeo. And you literally pay 1\10th the money by buying the part in the Ford box instead of the identical one in the Aston Martin box. But that isn't the case here IMO. The size of the bushing alone is proof there are specific differences in the construction of the shock. What other changes there are, specifically internal ones, I don't know.
KYB makes a lot of different shocks to a lot of different specifications, just because they also produce the OEM shock doesn't mean the Excel-G's are identical. I don't think Lexus would allow KYB to sell an identical copy of their part for half the price out the back door, bypassing Lexus & the profit they make on OEM genuine parts entirely.
Now, take this all with a grain of salt. I'm just some guy on the internet without insider knowledge of what the truth actually is.
Last edited by 400fanboy; Jun 12, 2023 at 02:57 PM.
The same goes with Lemforder as an OEM supplier for Mercedes-Benz. I've bought several suspension parts i.e. control arms, bushings, mounts for my CL500. When these parts arrived, some of them, I can still see the Mercedes-Benz's Star logo slightly grinded off but still visible so they're exactly the same parts but at a fraction of the OEM price. In the case of KYB struts, we all know they aren't exactly identical as the OEM's, however based on my experience, they're fairly close when it comes to drivability & durability. I actually own 2 LS400's to this day & still love them, 1 of them being a 97 purchased when it was a year old so I practically know how it drives as a new car. Over the past 20+ years, I've replaced a total of 4 sets with KYB struts & I'm very happy with them. These cars are also 23+ years old & many of them now only worth a few thousand dollars so it's hard to justify by paying top dollars for OEM's so save your money & go with KYB's.
Looking for replacement struts ls400
