Roads here in Toronto are not very good, and my LS's ride, with 125,000 mile struts, is no longer very very comfortable.
I plan to keep the car so I want to replace the struts.
I intend to go to an independent and am pretty sure they will recommend non OEM options.

Besides OEM, what aftermarket shocks are top quality and proper to restore a smooth, comfortable, luxurious LS ride.?

 

I used Monroe, I've had them now for a few years, has a smooth ride and liked them. They were in made in Japan. No problems, just wanted a factory ride and that's what it gave me. I did notice it was a bit firm at first but they softened up. The brand usually has the reputation of being on the softer side of aftermarket options.

Someone here had a bad experience with KYB, I avoided them because they have the reputation of having a firmer than stock ride. But usually have a good reputation.

I have seen people get good prices on Lexus OEM "Sport" Struts that were pretty close to the price of aftermarket. That is probably the direction I would go if you can get them close to the same price as the aftermarket, I don't think they would be classified as being an overly firm ride.

 

Assuming you don't have a UL, the next best options to OEM would be KYB and Monroe. I'm guessing the Monroe's would be a little 'softer' than KYB's and help ensure your very very comfortable ride quest. I've been contemplating the same change-out because mine has almost 150k on the ticker. Strangely, RockAuto.com doesn't show any shocks available.

Pepboys currently has a really good 25% discount with on-line orders, and they have the Monroe and KYB. Monroe's are currently $117 each for the front, with a part # of 72341.

KYB's are $124 each for the front, with a part # of 341392

The rears are slightly less expensive on both brands.

 

OEM "Sports" struts are "luxury firm". More road feedback. Good choice if you want to tighten up the drive. Not the best choice if you want the ultra comfortable factory ride.

 

I wouldn't use Monroe nor KYB--that's what I did on my Maxima and it was very disappointing to have spent hours installing it and the ride was terrible...just my .02 we're all different...

 

KYB struts are quality stuff. In the RX world, those are the go-to struts if you don't want to buy OEM. Monroe has been around forever and depending on application, they are also a pretty good strut. As far as what works best with the LS, read what others have used and decide for yourself.

 

Thanks you all for the input.. Probably end up with Monroes.
Tomorrow I am going to call Lexus and see what they would charge .... I am guessing $ 1,500

 

I guess I should elaborate....since I was DIY'ing my Maxima (had access to a lift back then), and the car was already 14 y.o., I wasn't going to spend for OEM.

I am one who is 100% for buying the OEM mfg's part, without the car mfg's name on it, for savings. This can be done all day long with the German cars. Maybe to illustrate, is the Aisin timing belt kit, vs. a Lexus kit, the price is dramatically different.

Anyway, I had thought that I would be getting OEM equivalent with KYB. With Monroes, I used the quick struts, I thought wth I'll save a lot of time not having to compress the springs.

The Monroes came with nuts that had already stripped the strut mount (only one of the two so bad QC). The KYB's were fine on the rear install.

In the end, the car rode worse than when I had started. The front was lifted up like a Subaru, and the rear was not compliant and as a result there was a metal buzz from the trunk/rear deck.

What I am trying to say, is, yes, there is a time when our cars no longer deserve OEM parts due to age and cost. I'm pretty sure that if you're going non OEM, it's cost related. Are our cars non-deserving of OEM quality already, at 125k? (rhetorical)

Again, my opinion is in no way scientific, nor reliable, it's one car, one job....what's the term, YMMV? lol

 

Well isn't putting two different brands of struts on the same car is asking for trouble (rhetorical) lol


This is definitely the case. Almost every single part on this car is 12 years old. Since I wont have this car another 12 years, spending for OEM parts doesn't really make sense to me

 

In this particular case, I wanted to avoid compressing the springs up front. The fact that one Monroe was messed up out of the box almost made that necessary. Uncle cut the top off of a mounting bolt with a Dremel.

The rears had to be done no matter what as there was no quick strut. At the end of the day, these are made to save time for the shops, not provide quality to the customer.....

Yep, it's our own hard-earned money, so there is a time to cut bait...that was 14 with my Maxima.

Hey, I was just in Toronto and your roads are pretty good. The $490 distracted driving thing caught me by surprise though. You don't see folks holding their cell phones and driving up there, like you do down here.

 

Since logging 250 k miles on 2 2004 ls's one sport one not I sure liked the whole picture of the Sport model. If all shocks are equal but there is a sport version I would buy that

 

$490 C or U.S.?
Sure wish more tickets were issued here for texting while driving. Should be enforced like DUI. More people doing 70+ mph with their phones on the steering wheel hub, or mounted right in front like an ad-on dashboard item obstructing their view. It'll take even more deaths (35K+ in 2015) before any real enforcement.

 

Canadian...but it seems implied that it's $1,000 if you decide to try to fight it (how can you, and isn't that lying?)....nobody does it.

What is like DUI here is passing a school bus on red. Automatic suspension, and a lot of folks don't even think it's that serious....I think it has to do with not taking it seriously, and feeling that the school bus is holding one up....

 

Amen. Read about an app that shuts off the ability to text when the vehicle is moving. It would be great if all new phones had. It's not just the idiots that drive on a freeway. I watched someone drive slowly down a city street (with pedestrians and bicycles) while texting. Looking down into his lap. Totally disconnected. Car wasn't moving in a straight line.