Will these work on the front of a 2006? Its confusing since this one says its good to 07 and others say only up to 05

Gabriel 79YB83J Front Strut

 

Jim, Maybe neither.

I went to the Gabriel website and the only front shock they list for a 2006 SC430 has part number G56598, with upper mount S95 and lower mount ES201. Their website lists this as applicable to 02-07 models of the SC, and various years for the GS 300, 400 and 430. Maybe try calling them to find a definitive answer - 1-800-999-3903

BTW, part number G56598 is also found, along with the equivalent KYB product, on the website you linked.

 

I also ran across these looking at replacement front shock options for my '06. Are they a match?

If so, I'm assuming they can be used with stock upper and lower mounts. Yea or nay on that?

 

Just sayin'.....

 

I bit the bullet and bought a full set of OEM replacements front and back for $800, all in. Didnt see a better offer.

 

I have an '06 and was looking a few months ago and I had orders a set of KYB's for the front and the strut perch for the spring was to small for the larger diameter '06 front spring. Luckily, Amazon had a free return on that item and haven't found a solution yet other than your solution.

David

 

Funny thing is that I unknowingly drove past their HQ near Magnolia, TX just two days ago. They're right down the road from my BIL's house.

Expensive as it is, I may have to check into that option and see if there's a shop nearby that can do the install if it's beyond my capabilities.

 

In my testing and use the oem shocks have a poor dampening curve. Too stiff high speed compression that kicks back on sharp edges and too little low speed compression allowing the shock to blow through the trave and bottom on dips and driveways. The soft low speed compression and driveways and sharp dips had bottomed the front bumper so many times that the body shop had to remove the lower bumper and send it out to remove the grooves and pits the bottoming caused. Then repaint and reinstall this week. $$$$

spring rate was correct but too long. Car leaned on corners like a barge. Too small sway bars added to the poor handling.


the MeisterR CRD’s fixed the issues. I went full soft for 5k miles just for testing and the car was basically just on the springs which were the same rate as oem but shorter(stiffer)

now at 10 clicks former versus full soft. Next is to go 15 clicks in front and rear. Someone posted their settings as 15 in rear and 22 in on front out of 32 clicks possible.

no more kickback from sharp edges and i can hit driveways aggressively.

The chart for the MeisterR’s dampening shows more compression and rebound being added per click.

my rear at 10 click in will have the rear end bounce up over aggressive driveways. Needs more dampening on rebound for sure.

my 08 ls 460 has the same dampening curve in its shocks. Just heavier so its not as noticeable.

i hesitated to repair the under body front end damage from previous owners and me until the dampening issue was addressed and fixed. Waste of money to have it scape on driveways and sharp dips.

Meister shows the struts in stock. I would not waste my money on more oem shocks with the same dampening settings built in.

i raced and built open desert four stroke dirt bikes for many many years and suspension was the key always.

The shocks are shipped with the height adjusters full down to make them more compact to ship and the wrenches are included to extend them. 5 minute easy job.

car ended up maybe 1/2 to 3//4” lower. Hardly noticeable.

i added sway bars which may or may not have been needed if the springs were shorter.

i took away some of the now sharper handling for better ride quality by putting on specific 45 series tires. Speedo now reads correct with the slightly taller tire.

i can feel the tire roll over a little in really aggressive turns. Raising tire pressure past the oem 33 would help that but the nicer ride is a better result

if i were really driving hard on a twisty road i might add a few psi to the tires and turn up the dampening.

sorry for the long post but i hope this helps a few here.

the low miles on some of these 430’s i attribute to the poor handling and shocks new.

 

Thanks Caflashbob. This is exactly the kind of info I've been looking for.

I love my sc430, except for the handling.

 

when we first got our 08 with Pirelli p1’s on it my wife questioned my driving ability as the car wandered all over the freeway. Noisy tires. Bottomed in driveways. Leaned on turns at medium speed. Flat sounding stereo. Yellow headlight beams. Ok brakes. All fixed

 

Did the coilovers help to alleviate the oversteer? Coming from a Honda S2000, which was delightfully neutral in turns, the amount of push in this thing is astounding.

 

Reduced it quite a bit. I think the cars suspension and chassis flexes in harder use. There were elaborate component setups and bushing made to race these.

not worth losing the ride quality i have now. At least to me.

could have benefited from geared variable ratio power steering like the ls was offered with

 

Thanks that's helpful. My wife and I took a ride down Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway from top to bottom in September. The amount of rubber scrubbed off the front wheels was very impressive... NOT.

There was a lot of rubber on the body immediately behind the front wheels.

I'm not looking for Formula 1 performance, but a little better road manners would be greatly appreciated, and like you I don't wish to sacrificing the ride.

The ultimate goal will be the coilovers and new wheels with non run-flat tires.

I'm hoping that makes a big difference.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year..