New Struts

[salguod]

Been a member here for a while, but haven't posted much. It seems my '05 hatch with 105K is needing front struts. It's feeling a bit rubbery over bumps these days like I'm getting multiple bounces instead of just one when I hit a sharp bump. It feels like the RF, so I'm thinking at least the front struts, maybe the rear shocks too.

I'm not interested in lowering or mod'ing for better than stock, but I don't want it worse either. All of the non-OEM struts that aren't high performance units list the same P/N for all models, i or s, 4 door or 5 door. The OEM web sites have separate items for 4 door 17", 4 door non 17" and 5 door, but I haven't found P/Ns. The OEMs are ~$125 while I can get KYB / Monroe / Gabriel units for $80-$90.

I love the way my 3 drives and I don't want to compromise it, but I like the idea of saving some $$, even if it's less than $100. Anyone put any of these replacement struts on their 3 hatch or s sedan? Can anyone confirm that the OEM struts are in fact different for 4 door 17", 4 door non 17" and 5 door?

Thanks

 

[rosensteins]

I have a 2007 3i with 89k. I just replaced the struts and shocks with Sensen, after reading as many reviews as I could find. I was also interested in Monroe OESpectrum but I have not been able to find many objective performance reviews (as opposed to opinions without actually trying them). The Sensens cost $138.65 from Rock Auto, including shipping and a 5% discount. The part numbers are the same for 3i, 3s, MS3, and 5.

I installed them last week, had the alignment done today, and went for a long, hard drive. With my old struts it felt like the left front wheel was just bouncing around. Each corner passed the "bounce test," but when I took everything apart, the left front strut was toast, the right front seemed ok, and the rears seemed good. I reused all the old bumpers, boots, strut mounts, etc. With the Sensens the ride and handling feels about the same as before but the car feels very planted and seems to settle quickly after a bump.

The only installation issue due to Sensen was that the brake hose brackets on the struts have to be Dremeled for the brake hose to fit. This has been noted in other forums for MS3 and 5, but it is also a problem for my 3i, so it seems to be a design problem at Sensen. They have a lifetime warranty and I don't do much mileage, so I expect them to last until I get rid of the car. But if a strut fails, the time to redo the work will outweigh the cost savings.