Which KYB TO BUY??

[wendy93089]

Hey im looking to get rear shocks. i heard good things about kyb. im just not 100% sure which ones they are on amazon. when i click on it i find more than one. can someone direct me in the right way. thanks

 

[njaremka]

skip the KYB's and get koni sport yellows. check the koni website for the part numbers.

 

[Davicho]

KYBs are perfectly fine for most people. Unless your looking for performance shocks then go with Koni, otherwise the KYB are a definite improvement over original Mazda shocks.

The KYB your need is the GR-2/Excel-G part number 343412. Both left and right side are the same so buy a quantity of 2.

 

[eyeballs]

GR2's are decent, though people here don't seem to like them. If you don't need adjustability, the Koni FSD should be much better. I've used GR2's before (on a forester) and they were about as good as the OEM shock.

 

[thaxman]

Who says formum members don't like GR-2s? They are a suitable upgrade to the under-performing OE struts. I will be honest: I have a little over 1 year and not many miles on my set, but since the OE last less than 50,000, they don't really have to be very good to perform better than that!

Not everyone wants to spend $150/wheel on shocks when they can pick up a pair for $80. It is rumoured that the Monroes and KYBs are made at the same facility, and are just labeled differently, FWIW.

As for buying the GR-2s from Amazon, choosing a GR-2 opens up a "will it fit?" dialog that has you put in your vehicle info, which brings up a selection of shocks that will fit, and the correct GR-2s are in there.

 

[Premacy5]

Sure there are a lot of Shock Snob around here (cheers2). Koni and Bilstein would be my first choice for performance but this is a minivan and stiffer does not always mean better for other passenger in the car.

I just changed my wife 2010 strut and shock with Monroe OE Spectrum and I like it. The car have Tri Point engineering rear swaybar that tend to feel too stiff with OEM shock. With OEM shock If I tail brake the rear end tend to slide out. With the Monroe the handling are still very tight but the harshness are almost all gone and the rear does not feel like truck solid axle anymore. During tail braking the rear end does not feel like its going to slide out from under you anymore.

I used to frown to using Monroe but this OE spectrum seems to be good and they have better warranty than KYB. I decided not to get KYB because I do not like the harshness that inherent with KYB. This OE spectrum are somewhat like poorman's Koni FSD. The dual valving isolate impact harshness while maintaining tight control.

Advance auto parts have $120 rebate now if you buy locally which brings the price inline to best online price. The local availability makes warranty claim much more easier and to my surprise most store have Mazda shock and strut in stock since its shared with Ford Focus and Volvo.

 

[Secondtyme]

Good info there^^ Why is it that the KYB AGX is not available for the 5? Given the shared platform, with more enthusiast oriented cars you would think we could at least get those right?

 

[Premacy5]

Just remember that after market replacement parts come in a lot of different flavor and review could be subjective. The Monroe works for me with the super stiff swaybar. If you have stock swaybar it might be too soft.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Good info there^^ Why is it that the KYB AGX is not available for the 5? Given the shared platform, with more enthusiast oriented cars you would think we could at least get those right?

AGX suck compared to any alternative in that range. A better question is why doesn't Tokico offer ANY products for the MS3/Mz3/Mz5?...

I'm on GR2 in the rear and they ride well. Best bang for the buck for a good stock replacement.

 

[Premacy5]

Well I am joining Shock Snob club. I am going to return the Monroe and replace it with Koni Sport. Found a great deal from autoanything for $491 shipped. Its just Koni Sport not FSD but its a good deal. Since my Monroe is less than 90 days old I am going to take advantage of the Safe and Sound guarantee.

Not a smart move if you have to pay somebody although Monroe does pay up to $50 per axle install reimbursement. Since I am doing it myself it not a big deal.

 

[njaremka]

good deal! the sports are the better dampers anyway

 

[JPX]

So I might have missed this - but was the original question about the KYB rear shocks for a stock suspension (not lowered, etc)?

The KYBs on amazon are cheap in price compared to say front struts. And in fairness, rear shocks are easy to replace should it come up again.

With all the talk about the Koni Sports (8040-1353Sport) and the FSDs - can these be used acceptably with stock suspension? Or are they specific to lowered suspension, shorter springs and all that?

I am about to install the adjustable rear control arms to dial out the aggressive negative camber on our Mazda5. And I am seriously considering replacing the rear shocks from the original OEM (45K miles on them) to Koni Sport to tighen up the rear and also kill off the tire cupping problem. But I do not intend to lower the ride height.

 

[thaxman]

I am about to install the adjustable rear control arms to dial out the aggressive negative camber on our Mazda5. And I am seriously considering replacing the rear shocks from the original OEM (45K miles on them) to Koni Sport to tighen up the rear and also kill off the tire cupping problem. But I do not intend to lower the ride height.

Tire cupping is from 1) bad shocks, 2) lack of tire rotation, 3) - most common - bad shocks, BUT one wouldn't have known that IF one hadn't failed to rotate the tires in a timely manner.

 

[Secondtyme]

Rotating them doesn't cure bad shocks cupping the tires, it only ensures that you have FOUR cupped tires instead of two. And to answer the question that was asked, you can use the Koni Sport or FSD shocks and struts on stock height suspension without any ill effects. You may not fully realize the potential of the new dampers, but you certainly won't hurt them.

 

[JPX]

Rotating them doesn't cure bad shocks cupping the tires, it only ensures that you have FOUR cupped tires instead of two.

Well said.

It is clear that the tires on this 5 were not rotated routinely before I bought the car. The fronts actually are okay. But the rears were crazy cupped. I even took an angle grinder to the high spots to try to smooth it our a little, but the tire was too far gone. Notice that the outer tread (right) is almost brand new. This is clearly because of lack of rotation under a bad shock condition.

And to answer the question that was asked, you can use the Koni Sport or FSD shocks and struts on stock height suspension without any ill effects. You may not fully realize the potential of the new dampers, but you certainly won't hurt them.

Thanks for the info. I am not as interested in Mazdaspeed or rally car handling as I am in getting a much more durable and reliable shock. Okay so maybe for fun I will dial up up the Konis to see how hard I can push the car for a day.

 

[thaxman]

Rotating them doesn't cure bad shocks cupping the tires, it only ensures that you have FOUR cupped tires instead of two. And to answer the question that was asked, you can use the Koni Sport or FSD shocks and struts on stock height suspension without any ill effects. You may not fully realize the potential of the new dampers, but you certainly won't hurt them.

My point is that with some axles on some vehicles (pickup trucks that never haul anything in the bed, EVER) can show tire cupping even if the shocks aren't necessarily bad if the tires are never rotated. I doubt that would ever be an issue on the Mz5, but for some platforms, signs of cupping doesn't guarantee flat-out bad shocks.

 

[Secondtyme]

I agree. The signs of blown shocks should be manifested much more clearly than simply cupped tires though. I would think that the bashing and crashing of the suspension on the bump stops would be hard to ignore.