Shocks + struts - Gabriel, KYB, or Monroe?
 

At 171k I've noticed my shocks and struts must be pretty worn out. The car just seems to have this boat feel driving down the road it didn't have when newer. My driving habits have adapted as the car has aged but it's beginning to get noticeable lately. Too much body roll in corners, and almost unsafe body roll if I were to ever need to maneuver evasively. Also noticed the tires I'm about to replace are cupped with slightly more wear across the center than the edges. The rear seems much worse than the front but I'll replace all for even performance. I inspected all other suspension components and there's no play anywhere. I could use new outer tie rods as rubber on both are cracked, and one has grease leaking out. There's some hairline cracks in the rear LCA bushings but I used a pry bar and couldnt detect any movement there so I figure I'll leave those alone for now. No oil leaking from shocks or struts... Just worn out.

Rockauto has Gabriel Ultra, KYB GR-2, and Monroe OESpectrum. I'm inclined to go with the Gabriel's over KYB to save $100, but don't want something that will wear signifantly sooner than KYB or Monroe. I plan to keep the car for the foreseeable future (50-100k maybe) as mechanically it's in excellent shape.

Does anyone have experience with any of these brands on the Fit or other cars?

Phoenity,
Ive tried KYB for my rear struts, they weren't bad. its good for a budget but honestly i would spend a little bit more and get a better brand.

-VictorHash

KYB is OEM supplier.

I would stick with KYB.

Thanks for the feedback Victor Hash. The only more expensive (better is relative?) parts I could find were Sachs just a little higher than Monroe, but I had a feeling Sachs may be a rebranded something else. Didn't see any Bilsteins, not that I would necessarily buy them. So of the options I wondered which most closely mirrored the OEM shocks as when new since they rode great and lasted an extremely long time. I'd rather not do this again in the life of the car. I had seen someone else mention KYBs were OEM and I doubt Honda manufacturers their own shocks. And since they do so much to affect the drivability of the car and take a lot of use/abuse I want to get that will last a long time and not be completely different from original till now (possibly in an unexpected, undesirable way like too harsh or too soft).

Thanks that's what I'll do too.

I had mine start bleeding about three months in from the change. I'm a bit cautious with the brand.

-VictorHash

I hope I don't see that. KYB says they have a lifetime warranty against defects, but that excludes normal wear and tear. Whoever made what I have now made an excellent product, as it certainly doesn't leak at 171K miles, but they are just worn out internally I suppose. Did you try contacting KYB on yours? Three months doesnt seem like normal wear and tear.

I don't drive crazy or anything like that. I was wondering why it would of started leaking. I guess i will try contacting them now. i was going to order another set for all 4 soon too.

-VictorHash

KYB states the GR-2 meets or exceeds OE specifications which is what many aftermarket parts claim, though not all. However, they state the GR-2 is "calibrated to compensate for worn suspensions" so it seems like it might be built somewhat different than OEM but who knows maybe it's the same. I don't really want a strut to attempt to compensate for excessive wear elsewhere...I'd rather replace that part as well to eliminate all excessive wear. But I don't want to pay for OEM either so I'll give the KYBs a shot.

I used Monroe on front and back and ro regrets. Got them on Amazon for half the price of AutoZone. The Fit is a stiff little f'er anyway but Monroe feels good.

I ordered KYB front and rears. Installed the rears about three days ago and the rear body roll is gone. OEM shocks I removed appear to be exactly the same as the KYB shocks I installed, except for a Honda part # stamped on them instead of the KYB part #. Comparing them side by side new vs OEM had definitely lost dampening ability although they weren't leaking or completely blown out. I will do the fronts in a few days once I borrow a spring compressor.

What do you think of the sports coilover Vogtland?? You can buy shock absorber and springs for 400€.. and the car is lowered to -4cm..

Why not?

Anyone ever had or heard of broken front springs? Car is pretty rusty underneath (NY)
Mine failed inspection yesterday for two broken springs and sway bar end links.
I started hearing clunk noises while driving over uneven surfaces last week.

I got complete assembly on order with new links. I went with the cheaper brand.

Broken springs will cause car to collapse significantly.
Bad ball joints, control arms and sway bar end links will cause clunks
Take photo of your suspension and post it here

Just replaced everything last night. The springs were indeed broken but from the bottom side, about 4-5 inches was missing.
Yo could see how they just snapped, perhaps from corrosion just like the axles that snapped from corrosion.
Hard to believe that happened to both sides (didnt take pics). Also replaced sway bar end links and put new brakes on.

Did they look like either one of these?

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...89b6940233.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...790f2b0749.jpg

Yup, identical to this for both sides. I missed it when i did the axle swaps but they saw it during inspection so i was surprised by the news.