I don't mean to beat a dead horse and all, but I am replacing my shocks and struts and I want someone to hold my hand. LOL. I know, I know, Go with OEM.

Here is my situation: I have an 8 year old car with 110,000 miles and it's a dog of a car. The roads here are awful. Snowplows tear up the roads every winter. So basically I am saying I don't have a race car and I have to consider where I'm living.

Keeping that in mind I have narrowed my options to Monroe, KYB, and Boge/Sachs. I am leaning toward the Monroe set for these reasons:

1) most affordable
The reason I am not looking at Koni or Bilstein is they are just too expensive. I can't justify it. The Boge would be about $340 after a small discount. The KYB would be about $260. The Monroe would end up right at $200 after a rebate.

2) their warranty
Most shocks today come with a LLT warranty. I read the fine print and its only against defects. That kind of levels the playing field. Then I read the Monroe warranty and it covers defects AND normal wear.

3) 90 days to try them
Just like it sounds. If I get the Monroe and decide its not right for me, then I get to return them and get a full refund (minus shipping). They have a lot of confidence that people are going to like their product.


So I guess what I am asking everyone is "Why shouldn't I go with Monroe?" Feel free to add any horror stories here. Of course if you have anything good to say about any of the three, please do so. It's been so long that I can't really remember what the ride felt like when new.

 

I know Jim likes the Bilstein Touring.....I have the HDs, but my roads are not bad, so stay away..... KONIs are good but like you said exspensive.

I have never tried the other brands, so no comments. I dont know what spec they are, and how they dampen to different roads. I assume you are looking for a "soft" setup (since your roads....well...suck), so I am sure the Monroe, KYB, and Boge/Sachs will do just fine.

Wait for others to responed

 

even though its not a race car, sometimes a sportier strut design may help? I had a V8 mustang and I put lakewood street/strip struts on it and actually got a ride improvement in everyday driving, but when I got on it, it put me in the seat

EDIT: you get what you pay for IMO

 

Thanks, both of you guys.

Just to rephrase my original question, do you think I could get near Boge/Sachs comfort from the Monroe? Several members have replaced their struts recently and a lot of them have gone with OEM for different reasons (ride, cost, keeping it stock). I would be satisfied with having a stock feel. I've come to the realization that I have the wrong model (non-turbo) if performance is what I want. Perhaps my next car purchase.

But struts aren't something you swap out everyday. It's not like picking out a new motor oil to use. I don't want to have to replace them again. A sport strut would be too rough of a ride. I know, too rough? All I can say is come to Michigan. If they could do road construction year-round, they would.

I don't like that cliche you get what you pay for. It implies that anything other than the most expensive thing is garbage or that you can't get quality in a cheaper package. I don't really know much about any of the three shock brands except people's perception. I just know anything new would be better than I have. I am hoping I get some more feedback.

 

well, did you like the way your car felt when it was new? if so, i'd go with OEM, if your trying to find something else, its a gamble unless your actually know someone who did a swap and you can go for a ride in it. KONI has a system for your car, may or may not be adjustable, but if your really worried about it that much, i'd get a adjustable system b/c your wasting money on something that may not meet your needs unless say MONROE has a money back garuntee if your not happy, if thats the case go for it, you got nothing to loose. BTW, the full kit from KONI runs $600 from their site with a lifetime warrenty. Good luck, let us know what your get and post some pixx!!

 

I wouldn't buy Monroe. I have had nothing but average to poor results using them, they really went downhill after the Tenneco buyout.. For my money, Kayaba is a good shock at the lower end of teh price range, I have been using them for near on 20 years in various vehicles. They last fairly well and have reasonably good damping without shaking your fillings out.

Regards, Andrew.

 

Just an update. Obviously I have already done the swap. I went with my original choice. Thanks everyone for the input. I didn't snap any shots during the installation. But when I was removing each strut I compressed it against the ground to test it. LOL. The front right strut remained compressed. I took a pic today, 5 days after the swap since it was still compressed. I'd say it was a smart move replacing them. Here is the shot, the second one from the top came out of the front right.

 

WOW....that is not good....

good thing you changed them

 

Wow is right. You could have gotten a sweet deal on SACHS/OEM struts on eBay. I bought my 01 V70 ones (same as yours) as a pair for $189 shipped. FCP has ebay deals on them all the time. I wish I would have seen this before now.

 

Nobody will ever accuse that RF strut of being "on the rebound", will they? Or maybe its one of those special "gravity controlled" struts which rebound only by the force of gravity?

 

can anyone tell me what and where and how to adjust the front camber angle on 95 volvo 850 turbo?

 

The two bolts connecting the strut to the knuckle are for camber adjustments. The spec for your 850 is 0 degrees (vertical) +/- 1 degree. Are you planning on doing it yourself? To check the camber you will need an angle finder. On level ground, be sure to check that its level, place the angle finder against the center of the wheel. To adjust the camber you will need to remove the wheel, loosen those bolts, adjust the position of the knuckle and re-tighten the bolts. Oh, and don't forget to put the wheel back on.

 

01_fast_ride, thanks for the info. The reason I ask is because I changed my 2 front struts with monroe sensatrack and the car rides like I have a solid shaft instaed of the struts. I feel every bump. feels like the front end is about to fall out. I was wondering if it was the camber adjustment. What effect would the cambers have. and I notice that the special spacer has about a 1/2" gap between the struts mount and the spacer.

 

Camber affects steering and cornering. It shouldn't affect ride quality so much. Zero camber is important for decent acceleration, safe wet traction, and even tire wear.

Did you replace the struts yourself? Did you inspect components for wear? I'm a little curious about the gap you mentioned as well as the "special" spacer. I don't know the differences with the 850 vs S60 setups. The S60s have a hard rubber spring seat over the spring, a cross shaped nut on top of that, the strut mount, then another normal nut on top of it all. I have read it is possible to get the cross shaped nut upside down and have a gap as well as a harsh ride. Does any of this ring a bell?

 

This mostly depends on the tires/ suspension setups, and driving style.

Some tires require more negative camber than others and vice versa to wear evenly....

But Yes, you are correct

 

Monroe shocks are good. We sell them here at strutmasters. If you are looking at changing the shocks and springs I would recommend going to strutmasters.com and taking a look at our conversion kits. The kit is the only thing you would need to buy to PERMANENTLY fix your suspension. The kit converts you from air to powder coated, American made steel coil springs that are guaranteed to last the life of your car. I posted the link below so you can take a look.

http://www.strutmasters.com/volvo-su...parts-s/35.htm

Good Luck!!!

 

I agree that monroe shocks are good. I have it installed on my car for 4 years already and it is still in perfect shape.