n00b looking for shock recommendations..

[iin10ded]

hey all - fiance has an 04 4runner w/80k and the ride h as gone all wonky. believe the stockers are kyb? wonder if there's a hot setup to just do a stock replacement?

this thing is a full time road runner - no offroading here. looking for the best ride / handling for the road. leaning toward bilstiens [always run them on my audi's].

would also love a BTDT on tire as well - the stock dunlops it came w/ lasted about 5 years and were great - good on road, snow, quiet, etc. replaced with michelins and they suck - loud and almost worn out in 2 years!

thanks in advance!!
jim

 

[JCR]

KYB are supposedly closest to stock, bilstiens are a bit firmer. I dont know what you mean by BTDT on the tires but it seems like you're experiences with the Dunflops and Michelins are the oposite of what most people experience. I pulled my Dunlops with 25k but I dont like letting tires get too worn out.

What kind of michelins did you get? Just look on discounttiredirect and see which you like best, theres not a lot of variety in the stock size.

 

[galactic_04]

HOnestly with the tire wear and noise, have you had the alignment checked?

 

[iin10ded]

yup - few times as i've suspected the alignment was off. dealer has said it's fine every time, i still suspect they're missing something but haven't had it to a 'real' alignment shop [aka one of the guys at the track].

thx

 

[4runnah005]

i have bilstein 5100's and they ride great. a little firmer than stock but not harsh at all.

 

[iin10ded]

jcr - thx for the info. that's about what i expected re the shocks. think i'll go with the stockers since it's teh girls ride and honestly was a great compromise between ride and handling. it's only been the past year they've really started to degrade in feel.

ill check the usual tire whore sites for tire recommendations. i was REALLY surprised / disappointed in this set. may have been a bad batch, who knows. to be fair she drove the car very little in the first several years she had it, last few years it's gotten much more use so that's def a factor [experimenter error..;-]

thx guys!
jim

 

[CEPhD]

Michelin LTX M/S 2

FTW!!!

I am curious which Michelins you got. Everything I have ever heard suggests the opposite of your experience. I know that Michelin has made some tires in recent years that are OEM on some vehicles. These IMHO do not look to be as well constructed as the "real" Michelins.

We replaced our shocks with Monroes and honestly I am not particularly happy with them. I would not be afraid of the Bilsteins as the ones we have are too soft.

 

[8086bruce]

I would try to find a set of take off Bilsteins from a fj I think you would like them plus save you some $$$.