Best struts? New owner here...

[jhl385]

New to me '12 RX350 FWD needs struts & shocks.   RockAuto has 3 brands of quickstruts, KYB, Gabriel, and Monroe.  Any suggestions or other brands to consider?  Thanks 

[RX400h]

6 hours ago, jhl385 said:

New to me '12 RX350 FWD needs struts & shocks.   RockAuto has 3 brands of quickstruts, KYB, Gabriel, and Monroe.  Any suggestions or other brands to consider?  Thanks 

Of those three, I'd choose KYB. I've used them on a Mazda, some years ago and they were very good.

[jolimojo]

On 12/24/2024 at 2:43 PM, jhl385 said:

New to me '12 RX350 FWD needs struts & shocks.   RockAuto has 3 brands of quickstruts, KYB, Gabriel, and Monroe.  Any suggestions or other brands to consider?  Thanks 

For such an integral component (and considering the issues I've been through with my 3rd gen riding badly...) I would only recommend OEM parts for this. There is no OEM quickstrut option so each component would need to be bought separately and the spring and strut assembly will need to be torn apart to replace the shocks etc. It's definitely more cost and more labor to do it, but I don't think I'd chance it any other way.

Anecdotally, I've not tried any of the 3rd party ones, but I think the buy once, cry once adage applies in this case. OEM is most likely to provide the original ride and best quality/longevity in components.

This recent video from a "The Car Care Nut" who is a long-time Toyota master mechanic, comes to mind as well for considering which parts to buy aftermarket vs OEM. Suspension particularly is touched on (about 6:45 in the video) and he very strongly recommends to avoid all quickstruts specifically : 

TOYOTA OWNERS! Don't Buy These Parts For Your Toyota and Lexus

[RX400h]

I have Koni shocks in my 2008 Mazda Miata. They and Bilstein make excellent shocks that are highly regarded. KYBs are not quite on the same level, but they historically have been better than Gabriel and Monroe.

I would also mention that the number of miles on the odometer can help you decide whether you are willing to spend big money for OEM.