Struts/shocks

[sdgdf]

My 2012 sonic lt has 165k on the original suspension and I think a strut is blown up front making noise. Time for new ones.

I want noise free, and I want a comfortable ride. I have a sports car I don’t really need another.

Loaded struts, “quickstruts” is what I’d prefer. But all I can find are no-name Chinese companies. Are there bigger name companies that have some I can get? KYB has excel-gs, not loaded struts, I can get but it may be a stiff ride? I saw a review of them where they were happy with them just because they’re QUIET.

Is there a go-to for sonic people or Cruze people I don’t know about???

 

[bubenator]

I'm only a fellow Sonic driver, and I haven't replaced the struts on my Sonic yet.
However...

If you're actually trying to achieve the OEM-level noise-free operation and comfortable ride, I would strongly suggest seeking out the OEM-level dampers from a GM dealership. Yes, they're considerably more expensive than aftermarket parts, but the parts you get at the dealership were built by the same company that made the originals, and those replacements were designed to conform to the original design specifications.

Any aftermarket shocks - KYB or otherwise - is simply seeking to sell a part that will fit that space but for a lower cost and with little regard to the original design specs. As an example, a strut that's originally supplied on the car at the OEM level is designed with last for 100K miles at least. The aftermarket companies have no such durability constraints, so they can use cheaper internal components that won't last anywhere near as long.

If you don't want to pay for the OEM-level parts, that's fine. I've used KYB Excel-G or Excel-GS replacement shocks on a couple of my vehicles in the past and have been pretty happy with them. You might have to spend more money to buy the individual strut module components though - if they are worn and need replacing.

Quickstruts are only designed to fill the space. Their quality is horrible, performance is miserable, and durability is negligible.

 

[Joesonic]

I have to 2nd what bubenator said about those quick struts. Don't do it. I threw a set of KYB quick struts in on my old 2002 Saturn LW200. Compared to stock, it looked like the front end was riding 1/2" higher! It rode great for about 10k miles and then the ride went to hell. It was to the point of me asking if someone swapped the old parts back on the car in secret.