Shocks - OEM vs Tokiko vs KYB

[och]

I need to replace the rear original shocks on my 94 LS400, and dealer is looking for $130 per shock. I looked on aftermarket, and the only other ones I could find were Tokiko and KYB, and they run about $80 each. I would ideally prefer Bilstein or Koni, but they dont seem to be available for this car.

In any case, how would either KYB or Tokiko compare to OEM? And how do they compare to each other?

 

[TNRabbit]

KYB GasAdjust are excellent shocks.

 

[stevechumo]

I used Tokico on my SC400 with the car lowered and they're very good & smooth. They're a little bit firmer than the OEM, but they're not any harsher. I've used Tokico on other cars and they beat all Honda/Toyota OEM shocks. I had also used KYB and they had pretty good quality. KYB GR-2 shocks are a good replacement for any OEM shocks. However, KYB GR-2 wouldn't last if the lowering springs are used. They're not designed for heavy duty as the Tokico shocks.

 

[JamesN]

I had kyb and tokico and the LS4 before. From my experience the kby give the car just a little firmer ride then tokico. But Kyb does not last as long as the tokico like Steve's said.

 

[stevechumo]

I forgot to mention 1 cool thing about Tokico is they have lifetime warranty as long as you own the car.

 

[och]

Thanks everyone. I ordered a set of Tokiko HP shocks. My car is a 1994 LS400, currently with around 120-130k miles.

I'm planning to replace the shocks only. I will be reusing stock mounts, springs, bumpers etc. What are the chances that my springs are sagged?

 

[stevechumo]

120K miles on it and the springs should still be good. Most of the time the shocks are bad. You'll feel the car corner much better for sure.

 

[ABDULLAH D AFGHAN]

Hey guys I have a 93 LS and I wanna firm up the suspension a lil. What do you recommend. I wanna keep it easy and under $500k.

 

[spf_lexus]

KYB's and an ADDCO rear swar bar... probably run just under $500.

 

[TNRabbit]

Hey guys I have a 93 LS and I wanna firm up the suspension a lil. What do you recommend. I wanna keep it easy and under $500k.

HOLY MOLY: $500,000.00 is a LOT to drop on suspension.... :nana:

 

[stevechumo]

I'd rather get a Carrera GT with installed firm suspension for $500K.

 

[ABDULLAH D AFGHAN]

so i made a small typo lol

 

[spf_lexus]

damn guys, talk about taking no prisoners lol.

 

[gmacrae]

I replaced the genuine toyota shocks (roughly 40,000km old) with KYB's gr2/excel G in mine and noticed a nice improvement. The toyota ones are actually KYB's but I've read they're valved slightly different? I'd definitely prefer the KYB's over toyota's as they're slightly firmer, but they still dont *quite* have enough rebound damping for my low Tein springs - i might get coilovers someday to correct this... but wonder if KYB makes AGX shocks for the ucf20?

 

[spf_lexus]

I know ucf10 and ucf20 are the same... the cross referencing might help some. I found limited coilover options until i verified the 1990-1994 fits up to the 2000 ls400... then it goes from a couple brands to something like a few pages of brands.