Suspension

[Hollakidd]

Whats the difference in the suspension from the GT to the SE?And i have a GT and i was going to get my struts done but the place i got a quote from uses Gabriel G Force struts and they were going to charge me $500 to do the job but i never heard of those struts and would this be good for my suspension?

[dandragonrage]

Gabriel is good stuff, but they're overcharging you, look for about $300 parts+labor max. Should take a decent shop between 1 and 2 hours to do all 4, and parts will be under $150 (unless you get the mounts replaced too, which is probably not necessary on an 01).

Really, though, shocks/struts are easy to change and you should look into doing it yourself.

[Hollakidd]

The Gabriel struts will they be as good as the stock struts?And are the struts the same for the SE and the GT?

[dandragonrage]

They'll be considerably better. They're not Bilsteins or Konis, but they're one of the best "normal" brands you can get.

Stock, I'm not sure if the struts are the same, but they are when you replace them with aftermarket.

[bballr4567]

If you are changing out the struts do the mounts too. That is where almost if not all of the noise that the suspension is making. Look up a thread where coupe changed out his mounts and you will see why.

As a GA fav most people go with KYB GBR2 struts.

[dandragonrage]

KYB: Keeps You Bouncing

IMO, stick with Gabriel.

Where'd he mention noise? Bad mounts will squeak and groan and stuff, but if you're just pogoing, then you shouldn't need mounts. Not that it's a bad idea or anything...

[bballr4567]

Meh, Ive heard bad about both. It all really depends on the spring you get to me. If you go really low then you need to find something else because the KYB dont help accommodate them. However if going stock then I would get the KYB for sure. It also depends on your budget.

Yea he didnt mention noise but the stock mounts in these cars blow. http://www.gaownersclub.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=68619

[SE2000]

$500 for struts, mounts and alignment doesn't sound too bad. You are going to need all of this if you are keeping the car. The replacements for GA Se and GT are the same.

Gabriel has quick struts which makes it a do it yourself project. You jack up the car and unbolt the old one and bolt in the new one. Bring the car to an alignment shop and you're done. $400 a pair plus Alignment

[dandragonrage]

A pair? If you don't mean a set of 4, then ripoff.

Get the Gabriels on Ebay. Maybe $125 shipped for all 4. Get the mounts (I guess - that thread does make them seem pretty crappy) from Rockauto, maybe $40-50/ea. No reason to replace springs unless yours are in bad shape. Get a spring compressor from Autozone as a loaner, free once you bring it back. My very first time changing front struts including swapping springs and changing mounts took about an hour (maybe 1.5) not including buying the parts.

[Hollakidd]

Well i got my struts done and now the ride of my car seems to be more loose and dont feel like a GT it feels more like a SE i say this because i had a 99 SE before this GT.What do you guys think they did wrong?But the car seems different now.

[SE2000]

We don't know what you did. You said struts but no details

[dandragonrage]

I think you're expecting differences that were never there to begin with.