Suggestions for all four strut replacements?

[jep604]

My 2014 sedan has 234,500 miles and after having the fifth set of tires and alignment (which sort of failed, something in the pax front assembly) accomplished, I need some input. The shop said there was a repair kit for the bad strut, but it wouldn't fit. The car steering wheel shimmies from 50-72 mph but goes away with increased speed. I've never had this issue, and it is irritating. The shop stated none of their suppliers had any Monroe brand struts.
I asked about OEM and that is his next call. On my third set of Continentals and these are the improved "True Contact Tour 54" which a firmer and slightly noisy. I mentioned it to the shop owner, and he met with his Continental rep who reported they made the tires firmer to be able to last the mileage claim. I've also noticed after the car sits for two weeks, cold and warm weather it gets the "flat spots" that goes away after about three miles.
Has anyone else changed their struts and are there any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

[scottdk]

I changed out my '09's struts to the R-Spec struts (and rear antisway bar) a number of years back. Purchased from an online dealer store that no longer has a website, but there are plenty other dealers online to purchase parts from. See the link in my signature for the thread on suspension change.

 

[jep604]

I changed out my '09's struts to the R-Spec struts (and rear antisway bar) a number of years back. Purchased from an online dealer store that no longer has a website, but there are plenty other dealers online to purchase parts from. See the link in my signature for the thread on suspension change.

Great info, thank you.

 

[Charlie1982]

For the steering wheel shimmy, could that also possibly be worn control arm bushings? I had a car years ago that would shimmy off and on at different speeds, and my front control arm bushings were REALLY shot. Sometimes it was smooth as silk, sometimes it was not. Just another idea to consider...

 

[jep604]

For the steering wheel shimmy, could that also possibly be worn control arm bushings? I had a car years ago that would shimmy off and on at different speeds, and my front control arm bushings were REALLY shot. Sometimes it was smooth as silk, sometimes it was not. Just another idea to consider...

Thanks for the tip. Will mention this to the shop.

 

[Gunkk]

I second the opinions to have the suspension thoroughly inspected, including the wheel bearings. Stuff wears out at that mileage. And any of the above mentioned components can contribute to a vibration.

A road-force balance can help identify bad tires (high runout). Been there done that before on the spousal unit's Toyota: they balanced fine on a regular balance, but vibrated at speed and failed to balance on a Road-Force machine.

Tires with nylon belts can be more sensitive to flat-spotting versus steel belts, which can creep a bit when the car sits. It's a tradeoff for more quiet/comfort over steel, but it won't hurt anything. Higher load-rated steel belted tires can help avoid this, but even my show-car with high load rated stiff low profile summer performance tires with steel belts still flat spots between drives. It's just a "cars like to be driven" thing.

 

[jep604]

I second the opinions to have the suspension thoroughly inspected, including the wheel bearings. Stuff wears out at that mileage. And any of the above mentioned components can contribute to a vibration.

A road-force balance can help identify bad tires (high runout). Been there done that before on the spousal unit's Toyota: they balanced fine on a regular balance, but vibrated at speed and failed to balance on a Road-Force machine.

Tires with nylon belts can be more sensitive to flat-spotting versus steel belts, which can creep a bit when the car sits. It's a tradeoff for more quiet/comfort over steel, but it won't hurt anything. Higher load-rated steel belted tires can help avoid this, but even my show-car with high load rated stiff low profile summer performance tires with steel belts still flat spots between drives. It's just a "cars like to be driven" thing.

Great info, thank you.

 

[jep604]

Just had my car serviced along with tire balance and rotation. Both right side wheels were out of balance along with the left front. I asked them to check with wheel bearings and suspension, and they said it was all in good shape. The car rides much better now and the shimmy is almost completely gone. We discussed the strut replacement which they quoted $2,500.00 and said it was totally up to me. They are original.