GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Alright folks! Here is the skinny on what went down with my Vibe

Purchased a Vibe from a friends Dealership, 63K on the clock with some small issues. One of which was that the bellows on the front struts were destroyed! So I decided to purchase a set of OESpectrum Struts (for the front), reuse the springs, new Delco Bellows and new KYB Strut Mounts

All that being said, after my mechanic put them on I couldn't believe how nice the ride is! I took it down 7 mile (in Detroit near where my mechanic is) and the car took on bumps with stride! They don't shake the car and smaller bumps are almost unfelt and unheard! My wife drove it home and she was shocked! It feels like a completely different car! Now of course I wish I would have done the rears but I will save that for another year (hopefully furlough will be over by then!) So going over bumps is amazing and overall feels like a whole different class of vehicle! As for the price I would HIGHLY recommend you pay the extra money.

Bottom Line, BUY THESE STRUTS! The ride is just unbeatable and for my daily driving application is EXCEEDED what I expected!

Good to know!

Great to see that you like the Monroe OESpectrum Struts and that they really do what they say....that is to reduced the harshness of the ride. Did you drive over a road that you know felt bad with the old struts to compare the ride?

I am hoping to get them soon...but I have a low milage car..

Some of the roads I drive on have some rough spots, but keep in mind that the previous owner of the car lived on a dirt road and they were a bit worn to start. As for the claim that they take out some harshness I would say they do a REALLY nice job. They make the ride a lot more comfortable even when compared to some other cars I have owned/driven. They did a nice job tuning them and when it comes to small constant bumps I don't feel a thing anymore! WELL WORTH THE MONEY! Overall I love them and think I made a good decision!

I'd be curious to know whether anyone on here has driven a newer Matrix to compare how it rides vs. a Vibe. Consumer Reports made statements about it having a decent ride, which I found difficult to believe based on my experience with the Vibe. Smooth and compliant it is not...

Maybe these Monroe shocks are designed to more closely mimic the factory specs of the Matrix? I would find it strange though, that GM would create such a different ride spec for what is essentially the same car. Most other GM's I've owned or driven were certainly not tuned on the "firm" side like this one - usually more towards being overly soft.

I'll certainly keep this in mind for the day mine require replacement. I get the odd bit of noise which I believe is from the strut mounts (front and rear), but nothing consistent enough to warrant throwing any money at. Everything looks like new still, and (perhaps somewhat unfortunately) the ride is about the same as when new.

Thanks for the review! Nice to know that I have the option of making my car ride much more smoothly. I had wondered about that before, but hadn't heard of anyone needing strut replacement yet on one of these.

John

BaseWhiteVibe wrote:Some of the roads I drive on have some rough spots, but keep in mind that the previous owner of the car lived on a dirt road and they were a bit worn to start. As for the claim that they take out some harshness I would say they do a REALLY nice job. They make the ride a lot more comfortable even when compared to some other cars I have owned/driven. They did a nice job tuning them and when it comes to small constant bumps I don't feel a thing anymore! WELL WORTH THE MONEY! Overall I love them and think I made a good decision!

After driving around with your new Struts, for a few weeks, How is the ride...is it still a better ride?

Sometimes after a break-in period, the ride begins to feel like it used to...

Glad you like the struts but really, you are comparing new struts with old ones, of course it rides better.