Replace front struts, what part to buy

That's funny... I was about to make that same decision tonight... But for Gen2 Prius. I've sometimes had good luck buying the cheapest pre-mounted spring&struts and I'm likely gonna try these: For 2004-2009 Toyota Prius Front Quick Struts Shocks With Coil Springs Mounts US | eBay As in I'm a big fan of ridiculously cheap ebay purchases as experiments.

 

You want to buy complete strut assemblies that will have the upper mount already installed ready to install the three nuts to hold them to the upper portion of your strut mount in the car and ready to accept the lower control arm spring and all that is already there You don't want to be doing any spring compressing top plate moving swapping or any of that so you're buying assemblies there are a few manufacturers out there some people want to lift these cars a little bit because they're older and they don't like dropping into the seat that's all possible with parts from other like same vehicles yep they do exist and some of the parts can be swapped right over and yield exactly what you want that's been done it's all documented here and other places brands yeah well the tried and true stuff like KYB and what have you have been around a long time they cost a little more some people have managed to destroy and wear those out too so there may be problems with fakes and all of that there are even companies that make coil over set up so that can go on these cars pretty easily that gives you full adjustability etc knowing how to make these adjustments can be tricky so for most people just going back with like same struts and springs and so on and so forth is a smart idea You go to coilovers with all those adjustments You better understand how those adjustments work pretty well or you'll be beating your head literally against the ceiling trying to figure out what it is you need to do.

 

I would be careful w/ cheap chinese ebay shocks. They might not last and you end up buying a new one,

I get a lot of parts from RockAuto.com KYB is OE.

2011 TOYOTA PRIUS 1.8L L4 ELECTRIC/GAS Shock / Strut & Coil Spring Assembly | RockAuto

 

It also depends on what your end result is is going to be Do you want to raise the car up a little because you're old and you don't like dropping down into the seat as far? There are options to do this without going to the Prius off-roading shop so it just depends if you're just going back stock no worries buy whatever stick it in there and you're done most people aren't really going to notice the nuances of fine shock absorbers like Bilstein Koni etc . You really won't If you're one of these people that's truly full of mechanical prowess you may convince yourself that your seat of the pants registry of things a spot on and if that's the case then spend away and buy what you feel you need to. But most folks really aren't going to notice too much of a happening with different types of shocks twin tube single tube all of that makes no difference to most folks trying to drive their car I'm not suggesting to buy the cheapest Chinese stuff you can buy not at all I'm just saying it's no reason to get carried away but if you were a person that spent $1,000 on the sport suspension kit for your VW golf you're probably going to be one of the persons that does this to your Toyota also it's just how it works most of the time.