I’ll need to make sure they are checking LCA and bushings too. I at first thought it was the Stabilizer Bar Bushings, so last year, I had those replaced too.

 

Parts All Ready to go.... Sunday is the day... prayers for a solution

 

Thanks for all the input. The fact that I had those nasty Monroe Matics, I'm glad I am replacing them, even if only after 16 months. I guess the company has fallen far from their American standard for quality.

 

We like photos, like before and after installing those parts!

 

The Monroe brand is now owned by DRiV (another name for Tenneco) which also owns all of the other name brand car parts that you think have a good name like Moog, Thrush and Walker. Maybe an American corporation, not exactly a "American" manufacturer. Same junk that everybody else supplies.
Remember the 80's and 90's?
DRiV: Elevating The Ride Experience | DRiV Incorporated
Tenneco - Wikipedia

 

I’ve had a smooth ride with KYB struts and shocks

 

The last time I bought struts for and HHR LS, KYB had only bare struts and no “loaded” option. Good to see they now do in the “Strut-Plus.”

When it’s in good shape I would rather keep the OEM spring, though.

If I want to keep the spring and replace the strut and EVERYTHING else, what do I need besides the strut?

 

The strut mount bearings and spring top plates

 

When I priced it out it was a lot more expensive to buy all of the parts. Mounts, bumpers, covers, shocks, isolators etc.

 

Yes, but when you buy a loaded assembly you get one that “fits,” a variety of applications, so it is surely different that original. How can it not be? With a spring, the variables are many, falling under the categories of geometry (which determines its dynamic characteristics,) material, and finish.

In their vid, trusted and respected KYB talks about how they work with their spring supplier (so they're not making them.) They talk about testing to be sure their springs perform as well or better than OEM. This is a fantastic claim, that a “one-size-fits-many” can be as good or better than springs designed for and test on individual applications by the OEM.

While trying to not make an overly broad statement, aftermarket springs are notorious for being less durable then OEM springs, and for sometimes producing markedly different, sometimes markedly inferior, operating characteristics.

I’m not saying I wouldn’t buy the product. But I do think that if feasible, in many applications it makes sense to consider preserving the original springs (if they’re in good condition) even if it costs a bit more to do so.

On the other hand, HHR OEM rear spring are an example of where you might welcome an opportunity to change them, given their apparent propensity to break.