High Mileage

[Jimmy Olsen]

Good point. I'm running 32 psi in the tires (Goodyear ComforTreads) which are rated at max pressure of 44 psi. Think I'll boost them back up to 36 psi.

ON a different aspect of the topic of "high mileage", what is your opinion on the best mileage to change the struts, assuming that money was no constraint and best ride/handling very important? I've taken my Intrigue into the shop at 80k and 90k miles for new struts and they said the struts were still good. At what point does having new struts (springs?) makes sense given the likelihood of reaching 200k miles?

[dtownfb]

Actually if you are able to keep your speed to 65 mph (yeah I know it's hard to do on open highway), you'll probably see closer to 30 mpg. But 27 mpg is pretty good.

[Tobey]

That's not bad at all. At 86,000 miles I'm only getting 24mpg highway. I'm sure this thing has the original plugs in it, so that could be it.

[LittleHoov]

If you want the best fuel mileage, you want the highest gear at the lowest RPM, so really about 50mph or so would be the best, I think the TCC locks in at around 47, so 50 should be good, but if 65 is hard to do, 50 would be worse. Just boils down to whether time or money is more important to you haha.

Ive always heard around 100k was good to change out struts, the springs and struts are different parts on this car, it uses a MacPherson strut which is basically just a strut with a spring around it. Struts are kind of a subjective thing unless they are straight up blown and not functioning at all. If youve got the time and money, I say go for it. The springs can get weak over time as well, but most folks generally stick to just changing the struts. A lot of it just depends on how the vehicle has been driven during its lifetime.

[sparcx]

I had my front struts replaced at 75k miles with gabriels. Both my ride quality and handling were substantially better. At the time, they said the rears didn't need replacing so i haven't done those yet.

I felt this is one of the better things i've done to maintain the feel of the car as it reaches 100k.

[betes99]

I just replaced the struts this weekend only 69k on em. Ill try and get a video of them up here, its pretty bad.

[Jimmy Olsen]

Thanks guys for the sage advice!! I think I'll change the front struts this Fall when Monroe has its annual rebate program. With the recession looming they might even sweeten it more than usual.