My 99 STS is due for front struts but with 250k miles on it, though it's in like new condition, the thought of spending a thousand dollars scares me.
I notice Arnott advertising a bypass system, curious if anyone has any experience with it, does it compromise the ride or handling.
Curious also if anyone would recomend installing a set of USED Air Struts from a salvage vehicle to keep the cost down and still have OEM equipment on board.

 

the front struts do not use air ride they however are electronically controlled as far as how stiff or soft they need to be depending on road conditions. Thats why the struts cost so much. The bypass system from Arnott will be the right stiffness but wont use the electronic dampening system the computer uses to control the stiffness. You will basically have the same ride quality you get with a traditional strut instead of the electronic ones. The rear struts however are both air and electronically controlled. They are just as expensive, i paid under $900 at my local auto parts store while the Stealership wanted $800 per strut for the rears. So shop around and see what you come up with. Sometimes i find People on EBay that sell new struts a bit cheaper than the auto parts store. Which sometimes is because they bought them and realized the labor costs were too high and they sold the car and sold the struts. The fronts would have to be done at a repair shop unless you have a spring compressor. The Rears can be done by most handy mechanics.