How can I tell if my shocks need to be replaced

[RWebb]

Here is the real question -- you are in Romania - what sort of shock testing facilities do you have there?

YOu could also pull the shocks (inserts) out of the front ones and ship them to be tested. If Bilstein, Boge or Koni that won't be too far to go to the factory & they may be able to refurbish them. If they are none of the above, then you will know to trash them and buy new Bilsteins.

You have winter, right? Maybe do it before you put the car up...

[pope]

They probably have facilities although maybe not top notch.

Thanks all for the input here, I've decided that I will change the shocks at some point in the near future.

I've understood that I'll have to go for Bilstein shocks. I don't want the sport ones so I'll go for the 'heavy duty'. It's very important for me not to change the ride height though. Will these shocks increase the height? Also, will I need to realign after I put in the new ones? "101 projects" does not say I need to.

I commute between Romania, Greece and Germany so I have options in finding the shocks I need. I did a search on the web for the part #'s but am not comfortable with the results. Does anyone have these part numbers?

[AshEvan]

Originally Posted by WolfeMacleod

I just had John Walker do new shocks for me last week. The difference is AMAZING.
As with Gunlover, e car rode fine on the street, but I had lots of body roll during Autocross. It took bumps just fine, but did feel a little floaty and "wobbly" around corners.

Did Bilsten HD's in the front and Sports in the rear. it's a dramatic improvement. The ride height did change a little bit, but not much. For the better, in my case. Car was slammed pretty low by a PO.

What was the value of sports in the rear and HD's in the front?

[mca]

One way to test the front shocks is to grab the front (I opened hood and grabbed sheet metal above where the jack is located) and pull upwards in a strong manner ... see if you can determine if any noises are coming from shocks. I found that my passenger-side front was producing a subtle knock. It was pretty blown.

[mca]

Originally Posted by pope

They probably have facilities although maybe not top notch.

Thanks all for the input here, I've decided that I will change the shocks at some point in the near future.

I've understood that I'll have to go for Bilstein shocks. I don't want the sport ones so I'll go for the 'heavy duty'. It's very important for me not to change the ride height though. Will these shocks increase the height? Also, will I need to realign after I put in the new ones? "101 projects" does not say I need to.

I commute between Romania, Greece and Germany so I have options in finding the shocks I need. I did a search on the web for the part #'s but am not comfortable with the results. Does anyone have these part numbers?

I had Bilsteins up front and KYB in the rear. Replaced all 4 with Bilstein Sports and I love the feel and handling.

Yes, added some height for sure. Initially it was in the inch range. Now that they have been driven on and retorqued, they dropped about 1/4". So currently 3/4" higher than before the change. Still a lot - looks like a Rally car.

Don't think realign is necessary with shock replacement. Others may feel differently.

[rnln]

If added heigh and you are ok with it, I understand no need to realign. But if you are not ok with it, and drop the heigh, then you will need to realign. Atleast camber and toe, or you will be running toe in and neg camber. Am I right?

Originally Posted by mca

I had Bilsteins up front and KYB in the rear. Replaced all 4 with Bilstein Sports and I love the feel and handling.

Yes, added some height for sure. Initially it was in the inch range. Now that they have been driven on and retorqued, they dropped about 1/4". So currently 3/4" higher than before the change. Still a lot - looks like a Rally car.

Don't think realign is necessary with shock replacement. Others may feel differently.

[rnln]

A few inches for coupl months? Wow, is there a temporary solution beside driving around like a 911 SUV?

Originally Posted by Flieger

If you change to Bilstein gas-charged shocks/struts, the ride height will increase a few inches from the previous ride heoght with Boge/Koni/other brands without gas charges. The ride height will settle a little over a couple months but will still be high.

[pope]

Will the NON sport shocks (P36-0112-M12 and B46-0167-M12) increase the ride height?

[pope]

... unless I put some body weight on the car.

When I raise the car with the jack, after I lower it back down, the shock does not come down all the way and the car remains raised quite a bit on that side. It happens on all four wheels but is most prominent in the front. After I put some of my body weight on it, it returns to normal.

Is this how it should be? Or is this another sign that I should be looking at new shocks?

[Christien]

Mine have always done that - I just assumed it's normal. They always compress with time or driving.

[Christien]

Mine have always done that - I just assumed it's normal. They always compress with time or driving.