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Technical Shock Absorbers

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Technical Shock Absorbers

sjladopoulos

sjladopoulos

Son of the Propeller.
Joined
Nov 15, 2006
Messages
415
Points
92
Location
Athens
Dear All,
I think the time to replace the stock shock absorbers is closer than ever.
My B has 81.000km (~51.000 miles) and still sits on the stocks it came out of Maggiora.
The question now is..
What do you recommend as a replacement? (Doc, no coilovers!!!)

Just as a kick start let me tell you that the prices here in Greece are something like this:

4x FIAT OEM 480euros
4x Bilstein B6 Sport 510euros
4x Sachs 290euros
4x Koni sport 600euros

Anything at all on this will help a lot! If any of you have any of the above, a comparison to the OEM is welcome!!

(y)
 
sjladopoulos said:
Dear All,
I think the time to replace the stock shock absorbers is closer than ever.
My B has 81.000km (~51.000 miles) and still sits on the stocks it came out of Maggiora.
The question now is..
What do you recommend as a replacement? (Doc, no coilovers!!!)

Just as a kick start let me tell you that the prices here in Greece are something like this:

4x FIAT OEM 480euros
4x Bilstein B6 Sport 510euros
4x Sachs 290euros
4x Koni sport 600euros

Anything at all on this will help a lot! If any of you have any of the above, a comparison to the OEM is welcome!!

(y)
Click to expand...

LRB is also still running on stocks but I will probably go for Bilsteins as I have fitted these to cars in the past and always been happy with them. I had adjustable Koni's on a BMW and never actually managed to the the balance between ride and handling to my satisfaction............ just my £0.02 worth....
 
I've just fitted the Bilsteins along with Eibach springs. The back ones were fairly easy (once I worked out how to use the spring clamps and found a way to get my socket in the right place), but I came unstuck with the fronts as I couldn't get some of the bolts undone, despite WD40, other oils and finally a blow torch. It's now booked into a garage for Friday to finish the job.

Anyway, once that's done I can tell you if they're any good :) What's difficult of course is to compare with what others have done. I made my choice based on several write ups on the web and a couple of recommendations, but none of them were for Barchettas so we'll see!
 
If you are talking about the bolts that join the bottom of the shock to the hub, then the only way I found to get them off is to hacksaw through the nuts.

Best of luck.

Doogal
 
What you want is a B with no rusty bolts, but the problem is the only way you can have one is by replacing all the rusty bolts yourself. Its a chicken and egg kind of problem.

Feels like this :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang:

Spent a few hours drilling out a single bolt on my drivers side wishbone a few weeks ago.
 
I was looking round ebay.de when I found these for sale. I have these on my B but I paid a load more :cry: . Could be a bit of a bargin for someone looking to upgrade the front shocks.

Click ebay.de link

dc02_1.JPG


(Ebay link will brake at some point)

Ps I dont know this person so cant vouch or guarantee him/her.
 
This post contains affiliate links which may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
I'm putting my feedback on the shocks and springs under " Best replacement springs? " as that's where I started the job, so feel free to have a look if you're interested!
 
Well, after waiting and waiting I have decided that the time has come to change the shock absorbers. MOT is due 15/01/2008 so cant wait any longer :D
I had my current shocks measured and they scored :
FL: 63% FR: 67%
RL: 36% RR: 36%
(n)
I have put an order in for a set of 4x Koni Sport (yellow) for 715 Euros fitting included.:cry:
Any points I should be worried about when I take the car in?
I ll be right next to the people fitting them, but should I pay special attention to something while they are touching my baby?

Pics and impressions will follow when its all over as usually..

I m also considering to combine the Konis' with a set of EIBACH PRO-KIT springs for an additional 200EUR but 30mm lower probably will mean scrapping the bottom quite often so I m still undecided...:shrug:
 
Mine's been lowered 40/40mm and I've only slightly scraped it twice - so go ahead and lower it (y)
 
Yeah but the asphalt quality here in Greece is just (n)

Lots and lots of traps and bumps.. :cry:
 
There's a road near me which is pretty bad and I don't hit it with the Eibachs.

I think there are two reasons, firstly the lowering didn't mean the car was precisely 30mm lower and secondly there's reduced body movement.

My only tip is to get them (or do it yourself) to check everything is in the right place and nice and tight after a weeks driving.
 
Mad Matt said:
My only tip is to get them (or do it yourself) to check everything is in the right place and nice and tight after a weeks driving.
Click to expand...

... of course you mean things like the dashboard, door panels and interior trim
:D

This is another concern.. How well the rest of the B will cope with hard suspension?? Although, OEM suspension is hard enough to begin with so it might be alright (y)
 
It creaks like an old ship and is rather hard and firm (the B that is :D), but if you want a comfortable ride you should get Yank sea-sickness shocks ;)
 
talking of lowering and bad roads..I'm thinking of 'highering' mine! The €30billion road improvement scheme hasn't hit this part of Ireland yet I managed to break a wheel in a pothole and I wasn't going that fast.... You guys in UK don't know how lucky you are..Smooth roads, ANPR cameras on every corner. Scamara vans..averaging speed camaras!
 
Last edited:
Well, some news...
The konis' will not be available till late january due to the lack of stock here in Greece so I have changed the order to Bilstein B6 Sport shocks which were also a bit cheaper (630EUR instead of 715EUR for Koni).
I believe that in a weeks' time they will have arrived and been fitted so more news to come.
 
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