Shock absorber recommendations

[alnoor15]

Hey guys, Im looking for some recommendations on rear shock absorbers as my quality of ride is suffering. 2015 a4 and at about 58K miles, it feels as if every bump on the road and pothole I can feel my wheels move up and down. I think its about time I replace the shocks as my left rear side one is leaking liquid (not sure what it is really). Any recommendations on improving ride quality besides shock absorbers without breaking the wallet would be helpful also in terms of labor costs

[zizouomar]

Following. Having the same issue.

[VR6Bomber]

If you are looking to replace the shocks with something other than OE,
It's generally recommended to have a matching shock and spring combo > Bilstein Cup Kit
If you have a bit more cash > KW Coilovers

Edit: It looks like you are in NY, I'd go with the Bilstein kit, maybe the HD's as they will likely get smashed and the Bilstein warranty will (should) fix them for you if they blow out.

[Theiceman]

i just got a b12 lowering kit ...

funny as i came on here o look for a DIY to get me started... But the kit offers matching shocks and springs so eliminates guesswork .

Mine are still fine at 220K ( km ) so your roads must really pound your car.
If you are doing both anyway why not lower the car a little is what i was thinking.

[Spawne32]

rockauto.com

bilstein B4 shocks/struts in the sport suspension variety, unless you specifically want the OE replacements for the soft ride suspension.

[BrianC302]

2 shops I talked to said that they were shocked I need them with only 100,000 miles on my car. IDK, maybe the car is just not as solid as it once was and it is more the noise I am hearing when hitting bumps VS actually struts being worn, but I swear while not horrible they are not what they once were. To me it feels like the ride is more unsettled and almost like a bit more "chatter" as the bumps are hit.

I was going to go with Bilstien B4's with my stock setup.

Do they really tend to be in good shape even well past 100,000 miles?

[Spawne32]

2 shops I talked to said that they were shocked I need them with only 100,000 miles on my car. IDK, maybe the car is just not as solid as it once was and it is more the noise I am hearing when hitting bumps VS actually struts being worn, but I swear while not horrible they are not what they once were. To me it feels like the ride is more unsettled and almost like a bit more "chatter" as the bumps are hit.

I was going to go with Bilstien B4's with my stock setup.

Do they really tend to be in good shape even well past 100,000 miles?

Only shocks i've ever seen go past 100k miles was a set of bilstein HD's and they were done at around 110k. OEM is not bilstein on our cars, and mine were totally shot at 90k. Which is typical of almost every car these days.

[BrianC302]

Only shocks i've ever seen go past 100k miles was a set of bilstein HD's and they were done at around 110k. OEM is not bilstein on our cars, and mine were totally shot at 90k. Which is typical of almost every car these days.

Yeah, my OEM's are Sachs'.... which are more expensive than the B4s interestingly.

Did you replace the mounts on the front and or back? I was debating if I should. I have a shop that quoted me $400 which seemed pretty reasonable (extra for the alignment). I need an alignment anyway so might as well get it done before I get new tires this fall.

[Theiceman]

Only shocks i've ever seen go past 100k miles was a set of bilstein HD's and they were done at around 110k. OEM is not bilstein on our cars, and mine were totally shot at 90k. Which is typical of almost every car these days.

not necesarily true ......

as i said mine are fine at 220km
My Sons A4 (2006 B7 ) has 350k km on his factory sports suspension, and that car is still solid, silent and takes the roundabouts very well.

[Spawne32]

not necesarily true ......

as i said mine are fine at 220km
My Sons A4 (2006 B7 ) has 350k km on his factory sports suspension, and that car is still solid, silent and takes the roundabouts very well.

If you are only going by the way the car feels, thats not a good judge of the condition of the shocks. My car "felt" like it was riding ok, however it wasnt until I removed them from the car and tested the dampening ability that I saw they were completely shot. Like all things, they lose performance overtime, and it happens so gradually that people dont usually recognize there is a problem until they blow the seals out and collapse. If your shocks are that old, they likely don't have anywhere close to half of the dampening ability they had 130,000 miles ago, and by that alone would qualify them as needing replacement.

[Theiceman]

If you are only going by the way the car feels, thats not a good judge of the condition of the shocks. My car "felt" like it was riding ok, however it wasnt until I removed them from the car and tested the dampening ability that I saw they were completely shot. Like all things, they lose performance overtime, and it happens so gradually that people dont usually recognize there is a problem until they blow the seals out and collapse. If your shocks are that old, they likely don't have anywhere close to half of the dampening ability they had 130,000 miles ago, and by that alone would qualify them as needing replacement.

Well i guess that is open to debate ....
a shocks job is to provide smooth ride and good handling... would your eyes be a good judge of that ? or how the car feels ???
and there is no way you can say a car does not have close to half the dampening it used to have , you simply have no data to support that. If seals are in good shape, it is holding the gas and fluids, and you dont drive on pothole filled roads, then i would say it works pretty good... Shocks are more than capable of lasting the life of a car.

Do shocks break or wear out under heavy use in certain conditions ? sure ! , to say as a blanket statement they all do , is just simply wrong.

you can come ride in my A4 with 130K miles anytime .. in fact I am changing mine just as a project. I absolutely guarantee you they will not be " blown out and leaking" i will send pics when i am done.

[Spawne32]

i mean im not gonna argue with you. mine certainly did not last the life of the car, although that depends on what were considering the life of the car, because by audi standards its 3 years 35,000 miles. shocks aren't black and white, you can't just say they are either good, or bad based on whether or not they leak. oil breaks down over time, gas slowly leaks out past seals as they begin to dry out over time, and they are easily contaminated by weather and road salt. there was no visible oil leaks to speak of on any of mine, but you could pull the piston rod in and out by hand like it was a syringe, there was little to no dampening at all.

[BecksA3]

Only shocks i've ever seen go past 100k miles was a set of bilstein HD's and they were done at around 110k. OEM is not bilstein on our cars, and mine were totally shot at 90k. Which is typical of almost every car these days.

Mine are shot at 88k and chewed up a tire along the way.
I have a set of Bilsteins on the way from rockauto


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

[Spawne32]

I did replace the rear mounts with the Rein aftermarket replacements, probably should have did the front but they seemed to be in good condition.