CAMO928S4

My 1988 Sharks (s4 auto) needs new Shocks at all 4 corners...
i'm in Québec, so i have to buy the shock-ship to Canada.
I have the good Mecanic to do the work...
But what Shocks should i buy to get my S4 as it should be, without any futur problèmes?
By the way, i run oldscool 16in. Rims with bridgestone RE11 tires and live them... In Qc our Roads are not as good in the US
Thanks for sharing your good infos.:-)

SeanR

Koni's, set on medium, no question. Ride is a bit firmer than Boge but not as harsh as the Bilstien.

The Forgotten On

For me I would run Bilstiens. I drive on 18 inch rims in California and it is very comfortable for long distance.

It is kind of like your favorite type of oil in these threads as everyone has their favorite combination.

For me and a few others it is stock springs and Bilstiens, for some it is Eibach springs and Konis, and a few others have Eibachs with Biltstiens.

It is all based on what you like and how it works with your car.

Dave928S

I have Boges on my GTS and Konis on my 82.
Depends on your driving preference, but you could safely go either Konis or Boges, but I'd be wary of going as firm as Bilsteins.

Maybe there's someone in your region with a different setup who could give you a ride in their car.

jpitman2

Dave,
Nothing wrong with Bilsteins and correct springs on halfway decent roads! My shocks have low miles since new/reco and on suburban Melbourne roads they are occasionally too firm, but doing their thing on the open road they are great. You can get a solid rumble on a level crossing, but never teeth rattling.
jp 83 Euro S AT 56k C16 M058 M220 M249 M455 M468 M474 M533 M650 M261 M395 M437 M454

SMTCapeCod

Wait, I thought the wisdom was that the Konis were harsher than the Bilsteins?

Anyway, opening question should be, if you are considering different shocks, are you sticking with stock springs?

A given shock will behave differently when paired with different springs.

SeanR

No way. Koni's are not more harsh than Bilsteins. I've run several options.

Personal opinion and I've installed a few.

Boge with Eibachs.......decent ride on smooth roads..curves with bumps,...no
Bilstien with Eibachs........major suckage.
Boge with stock springs......very nice and smooth, it's what stock is. Couch.
Bilstien with stock springs.....nice but a bit harsher than I want
Koni with stock springs.......it's amazing and you can change it up if you want to. Soft setting is like Boge, medium is perfect, hard setting is like you'd want on a track.

Bertrand Daoust

When I changed the shocks on my '91 about four years ago, I went with Sachs (Boges) to have the best ride possible on our road.

I also run 16's rims with bridgestone RE11 tires.

Very satisfied with them.

I also have stock springs.

James Bailey

given that the only adjustment on the Koni is for REBOUND not compression this might as well be an oil discussion or religion ......
BESIDES replacing old worn out shocks with new ones just like worn out tires for NEW ones....is hardly a valid scientific comparison ....

SeanR

Agreed, on my last post, I kinda should have covered that. Koni's have a 3 position set up. It's hard, medium or soft. I kinda like the medium set.

Hard on the Koni's is a bit a bit harder than the Bilstiens, soft if more like the Boges.

Adk46

My small experience: As received, my car bounced like an old Buick. Called Roger, he said he had put Bilsteins on one of his cars recently, but regretted the harsh ride. I got Boges - I wanted the original luxurious GT ride. Put the rears on first, and that helped enormously. Perfect. Months later, put in the fronts, and there was no change - rather underdamped, it seems to me. I don't like the sight of the long hood bouncing - the actual ride is fine.

My ride height is about an inch low, which matters. I'd raise it if the collars weren't fused.

It's all a matter of taste, of course, and your own reason for owning a 928.

SMTCapeCod

OK, then which stock springs on each?
Just kidding.
This might be a good stickie/addition to new owner post, or addition to the knowledge base- covers various pairings, is based on actual experience, and comes from someone with a good basis for comparison, rather pure than conjecture.

Jeez, wasn't the Koni spring sale just a couple weeks ago?
;-)
Fortunately, the Boges I installed have another couple years left in them.

FredR

I felt the stock suspension was "too sloppy" for a performance car and decided to upgrade the suspenders on my late 90 S4 about 12 years ago..

I went with Eibach springs and Bilstein gas shocks as supplied by Dave R at 928 Specialists. As I am aware the Bilsteins are [were?] self regulating and had nothing to adjust that I am aware of. I really liked the ride quality of this setup. After my accident [10 years ago in a couple of weeks time] one of the front Bilstein dampers was damaged so I converted both of those units to Koni internally adjustable when I configured my GTS setup. I did this fully expecting to convert to full Koni shocks front/rear in due course. I set the Koni's at the front to mid setting [just as Sean suggests] and have never felt a need to change anything thereafter.

I never felt the Bilsteins were too harsh when I had them all round. The Koni's are now 9 years old and the Bilsteins about 12 years old. The setup still performs reasonably well but I am starting to sense something in the suspension is getting a bit tired or at least a bit softer [me?].

Thus I felt happy with both setups. If the rear shocks do go I will opt for Koni to match the front [I suspect]. If anyone has any thoughts as to how long shock units should last appreciate if you can throw such opinion into this thread [if that is reasonable].

The cornering loads generated by the wider rubber probably justifies my perceived need for stiffer springs/shocks- probably would not suit everyone.

Rgds

Fred

The Forgotten On

Another thing. Bilstien shocks can be rebuilt by them so when they wear out you can send them in and they are ~$75 per shock to be rebuilt.

ROG100

When you make your mind up I have sets of Boge for $625, Koni for $650 and Bilsteins for $928.