Best ride quality shocks/struts for the money

ghohouston

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2013
Location
Lewisville, Texas
TDI
2001 Jetta Sedan TDI 5 Speed
My mkiv jetta's shocks are toast, and i am looking to replace them. Im not after Cadillac ride quality, nor do i want to spend a thousand bucks on shocks, would oem be my best bet, or is there a better option out there for the money? Just looking to not feel like i am on a horse when i go over bumps in the road.
 

Aknovaman

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 26, 2016
Location
Tecumseh
TDI
2001 golf tdi
Me too. More firm than stock but not hard. Monroe sense a track is what I have used on gm vehicles with good luck. Very affordable. Any other inputs??
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Sachs-Boge are the OEM versions on most of these, and will provide decent ride at a decent price. Bilstein will be firmer no matter which version you get, but will last much longer, and fit like the OEM. KYBs are junk. Koni is decent but not as durable as the Bilstein. Cofap, which is a Brazilian version of Sachs, is decent and OEM on some Brazilian built cars, as is Monroe.

All my Volkswagens, and even my Ford, have Bilsteins because I don't ever want to have to replace them again.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
IMO Koni Reds are the best ride/handling combo for a MKIV car. They are firmer than stock, but don't have the small bump harshness that I experience with Bilsteins. I have Reds on my Wagon and Yellows on the Golf, and I prefer the Reds. And they have a lifetime warranty and are still on sale until the end of December.

Not the least expensive, but I feel they're the best, at least for that platform.
 

RIP TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 16, 2000
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
TDI
'15 GSW SE 6MT...... '01 Golf GLS 5MT.... '96 Passat Variant....
+1 on the Koni Reds unless the budget won't allow it, in which case I'd go with Monroe OESpectrums.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Keep in mind that most evaluations of ride quality are subjective. I don't like Bilsteins in MKIV cars, I find them too harsh. But others feel that TCs are too soft and only like HDs. Even other customers have complained to me that Koni Reds are too firm, where I don't find them firm at all. It really depends on the individual.
 

PB_NB

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
Location
Vancouver, B.C.
TDI
1999 New Beetle
I think the Koni Reds have some rebound adjustment as well so you dial them in a bit. Great shock, I have them in my Vanagon.

I have KW V2's in the Beetle and they are quite bouncy but great handling along with the swaybars.

My Bilstiens in my GTI died so I put a cheap cup setup in the car and they were almost as good.
 

ghohouston

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2013
Location
Lewisville, Texas
TDI
2001 Jetta Sedan TDI 5 Speed
Like i said, not looking for Cadillac ride quality, im sure whatever i go with will be better than what is on the car, which i am assuming are the originals with 243k on them. Thank yall for the suggestions.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Also depends on the road conditions you routinely encounter. Missouri's roads are generally pretty good. Michigan? Not so much. :p
 

Judson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2001
Location
Cheyenne, WY
TDI
2001 Jetta
I ran bilstein HDs with eibach springs for a long long time. Way too harsh, and lowered too much for the street. The springs I got off of Tirerack, and lowered about an 1".

I followed IBW's advice and went with new stock springs and Koni Reds earlier this year. Just about perfect. Probably will get even better with age.

Stock ride height is key.
 

turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
Let the bashing begin but honestly, best bang for the buck are Sensen's, you can get all 4 shipped for around $110. I have them on 4 MK4's-2 sedans, one lowered and 2 wagon's and they ride great. Not too harsh and they firm up the ride.
 

red16vdub

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2013
Location
(617) City of CHAMPIONS
TDI
03 JSW 5spd
Let the bashing begin but honestly, best bang for the buck are Sensen's, you can get all 4 shipped for around $110. I have them on 4 MK4's-2 sedans, one lowered and 2 wagon's and they ride great. Not too harsh and they firm up the ride.
I'll start the bashing, the junk you're mentioning is just that junk period. C'mon you can't be serious.

Stock ride height is key.

Stock ride height is key but no fun. Get that suspension dial in with proper spring rates and bilstein sports an enjoy life.



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turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
I'll start the bashing, the junk you're mentioning is just that junk period. C'mon you can't be serious.
Have you actually tried it?

If you are on a budget, it works. Its way better than stock or worn stuff, safer too. Try it before you bash it. :D
 

red16vdub

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2013
Location
(617) City of CHAMPIONS
TDI
03 JSW 5spd
Have you actually tried it?



If you are on a budget, it works. Its way better than stock or worn stuff, safer too. Try it before you bash it. :D


I'll speak for just me, but there's a saying that goes you get what you pay for. IMO I'll rather wait till I can afford something that's been proven. I'm from that school you do things once budget or not. I believe you'll save more pennies in the long run.


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Caddy 16v

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2011
Location
Hazelton, BC
TDI
2000 Jetta, 2000 Golf
I have some Stagg shocks and struts from ebay, they are as stiff as the Bilstein TC's and have over 120.000km on them now over dirt and crappy roads and they are still as good as on day one. Back then they were $180 cad shipped if I remember correctly. ;)
 

turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
That's funny, I looked at Stagg but wanted to try the cheapo's just to see and so far, they are holding up just fine. :D

I will add, they don't like lowering springs so if you are doing that, stick with the better options like Koni etc.


red16vdub said:
I'll speak for just me, but there's a saying that goes you get what you pay for. IMO I'll rather wait till I can afford something that's been proven. I'm from that school you do things once budget or not. I believe you'll save more pennies in the long run.
Totally agree but sometimes, life happens and you need to get your car on the road. These are better than worn out, leaking stockers.
 

turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
I'll speak for just me, but there's a saying that goes you get what you pay for. IMO I'll rather wait till I can afford something that's been proven. I'm from that school you do things once budget or not. I believe you'll save more pennies in the long run.


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Still working fine on the cars they were installed. They sadly look like crap due to the rust, but still act the same as they did 3 years ago. The one wagon has 60,000 km's since install.
 

PakProtector

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Location
AnnArbor, MI
TDI
Mk.4's and the Cummins
Just got reminded of Billy quality when I took my truck for a ride. It has been 10 years, and 100k miles at least and they are doing just fine...:) Bil HD for me( they're on their way from Kerma( and thanks for the 10% USMC discount! ). Now if they'd just build HD with Sport valving.
cheers,
Douglas
 

Nevada_TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 17, 2008
Location
Reno, sort of...
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI
IBW, I have the Koni orange with the Beef-on-a-Budget springs, and every little bump on the road I can feel inside, much worse than the old springs and dampers. Will the "red" ones take that away?
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Yes. My son has STR.Ts on his Golf (I have Reds on my Wagon) and the Reds ride much better in my opinion. My son prefers the STR.Ts. Go figure.
 

PhreQQ

Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2015
Location
Washington, USA
TDI
2003 Jetta Sedan TDI
As far as budget goes, Bilstein TC (B4) shocks are incredibly budget friendly, usually at 1/4 the price of HD (B6). I just got a pair to replace my entirely nonfunctional oem struts for $58 each from FCP. Time will tell how they perform, but at almost the same price as the cheap chinese options, it seems like they're unrivaled in the dollar per performance ratio.
 

Problypropylene

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 6, 2017
Location
Grand Junction, Colorado
TDI
'03 Jetta Wagon TDI 5-speed manual, '03 Jetta Wagon TDI auto
Another vote for Bilstein TC *for the money*. You will feel more small bumps... expansion joints/cracks that go across the whole road are the worst. That being said, they are a bit stiffer than oem and are quality. If you have the money I think Koni Reds like IBW suggested are the ticket for comfort + handling. IIRC the Koni's are also rebuildable if you are into that kind of thing. Pretty sure the Bilstein TC's are sealed and non-rebuildable, but they should last a long time.
 
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