Which shocks for 02 Jetta TDI, standard suspension/springs?

DCannon said:

Will do. BTW, maybe the TCs on the rear are starting to settle in, or I'm just not concentrating on it as much, but the ride is feeling better. I've put about 600mi on the TCs.

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Today's commute felt even better for me, to the point that during most of the ride today I was telling myself 'this is pretty nice actually'. The washboard section of freeway was still bad but it even didn't feel as bad.

03TDICommuter said:

Today's commute felt even better for me, to the point that during most of the ride today I was telling myself 'this is pretty nice actually'. The washboard section of freeway was still bad but it even didn't feel as bad.

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Same here. Maybe we're toughening up to the TCs.

Just drove home from the VW shop in Huntsville with the new front Sachs struts and it sure does ride better. The rear Bilstein TCs seem to match up with the Sachs just fine...at least so far. One of the old struts wasn't too bad and still operating relatively normally, but the other was completely shot with a bad spot in the travel. That shock's shaft was easily pressed down with no return. Both bellows were torn completely and separated around the circumference about 2" from the top. I'll see how it goes in the next 1k mi or so, but the drive home that included city, expressway, and some roads with a mix of bumpy/washboard/rr tracks, felt smoother and more like it did when new.

BTW, the Sachs installed were 031 307 white label manufactured in Mexico, which is the OE recommendation for my car made in Mexico. After more searching, I read that Sachs has started using the white label on all new shocks/struts. Sachs sure has been confusing regarding their color coding.

DCannon said:

BTW, the Sachs installed were 031 307 white label manufactured in Mexico, which is the OE recommendation for my car made in Mexico. After more searching, I read that Sachs has started using the white label on all new shocks/struts. Sachs sure has been confusing regarding their color coding.

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Excellent timing!

This past weekend was driving the wife's PT cruiser which I feel is a bit bouncy - yet on the washboard freeway section it was pretty smooth. My Jetta was smooth over this section too before the B4's went in the front. Decided right then that I can't live with the B4's in the front.

Good to know you got the 'Mexico' ones as they're a bit less expensive and what I'm placing an order for right this instant.

03TDICommuter said:

Excellent timing!

This past weekend was driving the wife's PT cruiser which I feel is a bit bouncy - yet on the washboard freeway section it was pretty smooth. My Jetta was smooth over this section too before the B4's went in the front. Decided right then that I can't live with the B4's in the front.

Good to know you got the 'Mexico' ones as they're a bit less expensive and what I'm placing an order for right this instant.

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Let me know how you like them. I drove the car more tonight over washboard and other lightly irregular surfaces, and could feel more transmission of the irregular road surfaces from the rear through the seat than the front, so may eventually try Mexico Sachs on the rear for better balance and smoother overall ride. I'll give it more time the way it is and see. At least the rears are easy and quick to replace. But with the TCs, when I push down hard on the back bumper, the car literally doesn't budge. I can't imagine what the HDs or Koni Yellow would feel like on this car.

For months now I've been driving my blue Golf w/Bilstein HDs. I think I've put on about 10k miles on it since I got it. Today I fetched MY Golf from the body shop (after sitting there for several months, and all work done) and I am absolutely thrilled to have it and its ride back. The difference is like night and day. Where the HDs BAM over stuff the STR.Ts seem to soak up bumps and keep you powering along. Perhaps for outright performance the HDs are better, but these aren't sports cars; AND, how long can you stay aggressive when you're getting beat around? I take enough beating on my tractors, I don't need to have my cars do the same.

UhOh said:

For months now I've been driving my blue Golf w/Bilstein HDs. I think I've put on about 10k miles on it since I got it. Today I fetched MY Golf from the body shop (after sitting there for several months, and all work done) and I am absolutely thrilled to have it and its ride back. The difference is like night and day. Where the HDs BAM over stuff the STR.Ts seem to soak up bumps and keep you powering along. Perhaps for outright performance the HDs are better, but these aren't sports cars; AND, how long can you stay aggressive when you're getting beat around? I take enough beating on my tractors, I don't need to have my cars do the same.

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Amen! Glad you got your Golf back....and the good ride. Enjoy!

03TDICommuter said:

Excellent timing!
Good to know you got the 'Mexico' ones as they're a bit less expensive and what I'm placing an order for right this instant.

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So, have you installed the new 'Mexico' shocks?

DCannon said:

So, have you installed the new 'Mexico' shocks?

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Not yet - I picked ground shipping so they didn't show up until Tuesday. May have enough time this Sunday to put them in.

I'm interested in not only seeing how much smoother the car will be on poor road conditions but also if they're as soft as the b4's for low frequency stuff (like dips). I'm surprised with the B4's how little it takes to bottom them out on the freeway - I don't remember it being that way with the stock struts.

03TDICommuter said:

Not yet - I picked ground shipping so they didn't show up until Tuesday. May have enough time this Sunday to put them in.

I'm interested in not only seeing how much smoother the car will be on poor road conditions but also if they're as soft as the b4's for low frequency stuff (like dips). I'm surprised with the B4's how little it takes to bottom them out on the freeway - I don't remember it being that way with the stock struts.

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So far, I haven't noticed any issues with big dips, etc and the ride is smooth with good handling. About the same as the stock struts when they were working, as best I can recall. The Sachs front/Bilstein TC rear combo seems to be working well. With new front struts, I immediately noticed a rise in the front end, which I welcome since these Jettas are low to begin with. Had the alignment done and it was out a bit, so all is good now.

DCannon said:

So far, I haven't noticed any issues with big dips, etc and the ride is smooth with good handling. About the same as the stock struts when they were working, as best I can recall. The Sachs front/Bilstein TC rear combo seems to be working well. With new front struts, I immediately noticed a rise in the front end, which I welcome since these Jettas are low to begin with. Had the alignment done and it was out a bit, so all is good now.

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Broke my collarbone and cracked some ribs. It'll be a while before i can do the swap.

03TDICommuter said:

Broke my collarbone and cracked some ribs. It'll be a while before i can do the swap.

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Ouch.
You play to hard.
Feel better.

Koni FSD's

I installed Koni FSD's on two '04 sedans. I've been satisfied with them. No bottoming or wallowing. As it's been discussed on this site, they can be caught off guard during sudden roadway transitions but they do handle speed and curves well. Definitely does not give the car dart like, flat as a board turn in handling but a nice balance.

Couldn't afford FSDs. The Mexico Sachs in the front are feeling good, but I can feel the rear is still a bit stiff for my taste with the Bilstein B4 TCs, so think I'll try Mexico Sachs on the rear to match up with the front.

03TDICommuter, we're pulling for you to heal quickly.

DCannon said:

Couldn't afford FSDs. The Mexico Sachs in the front are feeling good, but I can feel the rear is still a bit stiff for my taste with the Bilstein B4 TCs, so think I'll try Mexico Sachs on the rear to match up with the front.

03TDICommuter, we're pulling for you to heal quickly.

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It'll be 15 weeks this weekend since I broke my collarbone. It's healed well enough that 2 weeks ago I changed out the B4's in the back and last weekend the B4's in the front with new Mexico made Sachs.

What a difference! The B4's got mellower quickly but still were bad over washboard roads, and though they felt stiff on quick ruts, they were mushy on 'slow' bumps - so much so that the front end would bottom out easily.

Now that I have factory Sachs in there, the high frequency stuff is much smoother, and the low frequency is much better damped. The dips I would bottom out with the B4's I don't with the Sachs.

I do like the urethane strut mounts - they're still the same shape the day I put them in. Cabin noise doesn't seem any louder.

03TDICommuter, sorry to hear of your injuries. I popped my clavicle and ended up doing my rear axle bushings (outdoors, on gravel); not going to to anything major again while injured!

Since I'd last posted I've refreshed the suspension on the wife's Golf (also installed a new clutch). I installed Koni Reds, just like I'd done on her daughter's wagon. Another big thumbs up on these shocks. I cannot imagine what FSDs are like: but wonder whether their added cost could possibly be all that much better than the Reds.

03TDICommuter said:

It'll be 15 weeks this weekend since I broke my collarbone. It's healed well enough that 2 weeks ago I changed out the B4's in the back and last weekend the B4's in the front with new Mexico made Sachs.

What a difference! The B4's got mellower quickly but still were bad over washboard roads, and though they felt stiff on quick ruts, they were mushy on 'slow' bumps - so much so that the front end would bottom out easily.

Now that I have factory Sachs in there, the high frequency stuff is much smoother, and the low frequency is much better damped. The dips I would bottom out with the B4's I don't with the Sachs.

I do like the urethane strut mounts - they're still the same shape the day I put them in. Cabin noise doesn't seem any louder.

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I've been busy and just checked this old thread, and so glad to hear you're healed and back to normal, and that the Sachs are performing well. The Sachs I recently had installed in the front of my 02 TDI are providing the same smooth and damped ride that you're experiencing. Still have the B4s in the rear and although they've somewhat settled in, I think I'll eventually replace them with Sachs.

DCannon said:

I've been busy and just checked this old thread, and so glad to hear you're healed and back to normal, and that the Sachs are performing well. The Sachs I recently had installed in the front of my 02 TDI are providing the same smooth and damped ride that you're experiencing. Still have the B4s in the rear and although they've somewhat settled in, I think I'll eventually replace them with Sachs.

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I know I'm replying to an old post. . .

I now own an 01' Beetle and the previous owner put in Bilstein B4's on all four corners. I drove the car home yesterday, 330 miles, and much of the way home I was reminded how I hate the B4's. Dips the car would bottom out, quick uneven surfaces, the car wouldn't follow the road well. I have Sachs Mexico struts on order. Hopefully swapping struts on a NB is easy.

I'm running stock height in my 01 golf, I think the fronts are Monroe quick struts. (They're going to change afore too long.) I just got a set of raising springs that I'm going to install and I've been thinking of putting Konis. Right now I have a couple of bilstein motor home shocks on the rear... It's rough, but handles great! No more bouncy!