I just go by feel, and how the car moves. That said I'm pretty sure this Focus has the original front struts and the driver side one is pretty floaty. They are still doing some damping though and the tires aren't bouncing like basketballs yet on broken pavement to its not really a big car control concern yet. The rear shocks were totally blown when I got it and it was pretty obvious, I'm sure some pot holes on a curve would've been interesting but I just replaced them immediately.
Dampers (shocks) lasting nearly “forever”?
- Thread starter AlphaOmega
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I wouldn’t hold my breath for B4 for HL.
Is this dyno you are referring to? ADAC, TUV, Dekra, etc all have them and they work perfectly.
Neither. I remove all 4 dampers every 20K miles or 18 months, whichever comes first, and send them to a shock dynamometer in New Zealand. It's pricy but I need to stay atop my ride's ride. You see, I deliver eggs to eco-conscious chefs who eschew cartons in the name of lessening trash. Darn hippies.
I'm so glad J_R hit your G-spot.
I know a bunch of "housewives" who wouldn't let you near theirs' now.
SERIOUSLY: (which means the above was in the name of humor-desperately needed in this thread)
When I recently scoped out a 2000 MGM with 100K, I expected our friend to buy it.
It wallowed as everyone would expect and I was sooooooooo looking forward to replacing the 4 shocks; yes, no front struts.
"What exactly caused the feeling of wollowiness I felt?", you ask?
The age, the miles, the feel and the track record of all the bulbous American land yachts which came before and after it,
All of the above.
Dampers are so affordable, people needn't know the specifics of aging to spent time and money smartly.
Much like my engine's oil's lifespan determination, one or two UOA's established the usability of my owner's manual's recommendations.
In my experience, suggested OCI's are saner than 50K-blanket damper change-out sales pitches.
PERSONAL: The long absence of the "$200 car-for-sale-down-the-street" means my G spot is vestagal.
corresponding test, looks the same. I think Finland and Germany have about the same strict rules when it comes to inspections
The one thing which surprises me most in the USA is no brake dyno's, you see stuff like on the show Fantom works where he drives and locks them up then gets out looking at the rubber marks, that is beyond insanity.
True. Even if I wanted oe shocks...I am pretty sure they are obsolete from nissan.
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I e never owned a car with "struts" but have sure changed plenty over the years. Ford had their head somewhere the sun don't shine when they started using them in F150s..... Everything I have personally owned has had "shocks". Yes I know the difference. Everything I have ever owned has had 4 ball joints, 4 control arms. But 35 years of being an "undercar" tech, and 40 years of owning vehicles and being a licensed driver is that just like tires brakes oil and filter, shocks and struts are expendable, normal maintenance items. Do they necessarily need replacement at ""x" miles? No. Cars vs trucks, city vs suburban vs country vs straight highway, it can vary. As can the occasional defective one. But please throw out the "cheapest " line, and considering that, you will always notice a difference before vs after replacing.
I've dealt with kyb, (never liked) Monroe, (don't care for/ even though they have multiple price points) Bilstein, OEM, Gabriel, rancho and more, and I have always had the best ride and longevity out of the Gabriels, I buy the Ultras for everything I own. Ive tried their lesser ones and sometimes Ive felt them to be a downgrade unless the old ones were floppy bad. This can be said of any brand. Monroe's have beena crap shoot for me. Some alright, alot weren't or weren't for very long.
Every time Ive tried KYB I've had to do the job over In short time with something else.
I've dealt with kyb, (never liked) Monroe, (don't care for/ even though they have multiple price points) Bilstein, OEM, Gabriel, rancho and more, and I have always had the best ride and longevity out of the Gabriels, I buy the Ultras for everything I own. Ive tried their lesser ones and sometimes Ive felt them to be a downgrade unless the old ones were floppy bad. This can be said of any brand. Monroe's have beena crap shoot for me. Some alright, alot weren't or weren't for very long.
Every time Ive tried KYB I've had to do the job over In short time with something else.
KYB Excel G front left strut on my Mazda 3 started making noise 25k miles after installation. I should have just gone with the Konis.
It's their OE replacement twin tube, yeah. There was no monotube series fitment at the time for the front and people were giving them high marks on the Mazda forums. I would have had to wait for shipping on the Konis.
I’ve been driving since 1980. I've never replaced a shock/strut.
Reminds of the brake fluid thread where guys were happy they had never changed brake fluid in their lives lol
Bilstein has B6 for the 3rd gen highlander
Maybe bcs. it is finite market. I would expect B6 to be available over B4 sooner.
I remember now being available for HL and not Sienna when I was looking for.
But, bcs. supply chain issues I think even that might be in question. They just offered B4 for Atlas.
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Pushing from your general knowledge, can you make a educated guess, whether it’s possible for a damper that has worked for, say, 200k miles on typical passenger car to be, concurrently, significantly out of spec vs new , yet not be leaking (outside) and producing no extra bounce going over bumps out expansion joints, etc?
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The atlas is a more finite market than the Highlander due to that the Atlas doesn’t sell that well compared to the Highlander
B4 is just an OE replacement damper. B6/B8 are actually upgrades, except for Benz
There’s a bigger marker for OE replacement than upgraded monotubes since the B4 twin tubes costs much less than the B6/8 monotubes
Atlas is sold in lower numbers, but in Euro market it is easier to sell these aftermarket stuff. 99% of HL owners a. won’t go for Bilstein, b. even when it fails they won’t care and will still claim how their car never had an issue. Those that actually do want upgrade might go B6 route. Sienna is sold in high numbers and yet there was no Bilstein replacement whatsoever. Current XSE now gets Bilstein OE shocks.
B4 is around 10% stiffer, at least that is the case for BMW’s. For Atlas it might also be the case as it is softer for American crowd and that is generally biggest complaint.
I am very well aware which one is what. I am running B6 on BMW.
My guess is front shocks on a double wishbone should last longer than a Mcpherson Strut, and shocks with rubber boot covers.
No extra bounce at all? Probably not. But could it still work “fine?” Sure. Like most things it depends on how it got to that 200k miles. All freeway driving you’d probably get there without drama.
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