525 shocks

'94 525iSE. M-Tech lowered and stiffened suspension.
I need new rear shocks sometime in the near future.
One has a slight weep. Still works OK, but obviously both will need
replacing.
Any recommendations. Online retailer, make etc?
Choice seems faily limited.
I'm in the UK BTW.
TIA.
Mike.

Bilsteins.


"Mike G" > wrote in message
...
> '94 525iSE. M-Tech lowered and stiffened suspension.
> I need new rear shocks sometime in the near future.
> One has a slight weep. Still works OK, but obviously both will need
> replacing.
> Any recommendations. Online retailer, make etc?
> Choice seems faily limited.
> I'm in the UK BTW.
> TIA.
> Mike.
>

"Mike G" > wrote in message >...
> '94 525iSE. M-Tech lowered and stiffened suspension.
> I need new rear shocks sometime in the near future.
> One has a slight weep. Still works OK, but obviously both will need
> replacing.
> Any recommendations. Online retailer, make etc?
> Choice seems faily limited.
> I'm in the UK BTW.
> TIA.
> Mike.

Bilstein Sprint (there are two kinds of Bilstein "yellow" shocks in
the UK - Sprint and Sport. Sprint is designed for shorter springs -
but check with a retailer first). Your local dealer will want around
£250 for a BMW rear shock absorber - avoid at all costs.

"Andrew Thomas" > wrote in message
om...
> "Mike G" > wrote in message
>...
> > '94 525iSE. M-Tech lowered and stiffened suspension.
> > I need new rear shocks sometime in the near future.
> > One has a slight weep. Still works OK, but obviously both will need
> > replacing.
> > Any recommendations. Online retailer, make etc?
> > Choice seems faily limited.
> > I'm in the UK BTW.
> > TIA.
> > Mike.
>
> Bilstein Sprint (there are two kinds of Bilstein "yellow" shocks in
> the UK - Sprint and Sport. Sprint is designed for shorter springs -
> but check with a retailer first). Your local dealer will want around
> £250 for a BMW rear shock absorber - avoid at all costs.

The Bilsteins cost more than I'd like to pay.
Found an online retailer offering suitable KYB shocks for £85.16 a pair.
Obviously not as good, but any particular objection to them?
Mike.

Mike G wrote:
> "Andrew Thomas" > wrote in message
> om...
>
>>"Mike G" > wrote in message
>
> >...
>
>>>'94 525iSE. M-Tech lowered and stiffened suspension.
>>>I need new rear shocks sometime in the near future.
>>>One has a slight weep. Still works OK, but obviously both will need
>>>replacing.
>>>Any recommendations. Online retailer, make etc?
>>>Choice seems faily limited.
>>>I'm in the UK BTW.
>>>TIA.
>>>Mike.
>>
>>Bilstein Sprint (there are two kinds of Bilstein "yellow" shocks in
>>the UK - Sprint and Sport. Sprint is designed for shorter springs -
>>but check with a retailer first). Your local dealer will want around
>>£250 for a BMW rear shock absorber - avoid at all costs.
>
>
> The Bilsteins cost more than I'd like to pay.
> Found an online retailer offering suitable KYB shocks for £85.16 a pair.
> Obviously not as good, but any particular objection to them?
> Mike.
>

You will only get what you pay for.
It will definitely negatively effect the handling.
Why would you want to put Japanese shocks on your German car?
I know I sure wouldn't...

-Fred W

wrote:
> Fred W > wrote in message
> >:
>
>
>
>>>The Bilsteins cost more than I'd like to pay.
>>>Found an online retailer offering suitable KYB shocks for £85.16 a pair.
>>>Obviously not as good, but any particular objection to them?
>>>Mike.
>>>
>>
>>You will only get what you pay for.
>>It will definitely negatively effect the handling.
>>Why would you want to put Japanese shocks on your German car?
>>I know I sure wouldn't...
>
>
> I'd guess that working cheap dampers would be more effective than
> leaking 'good' dampers. Of course you'll only get what you pay for but
> anything will surely be an improvement over something with different
> damping rates on each wheel?

Perhaps, but how long will the cheapies be better for? I'd look for a
less expensive place to get the Bilsteins. They are out there...

-Fred W

"Mike G" > wrote in message >...

> > Bilstein Sprint (there are two kinds of Bilstein "yellow" shocks in
> > the UK - Sprint and Sport. Sprint is designed for shorter springs -
> > but check with a retailer first). Your local dealer will want around
> > £250 for a BMW rear shock absorber - avoid at all costs.
>
> The Bilsteins cost more than I'd like to pay.
> Found an online retailer offering suitable KYB shocks for £85.16 a pair.
> Obviously not as good, but any particular objection to them?
> Mike.

M-tech springs aren't all that much lower than regular so regular
shocks will do (i.e. not the shortened ones) but you need one of the
slightly more heavy duty versions.

Sachs (OEM) do M-tech spec shocks and I think you can get them fairly
cheap from German & Swedish.

In article >,
Fred W > wrote:
> Why would you want to put Japanese shocks on your German car?
> I know I sure wouldn't...

Are you saying the Japanese can't make decent shocks for some reason?
They seem to be able to make just about anything else...

--
*It's lonely at the top, but you eat better.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
> In article >,
> Fred W > wrote:
>
>>Why would you want to put Japanese shocks on your German car?
>>I know I sure wouldn't...
>
>
> Are you saying the Japanese can't make decent shocks for some reason?
> They seem to be able to make just about anything else...
>

Decent? perhaps. But certainly not as good as the Sachs/Boge OE's or a
set of Bilsteins, and not what the suspension system was designed to use.

Besides that, I have heard some stories (unverified) about the KYBs not
lasting very long.

-Fred W

"Fred W" > wrote in message
...
> Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
> > In article >,
> > Fred W > wrote:
> >
> >>Why would you want to put Japanese shocks on your German car?
> >>I know I sure wouldn't...
> >
> >
> > Are you saying the Japanese can't make decent shocks for some reason?
> > They seem to be able to make just about anything else...
> >
>
> Decent? perhaps. But certainly not as good as the Sachs/Boge OE's or a
> set of Bilsteins, and not what the suspension system was designed to
use.

IME the jap cars can't be accused of lacking quality, even compared to BMW.
I've no doubt they make shocks equally as good as any produced in the west.
As long as an aftermarket shock has a comparable damping rate to an OE one,
by definition, it'll perform equally as well. Durability is the only real
difference open to question.
Shocks are a bit like nuts and bolts IMO. Make doesn't matter as long as
they perform within the design parameter.

> Besides that, I have heard some stories (unverified) about the KYBs not
> lasting very long.

I have a few more choices now, so I'll look into value for money. longevity
etc, more closely before I buy.

The leak is barely enough to discolour the seal area of the n/s/r damper.
Obviously it is failing, and both will need replacing, but there is no great
urgency, as the damper still works perfectly.
Damping is even on both sides of the car.
Mike.