Ok, it is time to upgrade... I mean replace the struts on my 1997 Jetta GT. Coilovers are out of my price range. I am looking for struts with better control than generic stock struts. This car is my daily driver so I do not want ubber stiff suspension. Any and all suggestions appreciated....
Bilstien HD is the only option that makes any sense for a street vw.
In reply to Travis_K:
Sounds great... But I took a look and unfortunatly I am on a tighter budget than that... Any other suggestions?
Boge Turbo Gas are slightly better than stock, but you get what you pay for.
whats your budget? Coilovers are getting cheaper... 
Used Bilstien HDs for $60 from the junkyead. There seriously isnt anything else thats worth the trouble of putting on there. Actually, I know someone that may have an extra set of older ones (not the inverted kind) he could sell, I can ask him. Boge turbos are really pretty bad. Bilstiens dont really wear out, so unless they have been damaged they are fine (most people cant get them on without damaging the threads though, but that is usually fixable.
Eh... I replaced my OE Boge struts with Bilstien HD's... better than stock? yeah... but I wouldn't buy them again. The ride isn't that great and they aren't all that sporty. The main difference from the Boge struts is the belly pan doesn't scrape the ground on bumps as much. That said, I should have bitten the bullet and bought the Koni Yellows I wanted...
Travis_K wrote: Used Bilstien HDs for $60 from the junkyead. There seriously isnt anything else thats worth the trouble of putting on there. Actually, I know someone that may have an extra set of older ones (not the inverted kind) he could sell, I can ask him. Boge turbos are really pretty bad. Bilstiens dont really wear out, so unless they have been damaged they are fine (most people cant get them on without damaging the threads though, but that is usually fixable.
You guys must be lucky, you never find that kind of stuff in a junkyard up here. Besides there is no pick-n-pull within 3 hours of my house.
Keep watching the vortex and other vw forums, someone is always tight for cash and unloading suspension. Another vote for the HD's, I've hammered the crap out of those things with great success and zero failures.
I just put KYBs in the wife's 2002 Cabrio and they are awesome.
They stiffened the ride just enough to make it more fun to drive, but not stiff enough to make her complain.
I paid $66/ea for the fronts and $43/ea. for the rears for a total of $218.
M030 wrote: I just put KYBs in the wife's 2002 Cabrio and they are awesome. They stiffened the ride just enough to make it more fun to drive, but not stiff enough to make her complain. I paid $66/ea for the fronts and $43/ea. for the rears for a total of $218.
That sounds more like my pocket... I will head to the KYB website and have a look...
KYBs are a good option for a DD type car. If using lowering springs, the Konis and Bilsteins are great.
amg_rx7 wrote: KYBs are a good option for a DD type car. If using lowering springs, the Konis and Bilsteins are great.
I have KYBs. I like them too.
I have had kybs on a couple of cars, the best i can say is that they are an improvement over blown stock ones. For a dd vw bilstien hds and stock springs are great. The best part about buying bilstiens is they are almost impossible to damage in normal use, so any set that was installed properly and hasnt been in an accident is probably going to work fine for a long time.
For an example of what you can get bilstiens for, my friend got a set with like 3k miles on them, with some brand new eibach springs for $350(from vortex), then I believe sold the springs for $100. It is my opinion that for most cars, there are no other worthwhile replacement struts than bilstiens, or yellow konis if you cant get bilstiens (I know illuminas and AGXs work well on some cars, but I have no experience with them). Unless i was planning on a custom setup, I wouldnt even bother buying a car that you couldnt get bilstiens or konis for (of course thats not a problem with vws. lol)
In reply to noddaz:
I'm a MK1 guy, but I did this for a friend's MK3. Got the KYBs NIB from ebay - all four corners for $120 something. Also did balljoints and tie rods for her. The shocks are a little soft for my taste, but the owner loves them. What really transformed the car, though, was replacing the front control arm bushings with bushings from an R32. The old sleeved bushings were a little tough to get out, but a couple hours in the freezer and the new bushings pressed in easily.
In reply to Flogger00:
I might as well replace the control arm bushing while it is apart.. 200,000 miles does strange things to a chassis... And not in a good way...
I know this is an old post, but are their any cars that came from the factory w/ bilsteins? And if I happened to find a set on an E30 or something, would they be usable on a MK2 vw w/o much welding or hammering?
In reply to mrwillie:
most Porsche 924's came with bilsteins. struts(inserts) up front, shocks at rear. no idea about compatibility.
If you can get the KYB AGXs for a MkIII, I'd go that route. Granted, this was on a different application (1997 Accord), but I found the regular KYBs a little too soft. The AGX are about $400 on ebay. On a tight budget the Boge and Boge Turbos are pretty good. I've got Konis on my MkII GTI and they are tits.
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