Do Strut Brands Matter?

I just put a pair of Koni "special" (red) shocks on the rear of a c900, and plan to do the front soon. I chose Koni because I've heard many good comments about them in this group. I replaced the rear springs simultaneously, so it's hard to say exactly what changes in the ride are due to the shocks vs the springs. The Koni shocks are relatively expensive however.

John

Sorry, I meant Gabriels run the $60...

There is nothing too much wrong with the OE units. Don't even go near Monroes with a 10 foot stick.

I'm looking at going with a set of Bilstein's. They're also fairly expensive but have an excellent reputation.

Replacing springs at the same time is a good idea. I wonder why it seems to be the rear springs that tend to fail first?

Regards,

Craig.

I considered Bilsteins, as many people seem to like them. However I have read that some people find them too stiff, and I live in a city with extremely bumpy streets. So I went with the Koni adjustables, which are currently set on their softest setting.

Good question. The front end of my car rides as high as it ever did. Perhaps stronger springs were fitted in the front to deal with the weight of the engine, and Saab assumed that the rear needed much lighter springs. But maybe the original rear springs were a bit too light. I carry lots of heavy tools in my trunk, and I have also used the car for towing various trailers. I'm sure all that helped to wear out the springs.

John

I've used KYB on a C900. They were good, but I'd recommend Tokico...these are very good, and much less expensive than Koni or Bilstein. I would have bought them for my 9-5 but they weren't available, so I purchased Bilstein Sport. I would wager that old Sach's which the car came with would probably outperform new Gabriel or Monroe.

BL

They very much do matter, though what brand is best for you depends on a lot of factors. Cheap struts will often not last long.

It depends on your application. If you're keeping an 'old banger' on the road then anything will do !

Are you selecting for comfort or sport ? You can change the springs - the bushes etc - you name it when you're tuning.

Graham

How do you know what the original front end ride height was...

Craig wrote (in part):

Probably because they're relatively soft and C900 owners stuff their cars full of wardrobes, freezers, postie bikes, cement and band gear. Well, unless I'm the only one they do anyway!

Konis & KYB work well. Most things will do at least a reasonable job *if* the spec suits the intended use IMHO. Cheers

Years ago, some in the rally fraternity used to call Gabriels pre-faded shocks. Mind you, the gas ones I used in my long-gone 99 were good. Cheers

Lol I can vouch for cement. I've had my Saab loaded up with almost half a tonne of cement bags once. Amazing what can fit in the space.

That seems to be the key - some of the cheaper makes probably don't make their products to suit the car's dynamic characteristics - only the physical installation characteristics.

I've had numerous people recommend Bilstein over other brands, but that's not to say it's the only recommendation. Just the most prevelant one.

I'd be replacing springs at the same time and also all the bushes since it's probably one of the rarer times when all the suspension parts are going to be disassembled enough to enable bush replacement to be done at the same time. 8-) Speaking of spring replacement, has anyone (in Australia) used Lovell's Saab C900 replacement springs? Just looking to find out what they're like compared to stock springs.

Regards,

Craig.

Worked well in my GLE over a decade ago, (but then the originals were so shot that anything would have helped!) Big advantage of Lovells or anyone else local is you can often spec more travel, higher load rating, etc., giving you a custom spring for not much more money. Cheers

If I wanted to know exactly, I would look it up in the Bentley manual. But I'm content to guess, by looking at it and saying "that looks about right."

John