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Genuine vs non genuine suspension

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  • 14-01-2008 1:00am
    #1
    Tea drinker
    Registered Users Posts: 2,817 ✭✭✭


    I'm going to have to do my Upper control arms on my passat soon. I know Febi etc do kits, as well as some other names I have never heard of on ebay :confused:. They seem cheap, but I haven't got a price from VW to compare it to. Should I even bother?
    But, my previous experience of non genuine suspension components hasn't been the best, some of them seemed to be made from chocolate they failed so fast.

    What's your experience?


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    #2
    JohnCleary
    Registered Users Posts: 10,210 ✭✭✭✭JohnCleary


    Febi are as good as OE (Well, for BMW anyhow - so i've been told)

    VW don't make suspension components I wouldnt bother getting genuine 'OE' suspension parts


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    #3
    MuffinsDa
    Registered Users Posts: 1,225 ✭✭✭MuffinsDa


    JohnCleary wrote: »
    Febi are as good as OE (Well, for BMW anyhow - so i've been told)

    VW don't make suspension components I wouldnt bother getting genuine 'OE' suspension parts

    They can be as good, better, or worse, depending on the make and also on what you're looking for in a car. If you want a more sporty ride you can get the sportier version (Billstein HD, Koni, ... ). It also depends who makes the OE suspension parts in your car, which wouldn't be hard to find on the internet.

    In my case (Saab 93) I didn't want any change in the ride quality or reliability, but didn't want to pay Saab prices either! Found that Boge-Sachs makes OE struts for them, bought the on the net for 95 each as opposed to 166 for original Saab. Exact same component, different label. So it might be worth your while to research it.

    In terms of quality there's a number of cheaper makes such as KYB, Monroe, and Gabriel that you may find on eBay. They could be fine but I wouldn't risk it myself, go for like of Sachs, Eibach, Febi Billstein, Koni, ... if you can afford it, it's worth it.


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    #4
    cantdecide
    Registered Users Posts: 11,465 ✭✭✭✭cantdecide


    You obviously know that there's a regular turnaround of these in your car because of our fantastic Irish roads (glad to know our VRT millions aren't going up in a cloud of inefficiency and corruption).

    The lower arms and in particular the one carrying the shock is the one to pay attention to. Maybe this one should be genuine but get the very best spurious ones you can. As for the tops, they're the least expensive of them all anyway so let common sense prevail.


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    #5
    maidhc
    Registered Users Posts: 7,660 ✭✭✭maidhc


    MuffinsDa wrote: »
    In terms of quality there's a number of cheaper makes such as KYB, Monroe, and Gabriel that you may find on eBay.

    Monroe are a pretty well known brand!


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    #6
    Tea drinker
    Registered Users Posts: 2,817 ✭✭✭Tea drinker


    Yeah monroe are big enough.
    I know FEBI are big too, but have seen some of their bushings fall apart.
    Given the parts I am after are Upper control arms, I am really concerned about wasting money.
    I know VW outsource all these bushings etc, but their qc is probably above a lot of the other "independant" companies - just wondering which is a good internet buy.


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