Best place for new shock absorbers?

[alexaescht]

Hey guys, so after specifically telling Berwick VW that the front suspension seemed dodgy and crashed over bumps and smashed onto the bump stops over speed humps, they 'road tested' the car and came back with 'nothing abnormal found'.
After the car was serviced yesterday, at an independent, they said they checked the suspension and found nothing. Now, just today, we replaced two tyres and Tyrepower said that the front right shock is leaking oil badly and it needs replacing as soon as possible.

So, firstly, let's jut say this is another classic example of VW Australia at it again – denying their customer's problems in the pursuit of, well I don't know what. Making customers feel like idiots?

Anyhow, does anyone have any recommendations as to where we should look for replacements? We're likely to replace all four shocks due to road conditions and how many k's the car has done.

I've got one quote from Pedders: $1458 for all four shocks incl. installation and alignment. Apparently the only shocks for the polo they have are Koni's which seems like overkill but I'm not sure.

Thanks,
Alex.

[nomadx38]

Could get OEM, shouldn't cost that much. I would say Instalation will be a high cost because of the work involved on the front. Just curious how many km have you done? And which one/s are leaking?

If your somewhat capable at mechanical work you can install the back ones easily which will save some money...

[alexaescht]

Could get OEM, shouldn't cost that much. I would say Instalation will be a high cost because of the work involved on the front. Just curious how many km have you done? And which one/s are leaking?

If your somewhat capable at mechanical work you can install the back ones easily which will save some money...

Yeah I'll call VW during the week and see what they want to charge for them.

The car has done 89,000 km and the leaking shock is the right-hand front.

[BLN355]

Or you could buy my springs and shocks from my old GTI? They were pulled out with just on 1000k's on them. $400 + postage

[nomadx38]

Or you could buy my springs and shocks from my old GTI? They were pulled out with just on 1000k's on them. $400 + postage

That's worth it! Umm the lowered springs could be a problem though. I know they aren't lowered that much (15mm) but still lower than the stock TDI springs. Clearance could be a problem as he uses the polo on rough terrain.

[alexaescht]

Or you could buy my springs and shocks from my old GTI? They were pulled out with just on 1000k's on them. $400 + postage

That's worth it! Umm the lowered springs could be a problem though. I know they aren't lowered that much (15mm) but still lower than the stock TDI springs. Clearance could be a problem as he uses the polo on rough terrain.

Certainly a good price, but as stated, we live at the end of a dirt road that the council tends to forget about when it comes to maintaining, not to mention that there have always been clearance issues even with the stock setup, so it most likely won't be practical. Thanks for the offer though, not bad at all

[brad]

If you get the GTI kit just use the dampers with your OEM springs.

The Koni Sports Adjustable (Yellows) are a great piece of kit. My mate has them on his 2012 Polo. They transform the vehicle. He bought them from Wholesale Suspension in Penrith & they were around $900.

Koni also do FSDs but I'm not a fan.

The rears took us 30 minutes to fit. The fronts around 1hr per side IIRC (maybe 1.5hrs tops - we'd never done a Polo before).

I have Koni Sports on my Octavia - bought them from ECS & they were about $600-$700 delivered if your willing to take a risk on warranty.

You can get Monroe or Boge off Ebay and there are a number of suppliers in the UK you can research / buy direct from (Micks Garage?).

Your other alternative might be some coilovers. There's no law that says you have to immediately put them on their lowest setting.

[alexaescht]

If you get the GTI kit just use the dampers with your OEM springs.

The Koni Sports Adjustable (Yellows) are a great piece of kit. My mate has them on his 2012 Polo. They transform the vehicle. He bought them from Wholesale Suspension in Penrith & they were around $900.

Koni also do FSDs but I'm not a fan.

The rears took us 30 minutes to fit. The fronts around 1hr per side IIRC (maybe 1.5hrs tops - we'd never done a Polo before).

I have Koni Sports on my Octavia - bought them from ECS & they were about $600-$700 delivered if your willing to take a risk on warranty.

You can get Monroe or Boge off Ebay and there are a number of suppliers in the UK you can research / buy direct from (Micks Garage?).

Your other alternative might be some coilovers. There's no law that says you have to immediately put them on their lowest setting.

Thanks for that.
I'll be doing some more research this coming week and we'll see how it goes.

[kevinctr]

Monroe Reflex Twin Disc technology has also released shocks for Polo 6R, they have it in standard which works with regular springs and Sports chassis for GTI model and those who want to lower the car with GTI or Eibach/etc springs. It feels softer on bumps but stiffen up the the car is turning or braking. Good pricing too.

[brad]

That is similar operation to the koni FSD. I've had dampers like that before. IMO, they don't react quick enough. eg: they do an initial lurch then stiffen up when you want a linear response.

[kaanage]

If you get the GTI kit just use the dampers with your OEM springs.

^ This.

It will firm up the ride but the transient response and body control will improve. Far better than the much more common use of "lowering springs" with standard dampers, which degrades handling in most ways.

That is similar operation to the koni FSD. I've had dampers like that before. IMO, they don't react quick enough. eg: they do an initial lurch then stiffen up when you want a linear response.

Thanks for this. I was wondering about your previous comment about FSDs (and I'd always wanted to know how they responded in transients)

[AFX]

2011 Polo GTI 6R OEM Stock Shocks and Springs with ~20,000km for a $100. Victoria local pick up only, 3076

[alexaescht]

OEM front shocks plus installation for ~$800 for the front pair. Will get the DPF fixed first but this is probably the route we'll go down.

[brad]

OEM front shocks plus installation for ~$800 for the front pair. Will get the DPF fixed first but this is probably the route we'll go down.

expensive outlay for something fairly average

[pontiff]

I have changed the 6r suspension for a few members around the traps, they're not that hard to do, the biggest PITA on the 6r can be getting the shock out of the knuckle but once you give a liberal douse of WD40 out she comes . What you could always do is ring a specialist and find out what they would charge, and then find out what they would charge for parts only... ring purely prestige automotive in narre and ask them... 9704-5555