Compare Old vs New Struts - VW Jetta SportWagen OEM SACHS vs NEW BILSTEIN PART II
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- Опубліковано 17 жов 2024
- I decided to upgrade my OEM Sach shocks and struts. There was no obvious handing issue at 89,000 miles. The Bilstein's are stiffer valuing for an A3 Audi, so I expected more damp compression, but the lack of rebound appears to show weak strut. See my other video comparing the shocks. The handling is amazing. The old part number was 1T0 413 031 GG SACH, The new PN is 22-131614 Bilstein.
Nice!! My 13 2.5 jsw is at 106k miles and very bouncy, just bought it so looking into new suspension all around! Thanks for this! I’m sure mine is similar to your old ones!
Yep a JSW should handle like a sports car (well close). New shocks and alignment are in order. This is the one thing that will make a difference. I have a JSW TDI. Check TDI forum (for diesels) for threads on struts/shocks. The TDI (diesel) has same body/suspension gas JSW's. I often shop at IDParts (they have shocks). I recall these are Bilstein TC. Forget the expensive "racing" stuff. They cost more, have bright paint and will not make a difference in handling. Getting NEW struts and shocks will be NIGHT AND DAY.... The original Sacks suspension wore out fast. The new suspension was a WOW...
Sport wagons have higher damp rear shocks than the passenger I think, but new Bilstein's or Koni will be better than stock. YOU MUST REPLACE THE FRONT STRUT UPPER MOUNTS. These wear out big time. They are not too expensive but plan on it. I did the swap myself, and it was not too difficult. You will need to swap springs on front struts. You can buy a complete Strut with springs. That may be the way to go, but cost more. SPRINGS? If they are not cracked or corroded badly you can reuse them.
You should get alignment redone after replace struts and shocks. If you pay someone, I think even Firestone can do this, but look for independent VW shop.
I would not waste money on anything else than shocks, struts, strut mounts. I did put a larger diameter (not the biggest but bigger than stock) sway bar in the back. That did change the ride quality. Actually ride was bad when I put the big sway bar in. Going going onto driveways where one side is higher it was weird. If one rear wheel hits a dip or bump it affects the other side more. Fortunately there were 3 settings on sway bar. I put it on the third hole (softest) and ride solo no passenger cargo is good.... The sway bar really did not help much in daily driving but when hauling a load it made a big difference. I would not do this. Get shocks, struts and may be new tires before you do anything else. Stock the VW has great handling.
I use my JSW TDI to move stuff from time to time. I have had the 69 cu-ft cargo area stuffed wall to wall, floor to roof with fairly heavy stuff. I will say it handles poorly fully loaded stock (kind of obvious but it's night and day). The stiffer rear shocks helps, but I installed a larger diameter sway bar. This helped this fully loaded handling. The stock sway allowed the car to roll more (but gives smoother ride when unloaded). The poor handling only shows up loaded and say taking a high speed on ramp. I also tow a small trailer. Keep in min I have a TDI diesel. I doubt you will fill your JSW daily but you might? If you do go camping and fill the back, with passengers and cargo often, a larger diameter sway bar might be in order, but I would leave it alone.
Do front struts and upper mounts and rear shocks first. That is MUST. Last improvement is good tires. If tires are old or worn this is where I would spend money next. I have Michelin PILOT SPORT A/S 3+ - SIZE: 225/45ZR17. If you have 16" rims KEEP THEM. You get better ride, better mileage, less chance of road damage to rims and suspension. I am against spending money on custom rims and tires. It cost more money and almost ALWAYS hurts performance. 16" tires can get all the performance out of the car it has. DRIVE, drive safe and HAVE FUN...
Have a Jetta 2010 tdi. Looking for new shocks. Are the Bilstein b4 good? My tdi have koni yellow but one is blown. My car was lowered but not anymore. It's on stock GLI spring. Maybe if i get some Eibach 1" springs will buy them.
So which one is better?
Which is which?
I believe the shock absorber on the left is SACHS, and the one on the right is BILSTEIN. I came to this conclusion after watching a comparison video, which indicated that SACHS has a faster-returning shock. Therefore, the shock absorber that rises more slowly is BILSTEIN, while the other one is SACHS. I hope this clarifies my point.
is this new Bilstein B4 ?
I got them from IDParts. I recall they were Bilstein TC or Bilstein Sport. The Jetta Sport wagon (JSW) Mk6 is really based on the MK5 (A5) under pinning's. The passenger Jetta's MK6 changed significantly. The JSW Mk6 (A5 based) has full 4 corner independent suspension. So shocks and struts may be different between passenger and wagons from 2010 (2009.5) on.
Koni may be OK. Sacks is the stock brand but mine did not last long as I said. I can say the Bilstein's are doing great after +5 years. I love this diesel VW. It is a keeper. On road trips it is a beast. With 50 mpg, and a back area that folds flat (rear seats folded down flat) I have almost 6 feet of flat floor. I can even sleep in the back fairly comfortably.
which is which?
I believe the shock absorber on the left is SACHS, and the one on the right is BILSTEIN. I came to this conclusion after watching a comparison video, which indicated that SACHS has a faster-returning shock. Therefore, the shock absorber that rises more slowly is BILSTEIN, while the other one is SACHS. I hope this clarifies my point.
Easy to Know. On the left working as a new shock,on the right the old shock working so bad. Bilstein on the left,sachs on the right. Sorry because my english skills