I thought I was keeping ahead of things on my son's R56. I knew the suspension was old and had miles but did not think it was this bad. All standard wear items but the car was still tight in the corners.

Both front and rear shocks had ZERO rebound or pressure! and No leaks! So I thought they were okay - Wow was I wrong! Old shock on the left , new on the right. All four corners had no rebound at all and required almost no effort to compress by hand. The new ones (Bilstein Sports /HD) required much of my body weight with the piston on the floor to compress.



The rears were also starting to rust around the housing. Living in PA and dealing with salty winters, I have always kept the under carriage treated with oil. Still no luck on these:


The sway bushes were totally gone too. I should not be surprised. But, the car felt fine to me, still was tight and I did not feel much bouncing or roll. I am almost done with it and am looking forward to seeing how it drives after an alignment.



Anyone else replace their suspension recently? Let me know if you have questions - there are a few tricks.

 

Everything is installed and there is an enormous difference. I did not notice any float prior but do notice it being tighter now. Also, the ride was very jittery over small bumps, especially on the highway. It is very smooth now. Let me know if you have questions.

 

I don't think any OEM shocks would still be good after 150k miles!

What are your tips and tricks?

 

Yeah 150k miles on stock stuff is awesome.