Dan Sarandrea (Phila)
Waitin' On Parts...
Have been seeing some Boge-brand struts on eBay, just curious about them....anyone have any experience they care to relate?
Your experience with Boge-brand struts?
- Thread starter Dan Sarandrea (Phila)
- Start date
Jeff Stich
True Classic
Boge, RIV & Wayassauto were original suppliers of shocks & struts for our older Fiat cars. Good "street" quality & durability on my 850's & 128.
lookforjoe
True Classic
Boge used to make the high-end load leveling shocks for Volvos in the 80's/90's, and standard street strut inserts. The quality/longevity on their product was high. Don't know about current offerings though.
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
Likewise to what's been said above, they were standard issue on most German vehicles; BMW, Mercedes, VW, Audi, etc. The OEM units tended to give a very good service life with a "nice" ride quality (meaning not a "sport" shock). I've had them to do well after 100K miles or more. Most of their aftermarket products fall into that same description, however there are exceptions. Like every other world market manufacturer they have products at all price levels now, and quality tends to follow. However I think they are still better than most for a given price point. And they also offer higher-end "sports setting" (performance oriented) products, although these don't seem to be on the same level as some of their competitors. So it might depend on the particular item you are looking at. But overall they tend to be a good buy for the money.
Probably the best products on today's market are Bilstein and Koni (depending on the model), but their prices are absorbent.
By contrast, other makers of shocks/struts have fallen off severely. KYB comes to mind. Once a very affordable "clone" of Bilstein's (KYB was once the same Dr.DeCarbon, high pressure single-wall design as Bilstein), they are now a low quality low-pressure/dual-wall standard hydraulic design with very poor service life and performance. For example, recently I wanted to experiment on a pair of X1/9 struts as a basis for a air-suspension project I developed. One of my suppliers had some KYB's available for $12 each so I bought a pair. Right out of the box they felt like a very old, very worn-out struts, and they are no longer "serviceable" (the inserts are welded in place). Much the same for most USA brands of shock/strut products (IMHO).
Probably the best products on today's market are Bilstein and Koni (depending on the model), but their prices are absorbent.
By contrast, other makers of shocks/struts have fallen off severely. KYB comes to mind. Once a very affordable "clone" of Bilstein's (KYB was once the same Dr.DeCarbon, high pressure single-wall design as Bilstein), they are now a low quality low-pressure/dual-wall standard hydraulic design with very poor service life and performance. For example, recently I wanted to experiment on a pair of X1/9 struts as a basis for a air-suspension project I developed. One of my suppliers had some KYB's available for $12 each so I bought a pair. Right out of the box they felt like a very old, very worn-out struts, and they are no longer "serviceable" (the inserts are welded in place). Much the same for most USA brands of shock/strut products (IMHO).
Jeff Stich
True Classic
Absorbent? As in they tend to suck up your money?
(I think "exorbitant" was the word you were after?)