17 best shock absorbers for cars

Ratings of auto and moto goods

Review of the best according to the editorial board. On the selection criteria. This material is subjective and does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.

Automotive shock absorbers are an important part of a car's suspension that compensates for vibrations and shocks when driving over bumps, bumps and other defects in the road surface. At the present stage of production, there are three enlarged groups of shock absorbers: oil, gas and hybrid (gas-oil), which combine the advantages of the models of the first and second groups. All of them differ from each other both in design, and in the size of the working resource, and in the standard set of technical characteristics.

As of the current moment, more than 120 companies are engaged in the production of shock absorbers, which creates huge competition in the market and significantly complicates the selection process for an ordinary consumer. In this regard, the team of Expertolgy magazine decided to conduct its own research of the segment, and made a rating of the 17 best manufacturers of shock absorbers for cars. The ranking of the nominees in the rating was made taking into account user ratings, as well as the conclusions of staff experts.

How to choose shock absorbers

When choosing shock absorbers on your own in the aftermarket, it is very important to consider five key criteria:

Selectable type of shock absorber. All shock absorbers are divided into three large groups:

  1. oil (liquid, hydraulic) – the most common, basic type of shock absorbers, the working fluid of which is oil. Provides stable shock and vibration absorption when riding over bumps and bumps. Suitable for everyday use, giving a feeling of comfort at low speeds. However, during acceleration, the handling characteristics deteriorate significantly.
  2. gas-oil (hybrid) – a product of the fusion of two technical options, providing intermediate values ​​of comfort and handling. They are versatile, but very expensive and difficult to manufacture.
  3. gas – a special series of rigid shock absorbers, sharpened to ensure vehicle controllability even at high speeds. They last longer, roll less, look like dampers, but you can forget about comfort while traveling.

Acquisition cost. This parameter is highly dependent on the frequency of transport use. If the priority is rare trips to the country or to the city, then there is no point in purchasing highly-resource specialized and, as a rule, expensive shock absorbers from middle and premium-class manufacturers – you can get by with a set of budget parts from the relevant representatives. If trips are made every day, the concept changes dramatically – consumables from such companies as Kayaba , Sachs (or their 'comrades' BOGE), Monroe , Bilstein , etc. will become the best choice.

Driving style. An individual criterion to be reckoned with, so as not to miss the selection of shock absorbers by type. If you are a fan of fast driving, and the streets in your city are not full of potholes, then it makes sense to look after a set of gas consumables. Do you mainly like the measured movement of the car and comfort? Then your ideal is oil models. But hybrid shock absorbers are a kind of compromise for those who like (or are forced by road conditions) to combine acceleration and comfort.

Brand relevance. Shock absorbers are one of the few parts whose quality largely depends on the manufacturer. Renowned brands use a huge resource base as well as unique corporate technologies to provide ever better performance and technical characteristics of their products. Little-known firms, counting on creating shock absorbers according to classical patterns, and sometimes blatantly copying (moreover, extremely badly) products of more famous competitors, cannot boast of this.

General condition of the product. When purchasing a hand-to-hand shock absorber from the aftermarket, be sure to inspect it for damage. Outwardly, it should not have any chips or cracks – all elements should fit snugly together, and the absence of any of them is unacceptable. In order to check the working integrity of the shock absorber, an attempt should be made to 'bleed' it. If there is enough force applied by hand to pull the rod, then with a high degree of probability there are internal defects. Also, carefully inspect the shipping carton for a brand logo, manufacturer information, and a special 'originality tag' – a holographic sticker or seal.

Which shock absorbers are better: gas or oil?

Shock absorber type

Advantages

disadvantages

Gas

+ Retain damping properties at low temperatures

+ Due to high rigidity, they provide better controllability at high speed

+ They have a deliberately higher work resource

+ Effective heat dissipation to prevent cavitation

+ Provide work both for expansion and compression (two-chamber design)

+ Does not subject to strong roll when accelerating and braking

– High price

– Complicated design, compared to liquid shock absorbers

– Low levels of comfort (suitable exclusively for racing and driving on flat roads)

– Failure of one of the two chambers will provoke damage to the shock absorber as a whole

Oil (hydraulic)

+ Softer than providing a more comfortable ride on uneven roads

+ High prevalence in the secondary market

+ The safety margin is enough for runs from 20 thousand kilometers

+ Quite cheap compared to gas shock absorbers

+ Simple structurally and in some cases repairable

– Prone to roll due to compression only

– They lose characteristics when the working fluid overheats, the effect of cavitation appears, which destroys the metal and the cuff

– If air gets inside, the working conditions of the shock absorbers deteriorate significantly

Rating of the best shock absorbers for cars

Nomination a place Manufacturer rating
The best European shock absorber manufacturers 1 Hola 5.0
2 Sachs 4.9
3 KONI 4.8
4 Bilstein 4.7
5 Boge 4.6
6 KROSNO 4.5
7 ZEKKERT 4.4
8 PILENGA 4.3
Top American Shock Absorber Manufacturers 1 Monroe 5.0
2 Delphi 4.9
3 RANCHO 4.8
Best Asian Shock Absorber Manufacturers 1 Kayaba 5.0
2 LYNXauto 4.9
3 Tokico 4.8
4 AMD 4.7
5 Sensen 4.6
The best domestic manufacturers of shock absorbers 1 SAAZ 5.0

The best European shock absorber manufacturers

Hola

Rating: 5.0

Hola

The first line of the rating goes to the representative of the Netherlands – a manufacturing company Hola, which produces shock absorbers under a single Long Life Warranty program. And, it should be noted, the name of this program fully corresponds to reality: the service life of the manufactured racks on bumpy roads often reaches 65-70 thousand kilometers.

By adjusting the product to the framework of international standards, Hola actively adopts experience from other companies around the world. So, the latest changes in oil shock absorbers affected the structural part: the one-pipe base was replaced by a two-pipe one, with the addition (or without it) of a special gas backing of the stem. Largely due to the competent selection of material, they are able to operate in wide temperature ranges: from -40 to 80 ° C, with non-critical changes in technical characteristics. Realizing that driving conditions can vary significantly, the company's engineers have developed two model lines:

  1. CFD – a series of predominantly hydraulic struts, focused on driving comfort and precise suspension operation on uneven surfaces;
  2. G'Ride is a sports series of shock absorbers with a clamped suspension designed for dynamic driving and impeccable handling.

Among other things, Hola is loyal to consumers, which is reflected in affordable prices and total monitoring of the quality of the product.

Sachs

Rating: 4.9

Sachs

Despite the fact that Sachs is a corporate partner of BOGE, its production facilities and all products in general are more popular with domestic users. Why this happened is not entirely clear, because the technological methods are practically the same. Nevertheless, the main advantage of Sachs shock absorbers is their versatility: the same model of a consumable is equally good when installed on a passenger car and on an SUV. While the idea of ​​emphasizing versatility is unique, it also has an impact on the average product life. So, for all products, it is about 30 thousand kilometers, and it remains only to guess how such a step will be justified in the future.

If we talk about the range of shock absorbers from Sachs, then all of it is divided into three separate groups:

  1. Sporting Set – a special gas series for sports enthusiasts, with high rigidity, but giving excellent handling;
  2. Super Touring is a standard range that includes soft-travel gas and oil shocks. They have a high degree of comfort and are suitable for operation on mixed routes;
  3. Advantage is an advanced series of long-life racks that combine comfort and sportiness. Suitable for driving on mixed roads, but feels more confident when driving around town.

KONI

Rating: 4.8

KONI

KONI closes the top three – a renowned premium supplier of shock absorbers and other suspension elements to the market, whose products are of excellent quality and high prices. The fact of the high cost did not allow the Dutch grandee to rise higher in the rating, although all the prerequisites for this exist.

The main feature of KONI products is a lifetime (!) Guarantee of operation, which means that in the event of a malfunction, the official service center will easily replace the failed shock absorber with a new one. However, on one condition: this guarantee is valid only for one driver and one registered car. As is the case with other suppliers, each individual product line has its own color coding. There are four of them in the assortment of this nominee (it is noteworthy that only complete springs are color-coded):

  1. Special – red shock absorbers of the improved series, providing greater smoothness, comfort and stability on uneven roads;
  2. Sport – standard yellow gas struts for sports driving needs. They do not give any comfort, but they increase controllability;
  3. Sport Kit – shortened struts with blue springs, sharpened for aggressive driving and providing maximum handling in a given mode;
  4. Load-a-Juster are black spring shock absorbers designed to handle high dynamic and static loads.

Bilstein

Rating: 4.7

Bilstein

Shock absorbers of the German company Bilstein are a favorite product of Russian consumers who prefer to modify their own cars by installing better quality parts. This company has the same credibility as the mid-market KONI and likewise offers the very best for use in the mass market and, exclusively, for luxury car models.

It is noteworthy that Bilstein has chosen a strategy of continuous development of its own production, allocating a whole complex for research needs. Ultimately, users are faced with hydraulic and gas struts with increased mileage intervals (up to 60 thousand kilometers), reinforced to handle heavy loads, modified to ensure maximum comfort and control (Performance and Sportline series), etc. The highest measure of quality for firms of this kind is exclusive cooperation with the best car manufacturers around the world. It is reliably known that, in addition to supplying German conveyors, Bilstein actively ships suspension parts on the company's line Subaru, has (or until recently had) some connections with Honda and a number of American brands. In the end, we admit that this is an excellent manufacturer of shock absorbers, albeit at fairly high prices.

Boge

Rating: 4.6

Boge

One of the premium manufacturers, the shock absorbers of which are supplied to the assembly lines of the main German auto concerns: BMW, Volkswagen and its divisions (Volvo, Audi) . In addition, under an exclusive agreement, BOGE ships part of the goods to Korean car manufacturers, for completing luxury car models (Kia, Huyndai, etc.). Among consumers, they are known, first of all, due to a successful pricing policy, which raises the ratio between price and quality to the rank of advantageous advantages.

According to the classic scheme, we present the lines of racks that exist within the BOGE company:

  1. Automatic – a range of hydraulic shock absorbers with automatic adjustment of softness / hardness (depending on road conditions) for a vivid driving experience and comfort;
  2. Pro-Gas is a professional-grade gas series in which engineers have tried to combine the concepts of comfort and sporty rigidity;
  3. Turbo-Gas are full-fledged sport shock absorbers. Extremely hard, but giving the driver 100% control over the car;
  4. Turbo 24 – within this group, one-pipe gas struts are produced for off-road driving. A universal solution to the problems of control accuracy and facilitated passage of difficult routes;
  5. Nivomat is a heavy-duty series of shock absorbers with thick springs, designed specifically for installation on vehicles with a large body weight (commercial vehicles).

KROSNO

Rating: 4.5

KROSNO

A well-known Polish company that develops suspension elements and shock absorbers for budget cars in Europe. Of course, there is no talk of any adaptation for the Russian market, and this is the main problem of all Krosno products. Nevertheless, it is excellently bought due to its low price and acceptable quality, achieved through the introduction of the principles of operational control over production.

The second reason for its popularity lies in the maintainability of shock absorbers in a wide variety of models: collapsible housings allow you to easily revise the interior. So, after a run of 10-15 thousand kilometers, a weakening of compression is observed, as a result of which the rod begins to move from less effort. Small repairs with the replacement of the bypass valve can solve the problem … for the next 10-15 thousand kilometers. No more and no less. All this, of course, speaks of Krosno as a good manufacturer, the development of the success of which is to adapt the product to operating conditions that are different from the reference ones.

ZEKKERT

Rating: 4.4

ZEKKERT

One line higher is the European company ZEKKERT, focused on the production of shock absorbers for the budget segment. In everyday life, it is often compared to Lemforder – and not because it packs products developed by other companies. No: it's all about high quality, against which even such a market giant as Lemforder (or what remains of its greatness) does not stand out in any way.

If we talk about the technical side of the shock absorbers, then here we can highlight the metal's resistance to frictional wear, as well as the impeccable performance of the functions being laid (that is, oil struts provide damping on unevenness, and gas struts provide excellent controllability at speed), and nothing else. All products serve in different ways: the maximum working resource is estimated at 70 thousand kilometers when driving on an even surface with rare reasons for being involved in work. The minimum service life is 20 thousand kilometers, and often manifests itself when installed on domestic sedans such as Vesta, Granta or Priora. The explanation for this is elementary: consumers make a big mistake, believing that non-reinforced struts will work well and for a long time on Russian roads.

PILENGA

Rating: 4.3

PILENGA

A fairly well-known manufacturing company from Italy, included in the rating of the best due to the low cost and prevalence of its products. PILENGA is actively working with niche European carmakers, supplying shock absorbers and other suspension elements straight to the conveyor lines. They have their own design and their technical characteristics are consistent with all requirements of industry standards and tolerances (ISO 9001).

It should be said that even despite the introduction of advanced technologies and design chips, the struts and springs from PILENGA do not have an exorbitant reserve of working life. All of them were designed taking into account the smooth European roads and highways, and in these conditions they allow you to comfortably overcome up to 40 thousand kilometers. As for domestic realities … the loss of almost 70% of the potential longevity is guaranteed. A comfortable ride on standard shock absorbers is possible for 10 thousand kilometers, then the real torment begins with knocks and squeaks when overcoming pits and bumps. If the Italians manage to overcome the bar of limited use and take into account the conditions of the Russian expensively in future developments, they will surely skyrocket in the popularity rating. In the meantime, only the eighth place.

Top American Shock Absorber Manufacturers

Monroe

Rating: 5.0

Monroe

An American manufacturing company that produces suspension elements for American, European and Asian brands, with a main warehouse and conveyor located in Belgium. This fact largely explains the leadership positions in the European market, and from here the goods enter the secondary market of the Russian segment.

As users note, every year Monroe carries out meticulous work on errors, the result of which is an increase in the dynamic stability of shock absorbers on bumpy roads, as well as an increase in the working life. A few years ago, the average service life of the company's products was estimated at 20-25 thousand kilometers – today this figure has grown to 50 thousand, but it still strongly depends on working conditions. Of the whole variety of lines and series in the Monroe assortment, we will focus on the most popular ones:

  1. Original is a standard line of oil and gas consumables.
  2. Reflex – the softest shock absorbers in the range of the American grand. On domestic roads, they develop a resource extremely quickly, but at the same time provide a high degree of comfort and safety.
  3. Radial-Matic are oil-filled shock absorbers with a two-tube design with a service life of 35 thousand kilometers. They have a higher degree of reliability compared to the Original line.
  4. Gas-Matic is a series of gas twin-tube shock absorbers-dampers with an increased threshold of the working resource (about 50 thousand with periodic use on poor road surfaces).
  5. Van-Magnum – specialized racks for off-road vehicles, capable of withstanding high dynamic and static loads, providing expansion and compression (a kind of dampers).

Delphi

Rating: 4.9

Delphi

The largest American corporation that has taken control of more than a dozen large divisions to work on the global auto parts market. All products (brake elements, shock absorbers assemblies, spare parts for hoists, etc.) have a high price, but they provide proper operating parameters throughout the entire period of operation.

As practice shows, Delphi works closely with European and Asian automakers (in addition to 'their' brands like General Motors and Ford), supplying, moreover, a number of front and rear struts straight to conveyors. So, you can find them on cars BMW (X5), Opel (Zafira), Toyota (RAV 4), Suzuki ( Vitara), Renault, Fiat and many others. According to user data, with moderate driving on rough terrain and city roads, the working resource can be hundreds of thousands of kilometers – and this is far from the limit. The Delphi assortment is also very rich: there are gas-oil-type struts, and classic oil models, and modified shock absorbers with reinforced springs, a rod, etc. The most important thing is not to stumble upon a fake, of which there are a lot in the secondary market (due to the popularity of the manufacturer) .

RANCHO

Rating: 4.8

RANCHO

The third line of the rating goes to not the most famous American company RANCHO, which produces a series of fairly durable shock absorbers for everyday use. They are designed for use in off-road vehicles, and often show much higher results than factory consumables installed from the assembly line.

According to experts, absolutely the entire line of RANCHO shock absorbers uses a two-section design with a more competent load distribution. Thanks to such a complex design, the durability of the racks reaches 50-60 thousand kilometers – and this is taking into account the use on off-road or disgusting road surfaces. In addition, a few users especially praise the quality of the front shock absorbers, which do not roll and have much longer operating intervals.

And yet, we believe that the third place is the best that this manufacturer can claim. The factors of high cost, low popularity and specificity of use only for light-duty vehicles and crossovers noticeably limit the circle of stakeholders. And this, along with quality, plays a very important role.

Best Asian Shock Absorber Manufacturers

Kayaba

Rating: 5.0

Kayaba

A young and promising company that manufactures parts for the undercarriage of vehicles predominantly in the Asian market segment. Kayaba cars can be found on about 60% of cars sold from Japan, China and Korea. In addition, they actively send goods to the secondary markets in the USA and Europe, where they are eagerly bought up due to the low competitive cost and high quality of assembly.

At the moment, Kayaba's ambitions are so great that the company is actively and confidently launching new factories to create better parts. As for shock absorbers in particular, they are represented by six lines:

  1. Exel-G – gas-oil racks designed for use in the city. They are characterized by high handling and low ergonomic qualities for the sake of a sporty disposition;
  2. Premium – a premium series of hydraulic shock absorbers that compensate for any irregularities in the track and give passengers special comfort (the resource in Russia is estimated at an average of 30-40 thousand kilometers);
  3. Gas-a-Just is a line of heavy-duty monotube rear shock absorbers designed for rear-wheel drive vehicles in drifting and racing series;
  4. Ultra SR are shock absorbers capable of compression and expansion. They are characterized by a lightweight design and ensure the stability of the car on the track lane;
  5. AGX are adaptive gas-type shock absorbers. They independently select the stiffness depending on the track and driving style;
  6. MonoMax is the next line of gas-oil-type racks, suitable for the definition of 'sports'. It has even less pronounced comfort, but allows you to feel the car in all phases of high-speed movement.

LYNXauto

Rating: 4.9

LYNXauto

LYNXauto is a division of Akita Kaihatsu Corporation, which produces high-tech shock absorbers for severe operating conditions. Statistical analysis of suspension arm failures has shown that the most common causes of failure are mechanical damage, rod wear at the point of contact with the guide bush, and gradual loss of seal tightness. Based on these conclusions, a team of engineers at the Japanese company made attempts at targeted improvements, and added a new seal assembly to the shock absorber design. Another oil seal was added to the main cuff, which removes most of the load and takes on the removal of more dirt and dust.

In addition, the patented body technology includes a Teflon coating on the guide sleeve, which significantly reduces rod wear in the contact area. In view of all these improvements, the average resource of one shock absorber has grown by 30%, and is up to 60 thousand kilometers. Among the consumer circle, they are gradually starting to gain popularity, and the possible “overthrow” of the leaders of the Japanese segment of the companies Kayaba and Tokico is not far off.

Tokico

Rating: 4.8

Tokico

Whereas the eternal segment rival Kayaba is associated with sporty shock absorbers, the Tokico is the epitome of comfort and tranquility, giving you a sense of complete confidence behind the wheel. Despite a richer history and colossal production experience, this company does not seek to increase production capacity, bringing to perfection what is in the company's lineup. This approach, although it affects the indicators of popularity among users, allows it to enjoy credibility among large automakers in their own country and foreign segment.

For a decade, Tokico has been successfully cooperating with the concern Lexus, which relies on excellent driving dynamics and comfort. In addition, the classic series shock absorbers are successfully installed on Chinese (Geely, Lifan, Cherry) and American (General Motors, Ford) cars.

The average mileage for classic Tokico shock absorbers is estimated at 30-40 thousand kilometers, taking into account the constant load of the suspension and driving over bumps. Premium series and modified designs, in turn, can cover more than 100 thousand kilometers, which is highly dependent on driving style.

AMD

Rating: 4.7

AMD

The fourth line of the rating goes to an experimental company of Asian origin, created for the centralized production of shock absorbers for the needs of the giants in the face of Kia, Hyundai, Ssang Young, as well as the ubiquitous General Motors. Over the decade of its existence, this complex has become the main supplier of parts for the entire Korean car industry, and also launched enterprises in Japan and China, not counting the head office and plant in South Korea.

According to the expert, the average working life of the racks here is 50 thousand kilometers, and it strongly depends on the manufacturer. If Japanese and South Korean parts are no different from original parts, then their 'ideological' Chinese one-serials are actually a different product. It is not known how this is possible, but often the difference lies not only in working conditions, but also in the range of sizes – it seems that there is no control over production there. This is a very depressing fact that must be paid attention to. We strongly recommend purchasing an original product, since the combination of price and quality in this case can be considered ideal.

Sensen

Rating: 4.6

Sensen

The fifth line of the rating goes to the company, which is very often mistaken for the Chinese one. Sensen is a mid-range Japanese shock absorber manufacturer whose main competitive advantage is low cost and weight orientation. It is not a pure competitor of Tokico and Kayaba, since the main direction of its activities is the European and American markets. Here the company has existed for over 30 years and has achieved the greatest success here than in Japan.

The main guarantee of the quality of shock absorbers from Sensen is a responsible approach to the selection of materials and total quality control at all production operations. The range of the company includes thousands of developments for 48 different car brands, including the domestic Lada. All products developed under the supervision of the Sensen head office have a warranty period of 50 thousand kilometers – otherwise all customers receive a free replacement of a broken rack under warranty. This is another proof of the Europeanization of the company – neither Japanese nor Russian manufacturers provide such a support model for their products.

The best domestic manufacturers of shock absorbers

SAAZ

Rating: 5.0

SAAZ

An extremely budgetary manufacturer of shock absorbers for domestic cars in all its diversity, slowly but surely raising the quality bar to the level of noble representatives of the European segment. It is noteworthy that at the moment in the assortment of the Skopinsky Automobile Unit Plant there are mainly two-pipe racks, designed to perceive obviously high loads. Their advantages: increased service life and low cost, as well as some advantageous design differences. In particular, the presence of a rebound water buffer, which compensates for the shock load when driving on solid bumps. At the same time, this component negatively affects the perception of a number of other obstacles, such as road joints or transverse shrinkage potholes, which affects the stability of the running parameters.

A unique feature of the SAAZ plant lies in the fact that after decades of work on the conveyor, they decided to show loyalty to consumers. Moreover, in a rather original way: by collecting racks, taking into account the individual preferences of customers. In addition, each shock absorber is repairable, but how justified this measure is (due to the already low purchase cost) is up to the user to decide.


Attention! This rating is subjective and does not constitute an advertisement and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.

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