Front Strut Assembly Question?

[ionianp2]

Mr Detail,

If you haven't bought any struts yet, I would recommend you to take a look at the KYBs. I put them on my 04 S60 and the ride is very smooth. Usually folks would put SACHS as they were the OEM supplier for the P2 platform however, some have questioned their quality over the past few years as they are made in Turkey as opposed to Germany.

[csh]

Keep in mind you will likely need to replace the spring seats after about 15k depending on driving habits. If you don't drive much or only on smooth roads it could work out for you through.

15k Wow!

I think my original spring seats lasted at least 60k and they weren't to the point where they were making noise. It was noticed during the annual state safety inspection at the dealer. I did just replace seats at that time with the HD seats from IPD. At ~130k I replaced the struts because one leaked out. The spring seats were still intact. I would say that the spring seats lasted longer for me because I drive like a grandma, but I don't think that is the case. There was a period of time where my commute home would include about a mile of gravel road.

When I replaced my struts I went with Bilstein B4 struts. I think the ride might be firmer with those struts, but it is hard to know for sure when my previous struts were well worn with one of them providing no damping at all.