Thread: Suspension lifetime

I'm about 60ks into my advanced factors units, I feel like they are starting to go again.. also mine had a but of rust out of the box, the paint quality is no where near as good as genuine. If they can't get the paint right. They can't get anything right in my opinion. But they were cheap enough.. no way i Could afford 4 genuine units, I'll go with bilstein units next from Rock Auto and put them in the current bags.

Originally Posted by TopEndThom

2021 BWI strut VS 2009 genuine LR strut

You can see where the LR stamp on the bottom bush has been half rubbed off.

Interesting that the body pressing is different with yours. Did you order them from Island4x4?

This is the BWI strut I received from Advanced Factors and the witness marks from the machining were a near perfect match to the original units.



You should also be able to see where the Land Rover logo and CJ3VA has also been ground off the actual shock absorber body as well.



Plus the indents in the body and markings on the steel band matched.

Originally Posted by DiscoDB

Interesting that the body pressing is different with yours. Did you order them from Island4x4?

This is the BWI strut I received from Advanced Factors and the witness marks from the machining were a near perfect match to the original units.



You should also be able to see where the Land Rover logo and CJ3VA has also been ground off the actual shock absorber body as well.



Plus the indents in the body and markings on the steel band matched.

Mine were from Island 4x4 yeah. I was intrigued by the casing too. But the grinding marks on the shock leg are also present (don’t have a photo for some reason).
The top central bolt setup was identical with the T5 marking. The steel band was close but not exact. IIRC there was evidence of a marking ground off the very bottom of the shock too.
The bellows itself on the new strut seemed like a thicker more durable reinforced rubber.

I’m intrigued now - has anyone else seen a strut with the double ring on the casing? Google image search doesn’t show any.

UPDATE

My BWI D4 front struts from Island 4x4 seem to have the outer casing from an L494 RRS.

It could be a Eurospare strut - possibly using an original shock absorber from BWI, fitted to an aftermarket casing manufactured by Eurospare. But as you note it does also look like the L494 BWI air bag - so perhaps is from the same factory.

Eurospare are owned by Hotbray which claims to be the distributor for JLR and also BWI, and so can claim OEM status but they do also manufacture aftermarket parts.

Island4x4 use Eurospare for Air Struts and claim they are the best quality alternative to genuine they can find. Hotbray also distribute a Dunlop and Bilstein shock absorber version in some markets.

OEM is a very grey area. Which is also why you pay a premium for Genuine. If I was a distributor I would want to visit the factory to see first hand how they distinguish between OEM and Genuine when it is claimed to be from the same factory.

Simply… I’ve had my D4 from new - now going on 12 years.

It rode brilliant and now needs its midlife.

$4000 and 12 years is $0.91 a day
Or in my context $0.02 per kilometre driven

I’ll happily throw that coin out again for the same ride for the next 5 years.

(Intention is to stop wasting cash upgrading to the latest toy every few years - tax breaks only help - they don’t remove all the spend)

Originally Posted by Tombie

Simply… I’ve had my D4 from new - now going on 12 years.

It rode brilliant and now needs its midlife.

$4000 and 12 years is $0.91 a day
Or in my context $0.02 per kilometre driven

I’ll happily throw that coin out again for the same ride for the next 5 years.

(Intention is to stop wasting cash upgrading to the latest toy every few years - tax breaks only help - they don’t remove all the spend)

I’ve just done F&R sway bar bushes and links and that’s made a noticeable difference for a small cost in $ and knuckle skin.

I haven’t done anything other than LCAs and compressor rebuilds and nothing else is giving trouble on MY08.

Likewise, things will get done bit by bit from now on.

Originally Posted by Tombie

Simply… I’ve had my D4 from new - now going on 12 years.

It rode brilliant and now needs its midlife.

$4000 and 12 years is $0.91 a day
Or in my context $0.02 per kilometre driven

I’ll happily throw that coin out again for the same ride for the next 5 years.

(Intention is to stop wasting cash upgrading to the latest toy every few years - tax breaks only help - they don’t remove all the spend)

Do post pictures when you get the genuine air struts. Will be interesting to compare the witness marks from machining etc.