Re: Bilstein Warranty Update

[Glen_Powell@ne.3com.com]

> Ok, I'll bite...
>
> 'splain the increase in ride height on my TQW with stock springs
> and hi pressure gas charged Bilsteins, ditto for RoTs 90qs, and My old
> 16vScirocco with
> Gas charged Konis, vs the stock struts.
>
> -Peter Schulz
> 1991 TQW
> 1990 CQ
> schulz@res.ray.com

As I stated, the purpose of the spring is to support the weight of the car,
shock are dampers, their job is to damp-out the continuous up/down
pogo-stick action that would result with springs only, till friction and
heat dissipated all the energy stored in the spring, and to stabilizse the
overall system.

The purpose of gas shocks is to put the hydraulic fluid in the shock under
pressure to reduce foaming of the hydraulic fluid under severe-duty
conditions. Increased ride-height as a result of high-pressure gas shocks
Vs non-gas shocks is a side-effect and often an undesireable one. Vehicles
designed from the factory for high-pressure gas shocks have appropriate
length and rate springs installed from the factory for use with the
targeted high-pressure gas shocks.

Use of high-pressure gas shocks where they are not intended by the
manufacturer to be used is 'less bad' in some of our cars than it is in
some others. The strut design is more capable of handling the additional
load (weight of the car) on the shock mounting points and the strut itself
than are vehicles with different suspension designs where the spring and
shock are totally different assemblies with totally independent mounting
points. Older vehicles with non-strut suspensions including double a-frame
and solid rear-axle systems are prime examples of very bad applications for
high-pressure shocks. There systems typically have no design capabilities
to support any weight by the shock whatsoever.

I think the Avant Quattros have a seperate shock in the rear and not a
co-axial shock/strut, this is another example of a sub-optimal application
for a high-pressure shock. The shock moutning points and suspension design
is simply not inteneded to be supporting the weight of the car by the shock
mounting points.

Hope this is more clear,

-glen