Owner reviews for strut assembly

The short answer is that Bilsteins are good for street class, if they are in stock.

The B8's pair REALLY well with the Neuspeeds. Ride is actually less bouncy and the struts dampen better and faster. Bumps in the road that use to be pretty jolty are less of an issue, and body roll has been reduced significantly. My turn in bite feels a tad sharper and the car feels and stays planted very nicely compared to the OEM struts.

If you want a soft ride choose a Monroe or a Gabriel pre-loaded strut assembly.

the stock struts were blown out and the car was pogo'ing on large bumps at around 65k mi. Not sure how hard or careless the first owner was but I've never had struts go bad this early but I just replaced with Koni struts and H&R Sport springs. Otherwise, its been running like a champ with all major service kept up

I have stock springs with Bilstein B4 struts and shocks. Roads here are not great, so I didn't want to lower the car, but I wanted better ride and control than the mushy stock suspension. Hated the porpoising on the freeway when I bought my car. The new shocks give a much better ride without being too harsh for the family. The car feels German now instead of like a Buick.

I too have B8’s on mime but use new oem VW strut and bearing. No issues or noises after 10k.

I asked the same question you had several months ago and went all out by picking up Bilstein GTWORX struts and RCE yellow springs.

No Monroe, never Monroe unless you need quick struts. KYB is okay but always stiffer than advertised imo. Gabriel is fine but I always aim for Bilstein or another respected aftermarket brand if I plan on keeping the car.

I bought KYB struts and a year later the boot was ripped wide open and the strut is exposed.

If you live in a cold climate which has temperatures below freezing I would recommend staying away from Monroe if possible. They tend to become very sluggish when cold which makes for a very harsh ride.