H&R Damper failure

This is the second damper I've had fail in less than a year. This particular one (passenger side rear) has less than 5,000 miles on it (installed in Feb. of this year). I'm still waiting to hear back from TireRack about a warranty replacement getting sent out to me. Let's see how H&R's customer service comes through this time....

Alot of probs with aftermarket stuff lately, maybe OEM is better afterall.

You guys are just driving it too hard.. nevertheless, I ordered the ROW kit so hopefully no problems..

Paul, mine look exactly like yours. I've had them for almost 3 years now, and yes, they looked like yours after a few weeks (months?) already. But they still do the job pretty well, and I've been very happy with this setup. Oh, over these 3 years, I've put about 150'000 km on them, including a lot of track and mountain driving. I'm now going to replace them at the end of the month. The springs are still good, but the dampers are a bit cooked (still ok, but not optimal). Hey, I expected to replace them after 2 years, so I'm happy they survived 3! So I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep driving it hard! Greetings, --Pierre

I had H&R coilovers on my S4 and one did leak just like that. Bought from Tirerack and replaced under warranty with no issues. Just after I sold the car though, another one started to leak as well, the new owner wanted the stock suspension anyway...

Oh, do they leak? I thought it was only the dust-cover that was at fault. --Pierre

Are you nuts? It's leaking! This is the second one that I've had leak in less than 12 months. And I haven't tracked the car in 18 months!

Nuts? My gf would probably agree to that... Sorry, I didn't notice it's leaking. Ok, so I now understand your worries... --Pierre

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H&R aftermarket coilovers for many makes have the reputation of weeping oil like the Tinman.

Why didn't you tell me this 5 years ago when I got my first H&R kit? What would you recommend for a coilover kit then, the Bilstein PSS9? I wish there were more options out there. I don't need all the adjustability that the PSS9 gives you...but I do want reliability. When my current suspension needs replacement, you can bet I won't be going with H&R...

H&R coil overs are what comes stock on the GT3. Hope they hold up well.

Yeah, but that's probably the next model up from what I got. The RSS Club Sport coilover kit from H&R is probably quite good, but not what I have (it wasn't available at the time).

Somewhere it was mentioned that H&R buys their dampers from Bilstein. I cant confirm this, just something floating around some time back.. Do Bilstein offer the HD damper for 996 cars? They are great on the 993..

JICs tend to hold up pretty good to run of the mill abuse. I am not an expert or anything, but I've had about twenty cars in the last 6 years of all types and it is kind of coincidental that internet auto boards of all makes have the same leak issues with H&Rs.

I've been waiting for two days already for TireRack to get a part number and tell me they're sending me a replacement..... No word so far.....

I finally heard from TireRack today. They found the part number, and they're going to charge me $460 for the ONE damper. Once I install the new one, I send them back the leaking one and IF they determine that it is a warranty issue, they'll refund the $460 (less shipping). On top of that, I have to wait for them to get the damper from H&R - they won't open up a kit and send me one from their stock. I am SOOO over this bull**** that I will never EVER use H&R stuff again. For that matter, I don't think TireRack handled this issue very well either, so they're not getting a Christmas card this year either.....

if you are concerned about the durability of h&rs dampers than you should worry about bilsteins as well. i was told, by a bilstein tech, that they made the dampers for h&r and h&r made the springs for bilstein. i , however, am not saying that they are EXACTLY alike. the universal opinion about h&R is that their service SUCKS THE BIG ONE!!! at least bilstein's service is A1. i won't be replacing my h&r coilovers with another set, that's for sure.

That used to be the case, but not anymore. I was told by H&R that Bilstein does NOT make the dampers for them - they make their own. Last time one of my H&R dampers leaked, I tried to get Bilstein to rebuild it for me, as I had heard the same thing about them manufacturing them for H&R, buy they wouldn't do it for liability reasons. The thing with Bilstein is that they have much better customer service. Nobody makes perfect components 100% of the time, but they can sure treat their customers properly when things go wrong. I don't feel that I have been treated appropriately this time around ESPECIALLY considering the fact that I had one fail less than a year ago.

next time i'll be going bilstein or jic (just to be different), jrz if i have a good tax return and moton if i win the lottery

just wondering.. why are these shocks all oil filled? I thought gas shocks were much much better.. I have gas filled billsteins on my 4x4 and they are fantastic, and totally user rebuildable, and adjustable. I ran oil filled before then and they wore out after only a few months. oil shocks dont have the same exoansion pressure (if any) that gas produces from my experience. Is there some reason that the 911 shocks are all using oil? Also re:$.. I have gas filled remote reservoirs from billstein and they are only about $170 each.. how on earth are the 911 shock so expensive when they are so much simpler in design?

Bilstein aftermarket Sports are gas shocks and the valving is technically identical to X74 dampers with a whole set priced at under $800.

JIC JIC JIC JIC JIC...never had a failure on 5 different cars under many daily driving and track racing scenarios. Best coilovers I have ever owned....

I think this might be like comparing OE with OEM, the manufacturer is the same but not much else...

thought so... that makes a whole lot more sense to me..

Would those shocks be a direct swap out with my H&R kit? Could I use my H&R springs with them?

nah, the sports/HD shocks are the oem replacement shocks and are not threaded body. they have the spring perch which alows use of oem springs. NOT replacements for coilovers . i wonder if you could just buy the pss9 threaded body shocks. hmmm.....

I'm going to phone up Bilstein today and see what they have to say. I'll report back... Stay tuned...

No. I was just suggesting another potential solution that would leave you worry free. If you are potentially content with the drop of RoW M030s; then for $172 you could get the spring set as well. It appears that sticking with the current setup has led and will lead to more serial failures. Just $.02, but the $1000 I spent for the warranty safe set up is only complimented by the lifetime warranty of the parts themselves. "Of all a vehicle's suspension components, nothing works harder than the shock absorbers, making it critical to pick the right ones. Bilstein Gas Pressurized Shock Absorbers are the least expensive, fastest way, to dramatically improve the ride, handling and control of a vehicle. Plus with Bilstein's aftermarket lifetime warranty*, you can be assured they're built to last." (from the Bilstein website)

Well, the H&R stuff is guaranteed for life as well.....and when it isn't leaking, it feels and performs just the way I like it. I'm just going to get this one damper replaced under warranty. When the time comes to replace my suspension in about 50,000 miles, I will switch to Bilstein's coilover kit. But then again, I may just sell the car before that happens. I called Bilstein and asked about swapping out the shocks with my kit, but they had no idea if that would work....

I went to get the replacement damper installed today, and low and behold, TireRack screwed up AGAIN! They sent the WRONG damper! I wasted half a day today (took time off of work) and when TireRack finally called me back (after I had called and calmy explained the situation to some woman who was fairly sympathetic), this moron asks "What can I do for you?" when I KNOW that he has the whole issue in front of him on his monitor. When I tell him "Send me the right part, and pay for the wasted labor charges for today" he goes on and on passing the buck telling me he can't do anything. More stupidity ensues, but I won't bore you with the details. He basically reiterated the hell I've gone through in the last few months. Why? I have no idea. When I ask him what he's going to do for me, he says "I suppose I could try to call someone tomorrow and try to get the right part...." and I just lose it. I SUPPOSE? What kind of **** is this? I can't believe the crap I'm hearing from this idiot. I'm calling his manager tomorrow to see what HE will do. Needless to say, I will NEVER deal with TireRack again, and I suggest that no one here patronizes them either. They may sell stuff cheap, but there's a reason for that. They hire people that couldn't get jobs at McDonald's. Am I bitter? You betcha.