Audi R8 - mag ride / Bilstein shocks

[barriejames]

Mines a 2010 v10 Spyder and only 1 has failed since new, its done 44k miles. I replaced the pair on the rear, really easy job to do. Audi want 1200 quid each to supply a mag shock so my guess is not much change from about 6k for a full set fitted

Edited by barriejames on Monday 17th August 21:39

[Triple Six]

Thought I'd chip in here - as I type the car is currently in Audi awaiting collection.

I have a 2010 V10 coupe with mag ride, upon recent inspection the rear two have began misting.

I have a full Audi extended warranty, the full-fat, 'all component' cover which was around £1900 for the year.

Booked in to Audi yesterday, they today confirmed that Audi UK will not replace the rear shocks yet as they are not bad enough to warrant. In my opinion it's a bit of a farce as they are not designed to do this; they are defective and should be replaced. I've been told to keep an eye on them and bring it back when they are visibly leaking and they will then replace them.

If I didn't have a warranty then I would go the same route as Trev and others, V10 plus passive dampers. Fit and forget.

[PompeyReece]

Triple Six said:

Thought I'd chip in here - as I type the car is currently in Audi awaiting collection.

I have a 2010 V10 coupe with mag ride, upon recent inspection the rear two have began misting.

I have a full Audi extended warranty, the full-fat, 'all component' cover which was around £1900 for the year.

Booked in to Audi yesterday, they today confirmed that Audi UK will not replace the rear shocks yet as they are not bad enough to warrant. In my opinion it's a bit of a farce as they are not designed to do this; they are defective and should be replaced. I've been told to keep an eye on them and bring it back when they are visibly leaking and they will then replace them.

If I didn't have a warranty then I would go the same route as Trev and others, V10 plus passive dampers. Fit and forget.

To be fair, misting means they are currently functioning and on their way out, not that they need replacing now. A misting shock is not an MOT failure, a leaking one is. It's a grey area but as you can see from above, it works both ways for the driver I guess but not helpful for warranty customers who have wasted time and effort booking their car in.

So how do you know when you need to take it back? Are you expected to visually keep an eye on them?

[Trev450]

PompeyReece said:

Triple Six said:

Thought I'd chip in here - as I type the car is currently in Audi awaiting collection.

I have a 2010 V10 coupe with mag ride, upon recent inspection the rear two have began misting.

I have a full Audi extended warranty, the full-fat, 'all component' cover which was around £1900 for the year.

Booked in to Audi yesterday, they today confirmed that Audi UK will not replace the rear shocks yet as they are not bad enough to warrant. In my opinion it's a bit of a farce as they are not designed to do this; they are defective and should be replaced. I've been told to keep an eye on them and bring it back when they are visibly leaking and they will then replace them.

If I didn't have a warranty then I would go the same route as Trev and others, V10 plus passive dampers. Fit and forget.

To be fair, misting means they are currently functioning and on their way out, not that they need replacing now. A misting shock is not an MOT failure, a leaking one is. It's a grey area but as you can see from above, it works both ways for the driver I guess but not helpful for warranty customers who have wasted time and effort booking their car in.

So how do you know when you need to take it back? Are you expected to visually keep an eye on them?

Further to what Reece has said,I assume you will also have to extend your warranty for a further year in order to make a claim when they do start to leak.

In your position I would be driving around in 'sport' mode continuously, find some rough roads and generally giving them a hard time so as to get them to leak asap.

[Triple Six]

PompeyReece said:

Triple Six said:

Thought I'd chip in here - as I type the car is currently in Audi awaiting collection.

I have a 2010 V10 coupe with mag ride, upon recent inspection the rear two have began misting.

I have a full Audi extended warranty, the full-fat, 'all component' cover which was around £1900 for the year.

Booked in to Audi yesterday, they today confirmed that Audi UK will not replace the rear shocks yet as they are not bad enough to warrant. In my opinion it's a bit of a farce as they are not designed to do this; they are defective and should be replaced. I've been told to keep an eye on them and bring it back when they are visibly leaking and they will then replace them.

If I didn't have a warranty then I would go the same route as Trev and others, V10 plus passive dampers. Fit and forget.

To be fair, misting means they are currently functioning and on their way out, not that they need replacing now. A misting shock is not an MOT failure, a leaking one is. It's a grey area but as you can see from above, it works both ways for the driver I guess but not helpful for warranty customers who have wasted time and effort booking their car in.

So how do you know when you need to take it back? Are you expected to visually keep an eye on them?

Whilst I understand your point Reece, they weren't designed to mist, they are defective and will need to be replaced. They have told me I can rebook my car in for a free check in a few months time, but I'll save the hassle and jack it up every month or so to check.

Trev450 said:

Further to what Reece has said,I assume you will also have to extend your warranty for a further year in order to make a claim when they do start to leak.

In your position I would be driving around in 'sport' mode continuously, find some rough roads and generally giving them a hard time so as to get them to leak asap.

I'll likely extend the warranty, they have advised that if there was a gap in the warranty and a subsequent claim for the shocks it wouldn't be covered as it is already a known fault with the vehicle.

I'll certainly take your advice regarding the driving style, it really is within my interest to make them defective (but not break with intent) which is a very backwards thought!

[jakesmith]

I do get stung with some big bills but I can cope with that better than the false hope of a warranty payout... £1900 would replace all 4 passives on my V8

[andy97]

I remain astonished and disappointed that Audi cannot address the design or manufacturing issues that surround the Mag ride dampers and build something that is fit for purpose.

[jakesmith]

I’m sure they’re devastated at having to charge customers £5k for a new set!
Joking aside I do wonder what the criteria are for demanding the manufacturer revised them
There are plenty of comparable systems out there that do not fail like this so it must be possible
Did someone say it’s the same part as fitted to the 458? I wonder how much you’d pay for it with the F tax added.

[andy97]

jakesmith said:

Did someone say it’s the same part as fitted to the 458? I wonder how much you’d pay for it with the F tax added.

Do 458s have the same issues?
Probably no one knows as they don’t do many miles!

[PompeyReece]

jakesmith said:

I’m sure they’re devastated at having to charge customers £5k for a new set!
Joking aside I do wonder what the criteria are for demanding the manufacturer revised them
There are plenty of comparable systems out there that do not fail like this so it must be possible
Did someone say it’s the same part as fitted to the 458? I wonder how much you’d pay for it with the F tax added.

I regularly read other forums on here and I'd say I hear more about shocks failing in other cars than in R8's.

Obviously not a fair and accurate comparison but if you look at the Nagengast website, they refurbish shocks on over 250 different cars including:

- Bentley Continental
- Ferrari 458
- Ferrari 599
- Ferrari 612
- Ferrari California
- Lamborghini
- Maserati Quattroporte
- Porsche Cayenne
- Porsche Macan
- Porsche Panamera

So there must be a market for these (otherwise why offer the refurb) which suggests others fail too?

Interestingly they don't offer refurbs on Gen 2 R8's unless the Gen 2's use the same Gen 1 parts?

[GroundZero]

PompeyReece said:

I've been told refurbished ones are not particularly reliable (as they are a sealed unit and have to be cut open and re-sealed to refurbish)...

Always wondered why the OEM units can not simply be re-sealed if leaking? Find the point of leak and seal them?
Obviously not that easy as this would likely be the common solution.

[jakesmith]

I’ve had active systems in many cars and honestly can’t feel much difference. Obviously in Sport mode you can but that’s pointless in the UK. Skyhook not even that, felt the same on or off. Seems to me like a big waste of money I have to say.

[Triple Six]

andy97 said:

I remain astonished and disappointed that Audi cannot address the design or manufacturing issues that surround the Mag ride dampers and build something that is fit for purpose.

They addressed it in the later Gen1 Plus models which were fitted with passive dampers. Many owners (such as Trev450) have switched to this as it's half the cost of mag rides and a 'fit and forget' option. I believe the Gen 2 variants are a revised design and don't seem to suffer as much.

Sadly, the mag ride shocks seem so unreliable that I could replace them now and be faced with the same situation in 12 months time.

[gcpeters]

andy97 said:

jakesmith said:

Did someone say it’s the same part as fitted to the 458? I wonder how much you’d pay for it with the F tax added.

Do 458s have the same issues?
Probably no one knows as they don’t do many miles!

it is indeed the same, and they do have the same issue and they are NOT COVERED under the Ferrari warranty as I found out (still with 2 years warranty left)

retail is 2.5k per shock from Ferrari, just for the part but you can usually get a better price if you moan, a lot....

[Trev450]

I fail to understand why so many top end manufacturers continue to use this technology when it is obviously flawed. When all is said and done it's not that special.

[PompeyReece]

Trev450 said:

I fail to understand why so many top end manufacturers continue to use this technology when it is obviously flawed. When all is said and done it's not that special.

Interestingly 458 shocks can be refurbished but not 488 or after. Similarly there are comments on here suggesting the Gen 2 R8 mag ride shocks don't fail as often so maybe the reliability has been improved in recent years?

[Trev450]

PompeyReece said:

Trev450 said:

I fail to understand why so many top end manufacturers continue to use this technology when it is obviously flawed. When all is said and done it's not that special.

Interestingly 458 shocks can be refurbished but not 488 or after. Similarly there are comments on here suggesting the Gen 2 R8 mag ride shocks don't fail as often so maybe the reliability has been improved in recent years?

Possibly so and hopefully the case for owners of later models.

[Triple Six]

Trev450 said:

I fail to understand why so many top end manufacturers continue to use this technology when it is obviously flawed. When all is said and done it's not that special.

Agreed, I find sport mode with mag ride very uncomfortable, it almost feels like a bit of a gimmick.

[Raven Flyer]

OSHB47 said:

Thanks all. Still waiting for formal quote but likely go route of OEM, perhaps Plus. It staggers me that this ridiculously expensive part is such a common fail. Are there any gen 1 R8s with magride fitted that have never failed? I doubt it...

My 2013 V10 Spyder is on the original mag units. It's just had it's service and MOT and got another clean bill of health. 24k miles.

[Raven Flyer]

Triple Six said:

Agreed, I find sport mode with mag ride very uncomfortable, it almost feels like a bit of a gimmick.

Sport Mode is intended for track use. I've only used it in a Gallardo but it worked well.

Normal mode stiffens up as you increase speed but remains compliant at 'normal' speeds.