buying R8

[ian-163jt]

well guys the front 2 are leaking oil & knackered / back seems fine , will go back to dealer to see if he can help out , but don't really know as its old car ?
the mechanic has said just get front 2 done as have 2 but he cant really tell how long rears will last , but I can deal with that when it happens as its not saving any labour time doing 4 ! think I will go to polish company & send 2 in for re furb (costing £435 each )
a couple of people have got some old leaking ones for sale , but no gain really as would need to send off to Poland as well …
there are 2 sorts of mag on r8 , mine are Delphi .
any advice lads before a book ?

[barriejames]

Hope I am not tempting fate here but I have 43k on my mag shocks and no sign of misting or any leaks on any of them. and yes they are original 9 years old. So they cant be all horror stories

[PompeyReece]

Sorry to hear this.

You could try the dealer - there is a consumer/customer law that states issues should be fixed by the seller within 6 months of the sale as the law assumes the fault was there at sale. CRA 2015 I think it’s called.

Also I would seriously consider getting someone to inspect the whole car - if this dealer was happy selling you a car with busted shocks, there’s a good chance other issues might be round the corner.

I hope this doesn’t turn in to an expensive exercise - keep us informed and good luck.

[ian-163jt]

yes some people say shocks good /but in general I seem to hear not though !
yes my mechanic checked car & said excellent all over , he is very thorough (Porsche specialist )
he is fitting new exhaust at same time (should have used the £2.5k on shocks in hindsight )
to be honest I am keeping car so at least if I get shocks done I know its done and that's it for few years !)
The thing that's weird is its 1 owner from new car / all Audi s.h from 1 garage , yet mechanic says shock be leaking for months, you would think audi would pick this up as common fault & nice little earner for them to change !
going back to solution, a lot of guys seem to have changed to something from Audi on r8 called Passive + shocks ????
any thoughts ..

[PompeyReece]

ian-163jt said:

yes some people say shocks good /but in general I seem to hear not though !
yes my mechanic checked car & said excellent all over , he is very thorough (Porsche specialist )
he is fitting new exhaust at same time (should have used the £2.5k on shocks in hindsight )
to be honest I am keeping car so at least if I get shocks done I know its done and that's it for few years !)
The thing that's weird is its 1 owner from new car / all Audi s.h from 1 garage , yet mechanic says shock be leaking for months, you would think audi would pick this up as common fault & nice little earner for them to change !
going back to solution, a lot of guys seem to have changed to something from Audi on r8 called Passive + shocks ????
any thoughts ..

That’s good news.

My feeling is shock life is dependent on driving - they are always active (the button firms them up) so if you’ve tracked it/driven the card hard they will fail earlier.

In hindsight, £300 - £500 on an inspection would saved you a wedge and let you get your exhaust. Harsh but fair but a lesson for all future supercar owners unless you have bottomless pockets.

Was this a private or dealer purchase?

[Trev450]

ian-163jt said:

going back to solution, a lot of guys seem to have changed to something from Audi on r8 called Passive + shocks ????
any thoughts ..

As you know, Ian, I changed mine to passive Plus dampers a couple of years ago. The main reason for this was you can shell out a wedge of money on new/refurbed mag dampers only to have them fail again a few years down the line and I wasn't prepared to live with that. The dampers from the R8 Plus are a fixed coilover, so no adjustment for stiffness or ride height, but are obviously set up correctly for an R8 unlike a lot of cheaper after market coilovers whereby a 'one size fits all' approach is taken. The Plus dampers are a firmer ride than the magrides are when in 'comfort' mode, but not as stiff as when in 'sport' mode. Yes, ok, they are not as comfortable as the magrides but they are by no means too hard or crashy even for our rubbish roads.

[ian-163jt]

PompeyReece said:

That’s good news.

My feeling is shock life is dependent on driving - they are always active (the button firms them up) so if you’ve tracked it/driven the card hard they will fail earlier.

In hindsight, £300 - £500 on an inspection would saved you a wedge and let you get your exhaust. Harsh but fair but a lesson for all future supercar owners unless you have bottomless pockets.

Was this a private or dealer purchase?

it was a dealer who works from his own premises , he does loads of expensive high end cars , he is nice guy and he gets all his cars from 1 garage who also deal in high end cars , the car not been tracked or driven hard as been on Guernsey whole life ! you cant get slower roads !!!!!

[ian-163jt]

Trev450 said:

As you know, Ian, I changed mine to passive Plus dampers a couple of years ago. The main reason for this was you can shell out a wedge of money on new/refurbed mag dampers only to have them fail again a few years down the line and I wasn't prepared to live with that. The dampers from the R8 Plus are a fixed coilover, so no adjustment for stiffness or ride height, but are obviously set up correctly for an R8 unlike a lot of cheaper after market coilovers whereby a 'one size fits all' approach is taken. The Plus dampers are a firmer ride than the magrides are when in 'comfort' mode, but not as stiff as when in 'sport' mode. Yes, ok, they are not as comfortable as the magrides but they are by no means too hard or crashy even for our rubbish roads.

Trev , are yes it was you who said about changing to + dampers , can I just change front or do you have to do 4 ? do you mind telling me cost to change ?
they come from Audi didn't you say ?
I must admit bit torn as the roads are bad so soft ride suites me as not tracking car ,but I could get these mag done at a fair cost & 20k miles don't road they go again ….
the guy on this chat that had his done by the polish firm are now 3 years old and going strong so obviously a good company (sounds better job than Audi !)
cheers ian

[Trev450]

ian-163jt said:

Trev450 said:

As you know, Ian, I changed mine to passive Plus dampers a couple of years ago. The main reason for this was you can shell out a wedge of money on new/refurbed mag dampers only to have them fail again a few years down the line and I wasn't prepared to live with that. The dampers from the R8 Plus are a fixed coilover, so no adjustment for stiffness or ride height, but are obviously set up correctly for an R8 unlike a lot of cheaper after market coilovers whereby a 'one size fits all' approach is taken. The Plus dampers are a firmer ride than the magrides are when in 'comfort' mode, but not as stiff as when in 'sport' mode. Yes, ok, they are not as comfortable as the magrides but they are by no means too hard or crashy even for our rubbish roads.

Trev , are yes it was you who said about changing to + dampers , can I just change front or do you have to do 4 ? do you mind telling me cost to change ?
they come from Audi didn't you say ?
I must admit bit torn as the roads are bad so soft ride suites me as not tracking car ,but I could get these mag done at a fair cost & 20k miles don't road they go again ….
the guy on this chat that had his done by the polish firm are now 3 years old and going strong so obviously a good company (sounds better job than Audi !)
cheers ian

You would have to change all four if you decided to go down the passive route. They are available through Audi and are around £300 each. You would also need a KW module delete kit and Ricky at RE Performance does them for around £350.

[PompeyReece]

ian-163jt said:

it was a dealer who works from his own premises , he does loads of expensive high end cars , he is nice guy and he gets all his cars from 1 garage who also deal in high end cars , the car not been tracked or driven hard as been on Guernsey whole life ! you cant get slower roads !!!!!

OK, don't suppose he provided you with a warranty you could claim against?

Did you look into the CRA 2015 - pretty sure you could claim the shocks based on that?

[ian-163jt]

Trev450 said:

You would have to change all four if you decided to go down the passive route. They are available through Audi and are around £300 each. You would also need a KW module delete kit and Ricky at RE Performance does them for around £350.

ok so it works out the same really , having done it , do you think you done the right thing regarding ride / reliability ?

[ian-163jt]

PompeyReece said:

OK, don't suppose he provided you with a warranty you could claim against?

Did you look into the CRA 2015 - pretty sure you could claim the shocks based on that?

no I didn't , I will speak to him Monday and see what he says , if he don't do anything I will ring the audi dealers to see why this want spotted a few months ago , got to try anything really as bit annoying to spend all this on something that was there , I know its 2nd hand car & don't expect perfect but this is really quite a serious / expensive issue ...

[Trev450]

ian-163jt said:

Trev450 said:

You would have to change all four if you decided to go down the passive route. They are available through Audi and are around £300 each. You would also need a KW module delete kit and Ricky at RE Performance does them for around £350.

ok so it works out the same really , having done it , do you think you done the right thing regarding ride / reliability ?

Yes it's about the same cost if you go for refurbished ones.

I'm very pleased I went down the passive route. I don't have to worry about premature failure any longer and high expenditure when they do go wrong. As far as the ride is concerned I actually prefer it as it makes the car feel more taught and planted. Yes its firmer but not excessively so.

[ian-163jt]

Trev450 said:

Yes it's about the same cost if you go for refurbished ones.

I'm very pleased I went down the passive route. I don't have to worry about premature failure any longer and high expenditure when they do go wrong. As far as the ride is concerned I actually prefer it as it makes the car feel more taught and planted. Yes its firmer but not excessively so.

thanks , I think that's the way to go , I don't mind bit firmer (I have a 911 so its firm!) I must admit the mag seems clever idea the way it firms up as you need it , but there is a major issue after 23k milks they are all failing !
this delete box thing , is Ricky the only place that does it ?
also just order my springs from main dealer Audi .
cheers Ian

[Trev450]

ian-163jt said:

thanks , I think that's the way to go , I don't mind bit firmer (I have a 911 so its firm!) I must admit the mag seems clever idea the way it firms up as you need it , but there is a major issue after 23k milks they are all failing !
this delete box thing , is Ricky the only place that does it ?
also just order my springs from main dealer Audi .
cheers Ian

The module delete kit is made by KW so you can probably get from any KW dealer. The dampers are OE so main dealer or again Ricky.

[ian-163jt]

Trev450 said:

The module delete kit is made by KW so you can probably get from any KW dealer. The dampers are OE so main dealer or again Ricky.

ok thanks , will go hunting tomorrow , there are various brand new mag rides on ebay but to get 4 to match too hard ..

[ian-163jt]

bit confused , there is a guy on ebay selling the 4 of his car as he had leak on 1 rear so changed the lot , , 2 are original on car, 2 of his are new in 2016 but 2 are bwi (or something like that ) 2 have Delphi on them ???they both have Audi stickers / serial numbers , can they mix & match then
there is also colored dots on them ?

[Trev450]

ian-163jt said:

bit confused , there is a guy on ebay selling the 4 of his car as he had leak on 1 rear so changed the lot , , 2 are original on car, 2 of his are new in 2016 but 2 are bwi (or something like that ) 2 have Delphi on them ???they both have Audi stickers / serial numbers , can they mix & match then
there is also colored dots on them ?

Delphi sold out to BWI a few years ago but they are manufactured to the same specifications and can be mixed with no issues.

The coloured dots you refer to I assume are on the coil springs and so long as they are the same colours (eg spring rate) then they are fine.

[ian-163jt]

Trev450 said:

Delphi sold out to BWI a few years ago but they are manufactured to the same specifications and can be mixed with no issues.

The coloured dots you refer to I assume are on the coil springs and so long as they are the same colours (eg spring rate) then they are fine.

so I need to find out my colour dots if I go for 2nd hand to match , somebody said you can change them in pairs but not sure ???
bloody confusing …….

[PompeyReece]

ian-163jt said:

so I need to find out my colour dots if I go for 2nd hand to match , somebody said you can change them in pairs but not sure ???
bloody confusing …….

Personally I've not heard of this dot matching - if you provide your car model and year, any decent seller will tell you whether they fit or not. Alternatively look for the exact part number from Audi.

Swapping in pairs is not mandatory IMHO.