13 best struts for VAZ cars

struts are key vehicle suspension components designed to compensate for road surface irregularities and absorb body roll and lateral vibrations. Within the framework of the current article we will review the most successful series struts for VAZ cars, because this topic remains actual during the whole modern stage of existence of the domestic company. The criteria for the selection of nominees for the consolidated rating were numerous consumer feedbacks, as well as conclusions of in-house experts based on analytical data and conducted research.

Rating of the best manufacturers of struts for VAZ

Best inexpensive struts for VAZ

Delphi De Carbon

Rating: 4.8

The British manufacturer of automotive parts is the title supplier of parts and components to the assembly lines of General Motors Corporation, which has recently been working directly with PJSC AvtoVAZ. A key feature of Delphi, which partially accounts for the huge success in the world, is the ability to adapt to the needs and realities of a particular location, developing the relevant segment of production. In the case of domestic automobile construction the problem was the chassis, and the reaction of the British to this nuance was not long in coming.

More than a dozen prototypes of struts, from soft for driving on bumps and irregularities to hard and squeezed for control over the road and sporty stock – the Delphi range is constantly updated with new prototypes and successfully sold at retail. In particular, their front and rear struts are in the highest demand among the drivers of Priors and VAZ-2110, which was noticed not only in the expert report, but also by the feedback from the customers themselves. High quality of a British-made part stipulates a longer service life. The manufacturers themselves say about the possibility to drive up to 150-200 thousand kilometers on one set…but in domestic conditions they seldom survive even up to 100 thousand.

Advantages

• A choice of props with different stiffness characteristics;
• Are extremely popular among the owners of “Prior” and “Ten” (VAZ-2110);
• Extended drain interval (highly dependent on driving habits and driver’s care).

Disadvantages

• high cost of the set.

Krosno

Rating: 4.7

Shock absorbers Polish manufacturer, which can safely be called one of the most technologically advanced in the segment of inexpensive auto parts. The thing is that they use the principles of implementation of demountable bodies, which enable maintenance and repair of structural elements. The struts themselves are made in hydraulic and gas variations, so that consumers have a choice.

The constructive feature of the rear dampers from Crosno is the envisaged piston rod seal, which relieves the rubber-metal seal and additionally protects the unit from dirt, dust and ice chips. But despite such clever design solutions, they have huge problems with damping of high-frequency vibrations. In general these shock absorbers are positioned as parts for equipment of cars of sluggish, calm and quiet drivers, who prefer quiet and measured driving, and in this case they can go up to 50-100 thousand kilometers, requiring periodic service with disassembly. Otherwise there is a possibility of fast reaching the limit state, if you neglect the recommendations and use them often for off-road locations.

Advantages

• Low price combined with good factory quality;
• Abundance of intelligent design solutions, in particular the ability to disassemble and reassemble for maintenance and repair;
• Availability of additional sealing on the stem, removing a part of gland work
• long service life if the mode of use is observed.

disadvantages

• not adapted to off-road driving;
• poorly damped high-frequency vibrations.

SAAZ

Rating: 4.6

Another Russian manufacturer of spare parts for VAZ, which has an official contract for supply of components directly to the production line. Until recently, the strong point of the Skopino plant was the production of hydraulic struts, but the current trend has forced the company to retrain to the gas variations. Nominally, in terms of quality, they are not inferior to European counterparts, meeting the requirements of international standard ISO 9001. But in fact not everything is so rosy.

Among the merits of SAAZ struts consumers highlight good stability at speed, the lack of rocking and quick stabilization of the body when hitting an irregularity of the road. The disadvantages are dubious structural reliability, which nevertheless meets the domestic state standards. And where there are complaints on the key technical property, there is also a well-known problem with its component – durability. However, everything is not so fatal: with normal use and infrequent trips to off-road conditions the shock absorbers’ resource is more than enough for several years.

Advantages

• a very large range of hydraulic and gas dampers;
• low price for the products;
• Compliance with domestic and international quality standards;
• excellent compensation of the car sway during acceleration.

Disadvantages

• There are certain reliability issues, possibly due to counterfeiting.

Fenox

Rating: 4.5

A large supplier of oil struts for domestic cars from Belarus, the honorable place in the rating is due to the loyalty to the concern “AvtoVAZ” and support of the brand, regardless of the political differences. Fenox has always supplied spare parts to Russian assembly lines and also provided a massive “throw-away” of parts to retailers. If we talk specifically about struts, their distinctive feature is a black-red design, low price, as well as good performance characteristics that allow cars to feel a little more confident on the roads.

If we talk about the weaknesses of Fenox shock absorbers, first of all not the best of them are adapted to off-road driving. A few carelessly caught small bumps and potholes lead to oil leakage, which automatically puts the set (or one element) in need of replacement. The good thing is that everything is compensated by the low price and the above-mentioned stability, especially when cornering and high speeds.

Advantages

• very low price;
• popular with owners of Niva, VAZ-2107, VAZ-2109;
• provide increased stability of the vehicle when entering curves and high speeds.

Disadvantages

• If you often go off-road, their resource is usually no more than a year.

BelMag

Rating: 4.4

Inexpensive and moderately high quality variant of front and rear struts for VAZ cars is offered by the Russian company BelMag, which production facilities are located in. Magnitogorsk. Its way to the rating cannot be called easy and unhindered, if only because some time ago it underwent disbandment and closure, getting a second chance to exist due to the inflow of financing.

As noted by consumers, the most popular in the range of “BelMag” are oil shock absorber struts, which provide good handling and durability with adequate modes of use. They are not afraid of departures on a difficult off-road, compensating the most part of irregularities of a ground cloth with potholes and bumps. Most often they can be seen in the running gear of the ten, Nivs and twelve models, as can be seen from the report of staff experts. As a disadvantage of struts “BelMag” is their excessive softness, leading to a slight swaying of the body at speeds from 100 kilometers per hour, which require stiffer control of the steering wheel from the driver.

Advantages

• Very low price for the element;
• an excellent safety margin;
• Damping of vibrations and shocks from uneven ground surface when going off-road;
• wide range of choice.

Flawed

• Extra softness which causes body shake when driving at high speed (from 100 km/h).

The best struts for VAZ in the middle and premium segments

KONI

Rating: 4.9

One of the two recognized leaders in the market segment of spare parts, which has a desire to make the product an order of magnitude better than the one that is installed on cars straight from the factory. Supplier of strut components for the production lines of Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Ferrari and other premium brands. However, one of the subdivisions of concern took upon itself the production of dampers for the segment of car assembly line production, including the domestic VAZ.

Original KONI allows adjusting the level of stiffness to reduce the degree of wear in operation, so that their margin of safety is often enough for 200 and even 300 thousand kilometers of mileage. Another important rule: obligatory stand test to reveal the values of the operating characteristics. The greater the error shown in the test, the less the product is worth…in Germany. The domestic distributors do not care about this point, setting a uniform price for everything – and what you get, chance will decide. From the point of view of an average consumer their cost often exceeds all imaginable limits (for this group of parts), but in view of the highest quality everything looks more than fair.

Advantages

• Very high quality of the original struts;
• Obligatory control of the characteristics before releasing the product for sale;
• extremely high mileage for one set – the highest reliability and durability.

Disadvantages

• did not reveal.

BILSTEIN

Rating: 4.8

The second absolute leader in the category of premium rack manufacturers, until recently (and the location of factories in China and Spain) was considered the standard of originality and quality. There are two extremes within the Bilstein product: Sport shock absorbers in a yellow individual package and Standard in a blue one. For VAZ needs and in principle on the market, consumers most often encounter standard struts, the main feature of which is moderation and balance. They are reliable, can go up to 300 thousand kilometers without changing and provide excellent stability of the car on both asphalt and gravel roads.

The struts of “Sport” category are uncompromising, excitement and enormous reserve of service life. Rumor has it that the durability of these kits exceeds the average life of the car itself, as well as the fact that they can withstand a rally stage without special preparation. The third variant of struts from Bilstein – development of Chinese and Spanish factories – has little in common with the originals, because they do not reach up to them, neither in quality, nor in resources.

Advantages

• the highest quality of the original product;
• Two basic series of struts – Standard (life – 300 thousand miles) and Sport (“live” longer than the cars);
• strict quality control at all stages of production.

Disadvantages

• by and large, if not to count the difference in quality with samples of proprietary struts manufactured in Spain and China.

BOGE

Rating: 4.8

The third German manufacturer according to quality classification, aimed entirely at the middle consumer segment. Stands from BOGE perfectly cope with severe conditions of Russian roads, but professionals and experts value them a little more than Japanese products from Tokico and Kayaba. To tell the truth, almost all leading German manufacturers use them, putting them on Volvo, Audi, BMW, etc.d.

According to the official corporate classifier, BOGE shock absorbers are available in five series:

1. Nivomat is a development for cars that are moving under high load on the axles and chassis as a whole.

2. ro-Gas – gas double tube shock absorbers for better and more comfortable handling.

3. Turbo24 is a Heavy Duty shock absorber, designed for all-wheel drive cars and off road driving (hello, Niva).
4. Turbo-Gas – sport shock absorbers with increased stiffness to control the car at high speeds.
5. Automatic – standard gas shock absorbers, used on “peaceful” vehicles with a minimum of trips out of town.

Almost all models of struts, presented under the aegis of each series, are available for purchase, including for VAZ-group cars.

Advantages

• Middle price and rather high quality of the product;
• Five standard series for various consumer needs;
• The third strongest manufacturer in the European segment.

Disadvantages

• Customers complain of uneven distribution of reliability parameters – each single rack has its “unique” safety margin.

SACHS

Rating: 4.8

SACHS Handel GmbH is a well-known manufacturer, almost equal to the other famous German brand (we are talking about BOGE). Cultivates and preaches in every possible way the style of unification and cheapening of production, which is logically “paid” by the reduction of the service life of parts, including shock absorbers. But such approach still has some rationality, doesn’t it?. For example, the consumers do not need to spend their time looking through the catalogs for the strut numbers, trying to guess what will fit in their car – the same model can fit in both “Niva” and “Ten” cars.

If we talk about the SACHS shock absorbers series, they also have their own gradation:

1. SuperTouring – gas or oil shock absorbers of the standard type, which are comparable with the original factory models in terms of durability and quality;
2. Sporting Set – a set consisting of a spring and strut, designed for fans of fast and hard riding.
3. Advantage – advanced shock absorbers for very fastidious drivers, which improve comfort and drivability of the car on the roads.

Buyers should keep in mind thatSACHS – the most counterfeited company, therefore, in order not to get a mistaken opinion about their products, it is extremely important not to fall for counterfeit.

Advantages

• Versatility of strut models, suitable for use in different cars
• low price and high performance conditions;
• Three classes of shock absorbers designed for different use conditions.

Disadvantages

• unification and cheapening of production has led to problems with the service life;
• High level of falsification in the domestic market.

FINWHALE

Rating: 4.7

The fifth place of the rating is occupied by a nominal representative of German manufacture, now a part of concern Grunntech GmbH. KAYABA has been present in the Russian market since 1998, and as one of the oldest suppliers of spare parts it established a joint venture to equip VAZ vehicles. Mainly series, starting from VAZ-2106 and ending with VAZ-2115.

According to experts, Finwhale recently chose the same strategy of development as the more powerful competitor Sachs, and chose the path of unification of products in order to minimize production costs. And, it should be noted, so far it has a mostly positive effect – users are well received the new concept, noting the survivable nature of the improved models and the ability to use them in mixed conditions (city + offroad). In addition, the Germans have introduced a convenient system for maintenance of struts, constructing interchangeable cartridges (gas or oil type) and releasing them on the market.

Advantages

• The average market price is slightly lower than that of competitors;
• The abundance of shock absorbers for domestic cars;
• Unification of production which allowed to create the universal struts suitable for different vehicles (both in fixing and in capability);
• The ability to service the products by replacing the cartridges with the working body.

Disadvantages

• high number of fakes on the market.

KAYABA / KYB

Rating: 4.6

The young Japanese company that in just a few years has managed to become the main supplier of shock absorbers and chassis parts for the main part of the production line of Japanese, American and Chinese car brands. It’s hard to believe, but almost 80% of Japanese cars use parts designed by KAYABA, its main and older rival TOKICO is only 20%.

No wonder: this nominee of the rating is actively working on supplementing its product line, presenting more and more conceptually new developments to the world. Thus, in the road shock absorbers series alone there are three varieties:

1. Exel-G – typical oil-gas shock absorbers with a standard set of parameters.

2. remium – hydraulic struts with increased comfort and drivability parameters.

3. Gas-A-Just – reinforced gas models for mounting on rear wheels, which accept high load parameters of a car.

In turn, in the sports category there are distinguished series

SR, adjustable AGX and high-pressure MonoMax (especially for the rally-racing circuit).

Advantages

• Each of the presented series is somehow suitable for installation into VAZ cars;
• optimal combination of price and quality (originals);
• Abundance of different series in shock absorbers lineup.

Disadvantages

• huge counterfeit market – the risk of coming across a fake is very high.

TOKICO

Rating: 4.5



The main competitor of company KAYABA, shock absorbers of which are famous with quite long (about 50 thousand kilometers) service life, high rated quality and average market price. TOKICO is one of the few representatives of the auto parts market, whose production facilities are concentrated in Japan and Thailand, where, in addition to struts, parts for braking systems are produced.

It is noteworthy that only every fifth Japanese car and very rare American cars are equipped with parts of this manufacturer, all the rest are provided by KAYABA. However, for domestic consumers the mediocre popularity of struts in the homeland has only played into the hands: because of this situation, they are counterfeited much less than the competitor, and some technological solutions look very attractive. For example, small gauge valves, thanks to which the struts can adapt to the conditions of the crossed track. And it works even without highways – the main thing is not to overdo the applied loads, because nobody is insured from the leaks of the working body (gas or liquid).

Advantages

• Low, relative to the main competitor, cost;
• availability of bypass valves in the rack system, allowing adapting it to the road conditions;
• High quality and concentration of production in Japan and Thailand;
• Support of the full range of VAZ car models.

Disadvantages

• low popularity.

MONROE

Rating: 4.5



The American-Belgian brand, which until recently produced struts only for the needs of the North American market, closes the eighth best. In the current conditions Monroe is almost the largest and most popular brand on the European continent, which is the leader in the number of sold shock absorbers as spare parts.

If you believe the statistics, the average life of their products in the domestic realities is about 40 thousand kilometers. This is not bad, considering that in terms of cost, buying Monroe struts will be twice as profitable as buying BOGE or conventional Sachs. Unfortunately, at off-road trips the efficiency decreases many times, and it is good, if the struts will serve at least 20 thousand kilometers with periodical catching of potholes. In general, all statistics recedes into the background if to take into account that VAZ drivers seldom use particular series for its intended purpose. By the way, the company offers 6 such shock absorbers:

1. Reflex is a gas-hydraulic shock absorber of high sensitivity, reacting to the slightest shifting of the body. It considerably increases comfort, dampens almost all vibrations, but serves much less than others. It is a leader among the VAZ car owners.
2. Original – basic gas-filled or gas-hydraulic struts, whose characteristics are comparable to the models installed in cars on conveyor belts.
3. Sensa-Trac – gas shock absorbers, which increase the stability of cars during sharp maneuvers.
4. Adventure is a “light” version of van-magnum, designed for those who like to drive on light and medium rough terrain;
5. Ride-Leveler – stands of special series, designed for heavy-duty cars (transporting a trailer, or having a closed overall body).
6. Van-Magnum – off-road shock absorbers with a durability margin of at least 50,000 kilometers on winding and bumpy off-road trails.

Advantages

• Six complete product lines in the assortment;
• good mileage figures;
• widespread availability on the retail market and high popularity among users;
• low cost and good factory quality.

Disadvantages

• improper use of racks by consumers for their intended purpose, as a result of which a rather controversial reputation of the company was created.
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