575 Shocks

Darius- Waste of money on a 575. Those Sachs shocks last a long time. If they are not leaking, I would not touch them. Your FHP has the same shocks as a standard 575M. If you wanted to replace them with HGTC shocks, that also entails buying all new mounting hardware since it is different from the early 575Ms.

 

I had leaking shocks and went to the HGTC upgrade route. Had to add new HW as Taz said. Parts are documented on my Mods thread.

The shocks are not cheap. I would keep what you have unless really need them.

 

Thanks Taz
I was wondering myself with my 2003 with 32 k on it
Drive on

 

Our Sachs shocks are very tough. Unlike the 550's Bilstein shocks, the actuators for the adaptive part are internal and the actuators were not made by a venetian blind company. You get the occasional one that leaks, but those are rare. 599s, though...

 

Good to know
I always thought Bilstein was a better product much like Koni

 

Some Bilsteins are, some are not. I doubt Bilstein and Ferrari were thinking about these shocks lasting 18- 26 years (earliest 456s through latest 550s). Most shocks are disposable replacement items, but not when they cost as much as Ferrari parts do and some parts become NLA. So we fix them. Ferrari spent a ton on warranty work on the Bilsteins according to one of our pros, so they were not going to use them on the 360 or 575M.

 

When I had my shop I worked mostly on Mercedes The Bilstein's used by Mercedes typically lasted over 100,000 miles.

Maybe they changed in quality, I worked mostly on 70's and 80's cars.

I did change the OEM Ford shocks on my 2000 Excursion to Bilsteins as soon as I got it, a very popular mod, and they're still good after 75,000 miles.

 

According to Bilstein, the shocks leak because of the actuator rod and its seals which are not their design or parts.

 

Is there a difference between the shocks & suspension on an early 2003 575 & a 2004 575
Both stock ?

 

There were minor changes during production for early 575Ms, outlined in the document below. The later (around SN 13518X, AN 52556) added a steering position sensor like that fitted to the 456s and 550. This fed lead into turn information to the Shock ECU to stiffen the outside shock absorbers. There were no changes to the shocks for that mod and the shocks were not changed until much later, with the HGTC and late 575Ms changing shocks and mounting hardware. Also shown in the document below.

 

I have a 2003 and upgraded to the HGTC shocks and springs from 2005. The difference is super subtle, I suspect the springs are more noticeable. I’ve also upgraded my ECU which is now super hard to find.

Given current cost vs seat of pants feeling, probably not worth the upgrade but it is an improvement.