Cofap Shocks

[56 manx]

In the three decades I've worked on VW's I've never heard of this brand before. When I ordered the rear shocks for my buggy through the local VW shop, (not dealership) his supplier said they would be Sachs, but when they came in today they were Cofap. Several years ago when I bought my front shocks through them (and the same supplier as now) they were sachs. It was too late to get a hold of the supplier tonight when I picked up the shocks so I thought I'd find out a few things from the forum while I waited until Monday to contact their supplier.

The quality of these shocks don't exactly feel that good and when I pulled them apart and pushed them together and they felt cheap. When pushing back together they made a metal on metal clunk type of noise, and felt like they had play in them.

The thought crosses my mind that the supplier no longer actually carries Sachs and the suppliers employee may or may not have known it when talking to the local VW shop and sent the Cofap's.

Anyway, has anyone on here ever used Cofap's before,and if so how have they held up? What does everyone think about them in general, kind of quality and design and so on.

I like Sachs but if these are supposed to be about the same as or as good as Sachs then maybe I'll give them a try.

[slalombuggy]

I had Cofaps years ago. In my stock Beetle they seemed alright and held up good till I sold it. Don't know what he quality is like now though.

brad
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[lostinbaja]

I have been using Cofap shocks on my projects for years, never had any issues with them.
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[didget69]

x2 on the Cofap shocks; no issues with ones I've used.

Name brand reminds me of the Cofap pistons I used to use in engine builds in the Eighties... no issues with those, either -

bryan
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[Ian]

Cofap is current OEM
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Love and Good Roads!!
SCANLESS

[56 manx]

Okay guys, thanks for the replies. Somehow I've never heard of them until now, and after doing a Google search I'm seeing them here and there but in far fewer stores then other OEM's brands like the Sachs, Bilstein, Koni and KYB and so on..

I'm asking around and I'm not hearing anything bad, even so they still feel kind of weak the way they push back together after pulling them apart. As I said earlier They also feel like they have about an half an inch of play in them at one point before they start to push back down.

I have Sachs on the front of my buggy and all the way around on my other three VW's and they feel more quality and stronger built then the Cofap's but I'll give them a try. I might as well as I already have them and I want my buggy to be ready for Mid America Motorworks Funfest and I have quite a bit of other things to do to it as well.

Who knows being easy to push together they might be better for a light fiberglass buggy and make it ride softer than the Sachs shocks. Also the first Google hit (in English anyways) that I seen this morning says that shocks for the '68 VW Beetle is one of the best selling shocks for Cofap. It still doesn't mean they're as good as other OEM shocks though.

The VW mechanic has heard of these before but hasn't use them for many years, and as we all know most mechanics use whichever brands their supplier sends them,which in many cases is what the suppler gets cheaper and will make the most money on.

[LeeVW]

I seem to remember that the steering dampeners I have bought through the years have all said Cofap on the packaging. I've used them to replace what appears to be the original ones that were installed at the factory, and I've never had one go bad so maybe the brand is ok.

One of the best investments I made on my buggy was a set of Fox shocks. They were mondo expensive, but once I got them setup correctly they have been perfect. I can drive the roughest dirt roads all day long and there's never any hint of fade. If anything does wear out, the parts can be replaced so it isn't necessary to buy new shocks ever. Food for thought for those who spend a lot of time in the dirt.

[monomanx]

To Lees point, the steering dampers I have used were COFAP...although I never had an issue with them failing, the welding of the mounting loop (with the bushing in it) and the washer where the limiter mounted to the tie rod end was a little chintzy.

Knock on wood, I have not had one fail yet.

Report back about how they work for you. Soft dampers would be great for a buggy.

[56 manx]

LeeVW and monomanx, thanks for the replies. I find to get the best info is to review fellow buggy enthusiasts like myself, the reviews are more accurate than the info you get in the store ads every time.

I'm just not seeing Cofap shocks in most of the stores I look at and although I'm hearing both good and so-so about them on forums they might actually be okay. I'll be on the street 95% of the time and off road the other 5% and I'm never hard on my buggy even off road, so if they're good they should last for quite a while or at least long enough for me to get my $49.00 worth out of them. If not I'll go back to my Sachs and staying with them as I have very good luck with them in the past on all of my VW's.

I plan on putting very many miles on the buggy this year compared to the following years as my girlfriend will be driving my G60 Corrado this summer I'm not going to have much of a choice.

As I said in my last post since I started the thread I've read that the Cofap shocks for the '68n Beetle is supposed to be one of the best selling shock for them, all the same I'm not finding them in most stores that carry parts for Beetles, Buggies and cage Buggies, go figure. Maybe Cofap makes their money selling more of other products rather than the shocks.

Bottom line, they feel somewhat cheap and makes noises while pushing back together besides having play in them, but as I said before they may work fairly good as they are somewhat soft already, I'll let everyone know how they hold out or don't hold out.

Thanks again for everyone's replies.