[Blas]

That red bushing in the photo of the AVO below from JW313 does not appear to be standard issue. It looks like the bushing had 2 additional red inserts added to it somewhere in time. Probably due to failure (elongation) of the original bushing. The failure commonly seen on these shocks is the bushing collapsing and the steel ring surrounding the bushing making contact with the A-Arm - leading to a weld or bushing ring failure on the shock and a corner suspension collapse. AVO's shocks on early SPF chassis due date back quite a few years now. The bushings can be replaced if you are so inclined. But since you would need to remove the shocks to replace the bushings and the availability of new ot "take-off" Bilsteins, replacement units make sence. More a matter of age than of bad design anywhere. 12+ years on shocks on a performance car? NO..... 12+ years on a bottle of Scotch? OK.......