Bilstein shocks...
 

Anyone running them? And if so, SLP's, or the Bilstein HD's?

How do you like them?

I was set on the SLP's, but I've just learned that they only have like a 90 day warranty on them, vs. lifetime for the HD's.

And is it worth it to pay a bit more to get them from Strano? He seems like a dick on Tech, but there's no denying he's knowledgeable, and it seems that he's only giving specific advice to actual customers now. On the boards he just tells everyone to buy Konis.

If I don't get them from him, it looks like WS6-Store has good prices.

I'm not concerned with ultimate, race car handling, I just want something that will make the car not ride like a dump truck, and can stop the car from floating over bumps at high speed.

I've heard really good things about Sam's setups. Apparently they are similar to the HDs but custom valved to his specs which have been race tested...

IIRC he also has custom springs that are designed to match his struts in terms of spring tension as well.

While the combo was slightly more expensive than off the shelf stuff it is supposed to be much better.

Well he doesn't do the revalves anymore, apparently they were to close in cost to Konis after the labor.

IIRC what he uses is the HD 4th gen front shock, with the 3rd gen rear shock.

I'm not interested in doing springs though, the car is low enough as it is, and these Newport roads are horrible. He actually only reccomends Konis (go figure) with lowering springs.

I decided not to cheap out and got Konis, and they really do make the car feel a lot tighter and more composed. I can't speak for the Bilsteins but I don't regret getting the Konis at all.

Well I wouldn't call Bilsteins cheaping out.... I already did that with KYB GR2's, and learned my lesson.

I just cannot justify the money for the Konis. They're just completely out of my budget.

Let me ask you though, since you have them, do you find that they ride harsh? I was reading about them on Tech, and every once in a while someone wold mention that they ride on the harsh side. It was explained that the 'at the limit' handling was great, but before that point, you just feel every little bump.

wheel and tire package can also greatly change the handling/feel of your car. stiffer sidewalls and higher air pressures and it will ride like shit. i had the 16" abs wheels and nittos and the car rode like a caddy no bullshit. put the Avons on the WS6 17's and it rides like shit. its not 100% shocks/struts that will make a car ride better.

Personally I didn't notice a huge difference between 16s and 17s. But it's true that tire pressure is important. I run 30 psi front and 25 in the DRs. As to the ride harshness, they are NOT harsher than stock shocks. It's still firm, but now that the car handles bumps so much better it doesn't seem nearly as harsh, which is what I wanted. And I haven't adjusted them from the settings Sam recommended, except to firm up the rears slightly. I can still go softer in the front.

My 35 sidewalls on my wheel and tire combo probably add to my shitty ride quality, but the Eibach Prokit and SLP Bilsteins I KNOW are not helping anything. Buddy had Strano's and SLP Bilsteins and it rides better than mine. But the Strano/Koni SA combo is the way to go.

Ive got the SLP Bilstien/Eibach kit. Love it and it rides nice with no issues and they still work pretty good at the drag strip

Finally ordered a set of Bilstein HD's. I put together a 4/3 set, I got them from Autopartswarehouse.com.

With a 10% off coupon code I found online, I got them for $323....free shipping too!

I love getting good deals on stuff!!

If you were doing springs I'd say go edelbrock IAS, they are great shocks and the front coil overs are adjustable for ride height, but just shocks go with the HD's. Of course one of the best kept secrets is the WS6 shocks.....but nobody can stomach "stock" parts

Hmmm, I thought the WS6 shocks were the same as any other 4th gen shock. I thought the difference was in the springs/swaybars.

Turns out the 3rd gen rear Bilsteins were out of stock, I got an email and a phone call Saturday from the company I ordered them from. The fronts should arrive tomorrow, and I ended up ordering a set of 3rd gen Koni's for the rear. $123 each from Summit...the 4th gen rears were like 190.

Difference is on-car infinite adjustability for the 4th gens...3rd gens have 4 setting and have to be removed to be adjusted. I like hte idea of 4 settings, otherwise I'd spend WAYYYY too much time messing with them.

I plan on starting off with full soft on the rears, I think that ought to do it.

I also finally ordered a cutout.

Springs were the same, shocks and sway bars were different

How did you make out with the shocks?

I installed the Koni rears,but I haven't gotten around to installing the Bils up front yet.

The Koni's are a mixed bag...

The rear seems more planted in corners with rough pavement, there's one offramp in particaular where I notice it, and the floating feeling is gone. It seems to take bigger hits better, it doesn't feel like it's bottoming out anymore.

However, even at full soft, they still seem to ride very harsh. While it doesn't seem to bottom, it still crashes over bumps and is pretty jarring.

I guess I need to just accept that these cars will always ride like skateboards.

Looks like I need to buy a Caddy lol.

adjustable bilstein on dial 6 on rear and 4 in front 18 inch bmw m3 rims wrapped in toyo 245/40/18 luv the feel rides so smooth

Ride quality is always a subjective thing. They are really good, but not everyone is going to like them. How bad are the roads you are driving on? I noticed some roads in Fall River were horrible.. make the setup feel way worse compared to typical bumpy roads.

Maybe there's other mods you could do to help? What do you currently have for suspension? What size wheels do you ride on? What kind of tires?

I have the slp eibach/bilsteins but mine aren't the level 2 setup. I have the ultra set which became available in 2001-02. The springs are a brite blue Color as the level 2s are very dark blue almost black and the shocks are valved different as well. People complained that the level 2 was harsh so slp changed the setup. Easiest way to tell if a firehawk or slp ss has it is if the car has the slp 35mm front sway bar. My car rides and handles perfect with that combo. I had koni sa and they were a pita...also my dads ss has the level 2 setup and its like driving two different cars.