Nonni

Ok, I have searched and read almost every thread about Bilstein, but dont find exactly what I have been looking for (I guess you never will )

I did buy bilstein Shocks for the rearend (havent installed them yet) and was wondering if Bilstein struts are worth the money (they so expensive...). I havent driven a car with Bilstein shocks/struts so it would be nice if those of you who have experiance with Bilstein stuff could edicate me.

thanks, Jon H.

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (15)

what are you trying to do? daily driver? auto-x? Hardcore street performer?

George

I saw the recent pictures of your car on NE. It looks good.

As for the Bilsteins I'd say good shocks, struts and springs etcetera are well worth it.

I have Koni Yellows because I run the car on road courses however they are a bit harsh for street use unless the roads are in good condition.

For street I would probably get Bilsteins.

91_5.7_TPI

iTrader: (2)

Good stuff. But for me, I'd rather have KONIs. Adjustable and designed for lowering springs.

George

I think Bilstein have a sport version for lowered cars as well.

Bilstein is a good compromise because the high strung performance suspension can get old real fast for many people. That said though I only drive my car when I feel like wringing it out so Koni rules IMO..lol

The car has the following which is not a lot but it goes pretty good:

1983 WS6 TA, ZZ4 Crate Motor, Demon 650 DP, 3:23 Gears, Hedmans, Hooker Cat-Back & Cut Out, Prokit, Koni Yellows, 32/21 Bars, Spohn LCAs, Brackets and SFCs, BMR Adj. Panhard, Global West Steering Brace, SLP Hawk Rims, KDW 275/40/17s, Poly Bushings, Earl's Brake Lines and some other stuff that I can't remember right now.

I find that the 32/21 bars work well with this suspension setup as more spring seems to need less bar and the stiff sidewalls on the 17s raise the effective spring rate even more. The car is very stable on long tracks with fast sweepers but it’s a little tight on short tracks. I’ve given up on short tracks anyway so it’s not a problem.

Even with the shocks at full soft the car is very harsh on the street and I spend a lot of time dodging potholes so its got to the point where I mainly just drive it on the track and I prefer my truck as a daily.

While the steering brace is just that - a brace - I did notice that the car seemed sharper at turn in and it definitely had better feedback after it was installed.

Chasing a Catfish into turn three at Mosport. At corner five I was 3 feet off his *** but he is faster on the main straight which is about 3/4 of mile long. My car tachs out at 140 mph and it is rock solid; I think that the big air dam on the 83 birds helps keep too much air from getting under the car.



Turns two and three at Mosport.


Coming down the pit straight all by myself..lol

Nonni

Well its not a daily driver anymore and I dont race it. I plan on using it on weekends, not hardcore street performer but I like a firm suspension but also cruising in "comfort".
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Its seems like your car is more of a race car than mine. My TA has ZZ383, Raptor TH700R4, UMI SFC and UMI Wonderbar. I like to have a compromise between performance and comfort.

V8Rumble

iTrader: (2)

It sounds to me as though the Bilsteins would be a better setup for you than the Konis - at least the Koni yellows. I just put a set of the yellows on my GTA, & they're definitely pretty firm...

acescarrsRS

I'm running Bilsteins on the front & rear & I love it. I too agree that the Bilsteins would be a better choice for you. Also an added note, the sport Bilsteins are only available for the rear for our cars. The front struts only come in HD ("Heavy Duty").

I run the the HD struts in the front & the sport for the rear. IMO, it's pretty smooth on the road under normal driving conditions, but tightens up nicely when you get a bit more aggressive with the driving & turning. But, that's just my opinion. Below is a pic of my goodies before they went in a while back. Hope this helps

Kandied91z

iTrader: (7)

bilsteins are wonderful... the only reason they are so expensive is demand. bilstein doesn't make alot of them and the distributors know this. currently autozone is the cheapest place to find bilstein at almost $100 less then the competition.

i recently just bought the last pair from tire rack at $500 for just the front struts i was outraged when i could have bought them from autozone for $300 but according to bilstein they will not be making them for our cars for several months and i had to have them... lucky tirerack.

also for anyone interested bilstein has recently redesigned the struts slightly and changed the part number for our cars. f4.ve3 is the new part number and as far as the struts go there is no hd/sport as they are the same. there is the option in the rear and for cars with a 2" lowering the sport is the way to go otherwise hd is just fine. i'm running hd with my air ride only because that's what i had when i changed to airbags and can't complain at all. even with all the up/down and over extension they are still working great.

acescarrsRS

Thanks Kandied, for the new part # info & for clearly up any confusion with Bilstein stuff. Btw, a little off topic, but Kandied, what new project are you working on now. I've been off the site for a few years now & only recently came back. Last car I remember from you was back in 2003...i think...when you were first experimenting with the whole airbag setup. I could be wrong....it's been a while, haha! But I do remember that you always had the most badd a@$ setups for your car.

oil pan 4

iTrader: (1)

I have the Eibach pro-kit and bilstein combo in my car now along with new swaybar links and bushings.
YearOne has the cheapest Bilstein struts I have seen for $237/ea and summitracing has the cheapest bilstein shocks for $82/ea.
I Got my bilstein set off ebay they had been installed but looked like they were all most never used, $320 for the hole shock and strut set.
I may have over paid abit on my Eibachs. I got them for $250 shipped form an ebay store that deals mostly with import stuff.
I think it was money well spent, after I toss in a rebuilt "FE2" steering gear box I will be ready to tear up some road.
This Eibach and bilstein combo is not perfectly matched form what I have been told but I have to say the work great together. The ride is a little stiff but no where near unbare able. For what it is, this combo holds the road real good.

Firebat

iTrader: (7)

Year One no longer carries the Bilstein front struts. Year one's vender for them no longer sells them to year one. They are looking for a new vender. At least thats the story I was told by Year One customer service.

krisb410

iTrader: (9)

I have Koni yellows on all 4 corners. I daily drive my car, I do not think they are to harsh at all. But I haven't drove/riden in a car with Bilsteins, so I can't compare.

J's T/A

iTrader: (2)

My bilsteins work great for hard street driving and mountain twisties.. also pretty comfy.

Though just one peice in the bushing, bar, spring, and arm suspension list!

George

I find the Yellows OK on good roads but they don't maintain the streets where I live so it's pretty bad and if I take the car out just for a drive I come home pissed off from dodging potholes or being stuck in traffic.

My car is also tightened up pretty good with tyres and suspension so it's become less enjoyable to drive on rough streets but more fun at the track - although it's nowhere near as good as real race car.

I might gut it and make it into a dedicated track car because I've come to the conclusion that you can't halfass your road car into a race car - it just ends up half assed for either application.

That said though, you can make a nice street fighter which is a lot of fun to drive however it will get canned on a road course.

krisb410

iTrader: (9)

I think my suspension is pretty "tight" too.

Edelbrock 3 Point Strut Tower Brace
Alston SFCs welded in
Wonder Bar
36mm Front Sway Bar with polyurethane end links and grease able polyurethane bushings
24mm Rear Sway Bar with polyurethane end links and grease able polyurethane bushings
Eibach Pro Kit springs
Koni Yellow shocks/struts
Koni bumpstops (fits on top of the strut shaft)
UMI on car adjustable pan hard bar, polyurethane/Rod
UMI adjustable LCAs, polyurethane/Rod
UMI bolt on LCA relocation brackets (I'll get them welded on)
UMI tunnel mount adjustable TQ arm
UMI A arms/polyurethane
UMI tie rod adjusters
Spohn Fabricated Spherical Upper Strut Mounts
Quick Ratio Steering Box
Moog Lower ball joints/tie rods/idler arm/center link
Chrome Corvette ZR1 rims, 17" x 9.5", Kuhmo ECSTA Supra, 285/40s out back, 275/40s up front

Right now, I have the rears set to full soft, fronts set 3/4 from full soft. I still say they are awesome, even for a daily driver. When I set the Koni's on harder settings, yeah they a bit much for the street. But I don't think they should be ruled out for a street driven car at all.

George

Nice setup. I'm guessing that your roads are better than ours.

I run about 3 turns on the front at the track and for street, if the roads are good then around 1/2 a turn but if they're complete schit then I back the struts right off.

The rears I've got on full soft and the car is very stable into the faster corners with that setting so I'm not going to mess with it.

32/21 bars seem to work well on my car anyway - it's neutral on the long fast tracks but a bit of understeer on the short tight tracks. I'm leaving that where it is as well because I don't run the short tracks anymore as they are too hard on the car - brakes and tyres take a beating on them and you have to throw the car around a lot more.

oil pan 4

iTrader: (1)

I have Bilsteins and the pro-kit on my Z28, but I also have sphon fabbed strut towers on now too. I cant wait to get some real tires on it. The tires on my car now are about 6 years old and are garbage.
A new rag joint would be nice too.
Yea, its not where near a real race car but fun to drive that is for sure.

With in the last few weeks I replaced all 4 shocks on my truck with bilsetein's. Got them from summit, I say they were worth it after seeing what they did for my camaro. My truck has factory springs all around, coils up front and leafs in the back. The rear springs need to be replaced.

FireTurdWS626

bilsteins are worth it, they changed my drive so much i love them, i found the lowest prices for the struts were from summit $287.95 a peice and i got my rears from autozone $89.99 a peice