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Bilstein HD review


bosco

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Thanks, I was hoping they were for the rear. Is there a way to get the rear slightly higher if you wanted to? I like the raked look.

 

 

You can double the rear upper spring rubber.

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For those of you looking for the biggest improvement in handling and ride without breaking the piggy bank (this set up will still run you around +$1000.00), this combo, pinks and HD's, is several notches above the stock suspension. NOTE that your personal preferences maybe different from mine.

 

Please keep in mind that I will only be talking about a daily-driven car with 20mm RSB, stock wheels and 225-45-17 ContiExtreme. Front camber is set at -1.0 and the rest is factory setting.

 

IMO the biggest improvement in "handling" is the 20mm rear sway bar only, front sway bar is still stock.

 

Replacement of stock springs with PINKS(with stock struts) added even more improvement to the "handling" but "ride" suffered a little bit, except of course, on good street surfaces. I bottomed out several times on bumps on the road. I had this setup with stock wheels and tires for about 5000 miles and I think this is an acceptable combo with a firm ride.....which is my personal choice.

 

Lastly, with PINKS and HD's, this setup will not disappoint you. On a daily-driven car, and with the above mods only, this is the biggest improvement over the stock suspension. Handling is great. Ride is firm(again my preference) but you can fool around with tire pressure. I have not bottomed out in a week over the same road to work. With the ContiExtreme's, I settled with the tire pressure of 39 psi front and 37 psi rear to make the ride a little bit more compliant.

 

I will have to wait a little longer regarding the "durability" of these Bilstein HD's. Good luck finding them.:)

"Remember..."MODDING is a HOBBY:icon_bigg, not a BAAAD HABIT";) .
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it either grows on you or it actually gets a little more compliant i don't know which what i do know is the handling is vastly improved and for me that trade -off was worth it. the problem for me is i have nothing to compare it to other than a Z06 Vette which is tighter still. bosco

 

Bosco, do me a favor, go drive an RX-8, and compare directly to that car? I am ready to pull the trigger and if the ride is nearly as composed as the RX-8 on rough roads then I am going to go for it.

 

Our concern is that the new suspension will be so stiff that we wont be happy with it, but if it isn't more stiff than the RX-8, it'll be great. Anything is better than stock, though :)

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Bosco, do me a favor, go drive an RX-8, and compare directly to that car? I am ready to pull the trigger and if the ride is nearly as composed as the RX-8 on rough roads then I am going to go for it.

 

Our concern is that the new suspension will be so stiff that we wont be happy with it, but if it isn't more stiff than the RX-8, it'll be great. Anything is better than stock, though :)

 

Great idea. Bosco, after you are done with the RX-8 please drive a Mini, a Ford GT and a SL65 - I need smooth roads, train crossings and a 6% grade (up and down). I'd like a written report with pictures. If you could have that done by today that would be good.

 

:lol:

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Maybe that Bosco has already done a service by making this thread with part #'s, prices and distributors as well as helping to answer technical questions.

 

Asking him to go out and test drive other cars and report back... well, I took it as you were joking but I could see how others would think you were being presumptuous.

 

I want to know too though... bilsteins & pinks is the forerunner on my plans for suspension modifications...

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Maybe that Bosco has already done a service by making this thread with part #'s, prices and distributors as well as helping to answer technical questions.

 

Asking him to go out and test drive other cars and report back... well, I took it as you were joking but I could see how others would think you were being presumptuous.

 

I want to know too though... bilsteins & pinks is the forerunner on my plans for suspension modifications...

 

Yes, at least you got it.

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installed mine over the weekend. i can't imagine anyone thinking this setup is harsh. the ride is more firm, you pick up a little more road noise and vibrations, and you feel the bumps a little more. but these things are pretty subtle if you ask me. maybe it's because i have the fairly soft sidewalled eagle F1s in a 225/45/17 which is more sidewall than most people have.
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please do not forget that ride quality is also a function of tire pressure, aspect ratio, and brand/model.

 

+1

 

my "ride quality" improved 10-15% just by going from RE92's to RE960s. (oem struts/ion springs)

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Great idea. Bosco, after you are done with the RX-8 please drive a Mini, a Ford GT and a SL65 - I need smooth roads, train crossings and a 6% grade (up and down). I'd like a written report with pictures. If you could have that done by today that would be good.

 

:lol:

He is retired :hide:

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Think I am going to go this route...picked up a set of pinks.

Anybody know of any place that has them in stock or is everyone out of them?

Or am I going to have wait until June?

 

Swifts are only about 10% higher spring rate compared to pinks for a similar feel. Plus will drop the front a tad more then pinks and save you $100.

 

Looky what I got today...Swifts...$265 shipped.

SwiftSprings.thumb.jpg.789fc9f8bea483c435bb57226380b610.jpg

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