cedric85745

iTrader: (2)

Just installed them this week end

My car is a 02 TA , m6 with 42000 miles
After reading on ls1tech I decided to get the Bilstein HD
price was good, 330
and since I wanted to stay non-lowered, it made sense

Let me first start telling you that I live in Tucson AZ and our roads in town are bad: pot holes everywhere, road un-leveled ,etc...

I had good alignment and tires balanced on my car and the stocks decarbons were doing a decent job as far as confort but my car felt like a boat or a mini ford expedition while taking turns

the ride now with the new shocks is a litle bit more harsh not as confortable
it make more noise when swallowing pot holes

nothing terrible, and remember that I m talking on really bad roads

Now, the positive things,

1. the car doesnt handle like a boat anymore
2. stock height didnt change as far as I can tell
3. the car just feels more solid during hard launch

I never felt like pushing my car high in the rpms while cornering before, now I have a more precise strong car and feel confident to push it

I actually cant wait to go to climbing mountain hills, I m goign tonight and I ll probably have more to say about the performance I got from these shocks

I was wondering if the shocks are goign to soften up a bit on bad roads and pot holes once the break in , once I give put 500 miles ont them

Like I said I ll come back for a second post after a 1 hour hill climbing

I know most of you already expericenced this stuff, but I m sure there is newbies around and I hope my .02 will give an idea on the product

Good day to you guys !

C.

FSUNole17

iTrader: (18)

hey, you are doing exactly what i want to do, shocks but stay stock height. let me know how they go for ya!

Krab

iTrader: (28)

Good to hear you felt a difference going with the Bilstein HD's. I should be getting mine on Thursday and will be installing them that same day on my stock springs. Be sure to let us know your review on the hill climbing.

So, you feel the ride a little harsher compared to the stock Decarbons? Are there any negative effects of swapping to the Bilsteins?

GreekGator

Does anyone have any experience with both the HD's and the Revalves? I plan on keeping stock height and was wondering if getting the revalves would be way more noticeable or will the HD's be fine.

Krab

iTrader: (28)

GreekGator, I believe the revalved Bilsteins are for different spring rates. Sort of like getting an adjustable shock, but you have to choose a single setting that best fits your spring rate and you can't change it. From what I've read here on the board, the Bilstein HD's will work well for us guys that don't plan on lowering our cars.

GreekGator

what do you mean diff spring rates? like diff rates for the front and rear? From what i know, the revalves are built to suit whatever springs you have.

Krab

iTrader: (28)

You're right, they're revalved to best match whatever spring you have. By different spring rates, I mean like lowering springs.

GreekGator

so your saying they cant be used with stock springs, or is kind of pointless?

Krab

iTrader: (28)

I'm pretty sure the revalves could be used with the stock springs, but it would be more expensive than the Bilstein HD's which I hear work very well with stock springs. You'd be spending money extra cash on the revalves (if they even offer revalves for stock springs) when you could get the HD's and be just as effective. In other words, HD's for stock springs, and revalves for aftermarket springs.

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

Well, I've had Bilstein HD's on my car for a couple of weeks now and here are my impressions ... first, the main reason I got them was that Wichita, like Tuscon, has a lot of terrible roads and I was tired of the impact harshness crashing into potholes, joints, ridges, etc., which got worse after installing SFC's. My impression was that there was some improvement - maybe 25%, but was the result dramatic? No. I think these ride a little better - less jarring in the bumps - and they handle better, but was it worth the $350 shipped and the $100 I gave a friend for his help and the use of his shop? The jury is still out on this one ...

May Spin

Revalving HD's isn't only for lowered cars with higher spring rates. Adding more rebound and compression to HD's will give noticeable differences... Slower roll rates and brake dive will improve with revalving. How much rebound / compression is the secret. Sam Strano does this for many board members and many have stock springs.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

EXACTLY!

HD's are fine for stock springs, that doesn't mean that you have to settle for just that damping. May Spin actually did quite a good job explaining what you can get from Revalves. Just like many folks with stock springs and Koni's find they run a setting higher than full soft, you can make use of more damping from Revalves as well.... if it suits your needs. I can't really tell you if they do or not unless we speak about it personally. And even then I'll ask a lot of questions to try and, well... translate what you want into what shocks you want to run.

FSUNole17

iTrader: (18)

COMPLETE newb question, but what do you mean when you say revalve the shock?

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Change the way the shock is valved... In other words alter the damping forces and/or the shape of the damping curves to offer different performance and/or ride characteristics.

FSUNole17

iTrader: (18)

Sam, can you do this when a purchase is made?

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Sure can, and that's the way I prefer to do it. But you can certainly feel free to call if you have any questions.

GMmexican

iTrader: (7)

hey sam what do you think about QA1 stocker stars? on car that will be mostly street driven/raced?

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

I think they are very poor, low-tech, overpriced dampers. Chintzy adjuster, no gas-charge to keep the oil from cavitating, and valving more meant for drag racing, which frankly equates to weak shocks. You want some loosy-goosy damper for weight transfer, but weight transfer and soft damping is NOT what you want for every other aspect of what the car does (street, handling and ride uses).

Also, a shock that is very soft makes for a hell of a ride on the top end of the track as well. And if the car doesn't have good bite in order to maximize transfer then you don't really help with soft shocks anyway.

I'm not a big drag racer myself. I know what to do for a drag car to hook. However, when most folks weigh what needs to be done vs. what happens for road manners, the road manners often (and IMHO should) win out. After all, you drive the car much more everywhere else but the drag strip, and "drag" setups are frankly a bit dangerous on the street. So, what we do is concentrate on things shocks that don't hurt the launch, while working wtih parts that can help but not make for a hairy ride all the other times.

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

Bringing this one back to say that after breaking them in for a few more weeks, the ride has become really nice - firm but supple, and much more comfortable. They have really made up for the extra harshness brought on by the SFC's and the increased rebound damping really makes them a joy over dips and uneven pavement. If you're going to keep your stock springs and want a better ride, better handling at a reasonable price, Bilstein HD's work great! Well worth it.

B.W.

iTrader: (3)

Sam if you think QA1 setups with stock springs are pretty poor, what in your opinion is a decent/good setup shock/spring wise for a daily driver (smoothe ride, decent or better handling)