m21sniper

How long does it take new bilstien shocks to fully 'settle'?

I just installed them the other day, and after about 20 miles of driving the car is still much higher than before the change(about an 1", and an inch too high for my tastes, lol). I set the adjusters exactly where they were on the old shocks, but it's still a good 1" higher than it was with the old bilstiens.

I'm thinking maybe they just take a while to fully settle? I still have some downward adjustment available(about 1/2" front, well over 1" rear), but i don't want to monkey with the adjusters if the car is still going to settle further.

Opinions/help?

Thanx.

doug928

snipe,

It took about a month after I installed my set that I noticed a drop of about 1/2" but my shark is not a daily driver. HTH.

m21sniper

Thanx doug, that does help.

I think i'll drop the car 1/2" front and rear tommorow and hope the other 1/2" comes due to settling over time.

I cannot believe the difference in handling, even with the car sitting fully an inch higher. It's amazing.

SharkSkin

Slam on the brakes hard from ~30-40mph a couple of times. I'm talking panic stop, limit of traction. That should get the suspension 95% settled.

Jim M.

There is a reference in the manuals that if you're changing shocks from standard to the gas pressurized the ride heigth will be higher. I think all of the Bilsteins are gas charged. What shocks did you take off?

Jim Mayzurk
93 GTS 5-Spd

m21sniper

My shark had factory bilstiens in the front(they had 928.xxx.xxx.xx part numbers), and boge in the rear.

I replaced them all the way around with Bilstiens.

With the adjusters set in the exact same place as the shocks that came off, das shark now sits about a full 1" higher.

I did do some hard braking, but no panic stops. I need new pads, so i'll wait till i get them in before i do that, lol. Expect my call on monday Mr. Roberts.

Daniel Dudley

New gas shocks would lift the car higher than old tired shocks even after they settle. I hear this will affect your alignment.

m21sniper

Alignment seems to be totally unaffected thus far.

Ketchmi

An increase in ride height will cause the tires to toe in. You may not notice much difference in handling but it will chew up your tires. (unless you were toe-out to start with, like most 928's are mistakenly aligned.)

m21sniper

My treadwear was perfect and uniform before the change.

More motivation to lower the car back to where it was. Even beyond that i just think it looks too high, so i'm gonna adjust it down about 1/2" inch for now, and see if it settles more over time(the suspension is extremely stiff now).
If it doesn't settle where i want it after about 500 miles i'll drop it down another 1/2".

Thanx for the input guys.