Bill Ball

These are the poilshed (silver) Bilsteins. Maybe they are plated, but they look more like polished aluminum.

I like the stiffness. My car would oscillate like a yo-yo before. It feels real solid now.

Bill Ball

Doc:

Thanks for the comments. About the swaybar - I am back to stock. If the handling proves neutral enough, I'll stay there.

Tim:

I am sure glad I finally got around to swapping the stock springs back on with the Bilsteins. You won't believe how stable the rear is now. Remember how easy it was to rock the car side to side, gripping the hatch opening? That is GONE!

svp928

Hmm, I feel the same way about mine- I didn't understand why your car felt bouncy with the Bilsteins before- Must be a difference in the springs?
Ant way, glad to hear you are finally getting to setup that you like!

Steve

Bill Ball

I love the Bilsteins and stock springs! Finished installing the fronts on Saturday. Drove around some bumpy areas and adjusted ride height on Sunday. Drove to work today - the usual 40 miles. It was remarkable. I was cruising over bumps and potholes that would previously throw the suspension around. After a while I noticed I was not paying any attention to the suspension anymore. Previously, I'd have to switch lanes at points or tolerate some unnerving wallows over some road irregularities. With the stock springs, the Bilsteins are about as stiff as I have ever felt a car when doing the bumper push test. You'd expect some harsheness on the road, but it's just pure, joyful controlled movement. I highly recommend the Bilsteins with stock springs.

anonymousagain

does that mean you're up for a twisty ride home?

BC

There are alot of people, however, that have never had a problem with Konis. So whats the final determination on what the hell was the problem with the konis? They move around alot more? What about Konis and Hypercoils (600/400) - that should control the car very tightly.

I need to decide what to put on my car. I have Konis, Bilsteins, Eibach springs, and Hypercoils.

johnf95111

Hey Bill,

It's good to see this thread headed to the archives with lots of good information. Great news on the new feel. It will be interesting to see how your car will handle the highspeed test during the next open road event.

Speaking of open road, did you ever get all that rabbit off?

Cheers,

SharkSkin

Glad to hear that you found your way to the end of this saga, with your sanity mostly intact and your shark handling like it should!

Bill Ball

My only thought is that something must be amiss lately with Konis quality control. The first set was weak initially and got much weaker over time. The replacement set they sent me was better, but still under damped for our springs. You can do what I did - install them and see what you think. The difference between all these setups was downright obvious on my car. The Konis were soft based on bumper push and soft based on driving. Cadillac ride. With the rebound damping cranked up they were sloppy on compression and harsh. The Boge Reds were about as soft on the bumper push as the Konis, but better damped on the road. The Bilsteins/Eibachs were strangely annoying (jiggly, nervous) with poor bump control, perhaps due to some mistake in assembly (the springs are shorter and the rears did not require a spring compressor - weird). The Bilsteins with my stock springs (I do not have sport springs after all) seems to be just about perfect - WAY firm on the bumper push, but civilized and controlled on the road. I think for everything but the track, where you might want everything dialed up even firmer, the Bilsteins or Boge Reds will work well. Good for daily driving, good for twisties and good for high speed stability and control for open road racing - that's what I need. I have no experience with Hypercoils, but I know they have a good reputation, as do the Eibachs. At this point I can't explain my adverse experience with the Eibachs, although a few others have had similar experience. Making sure the ride height is up, which preloads the springs, seemed to be important. My handling improved, and, of course, I had fewer front spoiler hits in turns, as I got the ride height close to stock. But even at 160 front and rear (still below stock, but higher than most people run), these springs had strange street manners. No such anomalies with the same Bilsteins paired with stock springs.

AO

Hey Bill,
Gald to hear things are looking up for you. I skimmed through the 240+ posts and didn't see if you replaced your bushings or not... so, did you?

Nicole

I had a chance to ride with Bill this weekend and get a first hand feel of his new suspension combo. I was very pleasantly surprised about how the ride was both firm and comfortable. This feels like an awesome combination for our cars!

AO

Enough about Bill, how was the car?


(Sorry couln't resist... )

Bill Ball

I bought all the bushings, and have them ready to install with my new 20-ton press. However, the old ones look fine. There really isn't any clear indication they are bad, but when my car was wallowing around after a second set of shocks, I bought them thinking that had to be it. I want to change out the steering rack first. If that and an alignment fixes the sensation of wandering and tramlining, then I'll just save the bushings for later, as I don't think they are contributing anymore. The wandering and tramlining seems better after the final shock change. I might have changed the front alignment for the better with the lower A-arm removal and reinstallation required when changing the front shocks this last time.

Bill Ball

Nicole