Bill Ball

In my car the Bilsteins with stock springs are not harsh at all. They ride almost exactly like Boge Reds.

Andre Hedrick

Sorry not that smart about this subject, sigh. However, the Incredible Mr Bill Ball will know this answer! CUE, Mr Bill!

OH NO, Mr BILLLLLLL

FlyingDog

Not sport springs, but something to give you a rough idea.

Bill Ball

AFAIK, there are no "sport springs" other than the Club Sport front springs. I don't know the rates. Those look like some tired 79 springs Carl reports on. I think I may have some spare stock springs out in the garage I can test. I'll check in the am.

ColinB

OH NO, Mr BILLLLLLL[/QUOTE]

??? Andre, did you used to be a skydiver by any chance?

Back to topic. I have the red Boges, standard on the 89GT. The rears were weeping and I had them reconditioned about 6 years ago but they are not really designed to be serviceable and have never felt 100%. I thought new red Boges were NLA. Could it be that the ones being offered by Porsche which Bill refers to have been reconditioned? If not, what do they cost?

Colin. 89GT

mark kibort

thats some interesting info.

So, i wonder what the ebachs are with one coil missing?

no wonder scots car feels like my car. those springs with a cut coil make them right around 475 rear and 750 front!
mk

jon928se

FWIW

I've had Stock CS front and S4 rear springs on the SE (What it came with) with Bilsteins for the last 40k miles - Can't fault them

I'm in the process of putting new Bilstiens onto the SE with new Eibachs - we'll see how it turns out. The old Bilstiens and CS Springs are going onto the GT, which previously had standard S4 springs and Boge GREY - I thought Boge gas shocks were Red (The original Boges on the SE were red - maybe they were in 1988 ) turns out the GT has Grey Boge Gas filled shocks (it says so on the side of the shock)

Mrmerlin

I put a new set of bilstiens on my car with the stock springs , got the ride height settled and i really like the ride, at speed the car feels planted and it doesnt seem to get upset when fast driving in turns with slight road deveations. On slow driving the ride is controlled but not harsh.
I put a set of Boges/stock springs on a car i was working on and the ride seemed a lot more floaty than connected. Just my 2 cents

shmark

I had the stock setup on my old 83 and it was tight and comfortable on the freeway, in a cruising GT sort of way. I enjoyed driving it, but it was definitely more relaxed. I've got the Bilstein/Eibach setup on this car and while it is a little harsher, it is much more controlled and planted. 100mph is a relaxed walk, don't need to touch the wheel much. And the Eibachs do lower it a little, maybe an inch or so.

As a comparison, it's roughly equivalent in ride quality with my JCW Mini on run-flats, but the Mini is much more "nervous" with its lightning reflexes. The 928 is more calm and composed.

fabric

Does anyone know what the difference is between how the black and red boges are made? Is it the exact same shock with different valving (or whatever, I don't really know that much about shocks), or are they fairly different? I'm guessing they are pretty much the same shock with minor changes.

Ispeed

I have had:
New Boge with stock springs: good ride, but was "floaty" at higher speeds. Not terrible, but not feeling like a sports car.

New Bilstein/stock springs: great feel, big improvement over Boge. Not floaty. Many people would love this set up.

New Bilstein/Eibach: slightly harsh on fast bumps, I thought they were good...but started to notice floatiness because of progressive first part of springs. First 1-1.5" of travel too floaty, and turning into a corner the car begins body roll because of this.

Bilstein/Hypercoil 600/400 straight rate springs: small float is gone, very stiff and communicative, almost no body roll, not harsher than old B/E set up. Still streetable in my opinion. Love this set up. This is what the Eibach springs should have been, and not progressive.
My .02..............

ROG100

OK Maybe I am missing something here.

I drive very very fast when I need to and my setup was perfect in high speed turns - 120mph plus.
No roll - super smooth - no harshess. Car goes round a corner like it is on rails.
We are talking street use here are we not?

My setup cost less than $725. Some of the set ups you guys are talking about cost way more than that.
I am very willing to learn - so tell me what I would gain by changing the setup in relation to the extra dollars I spend?

The most experianced driver I know is Jim M and he has Eibach/Bilsteins IIRC and I do not see any difference in cornering ability his car v mine. His is more harsh of a ride which I do not want.

My car will corner much faster than the drivers B**ls will allow.

So please tell me % improvement v extra $ spent? This is for everyday street use only. No track- no drag strips or high speed road racing. I need a smooth ride in keeping with the GT design.

ROG100

Colin,
Boge Reds are $1086 for the set of 4.
Best,
Roger

ROG100

Bill,
You know I have the highest regard for your opinion but your statement "that the Bilsteins and stock springs ride like the Boge reds" is exactly my point.
Boge Reds are a harsh ride compared to the stock setup on most cars.
What am I going to gain for street use by going with Bilsteins or Boge Reds?
Will I loose any ride quality? Will it enhance my cornering ability by X speed?
Thanks for the input.
Roger

the flyin' scotsman

Interesting discussion Roger.

Bill uses stock springs (soft) and Bilstein shocks (strong) where you use Eibach springs (strong) and stock Boges (soft)..........curious if the combos are similar?

My present combo is too harsh for the street IMHO (Bilstein & Eibach) so my next project this winter after the intake R&R is to refit the stock springs.