Viken

For the record, I ran factory M030 dampers with ROW M030 springs for several years. My car was lowered about 1” ± 1/8” and handled beautifully both on the street and occasional track driving. One area in which this setup was rather poor is the life span of the shock absorbers. After about 20,000 miles, they showed signs of wear and got progressively worse. The ride deteriorated from firm to harsh and the car wallowed badly affecting grip at higher speeds. Today, I had the shocks replaced with a set of Bilstein HD’s and kept my ROW M030 springs. These shocks are replacement units, which are designed to work with the factory as well as aftermarket lowering springs. My goal was to achieve the same exact ride height as before while running higher quality dampers.

Front shocks: To my surprise, Bilstein provides a few less threads on these and the lowest thread is approximately ¼” higher than the factory’s. Luckily, at the lowest setting, my car sat exactly where it was before the change. However, those desiring a lower ride height would have to go with shorter springs or a true coil-over system. Obviously, there is no problem fitting standard height springs (US or ROW) with these shocks.



Rear shocks: Thank God Bilstein provided threads on these. In fact, there are more than twice the threads on the rears as are on the fronts. There was no problem keeping my previous ride height and there is room for approximately another ½” of lowering. With these shocks, provided are height-adjustable stabilizer collars to accommodate adjustable anti-roll bars. If fixed bars are used, Bilstein provides slightly smaller drop links for those.



On the road: It’s a bit too soon to tell but gone is the harsh ride of the worn shocks. The Bilstein’s are firm but don’t appear to be firmer than the factory M030’s. I was hoping for a little bit more damping but at least the car doesn’t feel under-damped. Perhaps, these are appropriate quality replacements rather than performance improving shocks? Hopefully, more seat time will tell if there are actual improvements. Stay tuned!

Terry Adams

Mine and Michael's are on the way, and mine are due to be installed Tuesday May 28th. I just put 1K miles on the last 3 days, Yosemite, Owens Valley etc. I'll write up the comparison early June with the new set up.

Dave I

Terry-
Where are you having the installation done? I'm hoping to get the same set-up sometime in June, and don't yet know of a reputable shop to do the install.

Terry Adams

Custom Alignment Mt View. Ask for Joe Silva. A number of us have been quite pleased with his work.

Terry Adams

I did not mean to imply that only Joe can do the work. Joe's custodian probably knows more about suspensions than I do. I can tell from talking to Joe after completion that Joe stays closely involved with each job. I only talk to Joe for the quote and the appointment, then I stay out of it.

Suwipin

Kim,

Joe doesn't actually work on cars but as Terry mentioned Joe stays closely involved with the work.

esb97targa

Viken,
I presently have the stock shocks with Eibach springs/lowering kit (PO set the car up like this). I am about to change over to the HD Bilsteins, but, I am concerned about the height of the springs matching up with the threads on the Bisteins. Will I have a problem?
TIA,
Evan

Viken

Evan,

There should be no problem installing the Eibach springs with the Bilstein shocks.

Mdrury

Terry,

I don't recall us concluding with Joe what ride height and alignment specs to use. Anyone have any insights? Mine will be done on 28th also.

tmobley

Viken - Who did the work in LA? I was quoted $1,000 from Andial and $1,000 to $1,200 from the dealer (which includes alignment, but Andial stated that the car would need to be "corner balancing or aligned" - which the dealer did not mention). Does this sound right to you?

Viken

Michael,

The ride height of the car will largely depend on the springs used. I am using the ROW M030 springs and the front of my car is approximately 1-1/8" lower than the standard US height.

As to alignment, I have gone to RS specs. Those work great for aggressive driving. If you have any inner tire tread wear concerns, I suggest slightly less aggressive camber settings.

Mdrury

Viken,
Thanks. Terry and I will both get the std. ROW030 springs. RS alignment specs may be more than either of us need, but I've got the extra give of taller tires on 17" rims which Terry doesn't. It's almost safe to hold my breath now..... ( Can't wait )

Terry Adams

I remember a couple of months ago before I ordered this that Joe told me it would lower the car 3/4 to 1 inch. Sounds just right. I don't want RS or too aggressive alignment specs, because it seems the low profile tires get excessive inside tread wear with more negative camber. If I can find them, I'll post the before and after alignment specs after the installation.

Viken

Terry and Michael,

Previously, I ran -30' in front and -1°20' at rear with 0 uneven wear. This setup worked very well for me but the slight bit of understeer was not to my liking. So, I went with -1° and -1°30' this time and I expect this to work better.

Viken

[quote]Originally posted by tmobley:
<strong>...but Andial stated that the car would need to be "corner balancing or aligned" - which the dealer did not mention). Does this sound right to you?</strong><hr></blockquote>

Yes, alignment and corner balancing are required. Your dealer might skip the corner balancing but I'm pretty sure they'll perform an alignment.