Bilstein Shocks

Jimmys66 · Jun 5, 2007

Anyone using them? I kinda kick myself in the ars. I bought the IAS' last year. I didn't know that Bilsteins were an option and they are only a few bucks more.

Looking into new leaf springs and the sales guy at Maiers pushed them pretty hard. Sayes they are the best thing on the market, hands down, short of a custom valved penske. Way better than the IAS's or the Koni's.

jason@gmachine · Jun 5, 2007

Jimmys66 said:
Anyone using them? I kinda kick myself in the ars. I bought the IAS' last year. I didn't know that Bilsteins were an option and they are only a few bucks more.

Looking into new leaf springs and the sales guy at Maiers pushed them pretty hard. Sayes they are the best thing on the market, hands down, short of a custom valved penske. Way better than the IAS's or the Koni's.

we use bilstein in all of our custom suspension builds. They are great and for the price i love them.

Jason

Sicarius428 · Jun 5, 2007

Bilsteins are a great shock if not the best. I wouldn't get rid of your IAS shocks unless you have to buy new shocks for your new setup. Give the IAS a spin first to see if there is a need to change. No use in replacing something that may not need replacing... i mean... if they were kyb whites that would be a different story but the 200 dollars may be spent better elseware.
Kevin

iskwezm · Jun 5, 2007

Sicarius428 said:
... if they were kyb whites that would be a different story but the 200 dollars may be spent better elseware.

I agree, i replaced KYB(kill your back) with IAS and think it rides great

Jimmys66 · Jun 5, 2007

I'm not beating up the IAS's. I just would have made a different choice if I knew the Bilsteins were going to be available.

I don't know anyone yet that has used them. Maybe I'll sell mine at the spring swap meet next year and pick up a pair of the Bilsteins.

Hey isk, what are you using for leaf springs and do they take that monster motor of yours well?

gsxrken · Jun 5, 2007

Yes, I have Bilsteins on my Mach1, the custom valved ones that you can get through Maier. I have their 620s and 160 rear leafs. They have Bilstein tune the compression and rebound rates to Maier specs to match their springs. Smooth, firm ride but not too harsh. Feels excellent.
http://www.geocities.com/gsxrken/Mustang/100_1174.JPG

68efisuper · Jun 5, 2007

Funny this should topic should come up. I just went with the maier race rear springs 165lb and the Bilstein shocks. But the shocks were on back order and I was going to a car show, so my friend let me borrow a set of Konis he had. I drove 40 miles with the konis and was very unhappy with the ride. I called Mike at Maier racing and he said wait until the bilsteins are on and take it for a ride again. Last week the Bilsteins came in and on the car they went. All I can say is I am never switching from Bilsteins. The ride is more controlled and when you hit a big groove that crosses the road it is not jarring like the Konis were. I never thought shocks could make such a difference.

66forfun · Jun 5, 2007

40 miles is hardly a koni test. they are adjustable for a reason. i am very happy with my konis.

2nd Mustang · Jun 5, 2007

My Konis ride really well also.

65 fastback · Jun 5, 2007

Jimmy,

Have you driven the IAS's yet? They are a very good shock. I have not driven the Bilstein's yet, but would not classify the Bilsteins as way better then the IAS or Koni's. They are each going to give a different feel.

I am very pleased with my IAS's. They are very firm and control nose dive on braking and balance the car very well while cornering, but allow the suspension to react if you encounter a change in the pavement. I am very impressed with mine.

Tim

Jimmys66 · Jun 5, 2007

I've got a couple of hunded miles on mine. I also have no comparisons to the Bilsteins or Konis. My last set of shocks were Comp. Eng. 90/10 drag shocks.

Very firm shock. No real complaints with them, but probably would have bought the Bilsteins from name recognition alone for a difference of $10 a shock.

Guess that's my reason for the post. The sales guy made the Bilsteins out to be the "Holy Grail" of shocks. I wanted to see if he was right.....

iskwezm · Jun 5, 2007

Jimmys66 said:
Hey isk, what are you using for leaf springs and do they take that monster motor of yours well?

well being that the car was a hand me down, it has the Maeir Racing Shelby 650# leafs and they are about 20+ years old. So they arent the best choice, so they are last on my list right now.

ozstang65 · Jun 6, 2007

I've had my daily driver Falcon for 11 years now, and for 9 of them I've had a set of Konis on it. Put them on, never touched them, still ride as good as the day i got them with at least 300000+ k's on them and a lot of towing.

From what I know, Konis are just a hydraulic shock with no gas area wheras most Bilstein's are gas charged (ie have a floating piston separating the gas and oil section). You could look at this as having less parts to wear out, but either way, all the Konis and Bilsteins I've come across are rebuildable when they do eventually wear out.

I used to run Bilsteins on my rally Escort, they really shine in the very rough stuff, the gas charge keeps the oil (damping) section pressurised to minimise frothing of the hydraulic fluid under harsh conditions so they don't fade.

Most of the circuit guys I know use Konis, some models (read very expensive ones$$) have externally adjustable bump and rebound which is essential for fine tuning.

If your Konis rode rough, they weren't adjusted properly.....

Max Power · Jun 6, 2007

I have a friend that will not run anything but Bilsteins on all his vehicles. He absolutely swears by them.

I didn't even realize they made shocks for vintage applications.

Jimmys66 · Jun 6, 2007

I didn't even realize they made shocks for vintage applications.[/QUOTE]

Me either. I found a thread from back in March that mentioned them, so they have been out at least since then.

Renato · Jun 8, 2007

I got the Bilsteins in my '67....got em with race leafs from Maier Racing. I'm very happy with the set up.

brianj5600 · Jun 8, 2007

Are these the same? they have the same part #. http://www.golfcartconcepts.com/golf-cart-parts/Shocks/55-R056 - Bilstein Aftermarket Shock.html

Jimmys66 · Jun 9, 2007

Renato said:
I got the Bilsteins in my '67....got em with race leafs from Maier Racing. I'm very happy with the set up.

Do you have any wheel hop? I want to stay away from any sort of traction device and still not have any wheel hop.

Renato · Jun 9, 2007

I haven't gotten on it hard yet, the motor only has 500 miles on it.

Mike from Maier assured me that with the springs we went with, there should be no wheel hop.

Jimmys66 · Jun 10, 2007

Thanks, I'm ordering springs from them on Monday.

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