How to improve handling?

[ANTHONY]

also see here.........
http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3899

[Rikki]

SCC - What sort Bilstein dampers did you go with, b12, sprintline, OE?

I have read through the links posted above and i think they are saying to use Bilstein OE dampers with Eibach Pro-Kit springs. Is this right?

I have just looked on motorsportworld for dampers for my 02 v6 and only Koni ones come up, at £78.50 for fronts and £69.79 rears. The Eibach 30/30mm spring kit is £170. Thats knockin on for £470 total.

Anyone know of anywhere cheaper?

Someone else has got the Bilstein's from motorsportworld but i havent checked myself yet. I had Koni adjustables and whatever springs MSW gave me. expensive yeah but they worked very well. having said that i am looking to buy the Bilsteins to see what the difference is, especially if there is £30 difference per shock! oh and Spax springs are cheaper and also progressive, so might be a good alternative to Eibach. Think that's what ill be going with, unless told otherwise lol.

[Kieran]

.....you will need a decent pair of spring compressors to release springs and shocks once away from the car. Caution required even when assembly is out of car, spring is still under considerable compression......

I can vouch for that. When myself and a friend changed Hordak's springs, we took the assembly off,got the top bolt off and then I set about unwinding the coils bit by bit. 5 turns on each compressor, backing off nice and gently....

One of the compressors started to slip.... I had just enough time to think "oh sh1t!!!" and then there was a god almighty TWANG as it flirted off somewhere. Fortunately, I somehow managed to avoid any major injury, a chunk of flesh from my thumb being the worst of it. And then you have the added 'fun' of dealing with the now dangerously unstable spring. We dealt with this in the only way we could... picked up the assembly (like handling a feckin' UXB!!! ) and lobbed it into our backyard and hid behind the wall! Well, it worked! The spring did indeed release, bouncing between the wall of the house and the garage like a demented pogo stick, and flirting the remaining compressor god knows where (never found it!!).

Suffice to say, we went down to machine mart shortly after and purchased a set of heavy duty compressors, with locking jaws that prevent that same problem. Never, EVER want that to happen again!!

[ritch_w]

from www.motorsportworld.co.uk

Bilstien BNE-6299 £42.56 (front) BNE-6342 £42.56 (Rear)
Eibach springs E-6028.140 £173.98

thats cheaper when i last looked - and has to be the best combination for less than £400!!!

[Rikki]

from www.motorsportworld.co.uk

Bilstien BNE-6299 £42.56 (front) BNE-6342 £42.56 (Rear)
Eibach springs E-6028.140 £173.98

thats cheaper when i last looked - and has to be the best combination for less than £400!!!

I believe these are the standard OE replacements? I got in touch with Bilstein direct, and they emailed me back saying they make B4 (OE), B6 (Sports) and B8 (for use with lowering springs) as well as the B12 kits, in fact the B12 uses 4 B8's. I am awaiting the part numbers to see if MSW can get a hold of them for me, then compare the cost with that of the Koni.

[BraindG]

Right! I've got my Eibach springs, and my bilstein shocks....but I can't find an article on how to change them?

Any ideas?

Cheers,
scc

Check my Sig (unless you already found it)

[Rikki]

Thank you for your enquiry, please find details below.

B6 – Front BE5-2582 £98.13 + vat each
Rear BE3-2583 £91.32 + vat each

B8 – Front BE5-6746 £101.94 + vat each
Rear BE3-6747 £95.13 + vat each

B12 - SE5-8841 £435.00 + vat

We have the B6 dampers available from stock, the others are normally available within 7-10 working days.

Best Regards

Ryan Serle
Bilstein Distribution(ECP LTD)
Fulton Road
Wembley Industrial Estate
Wembley
Middlesex
HA9 0TF
www.eurocarparts.com


>Looks like Koni's are better priced! for the sport idea anyways

[ritch_w]

even the OE spec Bilstiens will be a massive improvement over standard, for a start they are gas not oil filled. Its the springs which made the biggest difference to my V6 sport - and they were on OE shocks, so i wouldn't go over board with the shocks - just make sure you buy quality springs - ie Eibachs.

just a thought - if your gls has konis - why not swap them over to the V6? (many manufacturers quote the same part no for the GLS & V6).

[Rikki]

even the OE spec Bilstiens will be a massive improvement over standard, for a start they are gas not oil filled. Its the springs which made the biggest difference to my V6 sport - and they were on OE shocks, so i wouldn't go over board with the shocks - just make sure you buy quality springs - ie Eibachs.

just a thought - if your gls has konis - why not swap them over to the V6? (many manufacturers quote the same part no for the GLS & V6).

yeah i had been thinking about that for a while, but it would probably be more cost effective to buy a new set, bearing in mind one of my shocks are dead anyways. i find the sport set up not bad the now actually, so i guess any improvement is good. is quite sloppy when i throw it into a corner but it hangs on.

[ritch_w]

i find the sport set up not bad the now actually, so i guess any improvement is good. is quite sloppy when i throw it into a corner but it hangs on.

thats where u need eibachs!
thats all i did to my V6 sport and it was totally transformed, more supple about town, firmer at speed and hardly any body roll - over all a sporting ride without sacrificing comfort - infact improving it!

go on - u know u wanna

[Rikki]

yup that i do, all comes down to money at the end of the day though. pondering on whether to spend £70 less n buy Spax SSX though!

[ritch_w]

what about these???

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/A-set-of-Sport...QQcmdZViewItem

[Kieran]

They're Jap-Spec RS*R items..... I think when I looked them up on the 'Leg number one' site (the one done by a japanese dude), they were mega-stiff!

[Rikki]

well its all ordered now. bought the bilstein OE, see how they pan out. also decided against the eibach's and went for the spax - just need to wait n see whether that was a worthwhile compromise.

[Rikki]

ok. setup has been on the car for over a week now and a very noticeable difference. not as low as my old car but not as hard a ride. shocks seem good really and there is some roll when i chuck it in corners but it holds on.

went for Bilstien BNE-6299 £42.56 (front) BNE-6342 £42.56 (Rear) shocks and the Spax SSX springs which lowered it 40mm n came in at £98. so overall not a bad setup for the money. considering mitsi's shocks are £69 each + VAT i think the Bilsteins are defo worth it!

[scc]

Hi all,

Thanks for the tips so far to install the springs and shocks.

We've managed to install the front two shocks (Eibachs and bilsteins), but we're having a pig of a time to install the rears. Here are a couple of questions:

1) We've undone the top two bolts for the rear shock, and the bolt holding the shock from the bottom. What next? We've tried hammering the shock out, but to no avail Any ideas?

2) Current the car has two front shocks and springs installed, and the old ones on the rear still the same. The car now looks like as if its got its rear in the air and the front kissing the ground. Is this ok to drive around in?

3) Just to confirm that we've installed the front springs to the front and the will be rears to the rear. Are the eibach springs for the front short and thicker than the rears? yikes if not!

Cheers,

Scc

[Kieran]

HI Scc

Yeah, you've got the front springs correct - they're beefier than the rears.

Once you've undone the top bolts and the single bolt at the bottom of the rear shock, you should be able to remove it. Though I do remember that Hordak's needed some 'persuasion' to come off. Seeing as you're replacing the shocks anyway, it doesn't matter if you damage them. So I'd just use a hammer and bash them out - hit them right on the front of the shock casing and this should push the bottom of the shock off it's mounting.

As regards driving around - well, should be okay. Many years ago a friend of mine had to do that with a Saxo untill he sussed out resetting the torsion bar they have. Anyway - he was okay, but the back of the car was skittish, and the chin of the car was much more prone to damage.

[I-S]

What would be the impact of putting the Bilstein B4 gas-shocks in the front, and a new set of OEM mitsu shocks in the back? Would it create some horrific imbalance? I don't want to lose the self-levelling function, and no non-OEM shocks appear to offer this. Even though not blown (ie bouncy bouncy), I think at 106k the shocks could probably do with being replaced.... Bushes too if possible!

[ritch_w]

1) We've undone the top two bolts for the rear shock, and the bolt holding the shock from the bottom. What next? We've tried hammering the shock out, but to no avail Any ideas?

with the 17mm bolt off the bottom of the shock (and the 2 x 14mm nuts off the top), with the car jacked up and rear wheel removed it should juts pop off with a good thump from a rubber mallet / hammer & block of wood.

theres a good chance its never been removed before but it will come off with some brute force

then its a case of dropping it down and trying to get it out without scrapping the top of the wheelarch

[scc]

thanks again gents This is a great club!

I'll give it another go this weekend, this time with a sledge hammer to knock off the rear shocks!

Although the fronts are done with OEM rears still on, I can definitely feel an improvement in the handling of the car. It's not all there yet, but let you know once the rears are on and the car tracked.

Just a couple of questions to put my mind at ease for the front shocks:
1) How far down are you supposed to screw the central bolt that holds together the entire shock assembly? I couldn't screw the bolt all the way down to the level spacer because I couldn't compress the springs enough, but does it matter because you could end up with one spring more compressed than the other ?

2) I found the front suspension link really hard to put back in. When I did eventually poke the suspension link through the hole of the shock absorber clasp, it was going through at an angle, and tightened up as so. Do you need to jack up the whole arm up such that the suspension link pokes through at a perpendicular angle for the bolt to be tightened flush with the clasp's surface?

Cheers,
scc