G4 Coilovers Vs Bilstein Shocks

[silver gts-t]

Hey..

Im looking at purchacing one of these sets but not knowing hardley anything about either i was wondering of someone could shed some light on pro's and cons of each..

LINKS:

G4 coilovers

BILSTEINS

thanks

[BHDave]

The g4's are still a bit of an unknown where as the bilsteins have a proven track record.

I had a quick look on JJ's website a while back and was a bit shocked about the posted spring rate of the G4's aswell.

[silver gts-t]

shocked at what??

i dont understand spring rates..

also do both sets of suspension have to be reco'd later in life?

i would guess the bilsteins would last longer, but i like the ease of adjustment with coilevers, and they have damper etc

[Sydneykid]

Hey..

Im looking at purchacing one of these sets but not knowing hardley anything about either i was wondering of someone could shed some light on pro's and cons of each..

LINKS:

G4 coilovers

BILSTEINS

thanks

From an enginering perspective the Group Buy kit is designed for Australian conditions and Australian suspension expectations. We demand good handling without excessive ride discomfort. This requires considerable sophistication in the shock absorber valving which I found the Bilsteins delivered. When I was developing the kit for Jamex I tried a number of shock absorbers and the Bilsteins were the best. That's on the street and the track.

Judging by the response I believe I have been very successful in achieving the aims of great handling without sacrificing too much ride comfort. The best I can suggest is to have a read of the feedback from the guys on the 6 Group Buy threads. Their satisfaction is the best recommendation.

Cheers

[silver gts-t]

i am leaning towards the bilstein's basically because they seem to be the most reliable option..

sydneykid, do you know the lowest & highest measurement the shocks go to? (centre of wheel to gaurd)

and if i had them set low and want to head to the track how easy and whats needed (if anything at all) to adjust them to a higher ride

[Sydneykid]

i am leaning towards the bilstein's basically because they seem to be the most reliable option..

sydneykid, do you know the lowest & highest measurement the shocks go to? (centre of wheel to gaurd)

and if i had them set low and want to head to the track how easy and whats needed (if anything at all) to adjust them to a higher ride

They usually have 5 additional circlip grooves added that are 8 mm appart, so that's 48 mm of settings available. If used with the Whiteline springs that will give you height from 370 mm to 322 mm at the front and 360 mm at 312 mm at the rear. I can specify 8 additional circlip grooves if you want, but that is getting way outside the range of the suspension geometry to handle

Just changing the height for going to the track is not something I would recommend. You would need to reset the static wheel alignment (camber and toe) if you made any meaningful changes. Most of the fast guys change the stabiliser bar settings at the same time as they are changing to their track tyres. That is the most effective method for changing the blance for track work. Height is a most overrated adjustment and has lots of side issues.

cheers

[silver gts-t]

sounds good, does anyone have anything positive to say about coilovers?

[BHDave]

I have nothing against coil overs in general, i just have issues with unknown brands of coilovers that seem a little cheap. I have tein super streets and am happy with them.

The spring rates listed for the G4's are excessively high for anything other than a drift car. Street driving would border on painful and they'd struggle maintaining contact between the wheels and the road when braking on rippley corner entrys.

[silver gts-t]

I have nothing against coil overs in general, i just have issues with unknown brands of coilovers that seem a little cheap. I have tein super streets and am happy with them.

The spring rates listed for the G4's are excessively high for anything other than a drift car. Street driving would border on painful and they'd struggle maintaining contact between the wheels and the road when braking on rippley corner entrys.

i dont know much about spring rates but if you say its too high then ill believe you..

my car is the bumpiest thing you can ever be in..

my springs were reset and they only suppose to last max 2 years... ive had them for an extra 6 months now

its farked! but looks sweet!

[T04GTR]

yess, we had a customer who had some "coil overs" out of the box they had 13kg/mm springs front and 8kg/mm rear.

i changed them to 9 in the front and 7 in the rear.

much better but the bump valving on the front is now to soft.

if i get them rebuilt to suit the lighter springs they would be very good.

im using some wierd jap bilstiens in my 32gtr and they are sweet. still quite firm but the bump on the front needs to be harder. as the shock/suspension bottoms out on big bumps

the rebound is spot on from what i can tell. no pogo sticking down the road.

i would sujust the coilovers if you get them re-valved for the lighter springs.

gtst id say 7kg front 6kg rear

i just want the sachs 4way adjustabels out of the v8 supercar im helping for

that way you could use 375lb front and 300lb rear springs in you car with 280 slicks and still be to hard on the springs

[T04GTR]

yess, we had a customer who had some "coil overs" out of the box they had 13kg/mm springs front and 8kg/mm rear.

i changed them to 9 in the front and 7 in the rear.

much better but the bump valving on the front is now to soft.

if i get them rebuilt to suit the lighter springs they would be very good.

im using some wierd jap bilstiens in my 32gtr and they are sweet. still quite firm but the bump on the front needs to be harder. as the shock/suspension bottoms out on big bumps

the rebound is spot on from what i can tell. no pogo sticking down the road.

i would sujust the coilovers if you get them re-valved for the lighter springs.

ps. the g4 ones seem exacly the same as the k-sport ones in spring rates.

they need to be re-valved for the lighter spring.

(having a lower power gtr walk away from you on the old pac with old ohlins stut inserts.(same as bilstien kit you are deciding on) made me go back to the bilstiens. havent looked back.

but mine are a jap spec kit with hevier springs than the aussie ones so the work great.

gtst id say 7kg front 6kg rear

i just want the sachs 4way adjustabels out of the v8 supercar im helping for

that way you could use 375lb front and 300lb rear springs in you car with 280 slicks and still be to hard on the springs

[silver gts-t]

i dont want to spend an extra $200 on coilovers to paymore the change things about them..

biltsteins it is

[ISC-Performance]

check out the website in my signiture

[skylinecouple]

I know S.K and many others like the Bilsteins but I wander how many of you have found, like me, they feel every little bump or match-stick on the road.Personal experience tells me the build quality is there as I have done 100,000kms and they only just now feel a little more comfortable.BUT, still feel every little road irregularity.Would I buy them again? Probably not.

I know it is only the valving controlling initial movement but thats a lot of money for something that isn`t right.I am currently looking at other options.

A question for S.K. What would you recommend for a fast road car that would probably only see one track day a year.Standard springs but full whiteline bush kit and adjustable sway-bars.Would KYB AGX be better?

[jlnewton]

Get SK's group buy kit. I have had bilsteins before on my old 33 GTST coupe with some Jap springs, bilsteins with king springs on a 33 GTST sedan, APEXi coilovers with 400lbs FR and 225lbs R and revalved to suit on my 33 GTR and now that I have gone back to a 33 GTST sedan I got SK's kit with the special bilsteins/ whiteline springs and sway bars and it is by far the best combo I have had so far. On the road it is the most comfortable setup I have had so far, yet hit the corners and it feels light and flat. At the Skidpan day I went to yesterday it felt excellent, car was easy to control. . . . . can't wait to give it a hit at Queensland Raceway with some semis on