Jump to content
SAU Community

Give Me A Ride Or Opinion (Please!) - Bilstein Or Coilovers


Recommended Posts

Alright guys, time to make final decision regarding my suspension.

It's come down to:

Bilstein + king springs

OR

HSD coilovers (recommended by a few mechanics I've spoken with)

OR

Cusco coilovers (undecided on model yet)

These are listed in no particular order, though Bilsten and HSD are more in my budget I think. My purpose: Street only, will never/rarely hit the tracks. Want comfort and handling as top priorities so obviously a compromise will have to be made regardless of what I choose.

Is anyone able to give me a ride in their car with Bilsteins+Spring setup? I haven't actually been in one and would like to see how it is, especially as my mechanic said they would still be a bit harsh for AU roads and thus still recommended me HSDs. And budget is ~1500$ as evident by choices listed. Thanks for your help!

the first option is probably more legal, but the second will allow adjustments and would be my pick I think,

You want to be very careful about spring rates , from what I hear, fronts 8 and back 6 would be good, or go even softer , f 6 and r 4 for extra comfort.

I guess the question is what is the budget? I'm running with SydneyKid's Bilstein setup on my 34 GTR after changing from S Tunes and for me personally, I find it a lot better. Sacrificed a little bit of the handling for a more comfortable ride whlie still retaining the feel of the car. I went with the setup on PSS9s and not on just Bilstein shocks so I have some of the adjustability, though I'm sure the shock/spring combo (Eibachs) are very similar.

^my budget is ~$1500. So your GTR Bilstein setup isn't on-car adjustable? I guess for some people there's really no need for it to be adjustable like that. People like me. I won't be getting Eibachs as SK has informed that their spring rates aren't as suitable to Aussie roads as King spring (for example) are.

My purpose: Street only, will never/rarely hit the tracks. Want comfort and handling as top priorities so obviously a compromise will have to be made regardless of what I choose.

In that case 8/6 will definitely be too stiff. Bilsteins with 6/4 will be in the ballpark. IIRC thats what SK used, but check the Group Buy thread, it should still be there.

Oh and they're all "coilovers" - there's no other suspension type in skylines.

6 months ago i had stockies with Tein lowering springs - $ 300 - found the rear of the car was bouncing due to the short travel length of the stockies ,

So i bit the bullet and have new Bilsteins $1100 with Tein Lowering springs , ride is great a bit harder than stock still comfortable 40mm drop at the front and 25mm rear , with no body roll .

Im like you, i will never have to adjust suspension again also was sick of coilovers short lifespan and of course the illegal coilover factor with my other cars .

I think you could do better than king springs , what drop do they give

6 months ago i had stockies with Tein lowering springs - $ 300 - found the rear of the car was bouncing due to the short travel length of the stockies ,

So i bit the bullet and have new Bilsteins $1100 with Tein Lowering springs , ride is great a bit harder than stock still comfortable 40mm drop at the front and 25mm rear , with no body roll .

Im like you, i will never have to adjust suspension again also was sick of coilovers short lifespan and of course the illegal coilover factor with my other cars .

I think you could do better than king springs , what drop do they give

I asked 'wholesale suspension' (a distributor of King) and they said ~30mm drop from stock height. This was for the 'lowered' springs (there are also 'standard' and 'super low' and 'raised').

you reckon I should go with other springs? any other recommendation? SK told me that he did a test (recently) on the Eibachs and found it wasn't suitable for our roads, which is why I looked at King.

not quite sure of the model actually, I'm getting them from SK so whatever they are from the groupbuy that he had a few years ago, I'm getting the same thing! can't wait to get them in....

hey Nick, yeah I've seen that thread and believe me I would have gone that route but I believe that they only made PSS9s for GTRs and since i have a GTT the damper rates will be different and hence valving is unsuited to me. Unfortunately. Not to mention the difference in height as GTRs have different weight distribution to the GTTs. I know a lot of the terms i mentioned above are vague and possibly incorrect but that's just quickly off the top of my head.

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

I've had SK's Bilstein shocks in my previous R33.. awesome stuff, but I would recommend upgrading your anti roll bars (sway bars as they're known) at the same time. Because you're running forgiving spring rates you still will experience some body roll, to eliminate that just upgrade to decent anti roll bars.

I would suggest something like 24mm front and 24mm rear (some will say why not get 27mm front, it's because most run staggered wheels so the car will understeer naturally)

Just my 2 cents :)

Don't get HSD, get BC BR.. they're much better for the price.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • It was a great, but typical track day, and some VB was ingested at the night time debrief 🤪
    • And so, to round this out, I couldn't be happier to confirm @MBS206 has decided to buy the car. He drove down from sunny QLD with a trailer last week and it is off to its new home today. I'll let Matt confirm on next steps but I understand broadly that the plan is to leave it pretty much as is, and just get some quality wheel time with a nicely balanced car that is pretty much track ready. There are a few a jobs still to be done first but nothing too major and I think its a very smart buy Dinner last night at the Paragon with a round of VBs (mostly) for Neil
    • Well, 50 pages and the end of a chapter for this car. We took it out for a shakedown at Wakie yesterday, and everything went well. There were a couple of niggles: - Oil cooler fitting leak - tightened, cleaned, stopped leaking - Radiator cap overflow fitting was leaking....Mark called it, the overflow fitting was threaded in and not tight....tightened, tested and held pressure - Small oil leak at the rear of the block, probably the turbo oil feed - too hot to get at it comfortably but probably just needs to be nipped up - leak at the driver's side rear brake line where it meets the hardline. Fitting wasn't loose, so Matt backed it off and back on, no further leaks - there's also a leak somewhere on the top of the fuel tank, maybe that cross over fuel line - that was has been left to fix when its on a hoist Otherwise than those niggles the car went great, turned great and stopped great so it was a very successful day out. I'm always really nervous when a car first hits the track after a long break, especially with a brand new engine as well but it was great. VID-20251011-WA0007.mp4  Big thanks to @The Bogan who dropped by and helped out, @MBS206 and my nephew Lachlan the apprentice.  Neil's wife Mel also surprised the hell out of all of us by dropping by; she's up in Tamworth these days but was travelling to Melbourne so had plausible deniability for turning up at the garage, it was great to see her but also obviously a bit sad all round.
    • Skyline R33 Series 2 sedan tail lights in excellent condition. These are becoming harder to find, especially in this state.    BOTH SETS ARE IN FANTASTIC CONDITION (REFER TO PHOTOS)    ✅ No broken covers or cracks ✅ Lenses are in flawless condition ✅ All rear mounting lugs intact ✅ Comes complete as pictured ✅ Perfect for restoration, replacement, or upgrade   These lights are ready to go, no surprises just quality OEM parts.   These are definitely one of the better sets we have seen in a while. With minimal wear and tear they will come as you see. Bear in mind they are not brand new they are almost 30 years old now. To find them in this condition isn’t easy they can only be obtained on the second hand market.   Australia Wide Postage Available At Buyers Expense. Silver Set:$850 Grey Set:$850 PM Me for purchase or any other questions  IMG_2166.dng IMG_2165.dng IMG_2172.dng IMG_2173.dng IMG_2174.dng IMG_2179.dng IMG_2180.dng IMG_2260.dng IMG_2258.dng IMG_2259.dng IMG_2261.dng IMG_2266.dng IMG_2273.dng IMG_2274.dng IMG_2276.dng
    • Unsolicited advice? Keep the engine as close to stock as you can. Nothing wrong with adding some boost and making a little more power, but given where you are, you really don't want to try to make it into a monster. I can't imagine the roads are up to it, and the lack of locla support when it grenades will be a ball ache. FWIW, If there is a dyno around that you can access, then brand new injectors are a good idea, which will lead you to (at least) putting a Nistune in it, which will allow you to put an R35 AFM on it, all of which will make it possible to make it much much nicer to drive and live with.
×
×
  • Create New...