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

darksky34

By darksky34,
in New South Wales

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darksky34 Mentor

darksky34

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Thanks for all the opinions, forgot about this thread i started.

Have had the shocks installed last week and drove around on the weekend - LOVED the difference. It was a great upgrade, where I knew i was going over a bump but i barely felt it. And yes Johnny I also did upgrade my sway bars at the same time - something like 30mm for front and rears (forgot exact mm) and when i turn there is only the slightest hint of me shifting in the seat, but the car does not roll much/at all.

The car went straight back into the workshop this week though, to fix up a few other things so haven't been able to enjoy the ride and comment further. But will update as i go, so other people can possibly get one more opinion on something OTHER than coilovers, because as a streeter, this is perfect.

darksky34 Mentor

darksky34

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Alright final review.

Got the car back on the weekend and drove it around. What got put on: Bilsteins from SK (I believe they are B46) and King Springs (Low). Along with Whiteline camber bushes for the front and rear. Work was done by Dennis @ Grim Performance.

The drive: excellent. Firm, but still a bit springy, definitely more 'hard' than stock but there is no floating/bouncing now. Can definitely feel going over a bump or hole but it is excellent in every way. Would absolutely recommend these if you only want to upgrade your shocks for a streeter. I don't know what's with wanting coilovers etc for tracks but i'd say, having combined these with upgraded sway bars I'd fancy my chances of taking a high speed corner or two...

The work: Dennis was great with communicating, he answered all my questions and gave me great advice even though I know next to nothing. Suggestions were given but not pushed to sell, he's completely fine with the customer supplying all products. Work is top notch. Turnaround time is great as well. Best of all he's located nearby, so if you're in the north shore area then Grim performance is the way to go.

Brandon Veteran

Brandon

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Maybe off topic but for your budget, why not super street? I got mine from Streeter for less than 1.5k landed (seafreight) when the exchange rate was around 75yen or 80yen. It'll be around 1.2k easily with the stronger dollar. Fully adjustable. Stiffest damper is stiffer than my stock V-Spec suspension but softest is really comfortable. Perfect for street.

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!

Watchamacallit Collaborator

Watchamacallit

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I can probably jump in and answer that as I also have an SK kid and darksky34 enquired about my setup, but he'll correct me if I'm off :)

The main reason would be the compromise between comfort and sportiness. I personally had S Tunes and found them a little too harsh for the day-to-day activities on the roads that I ventured. Super Streets would garuanteed to provide a harsher ride than the SK, especially if they are coming from Japan with Jap spec spring rates. Sydney roads are quite shocking in general, some people can tolerate it, some people can't - all depends on the driver.

Personal preference at the end of the day (though a Koenigsegg Triplex setup is pretty good :P)

Rob260 Community Regular

Rob260

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You know you can import Bilstein PSS9's from Germany for about $1,400 landed - refer here: http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/394980-bilsteins-direct-from-germany/

That's a great price, I paid significantly more for mine (Z32)

darksky34 Mentor

darksky34

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I can probably jump in and answer that as I also have an SK kid and darksky34 enquired about my setup, but he'll correct me if I'm off :)

??????? :rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2: where can i get one?

Yes Adam is right on the money. Having done months of reading, and researching specific models + talking to various mechanics + asking people!!! I decided that coilovers would not be what I want in my car, because they would be too harsh (means they will flog out sooner or later = more money spent) which is really a lose-lose situation.

Having said that, comfortable/harsh is very subjective, and it seems like many people find that Jap coilovers are 'acceptable'. I've been in my friend's 33 with nismo s-tunes and those are quite comfortable, in fact comparable to the Bilstein setup I have in terms of bumpiness. So go OEM if anything. Oh and a mate has Ohlins in the S15, which are absolutely peachy. I thought they were stock suspension...until I asked.

34GeeTeeTee Grand Master

34GeeTeeTee

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Posted

??????? :rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2: where can i get one?

Yes Adam is right on the money. Having done months of reading, and researching specific models + talking to various mechanics + asking people!!! I decided that coilovers would not be what I want in my car, because they would be too harsh (means they will flog out sooner or later = more money spent) which is really a lose-lose situation.

Having said that, comfortable/harsh is very subjective, and it seems like many people find that Jap coilovers are 'acceptable'. I've been in my friend's 33 with nismo s-tunes and those are quite comfortable, in fact comparable to the Bilstein setup I have in terms of bumpiness. So go OEM if anything. Oh and a mate has Ohlins in the S15, which are absolutely peachy. I thought they were stock suspension...until I asked.

Did Gary explain to you why they use stiff coilovers in Japan? Quite interesting....

The cheapo BC in my car are nice and smooth on daily driving, you would find it hard to pick that i have solid suspension, mechanical diff, subrame collars etc etc on just normal driving....

Brandon Veteran

Brandon

Posted
Posted

??????? :rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2: where can i get one?

Yes Adam is right on the money. Having done months of reading, and researching specific models + talking to various mechanics + asking people!!! I decided that coilovers would not be what I want in my car, because they would be too harsh (means they will flog out sooner or later = more money spent) which is really a lose-lose situation.

Having said that, comfortable/harsh is very subjective, and it seems like many people find that Jap coilovers are 'acceptable'. I've been in my friend's 33 with nismo s-tunes and those are quite comfortable, in fact comparable to the Bilstein setup I have in terms of bumpiness. So go OEM if anything. Oh and a mate has Ohlins in the S15, which are absolutely peachy. I thought they were stock suspension...until I asked.

Its not just about how stiff the spring is, the shock/damper setting plays a big part. Did you check his damper setting on the coilovers? I dont think theres a lot of adjustability with the S-tune. Like I said in my previous post, the stiffest setting I got on the SS is even stiffer than the stock v-spec suspension (but really does handle better) and the softest is better than stock too. Big difference if you ask me.

SS like a lot of others coilover have over 20 settings + its got height adjustable as well. Maybe the Bilstein setup is a better suspension setup but to each his own. The Bilstein/king spring setup used to be very popular due to cost and handling but cost isnt a factor now considering importing coilovers are so cheap these days.

Did Gary explain to you why they use stiff coilovers in Japan? Quite interesting....

The cheapo BC in my car are nice and smooth on daily driving, you would find it hard to pick that i have solid suspension, mechanical diff, subrame collars etc etc on just normal driving....

The stiffer here is not very noticable and as mentioned, a lot of suspension guys will tell you the same thing (Jap coilovers will be too stiff for Aus road). Personally I think they're fine and as far as stiffness goes, its not just about the spring, with coilover, you can adjust the damper setting.

darksky34 Mentor

darksky34

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yep i know the shock plays a huge part, all i'm saying is that i'm never going to be fiddling round adjusting height and damper settings so that's why i went with this setup. I'd have been interested to feel the SS, but seeing as i'd not felt what decent coilovers were like when i put this thread up, I wasn't really keen on jumping on a set of jap coilovers, as opposed to a proven setup + my mechanic's advice.

as to my friend's S-tunes i (think) that they're non height adjustable...yeah you're right he's told me there's not much adjustability. And i did do a fair bit of research on importing a set of coilovers, anything decent would still have cost me 200-300$ more than my bilstein setup (tein SS, cusco zero etc etc).

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