They do make dampers for our cars, apparently, and

http://www.wincom.net/trog/autocross_secrets6.html

makes a good case for them. Although it wouldn't be convenient for everyone to revalve them when they want to adjust them...

But the Koni/GC setup has been proven. What about this as well?

 

No they don't.
Bilsteins are almost as bad as the Koni's - they are not specifically made for the FC, but they can be adapted to fit.
Like with the Koni's, the Bilsteins needs to be stuffed into the MacPherson strut lowers to work up front.

I think AWRacing sells the Bilsteins?


-Ted

 

AWR sells ones made for the Porsche 944, they fit in housings that AWR makes. It's an expensive setup, but would be more durable for curb pounding at the track. AFAIK the FC ones are a recent addition, that's why they use the 944 struts.

 

Right, the Bilsteins are sold like the Konis, with the strut inserts for the front and the complete damper assembly for the rear (according to their website). Shox.com also is selling this setup, for like under $400 as well...

I guess I'm moderately suprised that no one has really tried this though...

 

Why?
New products always have a hard time cracking an established market.
Entry-level racers seem to like Koni's, and they are proven.
That Bilstein set-up is new to the FC guys.
I guess it's a matter of...let someone else try it first?


-Ted

 

I think it's at least partially due to the lack of *****, people like to fiddle with a **** rather than getting a revalve, but with the AWR setup they've spent the time already to get the valving right. There's at least one ITS racer on the board that uses custom valved Bilsteins.

 

Hi
I have Bilstein. It works great. They are not so hard like the yellow konis.

 

New? Mazda Motorsports has been selling Bilsteins to sponsored racers for at least 10 years, and ISC has sold them and successfully raced with them for as long as I can remember.
http://iscracing.net/2nd_Gen_Parts.htm

 

But those weren't FC specific applications straight from Bilstein, those were shocks meant for other cars adapted by race shops for use on the FC because there was nothing else available.

 

What does it mean for when dampers are "designed specific for a single application"? I guess, what I'm really trying to say is that I don't buy that suspension engineers will spend the time and money to perfect a certain damper for a specific car. It doesn't make a whole lot of logical sense. Dampers are dampers, and it doesn't seem like there'd be a whole lot you can change (in terms of the actual shock) to make it so much better for this one car compared to another.

I don't know. I really do appreciate everyone's responses though. Its just that, the Bilsteins sell for a lot cheaper than the Konis, and it seems like it'd be just as good. It seems like it really is dependent on letting someone try it first...

Olli, what kind of spring rates are you running with your Bilsteins?

 

What it means is that they'll fit in the stock housings and bolt up to the car without anything else needing modifications. The ISC and AWR setups aren't somthing that you can stuff into your stock housings at home by yourself. The rears needed to use a shock mounting stud I do beleive, so it's not a direct bolt on either.

That's what having it be designed for the application gives you, I agree they probably just set the valving from knowing the geometry weights and spring rates.

They're widely considered to be much better than the Konis, except they're not externally adjustable. If you're running them with stiff springs you should have them revalved to match.

 

i used them on ny 72 bug and now that they have about 100k miles on them they are almost as good as new still. i think its a great brand

 

I know this is bringing the thread back from the dead, but I've successfully used the Bilstein/TII Spring setup this autocross/HPDE season. I had the opportunity to try them on the same car that had Koni's on previously. All-in-all, they're not bad. I didn't think they were any better or worse than the Koni's. I don't really touch my adjusters either. I mark them to where I set them for the track and soften them all the way for my ride home. I don't really touch the adjusters after the autocross starts.

I think that the $389 Bilsteins are a great bang for the buck, espeically with the upgrade options afterwards. I do think that the build quality of the Koni's are better, but the Bilstein's are sufficient for an entry-level setup. Next season, I should be testing GC/Koni and GC/Revalved Bilstein and see which is better.

 

^^ Thanks a lot, I was leaning towards the Bilsteins to begin with for cost effectiveness, and that just seals the deal. Sure as hell blows the AGX and Illumnia out of the water, for sure!

 

Just remember, there's no adjustability, then again, I'm happy with the way they're damped now anyway.