Bilstein HD and Bilstein Sport

[norwegianvette]

Anyone out there who can give me a advice on which to chose:bash

All the best,
Steve

 

[RV Guy]

Anyone out there who can give me a advice on which to chose:bash

All the best,
Steve

My response is neither. I have an '86 with Z51. When I purchased it five years ago it had some no name tire store shocks on it. The RPO codes show that my car was originally equipped with Bilsteins so I figured that’s what I should put on it so I ordered a set and specified with Z51. I'm guessing that I got the "sport" version. They are probably the right shock if you are racing at high speeds but at around town and highway speeds they are way to stiff. In a corner under acceleration the slightest bump caused the back end to kick out and the steering response was so sharp it made me feel uncomfortable. Now don't get me wrong I love the fact that my car has the Z51 and that it drives flat and hard like a go kart, but at highway speeds it actually handled better with the no name shocks.

I'm thinking of going to KYBs

 

[Hib Halverson]

Anyone out there who can give me a advice on which to chose:bash

All the best,
Steve

Well, Steve....first, you need to tell us what kind of driving you do with the car.

As for comments elsewhere about the 86 Z51, part of why a car like that rides hard is the springs. Z51s are stiff because of the combination of shocks, springs and stabilizer bars, not just the shocks.

As for the car's steering being touchy, shocks have nothing to do with thatr. What makes the pre-89 Z51s "touchy" is the quick steering rack on those cars.

 

[RV Guy]

Well, Steve....first, you need to tell us what kind of driving you do with the car.

As for comments elsewhere about the 86 Z51, part of why a car like that rides hard is the springs. Z51s are stiff because of the combination of shocks, springs and stabilizer bars, not just the shocks.

As for the car's steering being touchy, shocks have nothing to do with thatr. What makes the pre-89 Z51s "touchy" is the quick steering rack on those cars.

I am afraid you missed my point of the Bilsteins changing the handling characteristics and stiffing things up so much that for street purposes they were in my opinion worse than the no names. Yes the springs and stabilizer bars are stiffer with Z51 but in combination with the Bilsteins the handling characteristics became so stiff the handling deteriorated for street use. Again, as I said if you are racing at high speed they probably have their place. I wasted $300 on a set and now have my no names back on. I’m just trying to save someone else some cash. Of course this is just my opinion. If you had driven my car before Belsteins, with Belsteins, and now again without you might have a better undrstanding.

 

[norwegianvette]

My driving is mostly cross country and i never used the car on track. With this i guess a shock from others than bilstein will do me best? I have bilstein on at the moment and they are close to 50K miles so i want to replace them.

Steve

 

[JimBobC4]

My driving is mostly cross country and i never used the car on track. With this i guess a shock from others than bilstein will do me best? I have bilstein on at the moment and they are close to 50K miles so i want to replace them.

Steve

I have 87K on my bilsteins and have no leaks. I think I read somewhere Bilstein suggested replacement at 100k or beyond.

Are they leaking? Does the car handle strange on the highway?

Also, a stiff shock will make a car twitchy in a way. If the shock is too stiff, the initial transfer or load on the spring at the beginning of the turn is less. Basically, the car dives less at the beginning of the turn.

So a car equipped with stiffer shocks feels like it turns in faster because the initial energy is not absorbed by the suspension. The stiff shock prevents this initial loading of the spring. So the energy is spent turning the car and not compressing the spring. It’s only for a split second at the beginning of the turn but you can feel it. It’s a strange relationship between shocks and springs.

If you can find a copy of How to Make your car Handle by Fred Puhn, you can read all about it and the differences a shock can make. I found out the expensive way racing in amateur SCCA events.

Check out KYB's as a reasonable ( less expensive) alternative.

 

[ZumZum]

Bilstein will rebuild your shocks and valve them to suit your driving needs if you so wish.

 

[CorvetteArchives]

Well, Steve....first, you need to tell us what kind of driving you do with the car.

As for comments elsewhere about the 86 Z51, part of why a car like that rides hard is the springs. Z51s are stiff because of the combination of shocks, springs and stabilizer bars, not just the shocks.

As for the car's steering being touchy, shocks have nothing to do with thatr. What makes the pre-89 Z51s "touchy" is the quick steering rack on those cars.

Hib, you are right about the steering ratio being what I also would descibe as touchy. Its TOO quick and overboosted. However, that concerns the FRONT END NOT also the REAR as he described.

Rv Guys's desciption of the Bilstein Z51 combination is COMPLETELY ACCURATE. I experienced this first have every day for 10 years. It requires a skillfull driver and lots of effort to drive that combination well but in many repects it IS better for performance driving. You do eventually predict the cars behavior and compensate.

I switched to Edelbrock Inertia Shocks a few years ago and eventually found the car much more "civilised" in general comfort and predictability. There was a "learning" curve to adjust to the new characteristics. But...My butt and spine now thank me!

So YES, the entire package is important but simply changing the shocks WILL MAKE BIG DIFERENCE! Which is what RV guy maintained from the beginning.

 

[norwegianvette]

I have 87K on my bilsteins and have no leaks. I think I read somewhere Bilstein suggested replacement at 100k or beyond.

Are they leaking? Does the car handle strange on the highway?

Also, a stiff shock will make a car twitchy in a way. If the shock is too stiff, the initial transfer or load on the spring at the beginning of the turn is less. Basically, the car dives less at the beginning of the turn.

So a car equipped with stiffer shocks feels like it turns in faster because the initial energy is not absorbed by the suspension. The stiff shock prevents this initial loading of the spring. So the energy is spent turning the car and not compressing the spring. It’s only for a split second at the beginning of the turn but you can feel it. It’s a strange relationship between shocks and springs.

If you can find a copy of How to Make your car Handle by Fred Puhn, you can read all about it and the differences a shock can make. I found out the expensive way racing in amateur SCCA events.

Check out KYB's as a reasonable ( less expensive) alternative.

My shocks are rock hard but cant see any leaks. The car has been garaged for some few years and resting on the suspension, not on the body. Thats why i want to replace them. I like to know that everything is in good condition on my car and replaced a lot since i brought it two years ago

 

[GO_VETTE]

well, here are the specs on spring rates.
REAR SPRING RATES
1984 FE1 72.0
1984 Z51 87.5
*** People complained about the ride being STIFF, so GM made the springs softer***
1985 FE1 39.9
1985 Z51 57.2

1986 *same as 1985

1987 FE1 57.2
1987 Z51 39.9
Z52 39.9
FE1 (CONV) 39.9
Z52(CONV) 39.9

1988 *SAME AS 1987
1989 FE1 57.2
1989 FX3 39.9
1989 Z51 57.2
FE1(CONV) 39.9
FX3(CONV) 57.2

1990*same as 1988
ZR1 MODELS 39.9
R9G MODELS 57.2

1991*SAME AS 1990

1992 FE1 39.9
1992 FX3 39.9
1992 ZO7 57.2
FE1(CONV) 39.9
FX3(CONV)39.9
ZR1 39.9

1993 MODELS *SAME AS 1992

1994 *ALL MODELS SAME AS 1991
EXCEPT ZO7 33.3


1995 FE1 (EARLY)39.9
1995 FE1 (LATE)26.0
FX3 26.0
ZR1 33.0
ZO7 57.2
FE1(CONV) 39.9
FX3(CONV) 26.0

1996 FE1 26.0
FE1GS 26.0
F45 26.0
Z45GS 26.0
Z51 33.0
Z51GS 33.0
FE1(CONV)39.9
F45 39.9