1G Bilstein Touring Class Shocks/Struts Reviewed

[TalonD27A]

I wanted to post a review on the Bilstein Touring Class Shocks & Struts after having them on my 1G for 6months now.

I almost purchased another set of KYB GR2’s instead of these, but wanted to try something different.. The GR2 pricing is better than the Bilstein’s, but I knew Bilstein had a great reputation. I was a little leery since they said “Touring Class Setting” and not Heavy Duty, but I figured they didn't offer the HD since most people with a car older than 10yrs wouldn't want to spend $200-$400 a corner on shocks & struts.

I installed the shocks & struts with new upper mounts, bump stops, and dust covers to make sure I didn't have any problems later. The original frt struts on my 90 AWD were defiantly shot. The rear shocks seemed ok, but the rebound was really slow so I figured they were on there way out anyway. After installing them I took it out for a ride and the car was much much more controlled especially with body roll, acceleration kickback, the braking nose-dive and those sloppy lateral movements DSM’s usually have.

In comparison to the KYB GR2’s they ride better and perform better from what I can remember from having them in my 91 AWD years ago. Bilstein’s rebound setting is noticeably more aggressive giving the driver more control.. The compression valving rides more sporty kinda as the car should have from the factory, but ride better than the GR2’s. I remember my GR2’s riding a little rougher and then when I stepped up to the AGX’s I thought my brain was shaking around in my head every time I went over a bump or pothole.

I picked up my Bilstein setup for three hundred dollars. I know the Bilstein Touring Class won't replace the KYB GR2’s being priced 80-150 dollars on average higher, but for someone who has a little extra money the Bilstein TC for the 1G AWD & 2WD would be a better more quality setup.

Thanks for reading

 

[pneumo]

Thanks for the review. I have a few questions since the GR-2s on my other DSM will need replacing soon. What springs do you have on the car? Were you able to feel the shocks misbehave in any circumstances? Did you do any high speed driving on bumpy corners? If so, how was it? Thanks again.

 

[LaN-]

So from what your saying the Bilstein's are better then GR-2's but not as stiff as the AGX's.

I'm looking to doing my suspension and i want to lower my car 1 - 1.5 inchs. If you could give us a better run down on what springs you had and which set is the best for the street.

 

[wishihadatalon]

are these lowered? Are they meant to be lowered?

 

[TalonD27A]

I wasn't going to mention the springs because up until a couple weeks ago I had the Bilstein's on stock springs. My problem with that is my interior in the rear is completely removed putting the rear 1-2 inches higher making it look like a old school hot rod. I decided to purchase the Eibach Prokit to install only the rear springs to put the car more level. I was aware of the increased spring rate over stock and with my experience corner balancing cars I figured it would give it better handling characteristics. I was uncertain of the affects the increased rear spring rate would have on cornering, but it almost acted like a rear sway bar increasing the rear stiffness. The spring drop in the rear gave the car an almost perfect 50% cross on the balancing.
The car rides great with either spring set without any mishap or acting up. I do half highway and half city driving and on the highway the suspension is very responsive. As for bumps and corners obviously they aren't adjustable or a set of coilovers but cornering is much improved. As for the bumps I can feel every bump on the road which might be partially contributed to the wheel and tire combination, but it has been a definite improvement over the stock suspension and the GR2's. I run a 16x8 wheel with 205/55-16tire which makes the sidewall a little stiff so that might be some of it. The Bilstein's ride better than the GR2's but seem to be more sensitive to driver changes and road conditions. I do like the Bilstein's sensitivity. It gives me a better feel of the road for a 2900lb car.

 

[TalonD27A]

are these lowered? Are they meant to be lowered?

Lowering can be done up to 1.5 inches. If you go past that you could damage them and the warranty won't cover them past that point.

 

[LaN-]

can you give me links to everything you purchased.

 

[TalonD27A]

can you give me links to everything you purchased.

for the Bilstains go to www.shox.com

for the mounts, dust covers w/ bump-stops use www.tirerack.com

 

[wishihadatalon]

so you only spent 299 for the set of 4? Thats the way it looks on the site.

 

[wishihadatalon]

I wasn't going to mention the springs because up until a couple weeks ago I had the Bilstein's on stock springs. My problem with that is my interior in the rear is completely removed putting the rear 1-2 inches higher making it look like a old school hot rod. I decided to purchase the Eibach Prokit to install only the rear springs to put the car more level. I was aware of the increased spring rate over stock and with my experience corner balancing cars I figured it would give it better handling characteristics. I was uncertain of the affects the increased rear spring rate would have on cornering, but it almost acted like a rear sway bar increasing the rear stiffness. The spring drop in the rear gave the car an almost perfect 50% cross on the balancing.
The car rides great with either spring set without any mishap or acting up. I do half highway and half city driving and on the highway the suspension is very responsive. As for bumps and corners obviously they aren't adjustable or a set of coilovers but cornering is much improved. As for the bumps I can feel every bump on the road which might be partially contributed to the wheel and tire combination, but it has been a definite improvement over the stock suspension and the GR2's. I run a 16x8 wheel with 205/55-16tire which makes the sidewall a little stiff so that might be some of it. The Bilstein's ride better than the GR2's but seem to be more sensitive to driver changes and road conditions. I do like the Bilstein's sensitivity. It gives me a better feel of the road for a 2900lb car.

Is it a harsh ride or is it just something that gives you feedback?

 

[TalonD27A]

so you only spent 299 for the set of 4? Thats the way it looks on the site.

That's what I said in the original post

 

[TalonD27A]

Is it a harsh ride or is it just something that gives you feedback?

It's not harsh...it's more like a sport ride, but I guess what's ones persons definition of sporty or harsh is only relative.

IMO...rides better than the GR2's, but has more control, sensitivity, and handling...IMO

 

[wishihadatalon]

That's what I said in the original post

I re-read the post and I didn't see it. But $299 sounds like a killer deal for some good struts.

 

[wishihadatalon]

It's not harsh...it's more like a sport ride, but I guess what's ones persons definition of sporty or harsh is only relative.

IMO...rides better than the GR2's, but has more control, sensitivity, and handling...IMO

Hmm well I just put gr2s on my civic and I love the way they feel so that is a good sign I am debating if I would like to put my ground controls on these. I don't really have intentions of slamming it and I would like a really nice and comfy ride.

 

[jtmcinder]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that lowering the tail end played a role in getting the cross-weights equal. Care to comment?

- Jtoby

 

[TalonD27A]

I wanted to post a review on the Bilstein Touring Class Shocks & Struts after having them on my 1G for 6months now.

I almost purchased another set of KYB GR2’s instead of these, but wanted to try something different.. The GR2 pricing is better than the Bilstein’s, but I knew Bilstein had a great reputation. I was a little leery since they said “Touring Class Setting” and not Heavy Duty, but I figured they didn't offer the HD since most people with a car older than 10yrs wouldn't want to spend $200-$400 a corner on shocks & struts.

I installed the shocks & struts with new upper mounts, bump stops, and dust covers to make sure I didn't have any problems later. The original frt struts on my 90 AWD were defiantly shot. The rear shocks seemed ok, but the rebound was really slow so I figured they were on there way out anyway. After installing them I took it out for a ride and the car was much much more controlled especially with body roll, acceleration kickback, the braking nose-dive and those sloppy lateral movements DSM’s usually have.

In comparison to the KYB GR2’s they ride better and perform better from what I can remember from having them in my 91 AWD years ago. Bilstein’s rebound setting is noticeably more aggressive giving the driver more control.. The compression valving rides more sporty kinda as the car should have from the factory, but ride better than the GR2’s. I remember my GR2’s riding a little rougher and then when I stepped up to the AGX’s I thought my brain was shaking around in my head every time I went over a bump or pothole.

I picked up my Bilstein setup for three hundred dollars. I know the Bilstein Touring Class won't replace the KYB GR2’s being priced 80-150 dollars on average higher, but for someone who has a little extra money the Bilstein TC for the 1G AWD & 2WD would be a better more quality setup.

Thanks for reading

I said it in the last full paragraph first sentence.

 

[wishihadatalon]

I said it in the last full paragraph first sentence.

haha I suck. I did a quick scan for a dollar sign and numbers. Anyway thanks alot for the help. I think I will be picking them up in the not so distant future.

 

[TalonD27A]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that lowering the tail end played a role in getting the cross-weights equal. Care to comment?

- Jtoby

Sure...You're probably thinking the weight of the car is a perfect 50/50 split and that isn't what I was getting at. I didn't say the cross weights were equal I said a almost perfect 50% cross on the balancing.. If you haven't corner balanced a car before you might not know what I'm getting at when I said cross-weighting or cross-balancing. The 1G DSM already has a primarily 60/40 weight distribution and you can adjust the suspension till you're blue in the face and it really isn't going to change. I was referring to the cross-weighting or some call cross-balancing and a perfect cross-balance is when the sum of the weights of the left-front and right-rear corners equaling the sum of the weights of the right-front and left-rear corners. When I lowered the rear the cross-balance on the car was 49.9% and after years of balancing cars I know there is no way it was like that prior to dropping the rear. Wish I would have stuck the car on the scales before, but oh well.
Probably should have said cross-balance...it being the more proper term. I think you were focusing to much on the word "weight" itself and not what I was getting at and like I said if you haven't corner-balanced a car before then you wouldn't know what I was talking about. I'll edit my orginal post to elevate any confusion.
Hope this helps.

 

[92 GSR-4]

Probably a stupid question and I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but according to Far North Racing, if you can get a set of Bilsteins to fit your application (AKA- what we have here, but there are many people who must adapt them to fit their cars), you can rebuild/revalve them to different specs.

Here is where I get the idea from - read the Bilstein section of this page : Autocross to Win (DGs Autocross Secrets) - Buying Shocks

Next, this page: Far North Racing - The Car - ShockTek to Bilstein Conversion

Does anyone know if I can grab a set of these Bilstein struts and modify it to a take-apart and re-valve it? That would be great for a street/track car. Plus they are cheap to rebuild when they blow.

*Edit* Sorry to necromance a dead-thread, if anyone knows the info - please point me to it, thanks!

 

[TunersNation]

We convert the Evo 8/9 Bilstein & KYB suspension to fit the 1g AWD DSM. Evo 9 MR Bilstein Struts conversion for 1g DSM AWD [TN-M1GEVOBIL] - $600.00 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

We've been doing this for many years now. I personally run them on my gvr4 with aftermarket lowering springs. They work great for daily drivers & cars that see some drag & autocross. They work well with the 1g AWD DSM as the weight is real close to the Evo's.