Bilstein Touring Question

[Stir Fry A Lot]

Does anyone have any experience with these and lowering springs. I'm getting some Vogtlands and want to pair them with a something soft. Konis are out of the question. I think HD's may be harder than what I am looking for. The tourings are a twin tube design vs HDs/sports mono. I did some googling and a few people successfuly paired them with Vogts but another few said they wore out prematurely. TIA

[Sneezy]

Why are Konis out?

[Stir Fry A Lot]

$$. I'm a full time student with a wife and kid.

[TouringDan]

Love my HD's, FWIW...

[Stir Fry A Lot]

What's the ride like?

[Sneezy]

$$. I'm a full time student with a wife and kid.

Ah. Completely understandable. I'm just getting paranoid about this lowering project, I suppose.

I need to chill out and just do it. :)

[Stir Fry A Lot]

I don't think you need that camber kit btw. Lower it first and see if you get any excessive wear first.

[moroza]

I have HD's in the front and I think they're wonderful (with stock springs for now). PM me if you want a ride sometime, I'm in San Leandro.

I've heard a few scattered reports of Tourings wearing out faster than HD's, but nowhere near as many as Konis blowing up.

[Stir Fry A Lot]

Yeah I'm pretty much set on HDs now.

[Hanselhoff]

i have em on my touring

i suggest them strongly..stronger solid cornering

[gtopaul]

I have the Bilstein Tourings on my 92 Touring with H&R springs with no problems. Probably equal to the stock BOGE as to ride.

Paul

[pspassos]

what would be the major difference between HD and SPORT? price is the same? confort? performance? durability? none...?

[rc604]

I have a 525 touring with Vogtlands and Bilstien Touring shocks. I had them installed January '08 and have about 18,000 miles on the setup now. It was nice for the first 5000 or so miles, but the shocks feel pretty worn now. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of dampening going on any more when I go over bumps. Keep in mind that I CREEP over speed bumps, avoid pot holes, etc. so its not like I'm hard on it. I'm actually pretty anal about not running over anything rough. The front end isn't too bad, but the rear just bounces down the road like a Civic on cut springs... I'm going for a set of Bilstein Sports or Konis in the spring.

[525fourthew1n]

^ Good info, and dude, I'm not gonna lie, that car looks amazing with the bottlecaps and the lowering. I can't imagine how sick it will look after some wheels ha

[rc604]

^Thanks! That picture in my sig doesn't really show how low it really is... Some rims would make it look great. I just need to move the Style 5's from the e39 over...

[Sam Son]

I have billie sports which are..umm stiff
theyre currently paired with eibachs and i have some vogts that will go in sometime soon. I love the bilsteins and wouldnt have anyother shocks

[zubbie]

Sport shocks, in general, are more suitable for lowered suspension setups as they are stiffer and have the shorter "travel" to match the springs. HD's offer a similar road feel and are a good substitute. While you can use any stock shock with lowering springs, they can easily wear out based on how rough you drive and the roads you travel on. Remember that as you lower the suspension there is much less travel possible and thus the shock has to absorb / dissipate the energy much more efficiently.

[Ace_of_Spades]

keep in mind that you wanna do it once and right!

anything too soft will bottom out alot on vogtlands

[ShapeShifter]

I have a 525 touring with Vogtlands and Bilstien Touring shocks. I had them installed January '08 and have about 18,000 miles on the setup now. It was nice for the first 5000 or so miles, but the shocks feel pretty worn now. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of dampening going on any more when I go over bumps. Keep in mind that I CREEP over speed bumps, avoid pot holes, etc. so its not like I'm hard on it. I'm actually pretty anal about not running over anything rough. The front end isn't too bad, but the rear just bounces down the road like a Civic on cut springs... I'm going for a set of Bilstein Sports or Konis in the spring.


Do you think the bouncy rear could be the spring rate is to low and should be increased because the touring has more weight in the rear?

[HE53]

I had a car with these matched up with H&R's.. they were awesome.

Handled great and road great. It bottomed out way less than my car with H&R and billy sports, and way less with my car that had billy HD's and BAV auto springs.

[wanganstyle]

depends, if its bouncing and hitting frequency with no control, the damping will be dead.

regardless on a touring, its easy to pop one shock or at least inspec if they are leaking. pull the rear dampers out of their assembly and see if the damping is consistant and gives u resistance on rebuound. if yes, then good, if not then bad.

stir fry a rot; u are welcome to drive my 735i with bilstein dampers and oem springs all 4 corners, they are bilstein HD

[rc604]

Do you think the bouncy rear could be the spring rate is to low and should be increased because the touring has more weight in the rear?

I don't believe thats the problem, since the rear oscillates when a bump is hit. If the shock was still dampening adequately, the car would dip, then come back to its netural position rather than bouncing up and down. Think of it feeling like a pogo stick.

Nice to see you from Rennlist!


regardless on a touring, its easy to pop one shock or at least inspec if they are leaking. pull the rear dampers out of their assembly and see if the damping is consistant and gives u resistance on rebuound. if yes, then good, if not then bad.

That's absolutely true, I just need the snow to dissapear from my driveway...

[ShapeShifter]

Thanks RC.
I'm thinking H&R's with bilstein HD's on my wagon.

Perhaps you got some bad rears?
Bilstein would replace them under warranty.

[hutch555]

I have a 95 525it and just recently put Bilstein tourings on the wagon. I like them , however, I want to lower the car with different springs and shocks. They are two weeks old and have the receipt to prove it. I am probably going to sell them. I am asking 225 for the set. Any interest? Thanks, Hutch