Jump to content
The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Big problems shock absorbers Bilstein B6


Johnm400
 Share

Recommended Posts

Just for additional info......and some Chris Wilson input.

 

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?345288-Bilstein-B6-shock-install-to-J-spec&highlight=ride+height

 

 

post 13 by Chris states "Ride height is solely governed by lower bolt C/L to lower spring seat distance." and your picture earlier on seems to show the Bilstein being shorter C/L to lower spring seat wise.

Edited by Scooter (see edit history)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 155
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

If you want a lift spacer machining up let me know. I can turn one up on my lathe. Its practically the same as moving the groove for the clip.

 

 

/QUOTE]

 

That would be great if you could Andy, very kind of you to offer. Do you have some Bilsteins to measure the internal and external diameter?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just for additional info......and some Chris Wilson input.

 

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?345288-Bilstein-B6-shock-install-to-J-spec&highlight=ride+height

 

 

post 13 by Chris states "Ride height is solely governed by lower bolt C/L to lower spring seat distance." and your picture earlier on seems to show the Bilstein being shorter C/L to lower spring seat wise.

 

Thats exactly the problem right there. The difference is 15mm. I can only conclude that Supras turned out from the factory with Bilsteins must also have been 15mm lower than those that turned out with the basic KYB shocks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well what a nightmare ive created for myself. I went and bought the rear Bilsteins so they are all matching. Problem is that the rears RAISE the ride height, only very slightly but with the drop at the front, the rear is now in the air. The car looks stupid and im really not happy.

 

Bilstein customer service is awful, they just stopped replying to me about the fronts and i had to ask Larkspeed to get involved. I asked could i send the front shocks back but Bilstein refused because they had been fitted but how was i supposed to know that they would mess the ride height up without fitting them? Bilsteins own website says you can use the oem springs to keep the standard ride height. Thinking Andy could make me some collars to lift the height, i went and bought the rears and now have double the problem!

 

I believe Toyota fitted a different spring when they fitted Bilsteins from the factory. Im wondering was the rear spring shorter and the front longer? Im now looking for some oem springs that were fitted to the Toyota Bilsteins.

 

Does anybody have pics of their car with Bilsteins on Eibach springs? Im curious as to how the car sits? The front must be really low.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Latest update, the shocks have been sent back to Bilstein for the circlip grooves to be recut at my specified height. These shocks have caused me a nightmare tbh and I wouldn't recommend anybody go down this route of Bilsteins and OEM springs in future unless you want a car thats low at the front and high at the rear.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's weird this as I did the all bilsteins swap to mine with stock springs and the original black standard shocks.

 

I have never heard of different springs, just NA or TT ones.

 

Did you use the oem springs though or swap to lowering springs? You can clearly see from my pic of the fronts below that the distance from spring seat to bolt eye is shorter on the Bilsteins which is why the front then sits lower. Weirdly, on the rears the spring seat to bolt eye distance is longer on the Bilsteins making the ride height higher at the back. I did manage to find this thread with exactly the same problem http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?345288-Bilstein-B6-shock-install-to-J-spec&highlight=bilstein and i contacted machman and he too never got to the bottom of the problem.

 

image

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Front or rear or both

Attached should be pics of the front if it helps[ATTACH=CONFIG]232594[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]232595[/ATTACH]

 

 

The Bilsteins lower the front by about 10mm and the rears lift the rear by about 10mm. You end up with a horrible stance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember when getting my custom B6 Bilsteins from CW, he stated that they do drop the car slightly lower then stock shocks.

 

I fitted mine with mine with Eibach springs, bet never noticed a massive difference compared to the stock shocks with the Eibach’s.

 

Ended up changing them out for my KW V3’s in the end which are a far better road set up IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Bilsteins lower the front by about 10mm and the rears lift the rear by about 10mm. You end up with a horrible stance.

 

I just had my car chassis tuned and they measured the ride height and compared to OEM spec on on my Toyota Bilsteins all 4 corners were 10mm lower.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All oem springs, but I didn't have a close clearance issue so perhaps didn't notice, but I haven't got a nose down stance at all?

As you can see, this guy had the exact same problem as i did http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthr...light=bilstein

 

How long ago did you buy your Bilsteins? Im wondering have they changed the design or has an error occurred with their measurements at some point that they have not noticed?

 

I would love to have a set of older Bilsteins to compare measurements with mine.

 

My car ended up so nose down that my headlights aim was on the floor and even sitting in the drivers seat, the backrest seemed too upright.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I replaced the struts about 4 years ago as the originals had run 100k so decided it was time to renew. Retained the original springs, just the struts changed.

 

It seems then the Bilstein design MUST have been changed between then and recently. I wonder, and this is only a guess as im looking for explanations, have Bilstein somehow mixed up the seat height of the front and rears? I know it sounds unlikely but errors can and do occur. Did they transfer measurement data to a new system or something and mix the rears up with the fronts?

 

Can you post a side on pic of your car?

 

Does anybody have an older set of front Bilstein shocks off the car that can do a measurement for us to get to the bottom of this? Im after the measurement from the very bottom of the bolt eye to the spring seat circlip

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The car sits as you'd expect.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]232604[/ATTACH]

 

Yeah thats sat perfectly. My front wings were lower than the top of the front tyres with the Bilsteins fitted. This proves that something is wrong at Bilsteins end. Something has happened with manufacturing between you buying yours and recently. We really need somebody with an older set of Bilsteins to measure that distance between the bottom of the bolt eye to the circlip. I am convinced Bilstein have messed up somewhere as its the only possible explanation as there is no other way the ride height could be different between yours and mine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

FINALLY! I got the shock absorbers back from Bilstein after they machined new circlip grooves in them for me and i can gladly report they are now perfect. The springs are no longer loose when fully extended and the ride height is at near standard height.

 

For future reference, if anybody is buying Bilsteins to use with the OEM springs, i would advise asking them to reposition the circlips before you have them delivered. This will save you all the hassle ive had. You need the fronts UP by 10mm and the rears DOWN by 12mm. On the off chance that this set up does not work for your car then you can always refit the circlips back into their original grooves.

 

Must say, ive not been impressed with Bilstein customer service. They just stopped replying to my emails and left me not knowing what to do. It was only when i went back to Larkspeed who i bought the shocks from that they contacted Bilstein and arranged to have them altered. Rob at Larkspeed was superb and kept me updated all the time, highly recommended.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. You might also be interested in our Guidelines, Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.