Bilstein B16 Damptronic Question

[BzsBimmer]

It’s firmer. To me compliant means soft and squishy

[jim1013yyf]

looking for more detailed review! I'm in bay area, and currently on the edge of pulling the trigger to purchase. Worried the ride might be too harsh for the bay area road.

[FreeDarko]

Defn interested in more reviews. I saw the Evolve video and the UK roads are poor so that was very insightful.

Pricing on this is excellent as well seeing it's under 3k USD.

[BzsBimmer]

Originally Posted by jim1013yyf

looking for more detailed review! I'm in bay area, and currently on the edge of pulling the trigger to purchase. Worried the ride might be too harsh for the bay area road.

I’m not a suspension junkie lol but I’ll try. I have driven the same roads around town now with all three settings, and I can now feel the differences between all three settings.

Comfort mode is like being on the original Sport albeit is slightly firmer.
Sport mode rebounds much quicker with Sport plus even more so.

The initial compression isn’t felt as much in all three settings from stock. The “bounce” you get from a road that has even undulations can be felt a lot more prevalent because the compressions and rebound is quicker... if that makes sense.

I’ve been able to take corners at *ahem* XXX speeds very comfortably and now finding tires being the issue of not having enough grip (Pilot 4S).

If you’re looking for a firm marshmallow like ride, this ain’t it. With my Swift springs, it was very soft but also floaty. On corners or bumps in the road, it felt unsettled and squirmy. Not awe inspiring to say the least.

Hope it makes sense

[clutchdj]

Was there any splicing or connector mods involved for the edc wire or is this kit 100% PnP.

[BzsBimmer]

💯 plug n play
The KW DDC requires you to pull pins out and reinsert into their connector (fronts). These don’t.

[swifty]

Originally Posted by BzsBimmer

plug n play
The KW DDC requires you to pull pins out and reinsert into their connector (fronts). These don’t.

How's the quality of the shocks in comparison to the KW DDC?

Anyone have an idea?

[danchee]

Originally Posted by FreeDarko

Defn interested in more reviews. I saw the Evolve video and the UK roads are poor so that was very insightful.

Pricing on this is excellent as well seeing it's under 3k USD.

The Evolve video (at least the one from BMWBlog) talks about the B6 Damptronic, not the B16 kit. Looks like B6 is only available for the front and uses factory springs. Do you have a link to their B16 review?

[BzsBimmer]

Originally Posted by swifty

How's the quality of the shocks in comparison to the KW DDC?

Anyone have an idea?

I don’t know. I did a lot of internet surfing on KW vs Bilstein and saw several negatives on KW as a whole. The KW was more money as well but that didn’t really influence my decision.

[FreeDarko]

Originally Posted by danchee

The Evolve video (at least the one from BMWBlog) talks about the B6 Damptronic, not the B16 kit. Looks like B6 is only available for the front and uses factory springs. Do you have a link to their B16 review?

Thanks for pointing that out.

[8_is_enough]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I've been trying to decide between these and KW DDCs, but the ~$800 price difference doesn't seem justifiable.

My '16 non-ZCP with EDC is on Swifts, and the ride is exactly as you describe -- soft and sloppy.

How low did you go? I like the ride height of the Swifts and don't want to go any higher.

[PandaxF82]

Originally Posted by clutchdj

Was there any splicing or connector mods involved for the edc wire or is this kit 100% PnP.

Nope. No splicing. Plug and play.

[BzsBimmer]

Originally Posted by 8_is_enough

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I've been trying to decide between these and KW DDCs, but the ~$800 price difference doesn't seem justifiable.

My '16 non-ZCP with EDC is on Swifts, and the ride is exactly as you describe -- soft and sloppy.

How low did you go? I like the ride height of the Swifts and don't want to go any higher.

Not sure who the question was directed to. My car was on Swift’s and it’s about the same height. Definitely room to go higher or lower. The instructions tell you the lowest recommended.

[8_is_enough]

Originally Posted by BzsBimmer

Not sure who the question was directed to. My car was on Swift’s and it’s about the same height. Definitely room to go higher or lower. The instructions tell you the lowest recommended.

Sorry I should have clarified the question was for you. Thanks for confirming the height!

[TR930]

Any other reviews of these or comparisons to KW DDC?

[Teeone]

Bz,
Can you elaborate a little more about comfort mode vs stock comfort mode? You noted that comfort mode with B16 is like sport mode with stock suspension but a little firmer. This doesn’t sound good to me. Would you say firmer but “less harsh” possibly? I’m looking to get rid of what I would describe as floatiness but also get improve the harshness of the stock edc. I thought these new bilsteins or the kw ddc’s May help me, but not sure. I daily in comfort and on fun drive or hiways I put it in sport. I’d appreciate any feedback.

[BzsBimmer]

Originally Posted by Teeone

Bz,
Can you elaborate a little more about comfort mode vs stock comfort mode? You noted that comfort mode with B16 is like sport mode with stock suspension but a little firmer. This doesn’t sound good to me. Would you say firmer but “less harsh” possibly? I’m looking to get rid of what I would describe as floatiness but also get improve the harshness of the stock edc. I thought these new bilsteins or the kw ddc’s May help me, but not sure. I daily in comfort and on fun drive or hiways I put it in sport. I’d appreciate any feedback.

As stated prior... I’m not a bonafide suspension expert.
So firmer, when rebound and compression is more predictable and controlled.

Less harsh, when driving under conditions with large dips or uneven surface conditions and or transitions, the ability to soak them up while remaining predictable, balanced, and composed.

[danchee]

With the ZCP suspension now, if I go over roads that are covered with metal plates (those 1 inch thick metal sheets they put on our roads to cover holes when they are being worked on) at say 20-25mph, it feels like there is zero suspension. Just hard hit teeth chattering bumg when going over the 1 inch tall seams.

With the Bilsteins, what does it feel like if you've been through one of these kinds of roads?

[Teeone]

This is exactly my issue and what I mean by harsh. Big bumps the suspension is wallowy and the little ones sound and feel like there is no suspension. Better with my new mps4s tires, but not impressive.....

[yjypm]

Originally Posted by danchee

With the ZCP suspension now, if I go over roads that are covered with metal plates (those 1 inch thick metal sheets they put on our roads to cover holes when they are being worked on) at say 20-25mph, it feels like there is zero suspension. Just hard hit teeth chattering bumg when going over the 1 inch tall seams.

With the Bilsteins, what does it feel like if you've been through one of these kinds of roads?

I just got Bilsteins installed and there's a metal plate road work on my way to work. What I feel is generally the Bilsteins DO make the car move more (up and down, side to side) on the metal plates (because of firmer springs) but it does a better job absorbing the seams. I agree on your saying that there feels like zero suspension on stock suspension, the Bilsteins feel firmer but I can tell the suspension is working on absorbing the bumps.
It's pretty hard to describe the feel but what I can conclude is that I feel more confident driving faster / accelerate on bumpy surfaces like this.

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by yjypm

I just got Bilsteins installed and there's a metal plate road work on my way to work. What I feel is generally the Bilsteins DO make the car move more (up and down, side to side) on the metal plates (because of firmer springs) but it does a better job absorbing the seams. I agree on your saying that there feels like zero suspension on stock suspension, the Bilsteins feel firmer but I can tell the suspension is working on absorbing the bumps.
It's pretty hard to describe the feel but what I can conclude is that I feel more confident driving faster / accelerate on bumpy surfaces like this.

What height is yours set at? I'm getting mine installed next week at max height front/Max -5mm rear. Wondering if it's more compliant at higher heights.

[yjypm]

Originally Posted by ntgarage44

What height is yours set at? I'm getting mine installed next week at max height front/Max -5mm rear. Wondering if it's more compliant at higher heights.

I set mine around 2 finger gap front and 1 finger gap rear. I don't think it will make much difference by setting at max height.