09-23-2018, 11:42 AM | #1 |
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Anyone tried Bilstein B6 damptronic dampers?
I've had my 2018 M4 CP for a couple of months and really enjoying it, however compared to my Boxster with Bilstein B8 damptronic dampers, and my previous F31 running AC Schnitzer RS Coilovers, I can feel that the damping is ok, but not great. Comfort lacks control when you up the pace, and whilst sport helps, it's far from perfect.
The car is a daily driver, and UK roads are terrible, so not sure I want to lower the car as much as coilovers do, nor have a much firmer spring rate than standard. Just looking to have better quality damping, and retain the adaptive functionality. Only option I can see is the Bilstein B6 damptronic dampers, thinking of pairing them with some Eibach springs for a subtle drop. Ive searched, but can't find any threads with anyone who has fitted them, so thought I'd ask. If anyone has them, or even fitted B6 passive, I'd be interested to hear how they compare to stock dampers. Thanks
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09-27-2018, 03:10 AM | #2 |
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From what i understand the b6 shock are oem replacement, the b8 are the sport shock and are not available as you say
Bilstein pss10 coilover would be a good option to upgrade the suspension, many people on this forum had it installed and everybody seems happy with it |
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09-27-2018, 04:27 AM | #3 |
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I gave up waiting for bilstein to release the rear b6 shocks
I ended up going with the full tractive suspension setup - and it was a great choice, plenty of info in the 2 threads kicking around We have the same b and c roads here in aus as you have in uk, you'll be impressed with how good the tractive dampening is at speed |
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09-27-2018, 04:32 AM | #4 | |
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The other issue with coilovers is the higher spring rate and lower ride height. Great if you want that for track or looks, but not if you just want supple road manners.
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09-27-2018, 04:34 AM | #5 | |
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The Tractive stuff looks interesting, but very pricy in comparison. I am interested to hear how the DSC controllers are though, as I have one on my Boxster and it's absolutely brilliant. If it improves the BMW adaptive suspension by the same amount it would be spectacular.
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09-27-2018, 08:40 AM | #6 | |
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10-09-2018, 01:20 AM | #7 |
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Try coding CS EDC. It did wonders for my CP.
Rebounding is way faster and it just seemed to have improved over time (probably adaptations). I took a nice sweeper at 90+ and it’s perfectly compliant just in Sport mode. Sport+ is super impressive and stiff with extremely fast rebound. You are glued to bumpy roads even mid corner. |
11-08-2018, 12:22 PM | #8 |
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Per Bilstein's site, they state the B8 are shorter to accommodate lowering springs. I'm planning on replacing the OEM dampeners on my Civic with the B6 with my current Eibach Pro Kit springs. I've read reviews these springs with the B6 on other platforms seem to work well. As for availability, the Fronts are readily available here in the States, the rears are not. You can, however, source them directly from Bilstein UK or basically anywhere in Europe. Not sure why they have not shipped them over here yet.
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07-12-2020, 03:01 PM | #10 | |
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07-13-2020, 01:48 PM | #11 | |
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07-13-2020, 08:24 PM | #12 |
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On my last 2 cars I had bilstein shocks with lowering springs and it was the perfect combo for daily driven AND track. I feel like people get crazy adjustability, just to have them on the wrong setting.
With that said, this time around I opted for the B16 damptronic coilover kit, which is getting installed today. I was very close to getting the spring/shock combo but the price was nearly the same as the coilovers. Time will tell if that was the right decision... if I read this post before I ordered the coilovers, I probably would have gone the spring/shock route too. Glad you are happy with the setup! I only put bilsteins in my cars. |
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07-14-2020, 09:31 PM | #13 | |
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Sport and Sport Plus with the B16 felt very planted and compliant. Comfort felt a little softer but a little less compliant. I need to do a lot more driving to fully test it, I had all the stock suspension boxed up in the car so I couldn't drive around much. I never really used to notice the difference between EDC settings, but now I definitely do. My guess is that this system was developed for the civic EDC coding, and the ZCP might make it feel a little harder. I would be interested to try coding different EDC settings to see how it changes it. |
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07-15-2020, 04:00 PM | #14 | ||||
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Yeah I was actually thinking that I shouldn't be so quick to make an assessment. Everyone says that after the setup gets broken in, it will be half inch or 3/8" lower. So the springs especially need to break in. Right now the car feels over sprung in comfort and sport. Surprisingly sport plus feels the best because there is no bouncy feeling. It felt stiff but complaint, probably because the stiff setting matches the spring rates, which might not be broken in yet. I'm going to drive it for a few hundred miles before I make any conclusions or change any coding. Problem is I don't drive the car that much so I'll have to make a point to! |
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07-15-2020, 09:26 PM | #15 |
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With the same spring, a Bilstein will always sit higher than a stock shock/Koni/etc. This is due to their extremely high internal gas pressure - try compressing a strut by hand... it hurts.
I say this so that you don't compare your own ride height to another car with the same spring and OE dampers - that car will always sit lower than the Billy car. All that said, I'm certain that the B6D dampers + Eibachs is the ultimate street setup for these cars and this thread only confirms that. It also seems to be common knowledge, at this point, that the B16D coil overs are maybe a tad too aggressive. Of course that's relative a directly proportional to your age - in my 20's I didn't mind aggressive. Now in my 40s I want plush but controlled. Edit - I recently had Alex / Apline code my ZCP dampers to CS, no other changes = nice upgrade. Minor, but nice.
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07-27-2020, 01:34 PM | #16 |
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RoadRunner///M
Your review convinced me to go the same route as I've been looking for a more compliant dampening effect for daily driving, while not dramatically pushing the aesthetic envelope associated with installing lowering springs. Did you install them yourself or have a shop handle it? I've done a few strut/spring replacements on other platforms, but never on an ///M. Do you have any tips or insights as to any installation differences between the Bilsteins versus OEM? I appreciate it! |
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08-08-2020, 02:26 PM | #18 |
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Just installed B16's on my CS. A very worthwhile upgrade.
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08-13-2020, 06:20 AM | #19 |
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08-13-2020, 01:30 PM | #20 | |
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There is only one nut holding the strut assembly to the top hat. All you have to do is: 1) unbolt the swaybar end link (to give full extension to the strut) 2) disconnect EDC wire and remove brake line/wheel speed sensor lines from holding brackets out of the way again to give as much clearance and extension when the strut releases from the top You compress the strut assembly with a jack from underneath, then with impact driver remove the nut holding the shock shaft from strut mount on the top and then slowly lower the jack to relieve the tension on the spring. The important part of the assembly (shock/spring/rubber mount) will all come down and you can replace with the bilstein assembly (once you've released the shock from the steering knuckle- remove the bolt and use a big slotted screwdriver or pry bar to extend the sleeve). Bilstein spring doesn't have any preload and you can simply adjust with the ring to get it snug once installed. Voila.. probably saved you an hour of work. Reasons why you can do it this way: 1) the stock spring is pretty short 2) the stock spring doesn't have much preload with the wheel fully extended |
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08-13-2020, 03:21 PM | #21 | |
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Running the impact driver for a couple seconds probably won't do anything to the shock, these are hardened steel shafts and can take a lot of abuse. The real issue is that the impact driver can over torque if you're not careful, so I recommend using it only to loosen the nut and then you can use an open ended socket with a combo wrench to tighten the new nut. Here are the sockets I used: for the factory top nut: Schwaben 003046SCH01A-01 Strut Nut Socket (18Mm) for the bilstein replacement top nut (it's bigger than the factory nut). Schwaben 22mm Strut Nut Socket 1/2" drive Part #: PEL-003046SCH01A-04 |
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08-13-2020, 03:35 PM | #22 |
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If you are uncomfortable using the impact wrench, you can just buy one of these for $15 from Pelican Parts:
https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_In...03046SCH01A-01 |
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