Question for those with Bilsteins...
01-18-2005, 10:32 AM
#1
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Question for those with Bilsteins...
What springs are you using? H&R, Eibach or stock? I should have gone with the $995 H&R coilover special, but money was tight and now it's over... Looks like a spring/shock combo could be hundreds cheaper so I want to explore that. Can anyone compare the coilovers to a Bilstein/lowering spring combo? TIA
01-18-2005, 11:14 AM
#3
I installed the Eibach/Bilstein combo a couple of months ago with 18" wheels and......
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It felt a little stiff/bouncy at first, but after driving it for a few days, (It felt like it got less stiff/bouncy), I realized that it really is a big improvement. It feels tight and on rails through the turns. I do not "track" the car, but I do get "on it" on a daily basis. I did put a full size spare in the trunk to get a little more weight back there. I have another A8 with stock suspension, and it is much softer and mushy, even with 19" wheels on it. I prefer to drive the one with the Eibach/Bilstein setup.
Keep in mind I only paid $560 for the whole setup. If the H&R would have been available for $995 when I was looking for a new suspension I would have gone that route.
It felt a little stiff/bouncy at first, but after driving it for a few days, (It felt like it got less stiff/bouncy), I realized that it really is a big improvement. It feels tight and on rails through the turns. I do not "track" the car, but I do get "on it" on a daily basis. I did put a full size spare in the trunk to get a little more weight back there. I have another A8 with stock suspension, and it is much softer and mushy, even with 19" wheels on it. I prefer to drive the one with the Eibach/Bilstein setup.
Keep in mind I only paid $560 for the whole setup. If the H&R would have been available for $995 when I was looking for a new suspension I would have gone that route.
01-18-2005, 12:28 PM
#7
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Stock springs also...
I think the Bilsteins are substantially stiffer than the stock shocks. I replaced the entire front end when I did the shocks (meyle HD parts), so the front end got quite a bit tighter feeling as well. A also recently changed from 235/55/17s to 255/45/18s and stiffened the ride even further. The car has a MUCH sportier character now. The only downside as far as I'm concerned seems to be more transmission of the initial jolt/noise from hard bumps, expansion joints, etc., but I think the handling response is worth the tradeoff.
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01-18-2005, 03:02 PM
#10
Same here. Ride quality improved too -- less wallow after bumps
I don't think it made the car all that more responsive or precise -- nothing nearly as dramatic as replacing the original equipment tires. With Bilsteins, the body roll still comes in to the same degree, it just develops a bit more slowly. Unfortunately, body roll in an A8 causes the front wheels to toe in the direction of the roll, robbing some steering precision. (And it may do something equally wacky and non linear to the back wheels for all I know.) So stiffening the springs and/or anti roll bars will probably make the car handle more precisely by reducing the steering effects caused by suspension movement.
Tom
Tom