Bilstein B8 -> Koni/GC

[MM89]

will there be enough metal to drill it out to 12mm??


8" is short, but the design of the ground control sleeve will work well with this length. perhaps what i need for the rear.

you don't want to be using too long a spring because of the extra mass and also less flexibility in adjusting ride height.


the issue with the ground control sleeve for the koni shock body (not sure if this would apply to other brand of shocks using GC sleeves)
is that the sleeve will turn when you are trying to adjust the spring preload. usually using some wd-40 will help and a good strong hand to grip onto the sleeve while you're trying to adjust the perch.
some people claimed to have used ONE layer of electrical tape to make the shock body just thick enough to prevent the sleeve from spinning, this did not work for me because even the one layer of
electrical tape was too thick.

also, mine did not come with an adjustment spanner, so i filed down a piece of flat metal to fit in the grooves on the adjustment perch with some assistance from an adjustable spanner LOL

[mocchi]

will there be enough metal to drill it out to 12mm??


8" is short, but the design of the ground control sleeve will work well with this length. perhaps what i need for the rear.

you don't want to be using too long a spring because of the extra mass and also less flexibility in adjusting ride height.


the issue with the ground control sleeve for the koni shock body (not sure if this would apply to other brand of shocks using GC sleeves)
is that the sleeve will turn when you are trying to adjust the spring preload. usually using some wd-40 will help and a good strong hand to grip onto the sleeve while you're trying to adjust the perch.
some people claimed to have used ONE layer of electrical tape to make the shock body just thick enough to prevent the sleeve from spinning, this did not work for me because even the one layer of
electrical tape was too thick.

also, mine did not come with an adjustment spanner, so i filed down a piece of flat metal to fit in the grooves on the adjustment perch with some assistance from an adjustable spanner LOL

hehe pretty creative. but i will be getting oem style springs where the bottom/top isnt flat.
im thinking either H&R or Eibach, any other springs that offers oem style? no dont want kings lol.

the cylinder thickness is 2mm for oem,
ohlins is 1.5mm.

other than drilling them out, what other options you reckon? i don't even know where / how to drill the cylinder haha. arrrrr!!

[MM89]

well if cylinder thickness is 2mm for oem and you plan to drill the inner diameter out from 10mm to 12mm, you'll be left with 1mm wall thickness.
strength would be weaker regardless. i'm guessing it'll probably deform if you squeeze the cylinder back into the bush. not sure if that's gonna be a big issue, but i personally don't like any part failing on my car, especially if its caused by my error.

what you need in the correct dimensions should be available at a bolt and nut store or hardware shop.

Spoon has springs that fit to oem style shocks. Koni also makes springs to fit. JIC does. There are many out there. The question is, can they hold their actual spring rate over time and what is the variance in claimed and measured spring rate. Eibach and H&R are very well known. I'm happy with the eibach springs, but who's to say there isn't better something out there. I simply paid the price the I wanted to pay and got the product that I expected to get.Hypercoil is apparently as good as it gets. But pricing will follow suite.

[mocchi]

well if cylinder thickness is 2mm for oem and you plan to drill the inner diameter out from 10mm to 12mm, you'll be left with 1mm wall thickness.
strength would be weaker regardless. i'm guessing it'll probably deform if you squeeze the cylinder back into the bush. not sure if that's gonna be a big issue, but i personally don't like any part failing on my car, especially if its caused by my error.

what you need in the correct dimensions should be available at a bolt and nut store or hardware shop.

Spoon has springs that fit to oem style shocks. Koni also makes springs to fit. JIC does. There are many out there. The question is, can they hold their actual spring rate over time and what is the variance in claimed and measured spring rate. Eibach and H&R are very well known. I'm happy with the eibach springs, but who's to say there isn't better something out there. I simply paid the price the I wanted to pay and got the product that I expected to get.Hypercoil is apparently as good as it gets. But pricing will follow suite.

i think i will get h&r. will check for metal cylinder sleeve at my local nuts n bolts shop.

thanks bud

[string]

Found good shock settings yet? You surely must be impressed by the fast yaw response time coming from soft and understeery progressive springs.

[mocchi]

Found good shock settings yet? You surely must be impressed by the fast yaw response time coming from soft and understeery progressive springs.

are you asking me? i didnt try the stock springs, too long and i already know its gonna be too soft so didnt bother trying them on.

[string]

Nah asking the guy with a real man's suspension setup

[MM89]

haha they're quite good..it feels like it's never gonna understeer though...kinda hard to adapt to coming from the typical high front, low rear rates.

it's good that you asked about shocks settings, cos i've kept them at the softest. what brilliant advice do you have on offer today string??

[mocchi]

before i make an order of:

10" springs
500 front / 425 rear
any advice? should i have taken measurements from point 1 or point 2?
the lowering increments on the shock body is per 1cm



thanks.

[ewendc2r]

So you will run a rear bias setup?? (inc. ARB spring stiffness?)

Are they the PCV shocks?

[string]

it's good that you asked about shocks settings, cos i've kept them at the softest.

Through my fiddling I've learned that there's a small window of damping settings which will behave optimally. All other settings seem to result in a chassis that just doesn't want to rotate. Drive, adjust, drive again, adjust again, repeat. It's a two variable problem which you can only solve iteratively - hold one variable constant and sweep through the other. Start with the front full-soft and sweep the rear upwards from full-soft. When you realise that full-soft front probably isn't right, up it by a tiny bit (1/8th turn max) and start the rear sweep again. Make sure you have good tyres and drive well below the limit until you're really comfortable with how the springs are affecting the balance.

I don't know if that helps, but you'll absolutely know when you find the right setting when suddenly you realise "so this is how a car is supposed to respond to my inputs!" as the chassis is itching to rotate and keep rotating at the touch of steering input.... and then you adjust the height by a centimetre, change your tyre pressure by a psi or two, take out a few kg of weight from here and there and it all turns to shit. Sigh. Everything affects everything so when you find a setting you love, for the love of god don't touch anything!

Side note: Keep an eye on your front end bushings. You've substantially increased the front lateral force as a % of the total lateral force, so you're going to rape the LCA bushings.

[MM89]

any advice? should i have taken measurements from point 1 or point 2?

(2) is where i would measure from, because that's where the last coil of the spring sits. looks like you have a few points to adjust the spring. i think i would go for 10" too.