About to buy Bilsteins, one last ?...

[ChameleonGreen]

Should I go with the regular B46-1913 fronts or buy from SLP to get the new F4-BE5-2406-M1 fronts. Are they worth the extra $?

[hockeyman]

How much extra?

[ChameleonGreen]

Well SLP is selling the full set for 400 + 22 shipping + 5 BS handling fee = 427. I can only assume that set comes with the new fronts, though it doesn't go into details on the web site.

OR

I can buy the 1913 & 1914s from ProAM for 326 + instate tax with free shipping for a total of 352.

So 75 dollars more to get them from SLP and i'm not even sure that's with the new 2406's. I would of course call & ask what the set comes with before placing the order with them.

[hockeyman]

Well, I don't really know what the difference is between the two (besides price). I just bought a used set of 4 SLP Spec Bilsteins for $150 (thanx Pathogen!), and I didn't think they cost that much new!

Hopefully, someone here can chime-in and give you some advice on which set to buy.

[V6Bob]

I'd be flabbergasted if anyone here could give you a good answer, even if you did help us out by telling what springs you have.

But I think Sam Strano could give you a good answer.

[Tyler]

i thought they always said the best place ot get bilsteins is bimmerparts or something like that?

correct me if im wrong?

[camaroman1181]

strano sells great stuff.. I got both my bilsteins and my pro kit from them... with shipping it ran about 600... great people to deal with too. he also sells revalved bilsteins if you really want a high end shock, but expect to pay around a grand for the set of revalves (last i checked) I have just the regular bilstein HD's and the handling definately improved. i cant give you any before and after data though..

[V6Bob]

"i thought they always said the best place ot get bilsteins is bimmerparts or something like that?
correct me if im wrong?"

They're often the cheapest. The best place to get them is Sam Strano. The additional cost is small and the expert advice priceless.

No connection, just a satisfied customer.

[camaroman1181]

also... check out the sticky at the top of this forum...
http://www.camarov6.com/ubb/ultimate...c;f=2;t=004059

it might provide at least some of the info that you are looking for.... And if not, find strano and give him a call or email. he'll set ya straight

[ChameleonGreen]

Originally posted by V6Bob:
I'd be flabbergasted if anyone here could give you a good answer, even if you did help us out by telling what springs you have.

But I think Sam Strano could give you a good answer.

Stock Springs

[ChameleonGreen]

Originally posted by camaroman1181:
also... check out the sticky at the top of this forum...
http://www.camarov6.com/ubb/ultimate...c;f=2;t=004059

it might provide at least some of the info that you are looking for.... And if not, find strano and give him a call or email. he'll set ya straight

That sticky is what effed everything up. If it wasn't for that I would have just bought the 1913's & 1914's and never given it a second thought. But because I read that, if the 2406's really are that "significantly" better that Bilstein adopted them as the new standard fronts, I don't want to be buying the old ones.

That aside, my car is my daily driver. I don't race or AutoX with it and I doubt I ever will. So, I don't need any crazy $1000 shocks. But, I do love to slide around corners every now and then. So, if there's a new standard (2406's) out there, I'd rather get those.

[ChameleonGreen]

Okay, I just called SLP and asked them about their set of shocks. I spoke to Joey and he said their set of shocks are their own custom shocks. He didn't tell me the model numbers of the shocks but basically he said the reason why I should buy his is because their shocks come with a built in proportional rate and once the nuetral zone is exceeded that they act like an active suspension. He also said the regular set of Bilstein's do not come with a built in proportional rate, or that the stock rate wasn't as good or something like that. He had a Jersey accent and I'm from TX so it was kinda hard to understand him.

So does that make sense to anyone? I'm not a big suspension guru.

Oh yeah, they're also giving free shipping right now, so 404.90 shipped.

[V6Bob]

"So does that make sense to anyone?"

Shocks 101.

Without shocks the springs would make the car bob up and down like a yo-yo. Not good for handling, not good for comfort.

With inadequate shocks (wornout, stock V6 shocks on lowering springs) the car only bounces a little. Still not good.

Shocks basically work by forcing oil through small holes. But the math of that doesn't work out well. If you have enough shock action on small bumps, you'll have too much (shocks kinda lock up) on big ones.

So shocks have valves which open/close some holes depending on how big a bump. With stock shocks the valving is pretty crude and not easily adjustable. With premium shocks they do the valving better and it's often adjustable.

Adjusting the valving can make things better if the adjustor knows exactly what to do. Or adjusting can help do different things well (street or track). The basic idea is to tune the how much bump, how much shock action equation. [This is what SLP is saying. They're claiming that their shocks have a better equation.]

NASCAR teams these days have at least one expert guy whose full time job is solely to adjust shocks (the "shock guy") for various tracks and per driver input. Their shock valving is sophisticated and very adjustable, which is why their shocks are very expensive.

Final note. Going around a corner is much like a bump. One side of the car goes down, the other up. Shocks are critical for handling.

More in Carroll Snith, "Drive to Win".

[Publican]

The sticky is mine - the comment about the superior performance of the SLP spec unit was made by tech support at Bilstein in California. I phoned to discuss the SLP unit when that was what was shipped instead of the 1913's that were ordered.

I don't know what the actual difference is as I have never had the 1913's. I do know if your supplier orders from Bilstein today, the SLP is what will arrive even if the 1913 is ordered. If you can get the SLP spec for the same price as 1913's, I would order them.

[ChameleonGreen]

Originally posted by Publican:
The sticky is mine - the comment about the superior performance of the SLP spec unit was made by tech support at Bilstein in California. I phoned to discuss the SLP unit when that was what was shipped instead of the 1913's that were ordered.

I don't know what the actual difference is as I have never had the 1913's. I do know if your supplier orders from Bilstein today, the SLP is what will arrive even if the 1913 is ordered. If you can get the SLP spec for the same price as 1913's, I would order them.

Where did you purchase yours from? I was kind of wanting to give my business to Strano now.

Do the shocks that you received have any kind of identifying marks or numbers on them? I'd like to make sure I get those when I order. Thanks for the input!