Bilstein B6 EDC dampers with lowering springs

[TR930]

I know the B8's are designed to run with lowering springs but it doesn't appear they are made with EDC. The B16 EDC kit seems like it may be pretty stiff for a pure street use car.

I know the B6 dampers aren't here yet, but any thoughts if there will be any problem with these and ACS springs? The Evolve review appears that the B6's are a step up from the stock EDC dampers and not too harsh in comfort or sport. It appeared like those ( Evolve review) were on lowered springs as well.

Thoughts?

[ntg44]

I contacted Bilstein about this before I bought my B16D kit. Their official response was that the B6 are designed to be paired with lowering springs as well as stock springs. Bilstein felt there was no need for a B8 shock for this plaftorm because the B6 was sufficient to them.

From my overall experience on lowering springs - less is more. My Macht Schnell set was -28mm front and -18mm rear. In my opinion, it was too much drop. Car rode like garbage as soon as a bump large enough was hit. Now I know that I was just riding the bump stops. Shocks were definitely not blown - only had 5000 miles on them before install.

Now I'm on MP HAS with a milder drop. I'm told my car is at max drop in front (-25mm ?) and has a very mild drop in the rear, also corner balanced. I have zero complaints regarding ride quality, but at the same time the MP HAS comes with its own bump stops. They look pretty much the same as stock though.

Given all this, since springs are cheap and easily re-sellable, if it was my car, I'd get an Eibach V2 kit to pair with B6D shocks. Less drop, but you're in a safer drop range within MP HAS specs and your car will probably drive better. I was originally going to go this route, but gave up once I couldn't source a set of B6Ds.

The way I see it, if I'm investing a pretty penny for B6Ds, I want to be 100% sure they perform right. ACS drop seems in the same ballpark as my MS springs, so I'd rather play it safe the first time, rather than pay again for another spring swap if I found they're too low.

[TR930]

Originally Posted by ntg44

I contacted Bilstein about this before I bought my B16D kit. Their official response was that the B6 are designed to be paired with lowering springs as well as stock springs. Bilstein felt there was no need for a B8 shock for this plaftorm because the B6 was sufficient to them.

From my overall experience on lowering springs - less is more. My Macht Schnell set was -28mm front and -18mm rear. In my opinion, it was too much drop. Car rode like garbage as soon as a bump large enough was hit. Now I know that I was just riding the bump stops. Shocks were definitely not blown - only had 5000 miles on them before install.

Now I'm on MP HAS with a milder drop. I'm told my car is at max drop in front (-25mm ?) and has a very mild drop in the rear, also corner balanced. I have zero complaints regarding ride quality, but at the same time the MP HAS comes with its own bump stops. They look pretty much the same as stock though.

Given all this, since springs are cheap and easily re-sellable, if it was my car, I'd get an Eibach V2 kit to pair with B6D shocks. Less drop, but you're in a safer drop range within MP HAS specs and your car will probably drive better. I was originally going to go this route, but gave up once I couldn't source a set of B6Ds.

The way I see it, if I'm investing a pretty penny for B6Ds, I want to be 100% sure they perform right. ACS drop seems in the same ballpark as my MS springs, so I'd rather play it safe the first time, rather than pay again for another spring swap if I found they're too low.

The ACS springs are a very mild drop which is why I chose them, I didn't want to be slammed.

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by TR930

The ACS springs are a very mild drop which is why I chose them, I didn't want to be slammed.

The ACS fronts are 25-30mm drop, and rears are 10-15mm drop from the master thread documentation. Compared to my MS springs, -28mm front/-18mm rear, the fronts are the same, rears a little higher. I wouldn't call the front a mild drop for stock shocks at all. But the rears may be high enough and ride fine. Only way is to try, but thought it would be useful to share my impressions with a pretty similar height spring.