Bilstein Shocks - Worth The Money??

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bradfields

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Sitting here about to pull the trigger on a set of 4 Bilstein shocks for my 1971 Demon 340 and thought maybe I'd ask if anyone else is or has run these shocks and what your experience has been with them, are they worth the $409.00 a set??
 
Most praise these pieces.I had 4 on my Dart and thought they worked great on good roads.Gave the car a more modern, firm, feel.But..they are fairly stiff and do not like rough roads!
 
I have been running them for about 1200 miles now. They are great for handling, but do provide a slightly harsh ride in my opinion. The harshness is well worth it for me personally.

Cley
 
From everything I have read over the years I'd hate to see what the guys that think bilstiens are a stiff ride think of kyb. Lol
 
abodyjoe said:
From everything I have read over the years I'd hate to see what the guys that think bilstiens are a stiff ride think of kyb. Lol
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Yeah, me too, but I did not find the KYB's too harsh on my son's Barracuda even after we went to the 1.14" torsion bars. We'll see what they're like with factory big block (.890") torsion bars some time soon...
 
bradfields said:
Sitting here about to pull the trigger on a set of 4 Bilstein shocks for my 1971 Demon 340 and thought maybe I'd ask if anyone else is or has run these shocks and what your experience has been with them, are they worth the $409.00 a set??
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$410 is worth it in my 68 fastback.
 
I have them in my off-brand RWD V8 coupe and they were exactly what I was looking for. The ride is definitely firm but not jittery, not overly harsh and certainly nothing like race car harshness. The trade off for the firmness is a much less sloppy suspension which is also much more predictable.

Shocks and tires are two places where spending more usually pays off.
 
bradfields said:
Sitting here about to pull the trigger on a set of 4 Bilstein shocks for my 1971 Demon 340 and thought maybe I'd ask if anyone else is or has run these shocks and what your experience has been with them, are they worth the $409.00 a set??
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IM RUNNING THEM ON MY 1970 GS 455 THEY ARE GREAT AND WORTH THE $
 
ir3333 said:
If you have good roads i think you'll be pleased
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I don’t have great roads. And they’re definitely worth the money!

KYB’s are garbage. I used them for around 50k miles on my Challenger with 1.12” torsion bars. Switching to the Bilsteins was like driving a whole new car. I immediately regretted not changing over to the Bilsteins sooner.

I also used a set on my Duster with 1.12” bars. I’ve since changed them out for Hotchkis shocks on the Duster. The hotchkis shocks are a little better with those pretty large torsion bars. Not that the Bilsteins weren’t good, the hotchkis shocks are just a little better with the 1.12” bars.
 
Cant really gives you much for comparison but I put them on my '72 Demon 340. I think it rides as well as the 2008 Edge I had. Are they worth it ? Just a matter of opinion. If the price is not a big consideration I would recommend them.
Yote
 
I liked them so well on the big block GTS so I bought a set for the GT "decoy". I say they are worth it to me. Call PST and tell them you want the For A bodies Only discount and they will verify your user name and sell the to you for $368 shipped
 
What are your plans with this car ?
Street, Drag, Canyons, Shows, Groceries ?
It depends on what you are doing with the car. Thats how I would make my decision
On $410.00 shocks.
 
72bluNblu said:
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I also used a set on my Duster with 1.12” bars. I’ve since changed them out for Hotchkis shocks on the Duster. The hotchkis shocks are a little better with those pretty large torsion bars. Not that the Bilsteins weren’t good, the hotchkis shocks are just a little better with the 1.12” bars.
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This is great to hear but you bring up a good point...shocks are typically matched with spring rates. Did you find that the Bilsteins were under-damped for the high rates of the 1.12"s? Was it just too jittery?

Road conditions not withstanding, it seems like the more torsion bar you can get under these cars, the better they drive. My roads in northern CT are mixed but with plenty of great two lane country highways...I can't see an argument for going with smaller bars than 1.12" so I guess I'll be giving Hotchkis a call over the winter.
 
Johnny Dart said:
What are your plans with this car ?
Street, Drag, Canyons, Shows, Groceries ?
It depends on what you are doing with the car. Thats how I would make my decision
On $410.00 shocks.
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Yup, good point. Not that the Bilsteins aren't still a better shock, but if you're running stock torsion bars on a weekend car that just gets driven around town you probably won't be blown away by their performance compared to a set of Gabriel's that are a heck of a lot cheaper, you just won't see the performance that makes the Bilsteins better.

MRGTX said:
This is great to hear but you bring up a good point...shocks are typically matched with spring rates. Did you find that the Bilsteins were under-damped for the high rates of the 1.12"s? Was it just too jittery?

Road conditions not withstanding, it seems like the more torsion bar you can get under these cars, the better they drive. My roads in northern CT are mixed but with plenty of great two lane country highways...I can't see an argument for going with smaller bars than 1.12" so I guess I'll be giving Hotchkis a call over the winter.
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It's kind of hard to describe the difference between the Bilsteins and the Hotchkis shocks. It's not like the suspension was always over or underdamped. The car just felt better with the Hotchkis shocks in terms of ride quality. More consistent. Matching shocks can get pretty complicated. Higher end shocks have more valving, so, they react differently in response to different loads and impulses, it's not just a strictly linear response that's the same regardless of load. The hotchkis shocks just matched the 1.12's better, softer in some situations but more responsive in others, they just felt like a better overall match to the 1.12's than the Bilsteins were. But the larger the bars get the more important that match is. I think for smaller bars the Bilsteins work great, I still like them on my Challenger, but the 1.12" E-body bars are 270 lb/in compared to the A-body 1.12's which are 300 lb/in. And the '72 Challenger is probably a bit heavier too, which makes a difference.
 
First, the relationship between spring and shock is critical. Most ride quality issues start here.
Second, you need to stay with mono tube type shocks. Twin tubes are cheaper and typically billed as second rate. Rule of thumb - any adjustable shock with knobs on the bottom is a twin tube. Top knobs are mono tubes. The hotchis shocks are good for me. I ve had them a while. However, they are only rebound adjustable. The bilsteins are very good quality and will last a lifetime. I sell these too, but probably not cheap enough, lol.
 
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