Bilstein heavy duty / sport confusion

Luis A.

Luis A.

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Right before leaving for The Vintage I realized the rear brake hoses and calipers were in need of replacement and refurbishment. In order to remove the calipers it was necessary to remove the shocks first since the shock mounting eye was large enough to cover the upper mounting bolt for the caliper. I thought this was strange. It turns out the rear Bilsteins installed on this coupe are for the E3, not the E9. So now I'm in search of the correct set of Bilsteins for the rear and possibly the front.

From what I've read here HD's are preferable to sports due to the perception of the latter being too harsh and potential damage to the rear shock towers. I'm OK with a less aggressive suspension setup such as the HD's would provide.

The Bilstein webpage only shows Sports for the E9, no HD's are shown:
http://web1.carparts-cat.com/defaul...C1679E72ACE8EEDFE040A8C01E3E70F1018004&12=140

Here's where the confusion lies: The part numbers shown on their page for "Sports" are the same part numbers other vendors, such as Bavauto and several others call "Heavy Duty". Some posters here have also referred to PN's B46-0813 and P36-0024 as HD's when Bilstein calls them Sports. BTW, those are the old numbers, new numbers are 24-008136 (rears) and 34-000243 (fronts).

So my question is, can true HD's be had or are the new "sports" actually HD's re-labeled...?

Will the real HD's please stand up?!
 
I installed Bilsteins HDs a few years ago and still had the shock tower damage happen. So maybe prepare for that repair and use what you prefer in terms of ride.

My E24 has Bilsteins with Dinan coils and it is much stiffer than the E9 with HDs and stock coils. I have never driven a non-stock E9 so I cannot even say what I would want.
 
Correct HD #'s

Luis--simply contact Carl Nelson as he has been installing HD's on E-9's for over two decades--mine since 1995 and they are still robust. He has always stated that the Sport version will beat your upper shock mounts out and most drivers will find them too harsh--HD's provide a firm but not harsh ride.

BLUMAX wears 16" staggered Alpinas along with HD's and his springs--this combo is VERY FIRM--but at 85 or so really smooths out.
 
From what I understand 'sports' bump stop is 1 inch lower than the 'HD' that's the only difference.

Before I upgraded Athena's suspension to HDs, 9/16ths front lowering springs and Carl's recommended 28-22mm anti-sway bars, she handled like a squishy side rolling Buick. Afterwards she handles just like the X3 with the M3s flatness through curves as a BMW should.
 
H&B

The best upgrade I ever did on my car was to install the suspension package from Hardy & Beck. They use a custom valved Bilstein shock that is somewhere between HD and Sport. That combined with their springs and anti-sway bars is perfection.

http://www.hbspecialists.com/
 
Suspension choices

To Arde--I may appear to be 85 but am still shy a couple--now as to gas pedal position--85 is nice--90 better--and three digits great for this old crocks touring comfort.
 
blumax said:
To Arde--I may appear to be 85 but am still shy a couple--now as to gas pedal position--85 is nice--90 better--and three digits great for this old crocks touring comfort.
Click to expand...

You and Blumax sport eternal youth Murray, proving that neither age nor mileage matter much.
 
I Have a pair-cheap

Hi Luis,

I have a brand new pair of HD's I got from Carl. My local parts guy got me a pair as well which I installed and I don't see me needing the other set for a long time so if you want I can send them to you half price. Just came across them yesterday- still in the boxes- just taking up space. Let me know.

Cheers,
 
Louis- Please let us know what you find out on this since it appears know one knows for sure. One suggestion might be to contact Bilstein in Californian where they re-valve and rebuild units for customers. I would think they could give you a definitive answer on your original question.

One note- the struts/shocks, springs and sway bars need to be matched for best results (too many people have tried to improve handling with stiffer struts/shocks alone with poor results).
 
The E24 guys are all of the opinion that the valving in the HD and Sports is similar if not the same. The difference is the length of the shaft travel and Bil reccomends sports with lowering springs. However I am sure Carl is the Guru!! I am running Konis as their shocks work with any spring combo and of course the ride you want can be dialed into them since they are adjustable.
 
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