I love the way my car rides on the highway but I’m getting kind of tired with the rough ride over bumps around town. Are there any other options for shock absorbers to run with my lowering springs other than Billsteins?
Is it possible to have my lowering springs and neg camber plates with shocks other than Bilstein?
- Thread starter Stevehose
- Start date
Oldbmwcoupes
Well-Known Member
Steve, I’ve been looking into compression adjustable shock from Gaz for this reason as well. I’d love to dial back the compression setting for daily and city driving and then tighten it up for the highway. The roads in Memphis seem to be getting worse by the hour. I’ll be running Carl Nelson springs.
Look at fitments for Sachs, Boge & Koni.
I run Bilstein HDs & adjustable camber plates with 16" wheels, CN springs up front & stock rear springs & the ride is not harsh.
I run Bilstein HDs & adjustable camber plates with 16" wheels, CN springs up front & stock rear springs & the ride is not harsh.
I have CN lowering springs front and rear. My Bilsteins are supposed to be the HD version but they sure don’t feel like it.
What was the ride like before you swapped the springs and had stock springs with the HD's?
I can't find anything listed from these companies in their catalogues, I think we're SOL regarding shock/strut options.
I did the CN springs and Bilstein swap at the same time 10 years ago. Before that I had the stock springs and shocks. Yesterday I drove a restored CSi with stock suspension and it was NICE. I like my lowered stance but am tired of getting my teeth knocked out on the way to Starbucks. Not to mention the body blows the car takes.
I found thes from KYB, but Murray always referred to them as "Kick Your Butt"
KYB 4 SHOCKS BMW E9 Coupe 2800cs 3.0cs 3.0csi CSL E3 3.0s 3.0Si 68 - 72 73 74 75 | eBay
Fits BMW E9 1968 to 1975 BMW E9 2800 2800cs 3.0cs 3.0csi Coupe.
www.ebay.com
These are something Mesa may have. Believe it or not, I would try Tirerack also. They have a lot of NOS stuff somewhere but nobody thinks of them so....they have a lot of NOS stock somewhere. I got my Bilsteins from them for both the Bavaria and 3.0. Cheap too. At the time I think I saw Sachs as an option. Maybe also call Turner since they bought BavAuto and all their inventory.
FCP Euro, bought both Turner & BavAuto's parts businesses.
I have been searching for options as well since i have no idea of the age of my shocks and struts and hitting a bump at any speed, particularly highway speed is a really hard shock, particularly in the rear. It appears that Bilstein's are the only commercial option (advice re. KYB to stay away as too harsh), but would love to find some other options.
Was looking for options and found prior threads with a few links:
@Mot27cars 27 shared a link to an old Koni fitment guide Picture provided below
@Dave G Shared the following in July of 2020: "Ground Control uses Koni inserts in their kits. You might inquire as to what they can get for you. The great guys at LaJolla Independent BMW recommended them to me and indicated that they have a good balance of street comfort and handling with their adjustable height coil-over suspension set that I was interested in." Ground Control E9 Coilover Set
I have seen comments indicating that Bilstein HD's are softer than the sport's, but don't have any personal experience.
Was looking for options and found prior threads with a few links:
@Mot27cars 27 shared a link to an old Koni fitment guide Picture provided below
@Dave G Shared the following in July of 2020: "Ground Control uses Koni inserts in their kits. You might inquire as to what they can get for you. The great guys at LaJolla Independent BMW recommended them to me and indicated that they have a good balance of street comfort and handling with their adjustable height coil-over suspension set that I was interested in." Ground Control E9 Coilover Set
I have seen comments indicating that Bilstein HD's are softer than the sport's, but don't have any personal experience.
I think it is ECS that bought Turner, Pelican and then BavAuto’s stock of parts.
I have Bilstein HDs on the e3 and e9.
The e9 have H&R -40mm springs up front and some other lowering springs at the rear, this makes for a very "tight" ride that some could find a little harsh, you can feel small bumps/imperfections in the road etc.
The e3 uses, what I believe to be, tired/old/saggy stock springs. These combined with the Bilsteins is nothing like the e9, it's not anywhere near harsh but it's not a boat either.
IMO the stock springs combined with Bilsteins suits the e3 perfectly, the reason why we didn't go with new stock springs is that we believe it would sit much higher.
So Steve, maybe the solution could be to find some old saggy stock springs
The e9 have H&R -40mm springs up front and some other lowering springs at the rear, this makes for a very "tight" ride that some could find a little harsh, you can feel small bumps/imperfections in the road etc.
The e3 uses, what I believe to be, tired/old/saggy stock springs. These combined with the Bilsteins is nothing like the e9, it's not anywhere near harsh but it's not a boat either.
IMO the stock springs combined with Bilsteins suits the e3 perfectly, the reason why we didn't go with new stock springs is that we believe it would sit much higher.
So Steve, maybe the solution could be to find some old saggy stock springs
I have CN springs with Bilstein comfort struts (P36-022 discontinued long ago) up front. I scored a new set on eBay 10 years ago. Bilstein HDs at the rear. I’m very happy with the ride.
Someone here could confirm if these fit (P36-222) e9s:
Someone here could confirm if these fit (P36-222) e9s:
NOS 2x BMW Front Strut Shocks Bilstein Comfort BMW 2500 2800 3.0S 3.0Si P36-022 | eBay
Exactly as pictured. BMW 2800 1968 - 1971. BMW 2500 1968 - 1971. BMW 3.0S 1971 - 1976. BMW 3.0Si 1971 - 1976. BMW Bavaria Sedan 1968 - 08/1976.
www.ebay.com
I have Sachs adjustable along with camber plates and CN springs at SFDon’s recommendation. The combination is great in that you can go from a comfortable ride to a nice twisty road setting in five minutes. I think there are fourteen settings but with the lowering springs you can’t go too soft or you will have uncontrolled rebounding. Can’t tell you the model numbers off hand.
Norm- you have Spax adjustable shocks from the UK.
We have done 10 installs now- all is good.
I hate Bilsteins.. There will be a day when many people finally admit that they are too damn stiff for a fifty year old car and a 60 year old man.
Reference the story about the emperor wearing no clothes…
We have done 10 installs now- all is good.
I hate Bilsteins.. There will be a day when many people finally admit that they are too damn stiff for a fifty year old car and a 60 year old man.
Reference the story about the emperor wearing no clothes…
I think I’m there!
Thanks for correcting me Don. I know I have Spax. Can I claim a senior moment? The names are too similar.
Steve - Bilstein rebuilds their shocks, and you can specify the valving. I'm pretty sure they do the work in Southern CA someplace.
Anyway, Tom (bmwski) had his rebuilt to a spec that Hardy and Beck used back when they were selling suspension setups, and he has that specification.
And you might inquire whether Bilstein has the specification for the comfort strut mentioned above.
Anyway, Tom (bmwski) had his rebuilt to a spec that Hardy and Beck used back when they were selling suspension setups, and he has that specification.
And you might inquire whether Bilstein has the specification for the comfort strut mentioned above.