EX4Dr

It's been awhile since installing these struts & shocks. Since then, I've had some time to evaluate them. I’ll try give a few general impression of how they perform daily driving situations.

See my original thread for background: http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...70#post3608670

History and Why I wanted to replace my OEM Struts and Shocks:
Before I begin, there is a mistake in the part number listed on the PDF file found on the Bilstein website (which is the same as the ones listed in my original post above). The mistake was pointed out to me by the online retailer I'd order my structs & shocks from. The actual part number are as follow:

Front Left: F4-VE3-B425-H0
Front Right: F4-VE3-B426-H0
Rear: F4-BE5-B424-H0

Ever since I first bough my 5-speed Civic EX sedan in 2003, I’ve always hated the ride of the car. I bought the Civic mainly for the purpose of commuting to/from work. I drive ~100 miles/day. Fuel economy and ride comfort is a high priority. Fuel economy was excellent at 33 MPG average (almost entirely highway). The ride was another story. Originally, I blamed the OEM specified tires. These tires were hard and noisy. Grip was next to none when I wanted to corner with a bit of enthusiasm. The ride was choppy and punishing. Every expansion joint, every heave, every pit on the road would send rattling shiver through the structure of the cabin. It didn’t help when I upgraded to 17” wheels and tires (215/45/17) in my pursuit for better grip. The short comings of the OEM shocks really show themselves with the new low profile tires. All the complaints I had with the OEM wheels/tires are now magnified several times. My biggest complaint was the initial impact on sharp bumps on the road. The OEM struts/shock were not able to react fast enough to dampen the initial jolt. Thus sending this energy to the structure of and interior panels of the Civic. As anyone can imagine. This initial jolt punishes the car and all its occupants quite severely. I didn’t want to spend any more money into a car for which I use mostly for commuting. After 2 years, the harsh ride got to me and I decided to I had to replace the OEM struts and shocks with something having better dampening property.

How I came to a decision:
There are only three requirements I had for my new Struts/Shocks: Faster reaction to sharp bumps, greater dampening capacity, and be made by a company that will back up their products. With these requirements, I’d narrowed it down to either KYB, Koni, and Bilstein. KYB is relative cheap, but they are also the manufacturer of the OEM sturts/shocks. Koni was my original choice, but I didn’t like having to modify my OEM units to make it fit. I would have gone through with it if it weren’t for the fact that Bilstein came through just in time with a direct bolt-on for our Civic. Knowing the advantage of Bilstein’s monotube design over the twin-tube design of its competitions, the choice was easy. The advantages are mainly – faster reacting than twin-tube and better heat dissipation, better resistance to foaming. One disadvantage the monotube design is the requirement of a higher precision manufacturing process, which means it is more expensive to make – thus Bilstein costs more. Accepting this higher cost compromise was easy for me, having been frustrated for so long with the OEM suspension, I was not about to play guinea pig.

Initial Visual Evaluaiton:
Upon receiving the Bilstein struts and shocks, it was immediately apparent that the Bilstein looked more robust than OEM. Although tube size is the same, the piston diameter of the Bilstein shock is 0.05” larger than OEM, and the Bilstein strut is almost twice the diameter of the OEM. The larger piston size translates into a better controlled ride. The manufacturing quality appears similar to OEM. Which is to say is at least as good as OEM.

Installation Notes:
I will not go into details how to install the struts and shocks. This is already covered by others in another DIY thread. However, I will comment on a few minor points during installation.
- The struts/shocks are direct bolt on. Thus installation is straight forward.
- The OEM struts dust boot (looks like upside wine glass), need to be trimmed in order to be used with the Bilstein struts. The top of the boot (looks like the stem and the base of the wine glass) need to be cut.
- The boot (rim of the wine glass) need to be extend to have full coverage/protection of the piston at full extension. I used a cut up old bicycle inner tube and some rubber cement to do this.

Drving Impression:
I noticed immediately the ride is firmer. I reused the OEM spring, thus the ride height did not change from OEM settings. All the initial sharp shocks are dampened. The ride is now a nice firm “Thunk”, “Thunk”; instead of the OEM’s “Clank”, “Clank” when going over sharp bumps. The handling is precise and direct. The ride quality is now bearable and extremely enjoyable. It also soaks up the bumps of cobble stone surfaces extremely well. All in all, my requirements have been met and in some case exceeded.

Specifications (I measured these with a caliper):

Bilstein (Fronts):
Made in: Germany
Type: Monotube Strut
Struct Body Diameter: 2.00 inches
Struct Piston Diameter: 1.57 inches
Struct Piston Travel (to bump stop): 3.50 inches

Bilstein (Rears):
Made in: Germany
Type: Monotube shock
Shock Body Diameter: 1.97 inches
Shock Piston Diameter: 0.55 inches
Shock Piston Travel (to bump stop): 2.00 inches

OEM (Front):
Made in: USA (by KYB)
Struct Body Diameter: 2.00 inches
Struct Piston Diameter: 0.865 inches
Struct Piston Travel (to bump stop): 6.20 inches

OEM (Rears):
Made in: USA (by KYB)
Shock Body Diameter: 1.79 inches
Shock Piston Diameter: 0.50 inches
Shock Piston Travel (to bump stop): 2.00 inches

Civic_Racer9

iTrader: (9)

omg!!! i soo want this...pleae help me out w/ some of my quetsions

1. the front shocks...16mm dead bolts right?

2. would u say those are oem replacement or more for lowered car *i have eibach sportlines*

3. i just looked at shockwarehouse.com...and they priced went up. they are 259$ each corner!!?

thx

EX4Dr

omg!!! i soo want this...pleae help me out w/ some of my quetsions

1. the front shocks...16mm dead bolts right?
>> I reused the OEM bolts.

2. would u say those are oem replacement or more for lowered car *i have eibach sportlines*
>> Both. Lowering is fine since these are classified as Heavy Duty struts/shocks. They'll be able to take the punishment of lowered springs.

3. i just looked at shockwarehouse.com...and they priced went up. they are 259$ each corner!!?
>>Look at my original post. The price you mentioned are for each front. The rear is ~$90 - $100/each

thx[/QUOTE]

dalaw

Excellent review on the Bilstein shocks. I might follow your route in a couple months or so. The stock ride quality with my 03 civic is pissing me off, especially the rear. It surprises me that Honda can't get the suspension right after all these years.

Dark_Pyro7

Are the fronts complete? Or are they like the koni yellows where they are just inserts?

Just had some yellows installled a couple weeks ago and have had problems with the front, have taken it back several times, and they say the fix it, but it just makes different noises. Hate them, regret getting the yellows now.

Black03civic

iTrader: (1)

thats a great review, i cant find the Bilstien on tire rack or on shox.com. I have been looking for a direct replacement for my 03ex. Maybe now i dont have to get the Blues. + 1 REP FOR YOU

are you sure the rears are 90$ each. the site quotes Complete Set Front and Rear
Bilstein BST SPORT 1,037.40 set of 4
Free Shipping

Are the one you have the sports or are they touring?

EX4Dr

>>I don't know if they are touring/sports. They are classified as heavy duty. The firmness suggest they are sports.

>>They are complete bolt-ons. One of the reason I didn't go with the Koni was because Koni is an insert and I didn't want the extra work of cutting my OEM to make it fit.

xkimsungminx

iTrader: (2)

Great Review!! but can i ask why you if you were considering KYB AGX Adjustable Gas shocks, and why you didn't consider Tokico?

EX4Dr

After reading a few mixed reviews on the KYB's I didn't want to risk my money on someting I was not sure that would meet my need. As for considering Tokicos. I did considered them. But for almost the same price, the mono-tube design of the Bilstein won me over. From all the research I had done, I felt the mono-tube design would meet my the need the best - mainly dampening the first split second of a sharp bump. There is no more sharp shock transmitted to the structure of the car after the Bilsteins were installed.