So I have searched and found a fair amount of info on these dampers, but I'd like to check in and see if anyone has more to offer.
What I am looking for is (in my opinion) what honda should have done with the suspension. (a controlled/firm ride that doesn't wallow and bounce)
Springs seem fine, ride hight/travel seems fine, but I have always felt the dampers were too weak, especially in the rear.
I've had an RSX anti roll bar in the rear for some time and love it, adds some stability and reduces understeer at the limit.
More recently I put Tokico blues in the rear hoping to eliminate the bouncyness. It is better than stock, the rear is a bit better matched to the front now in terms of how quickly it subdues excess body motions, but honestly I thought they would be stiffer.
I'm getting more and more tired of the car wallowing and floating in odd ways at cruising speed over undulations on the road. And I hate the when there is an unseen dip or bump around a clover leaf which causes one of those "oh shit!" moments as the suspension listfully lobs the body of the car up into a weightless second of "gosh that feels unsettling".
The quesiton at hand,
Bilstein monotube dampers?
Seems they should be high quality, and react quickly, but they are pricy and I really have no way of knowing if they will be stiff enough for me.
Or
Tokico D-Spec, cheaper, maybe not as killer quality, but adjustibilty will give a whole world of satisfying whatever balance I want.
I found less firsthand info searching on these, and more *dude get the D-specs, but I won't say what they are like* type postings. I'd like to know things like do they last, and how do they compare to the blues.
So if you skipped to the end that is ok,
My questions are:
1. How stiff are the Bilstein dampers? (explain in any way you see fit)
2. Are there any disadvantages to the D-Specs?
I have the d-spec and I love them I think with proper tuning they are the best on the market in terms of suspension. the only down fall to them is you have to take your time and be patient with them in order to get the dampening tuned in perfect. when you really get down to fine tuning them a 1/4 of a turn can make a big difference. out of the box they are not going to kill you but if you try to push the car hard while tuning if it is not balanced right you can either oversteer and spin out or understeer and slide into something. Once I got mine dialed in perfect you could throw the car as hard as you wanted to and it would just grip and i tuned it with very minimal understeer but I could comfortably hand the keys over to anyone and not worry about them hurting anything because they couldn't handle the suspension.
As for stiffness you can make the d-spec as soft or as firm as you want if I wanted to I could make it so if you attempted to press down on the car it wouldn't budge
the ride is nice on the street and highway(just don't go over the medium setting) but if you wanna ride like a go-kart then turn the knob to stiffest setting then you're good to go!
Bilstein, no questions asked. Those dampers are near works of art, as their street dampers have the same internals as their race dampers.
For feel, they are firmer then OEM, and the car will be much more controlled over uneven roads.
If you want something with a knob to fiddle with, buy Koni.
BTW, Stiff doesn't mean better handling.... in fact tuning theory dictates that you should be aiming to run the softest suspension you can get away with.
i think i read the blistens shouldnt be used with a drop more than 1.5". definitely the blistens over the tokicos. blistens are worth the money if you can afford them. dspecs are good but to assume they are good because of the dampening adjustability is a major misassumption. if you feel you need the adjustable setting get koni inserts. but truth be told, most shocks with adjustable settings do not make significant changes and are not interval synchronized. so just because you adjust one side doesnt mean you need to adjust the opposing side the same amount. konis are the best at this but no where near perfect
I feel swayed towards the Bilsteins at this point. I'm drawn towards things which well built and down right work, just like how I was drawn to my civic...oh... but I can't complain too much, it has never failed me, just annoyed me with its "quirks"
The suggestion of variability between shocks in a set might make getting them adjusted to proportional settings a hassle/annoyance. so that is a knock against the dspecs.
I'm actually tempted to first try swapping only the rear tokico blues for Bilsteins as the rear of the car seems to be the biggest culprit of excess body motions.
Rear bounce was improved when I went from stock rears to blues, so maybe blues to Bilsteins is the extra step neccessary?
Depends on how stiff they really are I guess.
well all I can say is that I have the bilsteins and I absolutly LOVE them. Trust me when I say that the dampening is amazing. My car has no bounce at all front or rear. Over uneven roads the ride feels much more solid and refined. Also when I go over speed bumps and dips I dont have to crawl anymore since the car doesnt wallow all over the place.
well all I can say is that I have the bilsteins and I absolutly LOVE them. Trust me when I say that the dampening is amazing. My car has no bounce at all front or rear. Over uneven roads the ride feels much more solid and refined. Also when I go over speed bumps and dips I dont have to crawl anymore since the car doesnt wallow all over the place.
Yup!
I've been in his car and it rides very nicely.
The ride quality is comparable to the Acura TSX.
Its feels firm and sporty to give the driver some feedback yet still comfortable.
If there was one word to describe the Bilsteins, its confidence.
Well worth the money.
but I can't complain too much, it has never failed me, just annoyed me with its "quirks"
