Anyone have Bilstein B8 with Swift?

Just wonder if anyone is running the Bilstein B8 struts? I was thinking about swapping out the EDC oem struts with the Bilstein B8 and keeping my Swift springs.

I have the B6 (as do others on this forum) with Swift Spec-R springs. Highly recommended and works flawlessly with EDC. The B8 are non-EDC.

4130 wrote

I have the B6 (as do others on this forum) with Swift Spec-R springs. Highly recommended and works flawlessly with EDC. The B8 are non-EDC.

Thanks for the response! Did they maintain the same ride height as the OEM units?

I can't answer that because I never had the Swifts on the OEM dampers. The Swifts on the Bilstein are definitely lower than the OEM package. I have 15/12mm spacers with 220 wheels, Swifts, and B6 and it looks perfect to me with zero rub and full EDC.

Check out the later pages of this thread for more info. http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=946223&highlight=Bilstein+swift

I run the B8 with H&R Sport. The B8 can handle shorter springs, unlike stock shocks that lose suspension travel. Not sure about the B6; my understanding was they are a stock replacement and may not have shorter internals. I would say that if you are getting adequate travel with stock shocks and Swift, the B6 should be at least as good but you may still want shaved guide tubes on the upper strut mounts to add back travel.

I'm under the impression there is both a B8 and a B6 with EDC for the E9X M3

http://www.bilsteinus.com/news-events/news-detail/archive/2010/december/returnpage/1015/article/understanding-bilsteins-product-line/?tx_ttnews%5Bpointer%5D=6&cHash=e8b993422bbc04033f85aa8f4166112a

B8 are sportier and for shorter springs. B6 are stock replacements but probably still fine for very mild springs.

Not sure about the EDC stuff/

pbonsalb wrote

I run the B8 with H&R Sport. The B8 can handle shorter springs, unlike stock shocks that lose suspension travel. Not sure about the B6; my understanding was they are a stock replacement and may not have shorter internals. I would say that if you are getting adequate travel with stock shocks and Swift, the B6 should be at least as good but you may still want shaved guide tubes on the upper strut mounts to add back travel.

Yes, how is the ride with the B8 verses stock?

SYT_Shadow wrote

I'm under the impression there is both a B8 and a B6 with EDC for the E9X M3

Only the B6 has EDC, the B8 is the shorter more aggressive strut but without EDC. I am more interested in the B8 since it is about 1000$ less and should work with my swift springs better. I know I will lose EDC but time is coming to upgrade the shocks.

I think the ride is fine. B8 is not a hard core shock. Just the first level of performance upgrade.

pbonsalb wrote

I think the ride is fine. B8 is not a hard core shock. Just the first level of performance upgrade.

With the cost of B8's and swift springs, why not run a coilover setup like H&R or something comparable in that price range?

I paid $150 used for the H&R springs and $200 used for the B8 shocks/struts.

Powashiftin wrote

With the cost of B8's and swift springs, why not run a coilover setup like H&R or something comparable in that price range?

Nothing rides worse than cheap, shitty 'coilovers'.

I'll run OEM, then B6/8/12 then maybe B16, then MCS. I won't touch any koni based coilover with a ten foot pole, much less H&R

The last time I had Konis, I preferred to throw them away with under 10k miles than sell them to another forum member

Use B8 with any lowering spring, including Swifts. Here is B8 with Eibach for your enjoyment!

chris@strutmonkey wrote

Use B8 with any lowering spring, including Swifts. Here is B8 with Eibach for your enjoyment!

Have you had any experience with them first hand? Also my car is EDC, what parts would I need to make it compatible with the B8?

You can use regular B8s, but would need to get the EDC cancellation kit so you do not have an EDC check light. The other option is to use B6s, which have an EDC compatible version, or the Bilstein B16 coilovers, which also are EDC compatible. Note the EDC compatible versions are about triple the price of regular versions.

GeorgeA wrote

Have you had any experience with them first hand? Also my car is EDC, what parts would I need to make it compatible with the B8?

chris@strutmonkey wrote

You can use regular B8s, but would need to get the EDC cancellation kit so you do not have an EDC check light. The other option is to use B6s, which have an EDC compatible version, or the Bilstein B16 coilovers, which also are EDC compatible. Note the EDC compatible versions are about triple the price of regular versions.

B6 vs B8? What is the difference?

I?ve been running the B6 HD shocks with the Swift springs and I can?t say enough good things about how the car drives. I was on the fence choosing between the B8 or B6 shocks but I?m glad I went with the B6?s.

The difference between the B6 and B8 shocks is the size of the internal bump stop. The B8?s have a shorter bump stop to compensate for shorter springs. You can still use the B6 shocks with conservative drop springs like the Swift’s. Dampening is exactly the same between the two as per the Bilstein rep I spoke to.

Bilsteins B6 vs B8:

http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0LEVvxCE9xZXmkAegU3nIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTBybnV2cXQwBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMgRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkAw--/RV=2/RE=1507623874/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.bilstein.com%2fuploads%2ftx_templavoila%2finfoblatt_b6_b8_en_35.pdf/RK=1/RS=NCtvuaSeEDQJqDpaurZEubnm43U-

thanks guys

SYT_Shadow wrote

Nothing rides worse than cheap, shitty 'coilovers'.

I'll run OEM, then B6/8/12 then maybe B16, then MCS. I won't touch any koni based coilover with a ten foot pole, much less H&R

The last time I had Konis, I preferred to throw them away with under 10k miles than sell them to another forum member

What happened with your Koni's? Which model were they?
I'm curios because I loved my Koni Yellows on my E36 M3 back in the day.
.

aus wrote

What happened with your Koni's? Which model were they?
I'm curios because I loved my Koni Yellows on my E36 M3 back in the day.
.

I don't know if my set was faulty somehow but I have never been super sensitive to NVH. I grew up driving a Tahoe for heaven's sake lol

The ride was perfectly comfortable, but its high speed bump performance was like the shocks turned into granite. The typical expansion joints in the highway would be a 'bam', it was remarkable

This was on an E46M. Not trying another set of Koni's, ever. I have bought 4 sets of Bilstein B6/8/12s though, for the E46M, for two 330Cis and for the X5