NEW Bilstein B8 Performance Plus Dampers w/Mountune Sport Springs

[KKaWing]

Man, you're making me very impatient for my B6's which is awaiting shipment to the Canadian distributor, then shipping from the west coast all the way to Toronto... then waiting for spring so I can install / align it on the summer wheels rather than my winter steelies

 

[FMIC The Mr.Kapoo]

So the cost on this seems to be like so:

Dampers ~ 400
Strut parts ~ 50
Springs ~ 300

Which comes out the same as the B14 coilover kit made by Bilstein for our cars. Is there a reason to pick this route over the B14s?

 

[KKaWing]

So the cost on this seems to be like so:

Dampers ~ 400
Strut parts ~ 50
Springs ~ 300

Which comes out the same as the B14 coilover kit made by Bilstein for our cars. Is there a reason to pick this route over the B14s?

If height adjustment and corner balancing isn't a must, and don't want to deal with cleaning, lubing, and maintaining a set of coilovers (at least yearly to prevent rust and locking rings seizing for those in the rust belt) , springs and shocks are a good choice. Also, coilovers with solid top mounts tend to make more noise here and there.

 

[Khill007]

So the cost on this seems to be like so:

Dampers ~ 400
Strut parts ~ 50
Springs ~ 300


Which comes out the same as the B14 coilover kit made by Bilstein for our cars. Is there a reason to pick this route over the B14s?

Great question. Well, I bought the Mountune springs for Black Friday pricing ($200.00?!?). The shocks were way cheaper than any place else I had seen them, and even if I decided to go with the B12 kit I would have had to buy the OEM parts. Believe me, I thought the same thing but I just couldn't justify it with a perfectly good set of springs sitting in my closet. Besides, I wanted to do something no one had tried yet.

 

[Khill007]

Great question. Well, I bought the Mountune springs for Black Friday pricing ($200.00?!?). The shocks were way cheaper than any place else I had seen them, and even if I decided to go with the B12 kit I would have had to buy the OEM parts. Believe me, I thought the same thing but I just couldn't justify it with a perfectly good set of springs sitting in my closet. Besides, I wanted to do something no one had tried yet.

Sorry, meant B14.

 

[FMIC The Mr.Kapoo]

If height adjustment and corner balancing isn't a must, and don't want to deal with cleaning, lubing, and maintaining a set of coilovers (at least yearly to prevent rust and locking rings seizing for those in the rust belt) , springs and shocks are a good choice. Also, coilovers with solid top mounts tend to make more noise here and there.

All of that because of the height setting ring yeah? Because everything else on them is equal in terms of enviro protection.

 

[KKaWing]

Hmmm... I wouldn't call them absolutely equal, though pretty much yeah the locking ring and threads is the source of headache for people with salted roads. Crud gets into the threads if you didn't use graphite (dry) antiseize. Powder coat tends to do better then zinc plating, but bilstein does do a really good job with their "triple application" process.

For direct comparison between the b14 and spring and damper combo, the b14 kit uses progressive springs. Some don't like that. With springs you can get the "linear" swift springs (dual rate, where the softer section is inactive when the car is on the ground and acts as a tender spring ).

 

[Khill007]

Hmmm... I wouldn't call them absolutely equal, though pretty much yeah the locking ring and threads is the source of headache for people with salted roads. Crud gets into the threads if you didn't use graphite (dry) antiseize. Powder coat tends to do better then zinc plating, but bilstein does do a really good job with their "triple application" process.

For direct comparison between the b14 and spring and damper combo, the b14 kit uses progressive springs. Some don't like that. With springs you can get the "linear" swift springs (dual rate, where the softer section is inactive when the car is on the ground and acts as a tender spring ).

I may end up doing this "Swift", but to be honest...the car rides extremely well with the Mountunes.

 

[neeqness]

Holy SHIT guys!!!!! I may be onto something here?!? I will preface this before I make any comments. I do not track this car...nor have I ever tracked a car. I have however changed suspension components on many vehicles in my day...from Bilstein coilovers on a VW R32, to VMR springs on a VW TDI...to a full AEV suspension on my JK Jeep Wrangler and I have to say I have "NEVER" had suspension mods transform a vehicle like this Bilstein/Mountune combo! Hell, I don't even have the B8's installed on the rear yet and it feels like a new car?!?!

Some of the things I've noticed:

- One of you mentioned that the B8's might eat up the pot holes and expansion joints in the road. CHECK! Man, you can't even feel them hardly at all. The best way to descibe it would be...the car feels like a more "expensive" vehicle?!? Even on a spririted run on 635/Plano Rd. area of the highway (anyone from Dallas/Ft. Worth will know the stretch of highway" there are the deep grooves that used to just grab the car and now it just drives straight as can be.

- Planted and more stable

- The OEM suspension used to be choppy as shit and beat the hell out me on the highway and city streets. GONE! It's like the car is just gliding now. It's not a cushy ride in the least...just feels more like the car should have been from the factory?!?

Again, I'm not a suspension guru. I do know however that this car just feels better, newer, more expensive?!?

Here are some pics. I can only imagine what the rears are going to do to the car? VERY HAPPY!!!!!!

Aw man! You are just about making me want to go out and buy some B8s right now! I intend to drop my car with the Eibach springs since I have them on hand. Only thing holding me back was the ride with stock dampers. I believe Eibach and Mountune springs are both progressive so should have similar results except I think Eibachs drop very slightly (maybe even neglibly) less.

Now that I have the 15s on my car, I plan to drop it anyway but after reading this it is hard to imagine myself keeping that setup and not buying the B8s to replace the oem dampers...

One question though...I know you said it was cushy, but how is it performance wise especially with regards to handling and in turns?

 

[Khill007]

Aw man! You are just about making me want to go out and buy some B8s right now! I intend to drop my car with the Eibach springs since I have them on hand. Only thing holding me back was the ride with stock dampers. I believe Eibach and Mountune springs are both progressive so should have similar results except I think Eibachs drop very slightly (maybe even neglibly) less.

Now that I have the 15s on my car, I plan to drop it anyway but after reading this it is hard to imagine myself keeping that setup and not buying the B8s to replace the oem dampers...

One question though...I know you said it was cushy, but how is it performance wise especially with regards to handling and in turns?

Not cushy at all. It's hard to explain but the car just feels right now. With the stock set up it was extremely choppy on both highway and city streets. The car now just feels balanced without the chop. I went on a spirited drive on a couple of roads I can be aggressive n and the car handles much better. Like on rails. It also lost some of the violent torque steer in 2nd gear as well.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Dammit! Stop giving me ideas...

Well the springs are only $12 USD...

C1BZ5310S

Rock auto does not carry the parts but Tasca does... $14 canadian for local dealers. I figure sub $100 CAD you can rebuild the front struts with OE springs.

[MENTION=5216]Khill007[/MENTION] Nice review.

 

[OffTheWall503]

I used to have a set of HDs on my other cars and they included an internal bump stop. Does anyone know if these are the same way?

 

[Khill007]

I used to have a set of HDs on my other cars and they included an internal bump stop. Does anyone know if these are the same way?

They do not. You need to order OEM bump stop. I cut an inch out to compensate for the drop.

 

[OffTheWall503]

They do not. You need to order OEM bump stop. I cut an inch out to compensate for the drop.

Good to know, are you using the B6s or B8s? I think I may go with the B6s based on what I've read online, even though the B8s are designed for lowering springs, it may remove additional travel that could help from bottoming out.

 

[neeqness]

Not cushy at all. It's hard to explain but the car just feels right now. With the stock set up it was extremely choppy on both highway and city streets. The car now just feels balanced without the chop. I went on a spirited drive on a couple of roads I can be aggressive n and the car handles much better. Like on rails. It also lost some of the violent torque steer in 2nd gear as well.

Thanks for clarifying. [emoji106]

 

[neeqness]

Good to know, are you using the B6s or B8s? I think I may go with the B6s based on what I've read online, even though the B8s are designed for lowering springs, it may remove additional travel that could help from bottoming out.

The B6s are designed for oem springs. If you are using lowering springs you might want to use the B8. Otherwise, B6 should be fine.

 

[neeqness]

They do not. You need to order OEM bump stop. I cut an inch out to compensate for the drop.

Did you make any other changes during installation?

 

[Sourskittle]

Vs coilovers, I like the idea I wouldn't have to fight with leveling the car and setting perfect ride height.

On the flip side... would be nice to be able to lift the car 2mm if I were to get some scrub on certain tires.
B6's on stock springs are prob it for me...

I just wanted to also add something. I had some experience in the TJ jeep world. And after owning 3 different jeeps, I bought one with a really suspension setup. Someone lifted the jeep as much as possible, in the least correct way they could. So it was odd to me that the jeep rode the best of all jeeps. ( 7" short arm lift for you jeep people ). After some upgrades to my other TJ with the EFI 5.0L swapped into it, it started getting "death wobble" and despite the long arm built 4 link in the rear, it STILL did not ride as good as the incorrectly lifted jeep.....

I took a leap that it was shocks.

I was right. The best riding jeep had blistein. The other jeep had rough country and before that some other shocks came with its 4" lift. So I upgraded all the shocks to the same blisteins. Bammm. Perfect. The jeep rode so good. Made me a big believer in blistein does. From what I later read, no other jeep shock could match the blisteins. So.... here I am. If I do shock upgrades, it's extremely likely going to be a blistein.

I did want the KWv3 but.... $2,000? I don't think so lol.

 

[OffTheWall503]

Adversely, I may consider using Eibachs on B6's, as the drop is very mild. 16's with my H&R springs make me scrap the lower bumper guard on pretty much everything with a mild incline.

 

[neeqness]

Adversely, I may consider using Eibachs on B6's, as the drop is very mild.

This is the main reason why I chose the Eibachs. I wanted a drop, but also to still maintain a practical height on fairly uneven roads. I know some people like the more aggressive look of the lower springs (like H&R) but for me I like the Eibach look better. It's the perfect height for me.

I am thinking though that the B6 will not work as well with lowered springs since they are designed for oem with a higher travel to match the higher height. There was talk of oem dampers failing prematurely when used with lowering springs for possibly this very reason...but maybe someone could start a thread like this one with B6s on lowering springs?