NEW Bilstein B8 Performance Plus Dampers w/Mountune Sport Springs

[speed_easy]

Hey its interesting that the over the phone info contradicts what the website says, (http://cart.bilsteinus.com/product/22-245199/417098/FWD)

Are you sure that the info was for the B6/B8?

I've not visually confirmed this to be true, merely rehashing what the Bilstein technical rep told me over the phone when I called their USA office in Mooresville NC. I tried to get as much information as I could and this was one of the first things I brought up and had him verify. Lets just say he was just as surprised as I was. He did later say that his shocks are designed for each specific application and although most B6/B8s are monotube, which is what the 'HD' series is known for to be, there will be instances where the twin tube design is more appropriate. There's gotta be a reason the twin-tube proved to be more favorable in the fiesta but to this day I'm not exactly sure why.

 

[KKaWing]

I've not visually confirmed this to be true, merely rehashing what the Bilstein technical rep told me over the phone when I called their USA office in Mooresville NC. I tried to get as much information as I could and this was one of the first things I brought up and had him verify. Lets just say he was just as surprised as I was. He did later say that his shocks are designed for each specific application and although most B6/B8s are monotube, which is what the 'HD' series is known for to be, there will be instances where the twin tube design is more appropriate. There's gotta be a reason the twin-tube proved to be more favorable in the fiesta but to this day I'm not exactly sure why.

Maybe there isn't enough travel when using monotube dampers? Twin tubes don't have that floating piston at the "bottom". There's a few base fiestas used for rally as well so I'm guessing that is part of the reason. In the end, I value Bilstein's ability to valve the dampers correctly over construction. It would be nice to have that "platform" feeling from all monotubes but not having my dog/co-pilot yelp over expansion joints is good enough for me.

 

[speed_easy]

Maybe there isn't enough travel when using monotube dampers? Twin tubes don't have that floating piston at the "bottom". There's a few base fiestas used for rally as well so I'm guessing that is part of the reason. In the end, I value Bilstein's ability to valve the dampers correctly over construction. It would be nice to have that "platform" feeling from all monotubes but not having my dog/co-pilot yelp over expansion joints is good enough for me.

Yeah, I think definitely that, and my running theory about the cost effectiveness of the package in this application. After all, the Fiesta is a pretty light car, maybe light enough, that given the amount of space available the twin tubes can be engineered to perform to Bilsteins set of requirements AND be reliable enough to stand up to the abuse the HD shocks are famous for. See, I always thought the advantage of the mono tube design was that it offered a larger oil capacity and heat dissipation ability, basically the amount of cycling the shocks can take before the fluid begins to overheat. That and the larger diameter shaft being more resilient to moment loading that is of a concern in extreme usage conditions. These are just a few of course... here's a good page that helps break down the trade-offs pretty well. But the one drawback of the mono-tube design, which is where I was going with this, is - cost. Suppose you area manufacturer that can design a twin-tube to meet all of your functional requirements within a particular product line AND save a few dollars, then why would you NOT do it?

 

[Khill007]

Yeah, I think definitely that, and my running theory about the cost effectiveness of the package in this application. After all, the Fiesta is a pretty light car, maybe light enough, that given the amount of space available the twin tubes can be engineered to perform to Bilsteins set of requirements AND be reliable enough to stand up to the abuse the HD shocks are famous for. See, I always thought the advantage of the mono tube design was that it offered a larger oil capacity and heat dissipation ability, basically the amount of cycling the shocks can take before the fluid begins to overheat. That and the larger diameter shaft being more resilient to moment loading that is of a concern in extreme usage conditions. These are just a few of course... here's a good page that helps break down the trade-offs pretty well. But the one drawback of the mono-tube design, which is where I was going with this, is - cost. Suppose you area manufacturer that can design a twin-tube to meet all of your functional requirements within a particular product line AND save a few dollars, then why would you NOT do it?

I will tell you guys that the shafts seem to be the same size as OEM on the B8's. Don't know if this tells the story or not as to what type shock they are?!?

 

[KKaWing]

It does as the inverted mono tubes have "shafts" almost the width of the damper body. So it pretty much says it's a twin tube.

 

[CanadianGuy]

SOLVED:

Put the stock nut on the top of the Bilstein and poof...all rattles are gone.

picture or it did not happen.

 

[Khill007]

picture or it did not happen.

Ha! Sorry man, I forgot to snap a pic. I will snap one of the area I was having a problems with.

????

 

[neeqness]

I may be wrong but it seems like some people here are saying the B8s are twintubes...but they are not. I'd like to clear this up just in case:

http://cart.bilsteinus.com/product/22-245212/417094/FWD

 

[KKaWing]

I may be wrong but it seems like some people here are saying the B8s are twintubes...but they are not. I'd like to clear this up just in case:

http://cart.bilsteinus.com/product/22-245212/417094/FWD

The european catalog tagged it as twin tube before they changed format and added pictures.

Here's the picture btw http://web1.carparts-cat.com/defaul...A94605AE0763436D87A59FD828BCEEA5018004&12=140

Lastly, the description is a generic blurb put on all their B8 listings...

 

[KKaWing]

I may be wrong but it seems like some people here are saying the B8s are twintubes...but they are not. I'd like to clear this up just in case:

http://cart.bilsteinus.com/product/22-245212/417094/FWD

The european catalog tagged it as twin tube before they changed format and added pictures.

Here's the picture btw http://web1.carparts-cat.com/defaul...A94605AE0763436D87A59FD828BCEEA5018004&12=140

Lastly, the description is a generic blurb put on all their B8 listings...

 

[neeqness]

The european catalog tagged it as twin tube before they changed format and added pictures.

Here's the picture btw http://web1.carparts-cat.com/defaul...A94605AE0763436D87A59FD828BCEEA5018004&12=140

Lastly, the description is a generic blurb put on all their B8 listings...

It's posted right on the US website. I would think it to be more credible for US products than a European catalog.

 

[KKaWing]

It's posted right on the US website. I would think it to be more credible for US products than a European catalog.

You find a copy pasted paragraph more credible than phone calls to the US HQ, the catalogue maintained by the designers and manufacturer of said dampers, and both the B4 twintubes and the B6's look the same save for some paint? Okay...

 

[neeqness]

You find a copy pasted paragraph more credible than phone calls to the US HQ, the catalogue maintained by the designers and manufacturer of said dampers, and both the B4 twintubes and the B6's look the same save for some paint? Okay...

Granted it is maketing talk on their website, but when I look at each product (B4,B6, B8), the wording is different. They are not copy and pasted from each other.

Ultimately, though it really doesn't get any more official than from the manufacturer's website. Not only are you trying to use some third party to debunk it but it is a third party from another country. To me, the manufacturer's own site in the subject country is much more authentic proof. Especially when its known that car manufacturer's sometimes use different parts in cars made for other countries.

It will take a bit more than posting some third party site from another country to convince me that Bilstein's US website is wrong. Besides, in my experience, these smaller type third party sites are much more likely to have mistakes.

 

[KKaWing]

Granted it is maketing talk on their website, but when I look at each product (B4,B6, B8), the wording is different. They are not copy and pasted from each other.

Ultimately, though it really doesn't get any more official than from the manufacturer's website. Not only are you trying to use some third party to debunk it but it is a third party from another country. To me, the manufacturer's own site in the subject country is much more authentic proof. Especially when its known that car manufacturer's sometimes use different parts in cars made for other countries.

It will take a bit more than posting some third party site from another country to convince me that Bilstein's US website is wrong. Besides, in my experience, these smaller type third party sites are much more likely to have mistakes.

It is not a 3rd party website *facepalm*. Go to www.bilstein.com (the official Germain website btw). Go to the upper right corner of the site and click e-catalog. That will bring you to the link I posted. It doesn't get more official than that.

The copy pasta is between the same series of dampers, they use the same description for ever B6 damper. Go to the US catalog, and click between different car's B6 dampers.

These dampers were posted to the European catalog first. It did say twin-tube at that time.

Believe what you want, all the proof is given. Don't forget, you can always call the Bilstein US' phone number. They'll tell you they're twin-tubes. Hell, they've been known to tell you the numbers for the compression and rebound measured typically at the "knee". But what do I know, I've only checked the *official* Bilstein catalogue weekly, posted the good news about them the moment I found out they were listed, cheered when the US site finally has the listing posted, and finally ordered a set last month when the Canadian distributor had a sale on them.

 

[neeqness]

It is not a 3rd party website *facepalm*. Go to www.bilstein.com (the official Germain website btw). Go to the upper right corner of the site and click e-catalog. That will bring you to the link I posted. It doesn't get more official than that.

The copy pasta is between the same series of dampers, they use the same description for ever B6 damper. Go to the US catalog, and click between different car's B6 dampers.

These dampers were posted to the European catalog first. It did say twin-tube at that time.

Believe what you want, all the proof is given. Don't forget, you can always call the Bilstein US' phone number. They'll tell you they're twin-tubes. Hell, they've been known to tell you the numbers for the compression and rebound measured typically at the "knee". But what do I know, I've only checked the *official* Bilstein catalogue weekly, posted the good news about them the moment I found out they were listed, cheered when the US site finally has the listing posted, and finally ordered a set last month when the Canadian distributor had a sale on them.

Your most recent post seems to imply that I wasn't posting or getting information from bilsteins official site. But I did. The official US site, where you can order the parts made for US vehicles. Not only that, but the link I posted is to the specific B8 part number made for the US Fiesta ST (2015). Not only is this information on the B8 but it is specific to the Fiesta ST part (front left shock) and you can order it right there.

It doesn't seem like you looked at it though because if you had you might have noticed that the wording is not the same as the B6. It is not copied and pasted.

I'll post it again and try to be more clear about what I'm posting this time so you can see what I mean:

Bilstein B8 Front Left Shock
http://cart.bilsteinus.com/product/22-245212/417094/FWD

Here is the page that I used to access that link which lists all the Bilstein shocks that are available for the US Fiesta ST (2015):

2015 Ford Fiesta ST Bilstein Shock Search
http://cart.bilsteinus.com/search/mmid=417094/drivetype=FWD

 

[KKaWing]

Your most recent post seems to imply that I wasn't posting or getting information from bilsteins official site. But I did. The official US site, where you can order the parts made for US vehicles. Not only that, but the link I posted is to the specific B8 part number made for the US Fiesta ST (2015). Not only is this information on the B8 but it is specific to the Fiesta ST part (front left shock) and you can order it right there.

It doesn't seem like you looked at it though because if you had you might have noticed that the wording is not the same as the B6. It is not copied and pasted.

I'll post it again and try to be more clear about what I'm posting this time so you can see what I mean:

Bilstein B8 Front Left Shock
http://cart.bilsteinus.com/product/22-245212/417094/FWD

Here is the page that I used to access that link which lists all the Bilstein shocks that are available for the US Fiesta ST (2015):

2015 Ford Fiesta ST Bilstein Shock Search
http://cart.bilsteinus.com/search/mmid=417094/drivetype=FWD

What I am trying to get through to you is the *descriptions* are copy and pasted within the same series of dampers/coilovers. The descriptions are not a reliable source of information, they are only "generally" correct. Please look at the picture above, it includes the Fiesta ST's front left B8 strut at the top, the '13 Focus ST's front left B8 strut at the bottom. The German catalog has the pictures of the dampers. Please look at the following...

The similarities are too great to ignore.

 

[neeqness]

What I am trying to get through to you is the *descriptions* are copy and pasted within the same series of dampers/coilovers. The descriptions are not a reliable source of information, they are only "generally" correct. Please look at the picture above, it includes the Fiesta ST's front left B8 strut at the top, the '13 Focus ST's front left B8 strut at the bottom. The German catalog has the pictures of the dampers. Please look at the following...

The similarities are too great to ignore.

I can't read German so I don't know what it says on their European site. I don't see the point of going there in the first place if you want to find out about US parts.

I admit I'm no authority on telling which are which, but the B8s while in use, seem to respond as how a monotube (as I have learned based on reviews, and general shock knowledge) should respond more so than a twin-tube. They seem to fit that description in practice.

Now if you have specific knowledge of that to the contrary and can enlighten me as to how and why they actually better fit a twin-tube in practice...I'm all ears.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Ok ok who will cut one open and close the debate once and for all? The way I look at any part if the quality, durability and performance is there the rest dont care (well some times I care about cosmetics )

 

[Khill007]

Ok ok who will cut one open and close the debate once and for all? The way I look at any part if the quality, durability and performance is there the rest dont care (well some times I care about cosmetics )

They work and look real good!

Ha!


: )

 

[speed_easy]

neeqness have you tried calling Bilstein and confirming for yourself? If not could you please do that and report back what you find out.