bilstein B6 or B8 Shocks - where to get cheap??

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robsy
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Wed Jan 26, 2011 10:00 pm

where can i get these from for my iS? euro car parts dont have any at all anymore and i reaally want these...

cheers
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Shaheenk
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Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:26 pm

I got mine from Motor Sport World

total cost was about £400
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Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:31 pm

robsy
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Thu Feb 03, 2011 8:30 pm

Cheers Lee - bloody hell these bilstien shocks are expensive....maybe i would be better off with something like these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/COILOVER-BMW-E30- ... 3a62a0ca64

anybody had any experience of these and if they are any good by comparison??
charlE30
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Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:27 pm

robsy wrote:Cheers Lee - bloody hell these bilstien shocks are expensive....maybe i would be better off with something like these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/COILOVER-BMW-E30- ... 3a62a0ca64

anybody had any experience of these and if they are any good by comparison??
They will be utter shite at that price mate, what are your goals for the car? handling, comfort, stance etc and what is your budget realistically??
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TouringTash
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Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:59 pm

Alas in life you get what you pay for. As charlE30 says 'what are your goals' ride comfort, tight handling or looks. Unless you have money to burn or are as mentally deranged as me only one of the three can be achieved.

I'm not 100% on this but B6's are called Bilstein Sport in North America. The pound may not be strong but at those prices I would be looking overseas for a better price. Also worth noting that many dealers in the US still have access to E30 parts that are NLA over here. New OM mats anyone?
Blooming shame they are LHD :cry:

Just had a quick play with google and found these http://www.larkspeed.com/index.pl?a=i&k ... 116B362028
which are a bit less than your other quotes, but it all comes down to what your goals are.
Not sure about Gaz shocks but they sponsor the pbmw series and I doubt any racer with more than a couple of brain cells would use any equipment that wasn't up to the job. On second thoughts I'll amend that to scrutineers wouldn't allow any car to race that wasn't up to the job.
I'm having all my suspension replaced in the next couple of weeks and I'm more into ride comfort over all else and going to use B6's with custom made springs with a 35mm drop all around. Convention and Bilstien say I should use the B8's due to the drop but my maths and the learned wisdom from an E30 fettler extraordinaire says B6's as they are less choppy.
Also worth considering bushes and other suspension components into your equation.
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robsy
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Thu Feb 03, 2011 10:04 pm

everyday road use....i had biltein b8s i think in my last one which were awesome....

but would these be a tad too much of an extravagance in an IS??
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Thu Feb 03, 2011 10:22 pm

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SeymourCake
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Thu Feb 03, 2011 10:36 pm

Rav you got my PM regarding the B8's mate?
CIRRUS BLAU

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Rav335uk
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Thu Feb 03, 2011 10:38 pm

Yes Seymour , both of them :D
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Thu Feb 03, 2011 10:40 pm

Rav335uk wrote:http://www.*Plug*.co.uk/product/B8%20Sprint-E30-45
I was nursing a chubby when I spotted those a few weeks back until someone pointed out they are the 45mm strut setup :(
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Thu Feb 03, 2011 10:49 pm

For the 4 pot boys
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charlE30
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Fri Feb 04, 2011 5:29 pm

robsy wrote:everyday road use....i had biltein b8s i think in my last one which were awesome....

but would these be a tad too much of an extravagance in an IS??
Just because it's an IS doesn't mean it'll take a corner any slower than a sport so on that basis they're not extavagant at all :D

Rav your link got **plugged**

If your budget will stretch to them get them brought mate, loads on ebay at the moment
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Rav335uk
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Fri Feb 04, 2011 6:30 pm

charlE30 wrote: Rav your link got **plugged**
What does that mean then?? :?
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charlE30
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Fri Feb 04, 2011 6:43 pm

Rav335uk wrote:
charlE30 wrote: Rav your link got **plugged**
What does that mean then?? :?
One of the silly zone filters removed the sites name from when you typed the link, I didn't realise the link still worked :o:
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Fri Feb 04, 2011 10:10 pm

Ahhh 8O
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gaszman
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Sat Feb 05, 2011 8:44 am

euros have bilsteins 48.58 each for the front
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robsy
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Sat Feb 05, 2011 12:25 pm

these wont b6 or b8s though....but may be good enough for the job for a bit.. would still prefer something like the b6/b8s
BMWE30325
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Sat Feb 05, 2011 2:39 pm

whats the main diffrence form b6 and b8 which one would be better for every day use ? stance and comfort ?
TouringTash
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Sat Feb 05, 2011 3:03 pm

B6's on standard height springs and the shocks are biased towards normal use.
B8's for lowered springs and are biased towards a more sportier experience.

The above isn't a hard rule imo as I'm going to use B6's onsprings with a 35mm drop all round as comfort and a more forgiving squishy setup will be of assistance in keeping an old car together on UK roads.
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robsy
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Sat Feb 05, 2011 9:39 pm

im keeping the original 318is spings (mtech?) so still unsure if b6 or b8 is the way to go
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Sat Feb 05, 2011 9:41 pm

TouringTash wrote:B6's on standard height springs and the shocks are biased towards normal use.
B8's for lowered springs and are biased towards a more sportier experience.

The above isn't a hard rule imo as I'm going to use B6's onsprings with a 35mm drop all round as comfort and a more forgiving squishy setup will be of assistance in keeping an old car together on UK roads.
Other way around

B6 are a shorter damper and suit drops of over 40mm.
poolnoodle
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Sat Feb 05, 2011 10:47 pm

I got B6s for my 2002 at a great price (even allowing for freight) from www.shox.com in the USA. Had them on my door step in a couple of weeks
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Wed Feb 09, 2011 5:15 pm

I thought i might add this here.

I've ordered some bilstein b8 rear dampers from motorsport world. Bilstein UK has no stock of the b8 rear dampers so it will take 2-3 weeks to arrive from bilstein germany. They also added that bilstein UK will not be keeping stock of these "due to limited volume of recent sales" so there will be this lead in time now!

Just to let you know :wink:
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