Bilstein B8 shocks

Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:18 pm

My ongoing troubles with front coil springs.. Have Bilstein B8's fitted with Apex -30 mm springs. Springs are clicking on and off. I was under impression that I had correct set up and that B8's were shortened shocks so should work well with lowering springs.

When car is jacked up you can turn springs by hand with only a bit of force.

So the question is are my front shocks not short enough for springs causing springs to move or is it that springs are sagging?? or wrong combination of springs and shocks?

New springs, only been on car for six months.

Also been told that B6's are shortened versions..??

Help please before I go and spend more money for nothing..

Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:42 pm

i'm sure b6's are for pre facelift and b8 facelift. i'm not entirly sure aboutt the front suspension on the e30 yet but i'm sure the springs/shocks should be fine. they seated correctly andevery thing tightened up??

Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:50 pm

I'd be wondering whether you've got the correct Apex springs. My B8s are fine with Eibach -35mm springs.
Simon13 has a picture of a B6, a B8 and a stock damper laid next to each other - it might be worth searching for it.

Wed Jul 13, 2011 12:39 pm

mosh86 wrote:i'm sure b6's are for pre facelift and b8 facelift. i'm not entirly sure aboutt the front suspension on the e30 yet but i'm sure the springs/shocks should be fine. they seated correctly andevery thing tightened up??

B8's are 45mm bodied & shorter, the B6's are 51mm bodied and stock length. both "inverted"

the 45mm ones will fit into a 45mm strut with the correct locking collar

the pre facelift sports had B6's post face lift had Boge gas shocks

Wed Jul 13, 2011 12:44 pm

B8's are available for 51mm struts as I have them in mine.

Wed Jul 13, 2011 1:07 pm

a clicking sometimes indicated a broken spring, but i would doubt this is the case.

Wed Jul 13, 2011 2:52 pm

My B8's are definitely 51mm. Thinking maybe it is springs that have sagged causing moving and clicking sound..

Wed Jul 13, 2011 6:43 pm

Why apex and not eibach, which is by general consensus the best setup.

B6's are shorter than B8's, but -30mm should be fine with B8's, it might just be that the springs are quite short in their rested state. However I doubt you'd hear it on the road, there's at least 6 inches of compression with the vehicles weight on the wheels.

Wed Jul 13, 2011 6:58 pm

Both b6's and b8s have longr and shorter versions. Though the B8's Long version is meant for a 40mm+ drop. I suspect u have the short version. this would cause the shock to 'top out' rather then bottom out when the car is coming off a hump.

I have b6s on standard sport spring and they are the standard length ones.

But as others have said it could be the uncompressed spring hight is fairly low.

go for a test drive over some gantle humps and listen carefully.

Wed Jul 13, 2011 11:29 pm

Morat wrote:I'd be wondering whether you've got the correct Apex springs. My B8s are fine with Eibach -35mm springs.
Simon13 has a picture of a B6, a B8 and a stock damper laid next to each other - it might be worth searching for it.

ditto. We've all told you what a B6 and B8 are and people still post the wrong bloody thing!

Thu Jul 14, 2011 12:16 pm

Are the springs definitely seated properly on the perches and rubber spring pads? I can't think of anything else that would 'click' other than as Turk mentioned the shocks 'topping out'.

I run Bilstein B4s (stock length) with -60mm springs and get no clicks or noises.