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512bbi
Expert
Date registered: Jan 2007
Location: North western US and Europe
Vehicle(s): 05G55kge,Range rover classic,clk55amg,ML 430
Posts: 1313
| RE: Bilstein Shock Install
Ilian
If you are talking about Bilsteins all you ask for is to have them valved different for a better ride.
You can tell them you want enough bump at front for your unsprung weight and mention your size of tires rims weight and the fact the vehicle is solid axle.
You can say the stock bump is enough but you want a little extra with a lot more rebound and less bump at rear with enough rebound to control around a 250 pound per inch spring at the rear and you can say your front ones are around two hundred pounds per inch.
Your motion ratio is very little as shocks are almost straight up and down at front and at a lot more angle at rear.
They will charge a small fee to rebuild and custom valve and give you a life time warranty .
Tell them you want enough rebound to not have the springs kick back on rough terrain and be a little better than stock but not too rough.
Mention the weight of each axle and you will get a good ride when you get them.
Never say you off road too much if they go bad and only ask for new ones if they quit feeling the same
Also ask them how much longer can they make them than stock for your G with out lengthening their minimum length from stock
Mario |
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AlanMcR
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, CA, Los Altos
Vehicle(s): G300DT E300DT 230SL
Posts: 3500
| RE: Bilstein Shock Install
512bbi - 1/13/2016 10:52 PM .... Never say you off road too much if they go bad and only ask for new ones if they quit feeling the same ... I don't see how that is going to work. One side of my shock housing is completely gravel blasted. It would be very hard to convince them that I don't off-road much.
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512bbi
Expert
Date registered: Jan 2007
Location: North western US and Europe
Vehicle(s): 05G55kge,Range rover classic,clk55amg,ML 430
Posts: 1313
| RE: Bilstein Shock Install
You live in a house five miles of gravel road after pavement.
It is amazing how fast paint comes of even on pavement.
I have had twin tube Konis on fast sports cars look like hell in a year of pavement driving here in the west with sand on the road...
My G shocks had no paint real fast and those amg pipes looked horrible in one season before I cut them off
Bottom line they advertise life warranty......with out restrictions...
Mario |
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burqueDOKA
Elite Veteran
Date registered: Jul 2006
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Vehicle(s): 1550L37Doka, 404 ROCKMOG, '00 G500
Posts: 622
| Re: Bilstein Shock Install
oskar - 1/11/2016 10:20 PM
burqueDOKA - 1/8/2016 9:18 AM
No problem, let us know what you think of the Bilstiens, I am long over due for some new shocks too and am on the fence between them and the remote reservoir Fox's.
Fox or King ? Probably as many opinions as forum members :- )
Oskar
I have an unswayed opinion on the matter at the moment. William (Gila Monster) and I were talked into the Fox triple bypass shocks over Kings, for our Rally G project, because it was felt that Kings have been know to excessively heat up. Come April during the Sonora Rally, we will have a strong opinion of how we feel about Fox products, I'm sure.
On my 500, I'm obviously not looking for tripple bypass shocks. Any of the regulars would be great for how I use it, but I like the idea of Fox remote reservoir shocks on there. Kings I think are quite a bit more expensive in this category of shocks.
Edited by burqueDOKA 1/16/2016 3:51 PM
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512bbi
Expert
Date registered: Jan 2007
Location: North western US and Europe
Vehicle(s): 05G55kge,Range rover classic,clk55amg,ML 430
Posts: 1313
| Re: Bilstein Shock Install
burqueDOKA - 1/16/2016 1:47 PM
oskar - 1/11/2016 10:20 PM
burqueDOKA - 1/8/2016 9:18 AM
No problem, let us know what you think of the Bilstiens, I am long over due for some new shocks too and am on the fence between them and the remote reservoir Fox's.
Fox or King ? Probably as many opinions as forum members :- )
Oskar
I have an unswayed opinion on the matter at the moment. William (Gila Monster ) and I were talked into the Fox triple bypass shocks over Kings, for our Rally G project, because it was felt that Kings have been know to excessively heat up. Come April during the Sonora Rally, we will have a strong opinion of how we feel about Fox products, I'm sure.
On my 500, I'm obviously not looking for tripple bypass shocks. Any of the regulars would be great for how I use it, but I like the idea of Fox remote reservoir shocks on there. Kings I think are quite a bit more expensive in this category of shocks.
Have you guys decided on springs ?
Are you running stock set up on spring position ,bump stop type etc
Mario |
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burqueDOKA
Elite Veteran
Date registered: Jul 2006
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Vehicle(s): 1550L37Doka, 404 ROCKMOG, '00 G500
Posts: 622
| Re: Bilstein Shock Install
512bbi - 1/17/2016 6:42 PM
burqueDOKA - 1/16/2016 1:47 PM
oskar - 1/11/2016 10:20 PM
burqueDOKA - 1/8/2016 9:18 AM
No problem, let us know what you think of the Bilstiens, I am long over due for some new shocks too and am on the fence between them and the remote reservoir Fox's.
Fox or King ? Probably as many opinions as forum members :- )
Oskar
I have an unswayed opinion on the matter at the moment. William (Gila Monster ) and I were talked into the Fox triple bypass shocks over Kings, for our Rally G project, because it was felt that Kings have been know to excessively heat up. Come April during the Sonora Rally, we will have a strong opinion of how we feel about Fox products, I'm sure.
On my 500, I'm obviously not looking for tripple bypass shocks. Any of the regulars would be great for how I use it, but I like the idea of Fox remote reservoir shocks on there. Kings I think are quite a bit more expensive in this category of shocks.
Have you guys decided on springs ?
Are you running stock set up on spring position ,bump stop type etc
Mario
We have decided on G500 yellow/orange springs with, as I said Fox 10" travel tripple bypass shocks, and hydraulic bump stops. New shock mounts will be fabricated to accommodate the set up along with axle trussing. |
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Otiswesty
Administrator
Date registered: Jun 2007
Location: Portland, Oregon
Vehicle(s): 463.241, 461.213
Posts: 3004
| Re: Bilstein Shock Install
Shock warehouse has decent prices on Bilsteins and Konis with free shipping
http://www.shockwarehouse.com/index.cfm?mode=results&selected_model... |
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2000BEAST
Regular
Date registered: Jul 2010
Location: NOCAL USA
Vehicle(s): 2003 G500 / 2008 Carrera S / 2019 GLC 43
Posts: 83
| Re: Bilstein Shock Install
Finally got around to the installation of my new Bilsteins this past weekend.
The install is very straightforward except for a few tight clearances, and some very resistant original top mount nuts that were not wanting to come off. PB Blaster seemed to do the trick on the bottom mounts, but those top nuts - not so much - they were a biatch and did not want to move. I finally I resorted to heat from my torch, which finally did the trick.
Results : Hard to describe it but every aspect (compression, rebound, body roll, and comfort) has been noticeably improved. I suppose that is not to be a surprise when replacing 12 year old shocks with 100K miles !
Anyway, not huge difference, but significant for those of us who appreciate the difference. The truck just feels more controlled overall, and lively as well, reducing the "head sway" that caused me to want to do this in the first place.
Satisfying results, and all set for the next 100k  |
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4x4abc
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: La Paz, Baja California, Mexico
Vehicle(s): 02 G500
| Re: Bilstein Shock Install
ILIAN - 1/8/2016 6:44 PM
I think Harald went 300k miles on the original bilsteins so you should be good for a while longer. I have 130k on the original shocks and they feel decent. Will probably get Koni's after I'm done with all the other mods.
Just replaced my shocks a week ago with Bilsteins
original shocks were Sachs
2002 G500, 250k mi
bought the Bilsteins because they were cheaper
what a difference to the Sachs - Bilsteins are almost flimsy in comparison
truck drives well though
2 funky spacers for the rear bottom mount
no way to counter the upper shaft for tightening the nut
Sachs has the top of the shaft keyed for a small wrench (8 or 9 mm)
it is not a well designed package
Americans would not mind - they are used to making things fit
I prefer a perfect fit out of the box
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DUTCH
Administrator Doppelgänger
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, GA, Atlanta
Vehicle(s): 2015 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI,2018 Sprinter
Posts: 9963
| Re: Bilstein Shock Install
4x4abc - 1/20/2016 1:57 PM
no way to counter the upper shaft for tightening the nut
Sachs has the top of the shaft keyed for a small wrench (8 or 9 mm)
Interesting. They must have changed it. When I installed the Bilsteins several years ago, there was an Allen head slot up there to hold the shaft while tightening. |
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4x4abc
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: La Paz, Baja California, Mexico
Vehicle(s): 02 G500
| Re: Bilstein Shock Install
as a side note:
I drove the shocks to the absolute end of their life
they were leaking and offered no resistance at all under compression
car handled like an old Chevy
most importantly - every little bump in the road made my front tires shake like hell
bad steering stabilizer one might think
nope
with the new shocks all the shaking is gone |
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2000BEAST
Regular
Date registered: Jul 2010
Location: NOCAL USA
Vehicle(s): 2003 G500 / 2008 Carrera S / 2019 GLC 43
Posts: 83
| Re: Bilstein Shock Install
My new Bilsteins were also keyed for an allen wrench on the top mount... big improvement over the tiny square surface provided by the stock Sachs, which was useless when dealing with the frozen nut.
I too noticed that the bottom mounts on the Sachs were more robust (larger) than the new Bilsteins. Not a big deal, as Bilstein supplies spacers to snug things up, but yep it did strike me that the Bilsteins should be sized better there... so you don't need to employ spacers.
I also agree that the "tire shake" when hitting certain bumps is now GONE. I was going to do the Bilstein Steering Stabilizer replacement thing too, but I wanted to wait and see if the new shocks would have any impact on the shimmy... they absolutely did, so no need to replace the stabilizer now.
After driving in a bunch of different conditions this week, my truck really feels like new. I actually find myself throwing it into corners a little bit because of the overall increased feeling of control
Overall thumbs-up for sure ! |
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