Bilstein B6 Installed (Initial Drive)

[Davisca455]

'08 E92 DCT/EDC
79,053 miles
Solid rear subframe bushings.
Hotchkis F/R sway bars.
19" wheels for the street.
18" wheels for track.

The car is daily'd, but also tracked 5-7 times a year, so the priority isn't lap times.

I'd describe the use case/priority like:
"Don't spill the wife's "roady" on the way to the beach, and just have as much fun at the track as I can."

The Comfort setting had been working fine, nice and quiet, smooth and gooey.

But I had been reading about folks doing a reset on their EDC life and getting improvements in the Comfort setting, so being the dumbshit greedy idiot that I am, I had mine reset hoping for even more comfort.
And of course, it worked in reverse for me, and now Comfort is indistinguishable from Sport…UGH!

Earlier in the year I took a ride in an e90 with B6s on stock springs and 18" tires at Thunderhill.
That car, by comparison, soaked up kerbs like they weren't even there…my car (on 19s at the time) would've been airborn trying to match those lines.

So I decided to get a set of B6s and be done with EDC.
Did the install yesterday (stock springs), and did a 2 mile test drive this morning.

Measured the fender well height before starting the swap, and remeasured after the short test drive (+6mm at each fender).

The test drive was just a coffee run, so 25-35mph over some cracked and craggily roads.
The B6s are not as smooth as the EDCs used to be on the Comfort setting, but about the same after the idiotic reset session….UGH!

I'll drive on them some more and I have a track day scheduled at Sears Point on 11/20, so I'll see how it goes.

To be continued…

[SAMM3Y]

Good stuff Chris! Can't wait for your on track impressions!

[Davisca455]

Took a drive to Thunderhill yesterday, not to track, just to put some miles on the B6s and to catch a ride with SAMM3Y on the West course.

That was a 170 mile round trip on a pretty nice section of Interstate 5.
Since it was a smooth highway, I aimed for whatever patch work I could find along the way.
The ride is noticeably firmer, but my initial estimate is that the B6s will barely pass the hard requirement of not spilling the wife's roady on the way to Avila Beach.

Still don't care for the "harshness" over the little cracks and bumps at in town low speeds.

It just feels like I added stiffer springs.
Makes me wonder if there is too much gas pressure in the dampers?

Remeasured the ride height after the 170 mile trip.
The car is a little bit lower, but still raised from from the measurements I took before starting the installation.

Was +6mm at all four corners.
Now only
+4.5mm front
+3mm rear

[Davisca455]

B6 Update:

On the street, these dampers are still too firm/harsh for my taste.
Every little crack and bump in the pavement still feels magnified, but I think it’s the sound that those bumps transmit into the cabin that bother me the most.

On the highway, they are noticeably firmer, but highway traveling hasn’t been as annoying as in town driving.

I keep thinking “If only there was a schrader valve on these dampers, I’d be experimenting with lower pressures.”

On the track, they are fine, at least for my use.
I wish I had the skill to judge if they are better/same/worse, but I don’t…
But had a blast at Sears Point in November, so it was nice that they didn’t “bum that voyage”.

Also went to Thunderhill East on 1/28 with SAMM3Y and slcook54 which was super fun as well.

There is only meaningless lapping data (too many other changes) from last weekend to judge if the dampers made me quicker.
The first time I ever timed myself was on my 4th ever track day 2 years ago, and that was after a full year of not tracking.



In January of 2021 (T-Hill East, Bypass), I rented a transponder and recorded lots of 2:14s and a handful of 2:13s.
This was with the EDCs/OE springs, stock sway bars, stock alignment, OE rear subframe bushings, OE brakes/track pads, PS4s (f 245/35/19 - r 305/30/19).

In January of 2023 (T-Hill East, Bypass), I thought it was a good time to check my times for a second time.
The mods this time are:
B6s/OE springs, Hotchkis f/r sway bars (set to full soft), front camber to -3.0*, solid rear subframe bushings, front ST60 brakes/track pads, NT01S (f 275/35/18 - r 305/35/18).
Recorded mostly 2:08s and a few 2:07s.

[MrBlueSkies]

You could try running the 18s on the street for a while and see if the extra tyre sidewall dials back the harshness a little?

[Davisca455]

Originally Posted by MrBlueSkies

You could try running the 18s on the street for a while and see if the extra tyre sidewall dials back the harshness a little?

Yes, adding the 18s to the EDC setup was a wildly noticeable improvement on track.

On track with the 19s, hitting apex kerbing would upset the car, and the 18s really cleaned that mess up.

[TboneS54]

Monotube, gas pressure billys are known for being harsh, esp when new. They'll soften up a little. Looks like stock springs you have, but didn't see if they're ZCP or not. If so, maybe B8s would have been better? I ahve Swift and B8, but I'm used to monotubes (bilstein, now MCS) on my E46 and prefer it anyway.

Your camber plates aren't helping the harshness factor either though, imo. The gain of free bump travel is worth it though, esp if those springs are lower than factory non ZCP.

[Thumbie]

Just missed you! I was up there the next day on the 29th. Got some rain the first two sessions, good times.

Good review of the B6, very straightforward with your thoughts. And helpful as I am debating these when my factory EDC shocks go (got a few thousand less miles than you though).

To be honest I really think I'll be splurging on the B6 damptronics

[Davisca455]

Originally Posted by TboneS54

Monotube, gas pressure billys are known for being harsh, esp when new. They'll soften up a little. Looks like stock springs you have, but didn't see if they're ZCP or not. If so, maybe B8s would have been better? I ahve Swift and B8, but I'm used to monotubes (bilstein, now MCS) on my E46 and prefer it anyway.

Your camber plates aren't helping the harshness factor either though, imo. The gain of free bump travel is worth it though, esp if those springs are lower than factory non ZCP.

Good info, thanks.

Correct, stock springs, stock height, but not ZCP, ‘08 car.

The camber plates have been on the car for a long time, way before the B6s.
At the time of the camber plate install there was zero difference in harshness that I could detect.
I did reuse the rubber insulator when I installed them though.