Bilstein Shock
 

Is this a good price for these?
http://www.partsgeek.com/mmparts/shocks/mazda/rx8.html

How much better are they than the Stock shocks on a GT? Will the pair well with a set of Mazdaspeed springs?

Good lord, those are cheap. I got mine for $500-600 shipped b/c they were on sale. But it sounds too good to be true.

it would be like $400 for a set. They seem to about $20 dollars cheaper per shock than most other vendors I see.

Here is another with similar prices

http://www.allshocks.com/bilstein/ht...year='2003'

So are Bilstein's better than Koni's?

The Konis are adjustable. The Bilsteins are not. The Konis have a pretty stiff jounce and adjustable rebound but the rears have to be taken off the car to adjust. I hear the Bilsteins are more comfy on the jounce.

Most of the Bstock Autox guys run the Konis. But the bilstein's are pretty new to the market. If I had to guess I'd say the Konis are probably better on track than the Bilsteins but the B's are more comfy around town and on the street. Either one will be a good upgrade you won't be dissappointed with though. So unless you are primarly in to tracking the car I would go with the Bilsteins...IMHO.

yea I won't be primarily tracking the car but I will be doing autoX and just casual track days in the future. Nothing overly competitive.

I love the Bilsteins
Very firm ride without losing the comfort of daily driving.
As stated both are good choice over the OEMs

Think I'll see about picking them up then. I certainly don't think I need the adjustability and I keep reading the MS springs are no good to pair with the OEM shocks as they won't last long. $400 dollar + 7 dollar shipping seems like a steal.

Yay for this thread, I never knew bilsteins were priced so well.

one thing I don't get is, the site I first listed has multiple different ones. Al say heavy duty then some say sport or Without Self-Levelling. WTF is the difference? I was thinking the sport ones but I'm curious now.

You may just want to look up the part number here and match it with what's on that site

http://www.bilsteinus.com/305bilstei...ationguide.pdf

If you are thinking about autox, these are not legal for B Stock. They are a drop in shock but all dimensions have to be identical to be legal for stock and I think that the lower spring perch is a little bit lower than the OE shocks, thus not legal. For stock class autox the Konis are the tried and true winner. Myself, I am looking to sell my Konis to get the Bilsteins and have them revalved for STX class.

Also, the website is listing the Normal and Sport suspension variants of the RX8, all manual trans model RX8's have the Sport suspension, the auto trans models have the normal suspension.

Seems like based on the Bilstein guide, there is only the Heavy Duty version for the RX-8. Beyond that is the coilovers.

the group I am going to autoX with doesn't have classes so I am ok there.

I just want something thats better than what I have just not super stiff and will work well with the MS springs.

I didn't know about the difference between the MTs and ATs in terms of the shocks, does the trim matter there?

As long as you know if you have the sports suspension or not, that's where the difference lies I believe.

how do I know?

*edit* To quote another thread:

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension-55/brake-faq-167264/

Beyond that, I don't imagine there's another suspension difference between any models.

Seeing that the OP is talking about matching these shocks with some Mazdaspeed springs, I didn't get that he was trying to run in B-stock.

I wasn't aware of the difference in perch height on the standard OE replacement Bilstein HD shocks, but if this is truly the case, then it's definitely a good word of caution to anyone considering this upgrade for stock class.

I think the trim may matter, further down in that brake thread, someone corrects the op about ATs with GT trims having the same larger calipers.

again, I'm running autoX with a group that has no classes so I am not worried about the SCCA (correct?) class requirements.

Do you mean this quote?

https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...2&postcount=16

Or are you referring to another one?

The one I linked most likely refers to how the base AT trim has the 11" rotors in front. Any AT with the sport or higher trim (GT has the sport trim at least, I believe) will have the 12.7" rotor in front.

I believe the difference that could occur is that the base AT model with the 11" rotors was able to fit the 16" rims, while the higher trim AT and all MT models with the 12.7" rotor can only fit the 18". This may have a difference in suspension heights.

hey I have a question, are these bilstein shocks the same that come with the shinka rx8?

I didn't realize the Shinka came with Bilsteins -- I thought it was only the '08 RX-8 40th anniversary and the '09+ RX-8 R3 model???

Either way, from what I undertsood, the standard Bilstein HD's were a direct replacement for the stock shocks on the '04-'08 RX-8's, and the OE Mazda Bilsteins found on the 40th Anniversary and R3 models were not the same (used a different perch height and were not rebuildable).

when you say direct replacement you mean they are the same as the OEM ones?

Might be the 05 Shinkas, which were a separate breed like the 40th anniversaries and the R3, and not the 06 Shinkas, which were just a trim.

I think the term "direct replacement" means that it fits exactly the same as the OE shocks. It does not refer to the shock absorption and other attributes of the shocks.

i believe Shinka shocks are a slightly crappier version, as they would be a bitch to rebuild. The bilsteins are probably hands down the easiest customizable shocks on the market.

so the real questions now are.

Are they better than stock on an 06 GT AT?

Will the pair well with the MS Springs? (I suspect yes)

^ i dont see why not...try lookin in the "hey look lowering springs" thread, theres a bunch of pics of different setups on the first page

yes I have to pile through that again. Maybe I'll add more of them to my database which would make this 100% so easy to lookup!

I got mine on ebay for $412.00 shipped.

they will be better than stock, and i suspect will be pretty good with the MS springs

I'd imagine the rebound rate is higher on an aftermarket shock, and it must have better lifetime... But that's only what I'd hope an aftermarket shock would do lol...

how are these in relation to the 09 R3 bilstiens...? or are they the same?

if they are the same, I read someone saying that they are easily the easiest customizable shocks... meaning when you rebuild them? What are things we can do with the stock bilstiens?

I think I'm gonna try the MS springs on the stock shocks until I can get some other shocks. It will be a nice learning experience either way. I really need to document this also since the pictures on the current DIY are gone.

I was looking forward to getting these but I am getting furlough sometime Q1 next year and now need to just save money. Unless someone has a used set cheap....

You guys are always so helpful.

They are not the same.

As far as stock damping rates I am completely unaware of how the 09 R3 and aftermarket HD shocks compare. However, the OE R3 Bilsteins are of the crimp-top variety and are not rebuildable/revalvable/etc. The aftermarket Bilstein HD is not a crimp-top (I forget the terminology used for these) and are easily and cheaply revalvable/rebuildable/etc. Bilstein would charge you ~$65 per shock for custom valving and many other shops will charge you similar rates for similar service. FatCatMotorsports is working on, and may even have available, a service to make your Bilstein HD's adjustable.

Thanks for the info, I checked the Fat Cat site and they do not seem to have service for the RX-8 (and they have a pretty high price, but for a lot of work).

I'd imagine for street use, the base bilstein HD would be more than capable.

i've heard of people using ohlins external reservoirs with bilstein shocks to make them adjustable, but its supposedly very expensive to do

The big expense is for the canisters, $300-$400 each. Bilstein has their own but really any external resevoir (Ohlins, Moton, Penske, etc) can be used once you add a schrader valve to the shock, (easily and cheaply done during a rebuild or revalve). The problem is this only gives you compression adjustment with no rebound adjustment

FatCat is able to revalve any non-crimp-top Bilstein shock and is currently working on rebound adjustable Bilsteins for the NC Miata and the RX8 (very similar suspension/shock design) but from what I understand they are not complete yet. Once they are done, you could add any of the popular compression canisters and have drop-in double adjustable, monotube Bilstein shocks.

For me I am looking at getting some HD's revalved, adding schrader valves, but leaving them non-adjustable for right now. I want to see what I can do with the car in STX and the less knobs I have to fiddle with the more consistent my setup will be.

sucks that they're crimp top and not rebuildable, but good to know... thanks

Below is an email I sent to Bilstein recently when looking for new shocks. I have Tein S-Tech springs. I ended up buying the Konis, as they are designed for use with lowering springs. I think the MS springs are < 1" drop so you should be okay with Bilsteins. That is an awsome price. The best price I could find on Konis was $673. I needed new dust boots on the fronts so that was another $40. I think the Bilsteins come with new dust boots. Don't forget to trim the bump-stops and "pre-load" the fronts.

Q: Does Bilstein offer a "sport" shock for the 2004 Mazda RX-8 that is designed for used with aftermarket lowering springs? All I see listed is "heavy-duty designed for use with the OEM springs". Is there a problem using lowering springs with the heavy-duty shock?

A: Though Bilstein does not make a Sport shock for the RX-8, the HD shocks can be used with springs that lower the car up to about 1.25”.

Attachment 268409

ooo, thanks for this info!

btw, what sway bar do you have there?

They are Racing Beat front and rear with the stock end links.

Sorry to revive this thread (rather do it than create a new one on the same topic), but will the R3 Bilsteins fit a Series I?

They will fit but the rear perch is different so I think a series I would be higher in the rear with them on.

Appreciate the response. How much higher are we talking about? Can a lower spring be substituted in the rear to counter it?

That information from Bilstein is misleading.

Bilstein DOES make a sport shock for the RX-8. I have them. Bilstein US does not distribute the sport shocks in North America. Bilstein in Europe does.

The sport shock is called the Bilstein B8. In fact the HD's that are available in Canada/US are called Bilstein B6.

I live in Canada, and I imported mine from the UK from an online store called Larkspeed. They ship to North America, so you can get your Bilstein B8 there.

Want more proof? Head on over to Bilstein's headquarter website page in Europe. Don't go the USA one.

That I am not sure of, I know coil overs can be adjusted to accommodate this but why would you bother? Just buy a set made for a series I RX8.

I have an R3 and just bought PSS9s. I want to sell my stock Bilsteins, but want to be sure that they will work on series I cars before I do. Don't want to sell someone something that won't fit. As far as I can see, there should be minimal issues if paired with the right spring.

Like 9k said, it will fit, just will sit higher and have a significant gap. To get springs that would bring it down to about stock height you would need to get lowering springs to be honest. Make sure your potential buyer knows that you wont be able to install the 09 shocks on a <09 and then look to lower the car beyond stock specs.