Bilstein PSS (and possibly PSS9) height and ride quality
03-22-2018, 06:50 AM
#21
Bilstein shocks can be revalved by Bilstein and a variety of others (Anarky, Fat Cat, Anze, etc.). They can also add Schraeder valves to adjust the nitrogen, change to digressive pistons and add bleed holes to the pistons. I think the Bilsteins come with an external reservoir on the rear, a good idea because the rear shock height limits the reservoir, especially on lowered cars; the OEM shocks had an external reservoir in the rear. Bilstein pistons are relatively inexpensive, most are under $50 MSRP. Its the difference of wearing a suit off the rack or having the tailor adjust it. In the end, modified PSS shocks will still probably be under $2000.
02-16-2019, 01:28 AM
#22
Hoping you guys might be able to help out. I recently swapped from KW clubsports to the fixed damper Bilstein kit. I did this mainly because of the smoother ride compared to a trackday orientated coilover.
I set all the heights within the specifications and after a drive the springs noticeably sagged and settled and the car ended up lower, as you would expect. Now to get the rear of the cars height where i want it im having to fully compress the helper spring and im already applying a small amount of preload on the main spring. That has left me with one finger gap at the rear. This is too low for me really and it already took a bang when going over a speed hump. I'm well outside of the 205mm to 215mm spec stated in the manual.
Has anyone else ran into this issue and had to fully compress the helper spring and apply some preload on the main spring? It seems abit off that Bilstein have a range of adjustment and that im already well outside of that.
I set all the heights within the specifications and after a drive the springs noticeably sagged and settled and the car ended up lower, as you would expect. Now to get the rear of the cars height where i want it im having to fully compress the helper spring and im already applying a small amount of preload on the main spring. That has left me with one finger gap at the rear. This is too low for me really and it already took a bang when going over a speed hump. I'm well outside of the 205mm to 215mm spec stated in the manual.
Has anyone else ran into this issue and had to fully compress the helper spring and apply some preload on the main spring? It seems abit off that Bilstein have a range of adjustment and that im already well outside of that.
02-17-2019, 01:22 AM
#24
Thanks for the link. I have had a quick read but it doesnt seem to reflect the issue im having.
I have at the moment 18mm of exposed thread below the locking nut on the rear and 20mm of exposed thread below the locking nut at the front of the car. I still have exactly the same amount of ride height as i had before and i just increased all of the height adjusters by 5mm.
Im thinking at this point that the replacement top mounts i brought had a slightly different style of rubber bush compared to the S2000 and im wondering if they are too soft and compressing too much giving the decrease in rideheight. I've sourced some second hand top mounts and will try again.
Out of interest has anyone fitted spherical top mounts to their bilstein kit and if so have they got any recommendations?
I have at the moment 18mm of exposed thread below the locking nut on the rear and 20mm of exposed thread below the locking nut at the front of the car. I still have exactly the same amount of ride height as i had before and i just increased all of the height adjusters by 5mm.
Im thinking at this point that the replacement top mounts i brought had a slightly different style of rubber bush compared to the S2000 and im wondering if they are too soft and compressing too much giving the decrease in rideheight. I've sourced some second hand top mounts and will try again.
Out of interest has anyone fitted spherical top mounts to their bilstein kit and if so have they got any recommendations?
02-17-2019, 10:20 AM
#25
Hoping you guys might be able to help out. I recently swapped from KW clubsports to the fixed damper Bilstein kit. I did this mainly because of the smoother ride compared to a trackday orientated coilover.
I set all the heights within the specifications and after a drive the springs noticeably sagged and settled and the car ended up lower, as you would expect. Now to get the rear of the cars height where i want it im having to fully compress the helper spring and im already applying a small amount of preload on the main spring. That has left me with one finger gap at the rear. This is too low for me really and it already took a bang when going over a speed hump. I'm well outside of the 205mm to 215mm spec stated in the manual.
Has anyone else ran into this issue and had to fully compress the helper spring and apply some preload on the main spring? It seems abit off that Bilstein have a range of adjustment and that im already well outside of that.
I set all the heights within the specifications and after a drive the springs noticeably sagged and settled and the car ended up lower, as you would expect. Now to get the rear of the cars height where i want it im having to fully compress the helper spring and im already applying a small amount of preload on the main spring. That has left me with one finger gap at the rear. This is too low for me really and it already took a bang when going over a speed hump. I'm well outside of the 205mm to 215mm spec stated in the manual.
Has anyone else ran into this issue and had to fully compress the helper spring and apply some preload on the main spring? It seems abit off that Bilstein have a range of adjustment and that im already well outside of that.
Why is that considered odd?
Just raise the main spring til the height is where you want.
Also...springs don't really settle much. Maybe 0.25" worth. Did you clock all your bushings? Because bushings tearing will "settle" the height quite dramatically.
02-17-2019, 02:14 PM
#26
Preload can be a misleading term. If you think about it, the spring is going to compress further once the cars weight is lowered down onto it. So its only preload on tbe bench.
On the car its simply raising the lower spring perch, which in turn raises ride height.
So don't worry about how much spring is compressed on the bench. Its largely irrelevant (other than manufacturer specs, which are really just reversing the process of finding an 'ideal' ride height, then measuring unloaded shock height so you can get that same height during bench setup).
Its adjusting ride height, and its adjusting where the shocks range of travel, droop vs compression is.
On the car its simply raising the lower spring perch, which in turn raises ride height.
So don't worry about how much spring is compressed on the bench. Its largely irrelevant (other than manufacturer specs, which are really just reversing the process of finding an 'ideal' ride height, then measuring unloaded shock height so you can get that same height during bench setup).
Its adjusting ride height, and its adjusting where the shocks range of travel, droop vs compression is.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
rwheelz
S2000 Brakes and Suspension
11
03-21-2011 10:14 PM
