Just got finished installing my new struts and springs and figured I'd post some pics. For right now I only have pics of the strut build. I'll post more pics of them installed on the car and of how the cars sits later this weekend.

Anyhoo, I figured people might be interested in what the HD H2's look like. I got them from Neal @ TireRack. I have no idea what distinguishes the H2 from earlier series, but I figured, if I'm going to buy a set, I might as well have the latest revision.

Pics in the posts to follow...

UPDATE - initial driving impression is, well, umm, I'm almost speechless. Even with my alignment still way off, the ride quality is FAR superior to the stock KYB/stock spring combo. The car has gone from being a kidney punching pogo stick to being as smooth, if not smoother than, my wife's R32 and my brother's M3. The best way to describe the ride quality of the Bilstein HD/Swift Spec-R combo would probably be to call it firm without being harsh. Roads that I dreaded to drive on with the stock setup were handled without any fuss. Once you push past the progressive part of the spring it does firm up very quickly, and the car has much less lean to it than with the stock setup.

l8r)

 

First up ... some pics of the Bilstein versus my stock '03 KYBs:

Some miscellaneous stats:

Bilstein HD H2 piston diameter is about 40mm
KYB piston diameter is about 38.5mm












l8r)

 

Next, the front strut build:

I did not trim the stock bumpstop. If, for some reason, it end up being a problem, I'll take the strut apart again and trim it.
















l8r)

 

Finished build:

The completed front strut weighs in at ~21lbs.

Used a file to line up the assembly:













l8r)

 

Um sexy!

 

The big question is how do they feel now? I am also looking at purchasing some of these for occasional track use and daily driving. I'm currently running stock KYBs with Tanabe GF210s and after reading about SmikeEvo's track success on the Bilsteins it makes a person ponder.

 

duuuude you should have measured the total travel!

looks good.

- andrew

 

Is it done by just pushing the piston and measure how far it goes down? I'm a newbie.

 

Does anyone know the rate difference between HD and H2?

How about the price difference? Thanks!

 

That will get you total travel. Also measure the size of the bumpstop.

Then put them on the car. Measure from center of wheel to edge of fender at static ride height.

Jack up the car and measure this distance again with the wheel at full droop. The difference between these 2 is droop travel.

To get bump travel, you subtract droop travel from the total travel (since bump + droop = total).

It's not perfectly accurate since the motion ratio isn't exactly 1, but it's very much close enough.

- Andrew

 

Are these the new HD?

 

There is no price difference. The original Bilstein HD struts for the Evo had a designation of H0, the set I got in July had a designation of H2. Neal actually had either one available, so I figured 2 has gotta be better than 0, right?

Added some initial driving impressions to the first post - the short version: SWEEEEEEET!!!

l8r)

 

Nice to hear somebody finally making wise suspension choices

 

Welcome to the "whoa, I didn't know an Evo could be like this club"

 

Your pics are great. I have same setup, just did it last weekend. I am running X rims and tires. Nice sears spring compressor! I hope to get my evo rolling soon. Glad to hear you like the ride, I am still waiting to roll.