i'm definitely set on getting some swift spec r's and i'm just trying to determine which would be better performance-wise: the stock kyb's or the mr bilsteins?

i could care less how bumpy or how harsh the ride quality is since i'm still young and i'll tolerate it until i physically can't. i dd my car and i do auto-x also

i'm hearing that the mr bilstein's are softer which would mean that the stock kyb's reduce body roll correct?

again, i dont care about ride quality and i don't have much money to spend with christmas coming up, otherwise i would probably shell out for megan track coilovers or bilstein hd's. i just want to know which of the two would handle better

thanks

 

Toss up in terms of performance. Auto-x might be better with KYB's, just by a hair. A tiny hair.

Dampers are not really used to control the amount of body roll in most cases. If you get KYB's the IX's are noticeably better then 8's.


- Andrew

 

thanks for the input man! i'll take any advantage i can get

 

Stiffer dampers will only slow down body roll, not reduce it. The car will stiff fulley lean over at mid corner the same as a softer damper. It's the slower roll which makes it feel like less roll, which I suppose you could say in a very quick manuver the car would be likely to roll less. But what do I know... Nothing, really.

 

so you would say the kyb > bilstein's? or.....?

 

go with billsteins you wont' regret it. I'm currently running the swift/billstein set up and I love it. Perfect street ride and its mean on the corners.

 

For real world, bumpy american back roads and tracks, I would choose the Bilsteins if i could. They'll be better.

I wouldn't feel too bad if i could only afford the IX KYBs though.



- Andrew

 

+1 on the Bilsteins. Have always used them with no complaints.

 

so i've heard the side of the people with bilsteins...anybody here have swift spec r's on their kyb struts?

thanks for all the input guys

 

If you already have KYBs then stick with them. Once lowered the performance difference is minimal at best.

The Bilsteins are a bit bigger and should last longer but honestly I rarely hear about people blowing the EVO9 KYB struts by way of moderate drop.

For the record... I sold my 5k mile KYBs for $250... but shipping cost me $50.
I ended up paying close to $850 + shipping for the new Bilstein / Robispec combo.
Figure springs are $200 and shipping was $50 so out of pocket expense for the Bilsteins was $450. I don't really think the difference is worth $450.

 

perfect explanation and breakdown...thanks a bunch man

looks like i'll buy a new set of kyb's and throw the swift on them

 

I just got a set of MR Bilstein's and noticed they are alot softer than the stock IX shocks, should I have just stuck with the IX shocks? I noticed when they were both off the rod end was alot softer on the Bilsteins than the KYB's. I thinking I might go back to them.

 

1 vote for the refined Bilstein. Taking my KYBs off soon.

 

bilstein, german shocks have better valving technology than Japanese shocks, the bilstein will even make your DD more comfortable without sacrificing any performance

 

Depends what you are looking for. I am happy with the performance of my current suspension but I think I wasted a couple hundred bucks getting rid of my KYBs only to get Bilsteins. I didn't think there was much difference between the KYBs and the lowered Bilsteins.

If I didn't have any suspension at all and needed something new I would say go with the Bilstein HDs or a set of low mileage MRs which are hard to find now that they are 2 years old. But if you already have a good set of KYBs just run them and call it a day until you want to move up.