Are the ride quality and performance significantly improved when you go from oem struts to Bilsteins?

I'm currently on oem struts with swift spec-r springs. I'd like to improve the ride quality with breaking the bank (..dreaming of some Ohlin or AST coils in the future). Is upgrading to the Bilsteins worth it? I don't race or anything like that. I'd like to do some lapping days in the future but nothing too serious.

Thanks!

 

ride quality is much better and improved traction

 

U may wanne try aragosta when breaking yr bank mate

 

This. There is a pretty good jump in performance with the Bilsteins. IMO they were the one upgrade that even made the MR better, everything else (AL roof, 6 speed, guages, etc) was unnecessary. Wish I would have saved the 5k+ sticker price and just bought the suspension later on. Oh well, live and learn.

 

OEM KYB's are pretty harsh in my opinion. I put some Bilstein's on and the ride quality was dramatically better. It's more of a softer ride when you're just crusing around. When you hit a bump, you don't feel that jolt like the OEM KYB's. When you're going fast, it holds its own very well. So overall much better. You will have to get a new set of Swift Spec R's or Sports since the ride height actually goes up in the front compared to OEM KYB's. If you plan on doing minor lapping days for fun, I would consider a set of Swift Spec R's for the Bilsteins. Going to Bilsteins definitely was one of the cheaper mods that made my RS better. You can go a step beyond and have the Bilsteins revalved to bring out the full potential of the Spec R springs, but now you may be spending more than you wanted to in the first place.

 

if you want a good set of springs for the MR bilstiens, you should get the GT/Worx springs. the rates are already matched to the valving of the bilstien shocks.

 

i have spec r's that i ran on both the stock kyb's and bilstein hd's. the bilstein's ride quite a bit better. as far as handling, i feel the stock kyb's were a touch better, but i need to tweak the alignment before i can say for sure.

 

Even if you get the OEM Bilsteins that came on the MR there is a great handling and comfort improvement.

 

Thanks for the comment but I had those springs in the past and wanted more drop, thus the spec-r's.

Thanks for all the comments.

 

Could you please tell me exactly how much did the GTWORX springs drop your car when compared to stock ride height? I am considering running MR Bilsteins on my RS in combination with GTWORX springs because I am looking for as little drop as possible due to the ultra bomb cratered roads in my country.

 

Check their website for pics. From what you describe the GTWORX springs would be perfect.

 

Any idea what Bilstein charges to revalve struts?

 

$75/each for the front struts
$65/each for the rear shocks

 

That doesn't seem too bad. Does that include rebuilding and revalving blown struts or just revalving functional struts? I've heard stories about Bilstein taking forever to send them back.

 

rebuild is included assuming you dont have destroyed shafts or other hard parts damaged.