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No and yes (long) Posted by sam96CS [Email]  (#852) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from sam96CS) on Wed, 7 Nov 2012 15:25:21
In Reply to: Do Bilstein HDs have extra-harsh "breaking in" period?, Blue Devil, Wed, 7 Nov 2012 11:10:59 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
The HDs feel harsh when new and more compliant after a 1,000 miles or so. I don't know for sure whether this is because the HDs break in or because you adjust to how it feels, or some combination of both.
You'll have to decide for yourself because ride evaluation is subjective. What one person calls firm another calls harsh, and what one calls compliant another calls mushy.
I'll describe my experience with the HDs, but bear in mind this is on a CS with softer springs driven in the Carolinas. I don't know how Boston roads compare. Also, for what it is worth, I've changed all rubber bushings to poly. Finally I carry about 200 pounds of tools in the hatch for my work.
I installed the HD struts first, replacing the original Saab struts at 170K miles. The HDs felt harsh at first but felt comfortable after a month or so. By "comfortable" I don't mean soft by any means, just firm in a way that does not strike me as harsh.
Installing the struts was a royal pain due to my ignorance about how to overcome the green loctite on the lower strut bolts. Between that and the horror stories about removing the lower shock bolts I put off installing the rear HD shocks until 19 months later, at 187K miles. What I replaced were the original shocks. The right rear shock was dead, and the left rear was still working. I went from having a ride that was firm in the front and evil-mushy at the back, to having a firm ride at all four corners.
The new HD shocks felt harsh compared to the dead/worn OEM shocks. I thought I might have to replace them with the more compliant touring shock that Bilstein made. Luckily I had a vacation planned that involved about 600 miles of driving. By the end of the vacation I was happy with the ride and very pleased with the car's behavior on curves and at interstate speed with crosswinds, no thanks to Hurricane Sandy.
Why doesn't the ride still feel harsh to me? I think mainly because my experience with the HDs changed my perception of how the car "ought" to ride. Before I installed HDs I knew only how worn OEM dampers felt. Compared to that, the HDs felt "harsh" before they felt "right". I think the initial impression of "harshness" would have been much greater if I had replaced the struts and shocks at the same time.
Try it for a month or two if you can tolerate it, and then write about your second impression of the HDs.
->Posting last edited on Wed, 7 Nov 2012 15:31:05.
, Wed, 7 Nov 2012 16:17:49, Fri, 9 Nov 2012 09:52:35, Wed, 7 Nov 2012 15:25:21 <-- Viewing This Message
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