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    ix h&r sport springs, which shocks?

    Just picked up some H&R sport springs. I’ve read that Bilstein HD’s are good, and I saw these- Bilstein B6 https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-4...25ix-set-of-4/

    I supposed B6 is HD?

    Also have read that KONI adjustable are good.

    It’s not tracked or autocrossed. Really just want to tighten it up a bit and adjust the altitude a little.

    Particularly interested in your opinion if you have also run stock and can compare the other options.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    #2
    You absolutely must trim the Bilstein internal front bump stop with lowering springs on the iX.

    Konis are better valved, but inferior shocks. Which is frustrating, but they are overall a better package.
    2006 GMC Sierra 2500HD 4WD LBZ/Allison
    2002 BMW M3 Alpinweiß/Black
    1999 323i GTS2 Alpinweiß
    1995 M3 Dakargelb/Black
    - S50B32/S6S420G/3.91
    1990 325is Brilliantrot/Tan
    1989 M3 Alpinweiß/Black

    Hers: 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo Black/Black
    Hers: 1988 325iX Coupe Diamantschwartz/Black 5spd

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      #3
      What objectively makes them inferior? They ride way better and last just as long. Sure, if you're off roading or doing serious road racing, the Bilsteins will be more consistent - but they ride like crap on the street.

      I did a *lot* of autox and HDPEs on my old Konis, including 150,000+ miles of street driving. I can't see how the Bilstein's could possibly make up for the horrible ride with better performance.
      Last edited by nando; 03-18-2019, 10:16 PM.
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        #4
        The answer is probably going to be that the Bilstein is Mono tube upside down shock. The mono tube design does suggest that the reaction time is quicker, but this makes for the rougher ride. The mono tube design also suggests that it dissipates heats better as it doesn't have the outer wall of the twin tube, but yer I don't think that makes much difference on a street car.

        I personally went for the Koni adjustable yellows. I find them quite good for my purely street car. they pass the "can i drive with a coffee" test. The only painful thing is the adjusters. On the front they are easily accessible but they don't "click" so you don't know where you actually are in the adjustment range. This can be seen as a good thing as it is infinitely adjustable, but its difficult to get both sides the same, and then remembering where you set it if you come back in a few weeks to fiddle. The rear adjustment is even worse as you need to adjust them by spinning the bottom half of the shock after compressing it all the way down. This can be done by taking off the wheel and just removing the bottom bolt of the shock. But I have found it very frustrating to get it the same on both sides. when you compress the shock it takes maybe 1/8 of a turn to start the adjustment, so you need to take this into account when you your adjustment. Ie say you want to change the shock by 1/4 of a turn, well you need to feel that you are in the adjustment "notch" by turning it, then you turn it your 1/4 of a turn.

        I got the konis dyno tested before i put them in and found that the adjustment knob only adjusts rebound, there is no cross talk to compression at all. And even 1/4 of a turn made a big difference especially in the high speed section. You really need to be careful you dont adjust too much in one go. which makes my comments about the rear adjusters more important, difficult to do fine adjustments.

        If i was to have my time again i would see if i can buy the externally adjustable for the rears.

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          #5
          I always took the bump stops out of the rear shocks - makes adjustments much simpler. My reasoning is that the rear springs will coil bind before the shocks bottom out anyway, so those tiny bump stops are pointless. So far I haven't been wrong.

          As far as adjustments, I've found mostly it doesn't matter that much anyway. Maybe I adjust them 2-3 times when I first get them - after that, I never touch them again. External adjustments just isn't a big deal IMO.

          Those clicky adjusters are a gimmick too. The shocks that come with them are usually so poor quality and non linear, the "clicks" are useless.
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            #6
            Originally posted by nando View Post
            I always took the bump stops out of the rear shocks - makes adjustments much simpler. My reasoning is that the rear springs will coil bind before the shocks bottom out anyway, so those tiny bump stops are pointless. So far I haven't been wrong.
            Maybe i will take them out of mine too as that reasoning sounds pretty sound. I find those stupid bump stops get all caught up inside the shock tube anyway and i've had to use a coat hanger to fish them out a few times.

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              #7
              Having Bilstein and H&R on the car now, I will fully recommend Koni. I had Bilsteins on an e34 and an e36 many years ago and found them firmer/harsher than they had to be for the spring. I've since had Konis in my e30 M3 and e39 M5 and find the ride MUCH better. The reason for this is Bilstein (and factory/Sachs to some degree) rely on more aggressive compression damping for suspension control. This results in excellent turn in and roll control, as the dampers have the effect of adding to the spring rate. The downside is harshness.

              Koni relies more on rebound damping. The benefit of this is absorbing bumps better while still controlling the car. Another benefit is "jacking down" where in quick transitions, the rebound damping will "pull" the suspension down in stead of "jacking up". This is why many people say Konis are smoother than stock shocks, while still being "sportier" overall.

              This iX is the first time I've had Bilsteins in a while (car came with them) and it reaffirms all of the above. It's pretty stiff considering I'm only on sport springs and 15" snow tires.
              1990 M3
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                #8
                Originally posted by nando View Post
                What objectively makes them inferior? They ride way better and last just as long. Sure, if you're off roading or doing serious road racing, the Bilsteins will be more consistent - but they ride like crap on the street.
                Koni's valve mechanism is naturally digressive, so they tend to ride well.

                Bilstein valves most/all of their off the shelf shocks with linear valving, which rides like hell as you noted.

                Bilsteins *CAN* be built with digressive valving, but Bilstein themselves almost never does. Maybe the PSS9/PSS10's for Porsches and such. That's pretty much the only market for which Bilstein will put any effort into developing a "tune".
                There are, however, a LOT of shops that can revalve Bilsteins and on a street car doing better than Bilstein's factory linear valving is pretty easy.

                Originally posted by e30davie View Post
                The answer is probably going to be that the Bilstein is Mono tube upside down shock. The mono tube design does suggest that the reaction time is quicker, but this makes for the rougher ride. The mono tube design also suggests that it dissipates heats better as it doesn't have the outer wall of the twin tube, but yer I don't think that makes much difference on a street car.
                The larger piston in a mono-tube shock makes it easier to achieve a high damping coefficient at low speed, but the harsh ride really comes from the fact that Bilstein puts linear valving in almost everything. It's needlessly harsh, but apparently sells dampers.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by nando View Post
                  What objectively makes them inferior? They ride way better and last just as long. Sure, if you're off roading or doing serious road racing, the Bilsteins will be more consistent - but they ride like crap on the street.

                  I did a *lot* of autox and HDPEs on my old Konis, including 150,000+ miles of street driving. I can't see how the Bilstein's could possibly make up for the horrible ride with better performance.
                  As I said, better valving in the Konis. The Bilstein shocks are more consistent and longer lasting.

                  Between the two, I’d buy the Konis. It’s just annoying, because the Bilsteins would be better if they didn’t always screw up the valving on BMWs.
                  2006 GMC Sierra 2500HD 4WD LBZ/Allison
                  2002 BMW M3 Alpinweiß/Black
                  1999 323i GTS2 Alpinweiß
                  1995 M3 Dakargelb/Black
                  - S50B32/S6S420G/3.91
                  1990 325is Brilliantrot/Tan
                  1989 M3 Alpinweiß/Black

                  Hers: 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo Black/Black
                  Hers: 1988 325iX Coupe Diamantschwartz/Black 5spd

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                    #10
                    Well, I appreciate the guidance, and the consensus above seems to be Koni. However 2 ix guys I know have highly recommended bilstein B6. One said do not get the sport shocks (B8) as there is not enough travel. So, I have the B6’s on the way. So we will see.


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                      #11
                      Well, enjoy the rough ride :/

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                        #12
                        There's no such thing as a 'B8' or 'B6' Bilstein for the ix. lol. There's only the HD.
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                          #13
                          Originally posted by NCTerp View Post
                          Well, I appreciate the guidance, and the consensus above seems to be Koni. However 2 ix guys I know have highly recommended bilstein B6. One said do not get the sport shocks (B8) as there is not enough travel. So, I have the B6’s on the way. So we will see.


                          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                          Make sure you trim the internal bump stop. The B6 (HD), which is the only Bilstein Monotube iX strut that you can buy (I’m concerned that you iX friends didn’t even know this) has a really long internal stop that makes the front end crash horribly over bumps. It’s awful with STOCK springs, and you end up riding on the bump stops with H&Rs. IIRC, the last time I used that combo, I had to trim about 2” off the bump stops to make them not suck horribly.

                          And when I say that the ride quality sucks horribly, keep in mind that I have a race car and a bunch of stiffly sprung coilover suspensions. (I even drove on the street for a while with a 1050/1300lbs. suspension.) H&R+unmodified bilsteins is one of the worst riding suspensions that I’ve experienced in a BMW.
                          2006 GMC Sierra 2500HD 4WD LBZ/Allison
                          2002 BMW M3 Alpinweiß/Black
                          1999 323i GTS2 Alpinweiß
                          1995 M3 Dakargelb/Black
                          - S50B32/S6S420G/3.91
                          1990 325is Brilliantrot/Tan
                          1989 M3 Alpinweiß/Black

                          Hers: 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo Black/Black
                          Hers: 1988 325iX Coupe Diamantschwartz/Black 5spd

                          sigpic

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                            #14
                            I decided for Sachs to go with H&R. I don’t know how long these OE struts will last with lowered springs? But I avoided a stiff suspension. So far I’m pretty happy.

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                              #15
                              Enjoy crashing into the bumpstops until the shocks blow..
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