pss10 vs Bilstein B8 shock + oem spring ?

[waxxonMTL]

Long story short, i was waiting for my sway bar F+R with end link mod to see if i would install my PSS10 or put it for sale in the section. Sooo i just did the sway and while I can feel the difference in term of sharpness in the direction, it still feel floaty as heck with my oem suspension ( and almost feel ever more weird now, because when you are ''zig-zag'' the turn-in is sharp and direct, but then you start feeling instable because of the floating supsension). Car has 100k kms so maybe the shock have some use/wear and doesn't absorb as well as it was when it was new. I personally rode on 3 set of coilover in my life on my skyline ( tein HR, Apexi N1 and HSD monotube) and drove on different set when moving customer's car and/or friend's car. A stiff ride can easily be felt lol I don't really want that ; i would rather have a floaty ride and 2k$ in my pocket than a stiffer/ass tapping ride. In fact, I just exchanged car today with my friend's GTI on H&R street coilover and i didn't like it.. too stiff for me.

P.S: I don't care for the drop, i drive in winter and i drive on secondary road from times to times to visit family. Plus, when we travel on weekend, I usually carry 350-400 lbs. For these 2 reasons, I don't want a car too low because with an extra 400 lbs, it can easily start rubbing.

1) with that said, Does the pss10 with damping set to 4 can absorb as well the bump while still being on rail ? or it will always feel like a set of coilover ?

2) I was also thinking about just swapping the shock (for a set of bilstein B8 ) and keeping my oem spring ( or get the K.W HAS ), anyone tried that combo ? aftermarket shock with oem spring ? I'M asking because usually shock are matched to the spring so i doubt any of these aftermarket shock were matched for the oem spring...

I tried searching, but I'm entertaining a new discussion. Cheers !

[Dannydyn]

Given your reasoning/needs, I'd say you'd be better off with a B8/OE combo.

[waxxonMTL]

Given your reasoning/needs, I'd say you'd be better off with a B8/OE combo.

I'm jsut unsure since I don't want thing that were not made to work together and now you are just patching things or doing it again because first attempt didn't work correctly.

[Dannydyn]

I'm jsut unsure since I don't want thing that were not made to work together and now you are just patching things or doing it again because first attempt didn't work correctly.

People swear by that combo. I'm going for it myself FWIW (probably nothing, but... LOL)

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 4

[fitzydude]

I would suggest a B8/Eibach combo. Not as popular as the OE spring, but bilestein/eibach marketing claims the struts are matched to those springs.

[joediesel]

I would suggest a B8/Eibach combo. Not as popular as the OE spring, but bilestein/eibach marketing claims the struts are matched to those springs.

And you cant beat the price!! I remember reading that some people had issues with reverse rake using the eibach/bilstein kit

[waxxonMTL]

Agree the B12 pro kit at 700usd is amazing value, but i'm unsure if a drop of 30mm won't be too much when I'm traveling with family on long run.

[fitzydude]

And you cant beat the price!! I remember reading that some people had issues with reverse rake using the eibach/bilstein kit

No issue with reverse rake on mine. The drop is very minimal

Agree the B12 pro kit at 700usd is amazing value, but i'm unsure if a drop of 30mm won't be too much when I'm traveling with family on long run.

The drop was not even 30mm, actually closer to 15mm. If you order the B12 kit go through AWE tuning and ask about availability first (1-6 months!). Otherwise I would recommend buying the pieces separately and spending a little extra to get them sooner.

My Springs have settled to ~26.25 fender to ground

For Comparison:
-Eibachs: ~26.25"
-H&R OEs: ~26"
-H&R Sports: ~25.5"

[joediesel]

No issue with reverse rake on mine. The drop is very minimal

Good to know. Any side shots of your car?

[fitzydude]

I'm running the OEM tire size. I was looking for the least drop I could get for city driving. While killing the nasty body roll

[kcobourn]

I'm jsut unsure since I don't want thing that were not made to work together and now you are just patching things or doing it again because first attempt didn't work correctly.

I went Bilstein / H&R OE and couldn't be happier. Also added a rear H&R sway plus CR-15 strut brace. Perfect for my street focused setup. The car has a 1/8 to 1/4ish rake as well.

Like you I pained to make a final choice. I ended up looking to jran's setup since I liked the idea of a low maintenance suspension & he has tons of credibility on this forum.

Check his posts over on the wheel fitment thread and you'll quickly see what I mean.

[waxxonMTL]

No issue with reverse rake on mine. The drop is very minimal



The drop was not even 30mm, actually closer to 15mm. If you order the B12 kit go through AWE tuning and ask about availability first (1-6 months!). Otherwise I would recommend buying the pieces separately and spending a little extra to get them sooner.

My Springs have settled to ~26.25 fender to ground

For Comparison:
-Eibachs: ~26.25"
-H&R OEs: ~26"
-H&R Sports: ~25.5"

ohhh that's the first time i hear that. Interesting ! Have you had heavy passager before ? It is what it is, when traveling, we all agree the s4 is the best car we have in the family to travel loll but this winter, when i had that extra 400 lbs on my car and could see my suspension dropping by maybe 10mm.. So my question here is ; will the b12 kit compress as much as a oem strut would or because they are stiffer, an extra 400 lbs might only yeild a 5 mm drop ?

Also second question, would you say the b12 absorb bump nicely or you can easily tell you are riding on aftermarket suspension at any given moment ? cheers !!

[waxxonMTL]

I went Bilstein / H&R OE and couldn't be happier. Also added a rear H&R sway plus CR-15 strut brace. Perfect for my street focused setup. The car has a 1/8 to 1/4ish rake as well.

Like you I pained to make a final choice. I ended up looking to jran's setup since I liked the idea of a low maintenance suspension & he has tons of credibility on this forum.

Check his posts over on the wheel fitment thread and you'll quickly see what I mean.

agree on the wheel fitment thread :) He game me advice too . i ended up with 18x9 +30 and they are perfect. no need for spacer. I also have cr-15 and both sway + end link. I also have a box of pss10 in my room waiting to see what i do with them. I will send awe tuning a mail !

[fitzydude]

ohhh that's the first time i hear that. Interesting ! Have you had heavy passager before ? It is what it is, when traveling, we all agree the s4 is the best car we have in the family to travel loll but this winter, when i had that extra 400 lbs on my car and could see my suspension dropping by maybe 10mm.. So my question here is ; will the b12 kit compress as much as a oem strut would or because they are stiffer, an extra 400 lbs might only yeild a 5 mm drop ?

Also second question, would you say the b12 absorb bump nicely or you can easily tell you are riding on aftermarket suspension at any given moment ? cheers !!

Thats an interesting question. The Eibach's are a progressive spring so you might get a bet a bit more drop when the car is loaded with weight? I'm not sure. I've always ran Eibach springs on all my cars and they've consistently given the best ride compared to most everything else. The ride is very good, I say its margionally stiffer than stock, but then again my struts were blown at 110k resulting in an undampened/floaty ride so maybe its about what stock should have felt like.