Bilstein B6 installed with stock springs

[Sajk]

Picked up my Z this morning after having the stock shocks replaced with B6. Can totally recommend this combination if anyone is considering it.

[tomscott]

viewtopic.php?t=141527&start=15

Read through this and the impression is the B6 are harsher than stock, saw you were looking at the Sachs stuff too is is because its as expensive.

I also need to do mine, there is little to no dampening but really confused as what to buy. There is a lot of opinion across the board.

I don't really want to go for a full adjustable set up as I have no idea would rather fit and forget.

Have you any impression of road handling on an a/b and through town? Would appreciate the feedback, also wondering on the choice of OEM springs

Ive replaced all my springs in my ownership as I had one broken front and one broken rear so replaced as a pair and neither are more than 2 years old so would save a few £ not having to replace.

[plenty]

I don't really want to go for a full adjustable set up as I have no idea would rather fit and forget.

Adjustables can be fit and forget, too. Just adjust them to your liking once, then you don't have to do it ever again.

[Nick W]

I have the B12 kit on mine and love it. It replaced an 85k knackered original setup (on its third set of rear springs and second front) so difficult to compare but even though I'm using lower profile 34 and 40, 18" tyres they only feel harsh on pot holes or damaged roads. Handling wise on A/B roads they are great and with my driving skills they're as good as I'll ever need on track. If I ever want more comfort then I'll keep the shocks and change back to taller tyres for road use. The only problem I get is with the Eibach springs being lower, I have to pick my route carefully down my driveway .

[Jembo]

I went B12 Billy kit swapping back to OEM front springs as found just too harsh for our SE roads following Stu's advice..

Had you been nearer, would of happily given u a trial spin.

Good hunting

[Sajk]

viewtopic.php?t=141527&start=15

Read through this and the impression is the B6 are harsher than stock, saw you were looking at the Sachs stuff too is is because its as expensive.

I also need to do mine, there is little to no dampening but really confused as what to buy. There is a lot of opinion across the board.

I don't really want to go for a full adjustable set up as I have no idea would rather fit and forget.

Have you any impression of road handling on an a/b and through town? Would appreciate the feedback, also wondering on the choice of OEM springs

Ive replaced all my springs in my ownership as I had one broken front and one broken rear so replaced as a pair and neither are more than 2 years old so would save a few £ not having to replace.

I stayed with stock springs because for my back roads I did not think it was wise to go lower and after all its cheaper. Car won't be tracked and I will run out of talent way before the M does even on a stock setup. The B6 shocks while perhaps a tad firmer have smoothed out the crashy road over big bumps around town so I no longer fear unexpected bumps. Fast B roads the stock shocks actually became quite compliant and I find these the same but subjectively feel more controlled. Sachs are pretty much unobtainable except on order from Germany via a stealer. Bilstien don't make a B4 for the M and recommended B6 for stock springs.

I suppose I am also a bilstien fan in a way. I put b4s on my z3 with some other changes like poly rear beam bushes, a rear sway bar from a z3 coupe and z3m fca bushes. Transformed the thing and stopped it moving around so much in the rear on mid corner bumps.
Also had them on a few jeeps.

I would completely recommend stock M springs and B6 but perhaps you should grab a ride with someone who has them. I would offer but am in south africa so probably not a cost effective option for you...

Edit. I might be wrong but I think tye b8 that comes in the b12 kit are a shorter travel b6.

[XMetal]

viewtopic.php?t=141527&start=15

Read through this and the impression is the B6 are harsher than stock, saw you were looking at the Sachs stuff too is is because its as expensive.

I also need to do mine, there is little to no dampening but really confused as what to buy. There is a lot of opinion across the board.

I don't really want to go for a full adjustable set up as I have no idea would rather fit and forget.

Have you any impression of road handling on an a/b and through town? Would appreciate the feedback, also wondering on the choice of OEM springs

Ive replaced all my springs in my ownership as I had one broken front and one broken rear so replaced as a pair and neither are more than 2 years old so would save a few £ not having to replace.

Agree with @Sajk review on the B6s. I just replaced my stockers that had 70k miles with B6s. The B6s felt about the same and not much "harsher" than stock if any. Although, the car looked like it gained about 1/4" in height - can't prove this since I didn't do a before/after measurement. This height gain could be due to all the new mounting hardware (top hats, top/bottom spring pads, etc).

I too thought about the PSS10, but at the end, I too didn't want to fiddle with the adjustments and the lowered ride heights.

Adjustables can be fit and forget, too. Just adjust them to your liking once, then you don't have to do it ever again.

While this is true, but you still have to go through a lot of adjustments to get to your liking before you can leave them alone.

[plenty]

(duplicated post)

[plenty]

Adjustables can be fit and forget, too. Just adjust them to your liking once, then you don't have to do it ever again.

While this is true, but you still have to go through a lot of adjustments to get to your liking before you can leave them alone.

That's not actually accurate, in my experience at least. I'm currently running adjustable coilovers on three cars, and for every one I set them up with OEM (or close to OEM) ride height and the middle damping setting and they worked great right out of the box. It's up to you whether or not you wish to tweak after that.

Rather than thinking about coilovers needing adjusting before they can be usable, think about them as offering the option to adjust should you wish. With fixed-perch dampers and springs, you don't have that option.

[maupineda]

B6 does lift the car a bit. Nitrogen pressure and long bump stops are the reason. Primarily the high gas pressure. They set some after a while, in my case I lost 5mm of ride height after 10k miles.

[XMetal]

B6 does lift the car a bit. Nitrogen pressure and long bump stops are the reason. Primarily the high gas pressure. They set some after a while, in my case I lost 5mm of ride height after 10k miles.

I thought the ride height was set by the springs? If the B6s are the same length as OE, it shouldn't affect ride height? The longer bumpstops shouldn't come into play unless you're sitting on them, which I am not since I'm using stock springs.

[maupineda]

I’d be surprised. Measure the bump travel and you will see for yourself. There is about 60lb of gas force, that adds to the overall force supporting your car, not only the springs.

[LawrenceW]

Just to throw something else into the mix - ive just refreshed the suspension on my 56k Z4MC and although early days I’m very happy with the result.

To back pedal, the car was on its original factory struts but with HR springs. Although not the smoothest or harshest ride it was obvious it needed a refresh. So this is where horses for courses kicks in - my cars a weekend/ B road blaster and as it stands I have no intention of tracking the car. As such I wanted decent comfort/control without the need for 10/10th driving.

After considering all off the shelf options as well as picking the brains and taking feedback from past and present forum members/ posts, I decided on factory struts matched to Eibach springs and as said pleased with the result.
The F/N/S struts are no longer available from BMW but I was fortunate enough to source a set of factory shocks/springs from a 17,000 mile car and although the rears where past their best the fronts had plenty of rebound to them, so opted to use these fronts and buy new dealer supplied rears.

The cars currently sitting a little higher than it was on the previous HR springs and although the springs might settle and drop a little further it suits my taste fine.

Anyway, as said at the start, another approach…..

[XMetal]

^^Looks great

[Compaqnx]

Picked up my Z this morning after having the stock shocks replaced with B6. Can totally recommend this combination if anyone is considering it.

Where did you buy the shocks from?