Bilstien B6 fitting problem - SE springs

[DaveD]

So I had my car booked in at the garage to put my new B6 shocks on. I had a call back later on to say that they didn’t want to fit the dampers as they felt the springs were going to have to be too compressed to fit the shocks. Like the damper is too short or something??!

I’ve called Bilstein tech dept and they’ve not come across this before, and confirmed that I’ve got the right dampers.

Has anyone come across this before or are the workshop guys just being numpties?!

Now booked in at another independent to get the job done. Very annoyed....

 

[Silverzedtom]

Haven’t got them myself but there shouldn’t be any issues fitting B6’s to SE springs. Sounds a bit strange if you ask me :-?

 

[ben g]

The correct shock for use with SE springs are B4's, so perhaps that's why?

Any reason why you don't want to put sport springs on?

 

[DaveD]

SE springs primarily for B road compliance and a bit more travel. Bit of an experiment really to see if it helps improve body control and dive whilst being able to soak up bigger hits.

Bilstien say B6s are right for SE springs so am a bit confused really.

The correct shock for use with SE springs are B4's, so perhaps that's why?

Any reason why you don't want to put sport springs on?

 

[MACK]

The correct shock for use with SE springs are B4's, so perhaps that's why?

Any reason why you don't want to put sport springs on?

As Ben said really. My understanding is the b4 is the right shock for standard SE springs with its dampening rated at the same as the standard SE shocks. The B6 is uprated (anything from 15-25 % over the B4, depending on what you read). They also have a slight shorter rod length as they are designed to be used with the m sport springs. They actually supposed to be about 10% uprated over the m sport dampeners as well. The B8 are the same dampener rating as the B6 but with a shorter rod length again to suit lowering springs like the eibachs that bilstein actually pair with them to form the B12 kit. A bit confusing I know!

I think the issue here is your trying to pair longer springs with shorter shocks which is causing the springs to be artificially compressed to get them to fit the shocks. It will also have the effect of lowering the car somewhat. If your trying to retain your SE ride quality and height I think the answer here is the B4 shocks as they the only bilstein to have the right size rod and dampener rating to accomplish this. The other two are both too short and much harder riding

 

[philbo909]

b6 and b4 are the same length shocks, so SE springs should go fine.
maybe there's a mix up and you got b8s?

 

[kis]

Interesting subscribed

 

[DaveD]

This is what I’ve been told by bilstien - b4 and b6 are both appropriate. And I’ve double checked the shock part numbers to be sure.

Guess I could put on some suplex m sport springs but wanted to try with the slightly softer and longer travel se springs. My gut feel is that dynamically this could be pretty good for B road bashing.

b6 and b4 are the same length shocks, so SE springs should go fine.
maybe there's a mix up and you got b8s?

 

[philbo909]

This is what I’ve been told by bilstien - b4 and b6 are both appropriate. And I’ve double checked the shock part numbers to be sure.

Guess I could put on some suplex m sport springs but wanted to try with the slightly softer and longer travel se springs. My gut feel is that dynamically this could be pretty good for B road bashing.

b6 and b4 are the same length shocks, so SE springs should go fine.
maybe there's a mix up and you got b8s?

I'm sure there is another member on here with B6 and SE combination, saw it on a thread recently.
Do you trust the garage you took it too? Because there should be no reason they can't go together

 

[DaveD]

I do usually trust them, yes. Although it’s a dealer so I just don’t think they’re used to non bmw parts. Hopefully the indi I take it to in a couple of weeks will sort it!