A few hours from decision time... Billies or Koni?

[hakwuzhere]

Ok, so I have about 3 hours till I have to bite the bullet...

Ive got some Vogtlands sitting downstairs waiting to be installed on Sunday, and I need to order my struts today.

Ive been going through the previous threads on this again, and Im considering Bilstien sports or Koni's... but at $200 more are the konis really worth it? Also I need to go measure my bolt size to see if its 19mm or 22mm, if its 22 I need to get the billies....

So, last minute opinions.. Bilstiens or Koni? I want a nice ride, improved handling... but Im on DC roads between 100-300 miles a day... so Id like something thats not bone jarringly harsh.
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[Bill R.]

Hundreds of sets of bilsteins on customers cars. I personally prefer the stock boge/sachs or the boge turbogas but between the 2 choices you offer i would go with koni in a second if cost is no object





Ok, so I have about 3 hours till I have to bite the bullet...

Ive got some Vogtlands sitting downstairs waiting to be installed on Sunday, and I need to order my struts today.

Ive been going through the previous threads on this again, and Im considering Bilstien sports or Koni's... but at $200 more are the konis really worth it? Also I need to go measure my bolt size to see if its 19mm or 22mm, if its 22 I need to get the billies....

So, last minute opinions.. Bilstiens or Koni? I want a nice ride, improved handling... but Im on DC roads between 100-300 miles a day... so Id like something thats not bone jarringly harsh.
__________________

[hakwuzhere]

Is there a sport option for the boge/sachs?

[Erwin8r]

Is there a sport option for the boge/sachs?The "Turbo Gas" are the "sportier" option, but they are not any shorter than the standard Boges (not that they need to be....).

[Brandon J]

Konis are great for sport springs. They also have a longer travel than the bilsteins. When you get the rears, set them no more than half tight. Based on what you are saying you want from the ride, setting the rear shocks any tighter will be too harsh for you.

[Anthony (M5 in Calgary)]

Hundreds of sets of bilsteins on customers cars. I personally prefer the stock boge/sachs or the boge turbogas but between the 2 choices you offer i would go with koni in a second if cost is no object

Ditto on the Koni. Bilsteins are OK but can be quite harsh. That and they lift the front end about 3/8 to 1/2" due to the very high pressure design. Konis lift a bit too, but more like 1/4".

[mholbrook]

No question.....KONI

[genphreak]

Ok, so I have about 3 hours till I have to bite the bullet...I guess decision has been made? I would plump for Konis after the reports I've read over the years. Billies are tough, but I think mostly it is because they have to be mated to the springs- this goes for any shock- its rate is specific to the spring. I have had Bilstein HDs on stock e28 springs, way too tough. I guess the tourings would have been better. Be sure to work out what springs you have, I don't think any car with taller springs (Au and some middle-eastern models) have these as we have rougher roads, which is perhaps why HDs were such a bad thing for them.

I'd say Koni speced their shocks more smartly than Bilstein did with their HDs and Sports (I've NFI about their Touring shocks, which are probably fine). The Bilstein Sports might be specific to the older style sports springs, (mine work great with M-tech springs), from the respsonse one reads the Konis seem to have not just adjustability but a better all-round match to lowered springs.

For the experts; Am I wrong in imagining Bilstein were the first crew to build sports shocks (after ZF: Sashs/Boge) for e32s and e34s? Maybe those that came next (ie Koni) took a look at their efforts and improved things a little... all heresay this but the bumps tell me my new M-tech setup is not exactly a factory ride (soon to be documented), though I don't like to begrudge it much, the car has very good handling now and is probably better than the stock 535 setup for my needs (After experiencing a tougher ride with the Bilstein HDs in my e28 than the Sports on M-tech springs in this e34 I was (and still am) pretty happy).

:) Nick

[Bill R.]

bilsteins




I guess decision has been made? I would plump for Konis after the reports I've read over the years. Billies are tough, but I think mostly it is because they have to be mated to the springs- this goes for any shock- its rate is specific to the spring. I have had Bilstein HDs on stock e28 springs, way too tough. I guess the tourings would have been better. Be sure to work out what springs you have, I don't think any car with taller springs (Au and some middle-eastern models) have these as we have rougher roads, which is perhaps why HDs are the worng thing in these cases.

I'd say Koni speced their shocks more smartly than Bilstein did with their HDs and Sports (I've NFI about their Touring shocks, which are probably fine). The Bilstein Sports might be specific to the older style sports springs, (mine work great with M-tech springs), from the respsonse one reads the Konis seem to have not just adjustability but a better match to sports springs.

For the experts; Am I wrong in imagining Bilstein were the first crew to build sports shocks (after ZF: Sashs/Boge) for e32s and e34s? Maybe those that came next (ie Koni) took a look at their efforts and improved things a little... all heresay this but the bumps tell me my setup is not exactly a factory ride (soon to be documented), though I don't like to begrudge it much, the car has very good handling now and is probably better than the stock 535 setup for my needs (After experiencing a tougher ride with the Bilstein HDs in my e28 than the Sports on M-tech springs in this e34 I was (and still am) pretty happy).

:) Nick

[Gayle]

Why was there the 3 hour deadline?

I still want to voice an opinion. As an owner of billies I would go with koni.
Besides the billies being harsh, they have the repetition of being difficult to deal with on warranty issues.

[hakwuzhere]

Bill! your not allowed to read other boards!!! Or call me out for crossposting! ;)

To everyone's dismay, I ordered billies :( I have 22mm top nuts(big balls..) and the 22mm Koni's are backordered nationwide(trust me, I was willing to pay $200ish for shipping if they werent). My indy says the billies are awesome.. and while I dont believe him, I do think they are better than the stock struts with vogt's..

If I hate the ride, I will learn on sunday how to remove and reinstall my own suspension.... I have nothing but time on my hands for this car.

[632 Regal]

if you are lowering it youll want to read this:

http://www.bimmer.info/~regal632/Bumpstops.htm

if not than dont cut em.

[Bill R.]

.
Bill! your not allowed to read other boards!!! Or call me out for crossposting! ;)

To everyone's dismay, I ordered billies :( I have 22mm top nuts(big balls..) and the 22mm Koni's are backordered nationwide(trust me, I was willing to pay $200ish for shipping if they werent). My indy says the billies are awesome.. and while I dont believe him, I do think they are better than the stock struts with vogt's..

If I hate the ride, I will learn on sunday how to remove and reinstall my own suspension.... I have nothing but time on my hands for this car.