So strano no longer revalves Bilsteins.....
 

Yesterday I sent an E-mail out to Strano to get an estimate for my Bilsteins. i bought Eibach pro kit springs which give it an 1.0 drop front and rear, and they say they should be revalved to perform correctly. anywho, so heres the response I got:


I no longer am involved with revalving Bilstein's on a normal basis. Even if I was this is not a case where I'd recommend a revalve anyway. Shocks are far to important to the setup and driveability of the car to not have the ability to tweak. This is why I have always run Koni's on my car, and never use Revalved Bilstein's in such a situation. A few customers did, but most later changed to Koni's for the exact same reason--the ability to tune the response and predictability in the car. Sam StranoStrano Performance Parts


So now what, should I just apply them without the revalving, will the drop be that significant on the handling characteristics of the shocks?

It will have a bigger effect on ride quaity and the lifespan of the shocks. I had .h&r with stock valve bilstiens and that felt fine.

so bsides the life span shortening with the spring, will it affect the ride height. i found other sites that say they can revalve it, they are pricing it at 65 a shock, and 75 a strut.

Run them as is. Having adjustable shocks is absolutely useless for 99.9% of the population. Unless you are an amazing driver that can feel every little nuance of the car or have one following you around to set the car up perfectly everyday, you will never see any gain from running adjustable shocks. If you look at posts from people who talk to Sam, he even admits that he leaves his on the same settings almost all the time.

Bilstein's are fine for lowered or standard ride height cars right out of the box. Bilstein also has their own warranty on them, that info should be in the package, just in case you ever do have a problem.

-Tim

Oh ok, these arent adjustable. I was always reading you have to have them revalved if you change the springs that lower the car. and even if that was the case, its not like its 1.7 drop, its just a 1.0 drop. sweet, now all I gotta do is wait for the back set , and I have a reason to work on my car again. I've been waiting like 3 months to put these on.

Adjustable shocks aren't useless. They afford you the ability to tune the cars performance to your liking. That doesn't mean that you will change the setup every time you get in the car or do an autox or trackday. It does give you a window in which to make adjustments to your driving style. The out of box bilstien is a compromise, not necessarily a bad thing and certainly not the best solution either. If all you are doing is driving on the street, they are fine I'd guess. But if you are going to autox then maybe the ability to adjust shocks gives you another tool to get the car's performance/behavior more to your liking? Maybe you like the the car loose? Or maybe tight? Maybe at the autox loose in the rear is good and helps the car rotate, but on a track day, maybe you want to tighten things down a bit? Who knows? And once you find that sweet spot, you may never touch the shocks again. The bilstien's don't afford you that option. You are stuck with what they give you. Maybe good or maybe bad, but you are stuck with them.

I agree that once you find the sweet spot you'll be less likely to be changing settings all that much, if at all. And I don't think any of us would notice one sweep or click or turn, but you will notice larger changes. And then you can narrow down what you like and what works for you. But to say an adjustable shock is useless?

Chris

whats the rate of the new springs. Shocks have Zero affect on ride height unless its a coilover you can adjust. If the spring is a good bit stiffer then what you are removing, then get the konis they are built to with enough rebound to control all but the stiffest road race springs. As for adjustable i use the adjusters in the rear all the time not so much in the front. the car is very sensitive to adjustment 1/2 turn can make a noticable change. depending on the weather/track surface /fuel load/tire condition/course lay out/with shock adjustabilty I can pick up ..2-.5 seconds. the novice racer can get lost with adjustables. But the novice racer will never get better without shocks that arnt valved correctly to the spring they have. my choice would be adj konis it was the first mod i did to the car.you wont be disapointed.