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How good are Bilstein shocks on a swing-axle dub?

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VWCOOL 23 Windows of Awesome

5,158 posts · joined Jun 2003 ·

#569015
just as good as anywhere else!
Pay your debts, CxxT

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#569024
They were widely used back in those swing axle days...

supposed to be the best....

some are adjustable too....

Lee
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

seagull Compulsive Aussie Vee Dubber

4,979 posts · joined Dec 2003 ·

#569143
I have them on my RA STI 🙂
Looking for that special lady : PM me for coffee & cake

VWCOOL 23 Windows of Awesome

5,158 posts · joined Jun 2003 ·

#569186
The ride is good, they don't rattle out fillings - well, I don't think so - but it is firmer than standard. I only have them on the rear (IRS); the ones I tried were too firm for on-road use on the front for my needs


[ Edited on 2-2-2007 by VWCOOL ]
Pay your debts, CxxT

Bug_racer Officially Full-On Dubber

351 posts · joined Sep 2002 ·

#569236
KW make a similar coilover set up thats adjustable . Harsh on the track and compliant on the street . Spring rates can also be changed on coilovers if the ride is too harsh / soft . You do have to pay for it though . I guess it just depends on how important you want the suspension to be

bus914 Custom Title Time!

1,230 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#569258
thanks vwcool, that's what i was after. i think i'll go the konis all round as i don't know enugh about suspensions to restore good balance after sticking drastically different gear on the front and rear. and this car is 99.999% for road use.




is there any difference between ball joint beetle front and type 3 front shocks?

[ Edited on 2-2-2007 by bus914 ]
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VWCOOL 23 Windows of Awesome

5,158 posts · joined Jun 2003 ·

#569272
yes - the ball-joint beetles have an axial/vertical mount (ie the top of the shock goes up through the top mount on the beam, like a strut) while the Type 3/early Beetles/Kombis have a bolt that goes cross-ways/horizontal through a sleeve attached to the shock

FWIW, I fitted Cofap Gas dampers to my car when I first built it in 1990 and had a real good run with them. Good, cheap, street shock. Although replaced with Billies, I only turfed them about a month ago after one went soft on another of my cars - after about 200,000km!!

[ Edited on 2-2-2007 by VWCOOL ]
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gull Wolfsburg Wizard

446 posts · joined Jun 2005 ·

#569275
200,000 ( ! )

fitted 6 vw motors as well I bet , Seagull

57oval Officially Full-On Dubber

305 posts · joined Oct 2006 ·

#569283
any one running them on k&l with swing axle?

hellbugged 48's and straight cuts

5,080 posts · joined Apr 2003 ·

#569400
57oval wrote:any one running them on k&l with swing axle?
yeah, they are fairly harsh, prefer the konis myself

VWCOOL 23 Windows of Awesome

5,158 posts · joined Jun 2003 ·

#569433
gull wrote:200,000 ( ! )

fitted 6 vw motors as well I bet , Seagull
Nah mate, daily driver 1916cc for five or six years years, then into my junker, then into a shed for a decade, then into my Cabrio for a coupla thou
Pay your debts, CxxT

VWCOOL 23 Windows of Awesome

5,158 posts · joined Jun 2003 ·

#569434
bus914 wrote:ok, so if the ball joint front shocks don't have the mounting eye, is it better to get link pin front shocks or rear shocks for the front?
Ummmm. dunno! I usually fit rears to the rear meself!
Pay your debts, CxxT

bajaben Officially Full-On Dubber

222 posts · joined May 2005 ·

#569499
just a question, what would the handling benifits be of doing this, would it make it have less body roll? and would it raise the car because they are harder? and would it make it skip around the road because they are too hard. also how much for a set :P
trunk monkey, because sometime getting your car back just isn't enough

VWCOOL 23 Windows of Awesome

5,158 posts · joined Jun 2003 ·

#569502
bus914 wrote:
VWCOOL wrote:Ummmm. dunno! I usually fit rears to the rear meself!
i ment rears on all 4 corners, as i noticed KYB specify the same part for both front and rear.
Not sure on that one, sorry
Pay your debts, CxxT

Gracey Wolfsburg Wizard

511 posts · joined Feb 2003 ·

#569513
I used to run Bilstein's all round on my 76 bug, and it handled really well with the stock front swaybar. But the ride was quite harsh, especially on the front. I changed the front to Koni adjustable's and the ride improved but the car tended to understear, so instead of making the shocks harder I fitted a 20mm swaybar to the front and now the car steers and handles similar to before but with a more compliant ride. The swaybar didn't make the ride noticabally harder it just helped to keep the car on track.
The thing about gas shocks is that most don't have any rebound damping, their all about compression, in other words, you hit a bump and the gas shock resists compressing but as it comes off the bump there's no resistance to rebound or extension. Whereas an oil filled shock like a Koni has both compression and rebound damping. In my opinion this makes Koni a better choice.
Also, the other thing I noticed was that the Bilstiens actually made the front of the car sit about 15mm higher.