Refurbish or replace Bilstein insert, shocks

[Pedro '84 Coupe]

Am getting ready to do the suspension on my '84 Carrera. I have accumulated most of the parts over the past couple of years except the shocks and strut inserts and strut mounts.

Found a few old threads about folks having their Bilsteins redone vs. just replacing them. The difference in price isn't that much. Most of the posts mentioned the long turnaround time from Bilstein but I couldn't find anything discussing whether it was better to go one way or the other as far as ride quality.

I don't mind waiting on getting them refurbished but getting new ones is tempting as the car might be off the road for a few days as opposed to several weeks.

If you were in my shoes, which would you do?

[blucille]

I have a set of bilstein shocks and inserts I just took out of my '83 SC, they drove fine, but I felt it was time to upgrade.....I'd sell them for not much money, and this would solve the long-lead-time problem.

[Sboxin]

Originally Posted by Pedro '84 Coupe

Am getting ready to do the suspension on my '84 Carrera. I have accumulated most of the parts over the past couple of years except the shocks and strut inserts and strut mounts.

Found a few old threads about folks having their Bilsteins redone vs. just replacing them. The difference in price isn't that much. Most of the posts mentioned the long turnaround time from Bilstein but I couldn't find anything discussing whether it was better to go one way or the other as far as ride quality.

I don't mind waiting on getting them refurbished but getting new ones is tempting as the car might be off the road for a few days as opposed to several weeks.

If you were in my shoes, which would you do?

We sent our Bilsteins to Elephant for rebuild and dyno tune - they had a quick turn around time also . . . We talked to Chuck directly and are pleased with the results . . .

Regards,
Roy T

[Cory M]

Bilstein used to be a great option for revalving shocks with a custom tune. But the lead times and communication these days is very poor, prices have also increased. If your shocks have any damage (like bent shaft or scratched tube) Bilstein will repair but that usually costs more than a new shock online.

If you are happy with something off the shelf (HD or Sport) you should just buy new. I live a few miles from the Bilstein HQ where they perform this service, and I've had them revalve and dyno many shocks. I have a stack of used shocks on the shelf. When I needed shocks for my street car I just ordered new ones.

[JonT]

sorry somewhat off-topic, how does one know when Bilstein's need to be serviced?

[Pedro '84 Coupe]

Thanks for the input, guys! I didn't know about Elephant's service. I may look into that but am leaning now towards buying new to avoid the wait.

[Arne2]

I've done it both ways in the past, bought new and had some rebuilt. IMO, there's no reason to consider the rebuild option unless new ones are NLA, or you need something custom. If what you need is available off the shelf, do it.

On my '84 Carrera, I replaced the originals with new at 172k. New were available and worked great. But years ago I had a RoW BMW 323i (E21) with custom-valved Alpina/Bilstein inserts that were long NLA. I had those rebuilt, and they were great when they got back.

[RWebb]

I'd send them in for digressive valving - do it in fall to help with lead times. That's the "rebuild" you want.

It is a significant change in the suspension.

[Cory M]

I think fall dates may have longer lead times: a big percentage of their customers in So-Cal are off road racers and desert season generally starts in November.

[HaroldMHedge]

If upgrading the torsion bars, I would have the digressive valving done.

On my SC after upgrading to 21/27 torsion bars and not changing the shocks, my car developed porpoising (I felt like a bobble head) at times on the road. Elephant Racing digressive valving cured this problem. Though it could have been because of bad shocks since I did not change them during the initial upgrade.

[juanbenae]

chuck at elephant racing re-valves/rebuilds billies in house. you will have to pay CA sales tax though....

EDIT- saw Harold suggested chuck after posting... sorry to parrot...

I would suggest chuck will get them turned around when he says he will cause he's like that. good, bad or ugly im pretty sure he will be quicker than billstein could ever wish they could be.