How do sport Bilstein shocks work with stock torsion bars?

[JackT]

I would like to do one thing at a time. If I start with sport shocks, will the car handle better and will the ride be bearable on the street?

[Quicksilver]

They work great. Like most people that use them I recommend HDs on the front a Sports on the rear.

The big improvement is in the rear so the Sports are a tad harsh for the front.

[450knotOffice]

FWIW, when I posed the question of mixing HD's and Sports, my mechanic at Hergesheimer looked at me like I was crazy. He told me to stick with either HD's or Sports and that there was no need to mix them. These guys run a race team with Cup cars so I tend to take their advice seriously.

Also, I run Sports all around and I do not consider my ride harsh at all.

[dd74]

Yes, they work fine. Bilstein Sport Shocks was a Porsche-offered option in at least 1983 with stock 19/24mm torsion bars on the SC. I imagine this option was offered for other years as well.

[RC-Escape]

I just put on Bilstein Sports, front & back, on my 84 Targa. The ride isn't "harsh", but it is firm and the car handles great. All stock suspension.

I asked Al at Partsheaven about the Hd's-front, Sports-back, and he said he never heard of such a thing, and that he always recommends Sports all the way around. He said the HD's are actually firmer than the Sports. Anyway, since he's been in the p-car parts business since my car was brand new, I went with his recommendations rather than from some comments on a web forum (no offense intended).

[edward993]

Uhhh, HDs are firmer than Sports??? No.

As for mixing HDs and Sports, I have sports all around and when I had the stock torsions still on the car, I thought they felt fine; firm, but not objectionably harsh. I did have a chance to ride in another's car with HDs/Sports combo and did feel that the HDs were more compliant, and arguably the better choice if driving on streets is the car's main duty. It "feels" like the HDs have less compression damping which translates into a better, more compliant ride over the normal irregularites one encounters on streets ...all IMHO anyway.

FWIW, another very notable guru (won't mention name, but he can chime in if he sees this) who runs a shop fully laden with track/race cars recommends the HD front/Sport rear combo with stock Tbars.

Edward

[JackT]

So, in theory, is the reason to mix so that it is a better ride on the street, or, is the mixing suppose to make the car handle better?

[JackT]

Edward, what size torsion bars did you go with and did it make a big difference in the ride of the car and the handling of the car? Also, have you done anything with the sway bars?

[NoLift911]

OK shock gurus chime in...

I thought HD's are firmer - Yellow
Sports not as firm - Green

I believe I put HD's on my car all around - 84 Carrera and the ride is firm - substantially firmer than oem which came with Green Bilstein Sport Shocks as listed on the window sticker.

Anyway I have green struts up front with HD inserts and rear yellows which I want to change the rears to green somehow.

Will Bilstein paint my yellow rear shocks?

I like the ride very firm and balanced.

-Jeff

[ubiquity0]

My SC came with the 'sport shock' option. The original shocks were green Bilstein HD's. Bilstein sports are typically yellow, although I'm not sure if they were a separate factory option.

[edward993]

Hi Jeff,

Sorry, but I don't know enough of the "history" to tell you what Porsche may have used. But if we're talking about currently, Bilstein Sports are yellow, and "stiffer" with greater rebound damping (and presumably compression damping as well).

Hi Drew,

I swapped the stock Tbars for 22/28s ...what most of the real gurus recommend if not going to bigger (heavier) wheels. The ride definitely got noticibly firmer, but a bit stupid firm on rough patches of road. Keep in mind everyone has a different tolerance level for "acceptable firmness," but since my car is streeted only to/from the track and on rainy-day commutes, I wanted the firmest setup that I thought I was "reasonable" for my intended use. Were I intending this as a fun, weekend car, I'd be fine with this setup, too. But if for a daily driver, I just wouldn't tolerate the firm ride of 22/28s (and sometimes shuddering chassis) over bad roads; sure it's great when the road is smooth, but one inevitably encounters potholes, broken asphalt, or otherwise nasty pavement regularly in one's commute ...but maybe that's just me.

And the reason some recommend the HDs for the front is our light front end purportedly tracks and responds better with a milder shock. This cetainly makes sense to my pea brain, especially for a street application. Though I don't know the specifics of Bilstein's valving, it certainly feels (to my Butt Dyno, anyway) that the milder compression damping of the HD is better suited to dealing with road irregularities than the stiffer Sports. Hope this helps.

Edward

[nostatic]

i run sports all around, stock t-bars, bigger sways. I like it. When I get some more money I'll go to bigger t-bars, but for now it works well.

[dd74]

Todd - don't forget to change your A-arm bushings. Pointedly, can the condition of A-arm bushings have an effect on harshness or stiffness?

[Joeaksa]

Originally posted by Quicksilver
They work great. Like most people that use them I recommend HDs on the front a Sports on the rear.

The big improvement is in the rear so the Sports are a tad harsh for the front.

Have run this setup for 4 years and its excellent. Stock T bars.

JoeA

[jyl]

I have sports F and R with stock t-bars and sways on my Carrera. I like it for 99.99% of my driving.

The remaining 0.01% is a very few bits of freeway where the car hits many big pavement joints in rapid succession (like, one every second or so). I've had the suspension act like it gets "packed down" (suspension compressed by the hit, then doesn't rebound all the way before the next hit) which makes the ride quite bad.

I can only think of one stretch of freeway where this happens, and I drive that stretch like once a year, so I don't care. But down the road I'd like larger t-bars.

[HarryD]

At the recommendation of Steve Weiner/Jeff Gamroth, I am running HD fronts and Sport rears (stock torsions) for my mostly Street/some AX car. Great ride with good driving response feedback.

[fastpat]

Originally posted by RC-Escape
I just put on Bilstein Sports, front & back, on my 84 Targa. The ride isn't "harsh", but it is firm and the car handles great. All stock suspension.

I asked Al at Partsheaven about the Hd's-front, Sports-back, and he said he never heard of such a thing, and that he always recommends Sports all the way around. He said the HD's are actually firmer than the Sports. Anyway, since he's been in the p-car parts business since my car was brand new, I went with his recommendations rather than from some comments on a web forum (no offense intended).

Usually, Sports are just shorter than HD's, and are intended for lowered suspensions. A quick call to Bilstein in southern California can provide the information, it's different for every model they make.

Also, Bilstein can revalve a shock for you, going either softer or fimer, in either compression or rebound for $60.00 per shock.

[SilverPoly]

I run HDs up front and Sports in the back and I LOVE the way my car handles. My mechanic likes it as well, as I fully respect his opinion. Anyhow, I run stock torsions up front but ran with the turbo 26mm torsions for the rear. It really is a great set up especially with bigger sways that I've got on my SC.

[Bobboloo]

I was under the impression that the shocks main purpose was as a dampener to control the springs, or in our case the T bars, so you should buy them to match your T bars. This kinda goes along with HD front and Sport rear theory. The bigger spring needs the bigger dampener.

[edward993]

Bobby,

Correct, shocks (aka "dampers" to those across the pond) must be matched to their spring rates in order to perform properly. But there is range in which shocks can work appropriately, akin to a given rim that can accomodate a range of tire sizes. I think that is the question/debate here.

But like that rim/tire combination, a shock can be better suited to one spring rate, yet still be effective within that range. So while stock Tbars "can" accomodate the Sport just fine, I personally feel the the fronts may be better matched to the HD for street applications (because of the "seemingly" firmer compression damping), while the Sports up front are better suited to the heavier spring rate of larger Tbars. Though the Sports on the rears seemed to work really well with both the stock and 28mm Tbars, IMO. Do I know definitvely? No. But from my playing around with them thus far (and talking to a couple of pros), this is what I've concluded ...all IMHO of course.

Edward