What shocks to instal?

[BMWDavid]

I'm going to have a major service done on my '89 3.2 sometime soon. The car has 21,000 miles and the original shocks are still on the car. Now I don't have any reference to other 3.2's but the car seems to ride fine. No leaks on the shock body.

Now I'm probably never going to track this car so what is the consensus of this board on recommended shocks should I decide to replace them anyway?

Thanks!

David

[wildcat077]

I installed Bilstein HD's in the front and Bilstein Sports in the rear which i purchased from our host... After asking advice on this post it seems this was the right setup for a "street" car !

Wait until you remove your old shocks and struts,although they may seem fine on the car you'll be surprised as to how weak they are. Mine were completely toasted...
It's not about the mileage,they're 20 years old... lol

Phil

[911st]

Keep what you have unless dammaged.

The Bil's will rid firmer and rase the ride height.

[JTL]

Keep in mind that new shocks will probably increase your ride height. After my rear Bilstein Sports install my tail end was up 3/4". I was planning on lowering the car anyway at that time so no biggie.
Still need to change out the fronts. So the HD's are the way to go?? I do a couple of DE's per year...

jt
-84 targa

[Quicksilver]

The real question is do you want to flog the car a bit harder or are you happy with it the way it is?

If you tend at all towards the "Push it. Drive it like you stole it..." end of the spectrum go for the Bilstein HD fronts and Bilstein Sport rear combo.

If all is good the way it is then...
All is good!

[Quicksilver]

21,000 miles?
Someone has a neglected car. It gets lonely sitting in the garage.

You do realize it sits out there at night all alone repeating, "Use me, use me, PLEASE!!!"

(223k miles with regular floggings to keep it happy!)

[911st]

I run HD & Sports on my 86 without issue. However, the two top pro tuners on this board expressed that is not a best set up on a stock suspension car. HD/Sports are recommend with a spring rate increase.

However, ER posted the shock curves here somewhere and it was surprising how little difference there seemed to be on the shock dyno between HD & Sports.

Most talk up the Bil's and again I have them. The Koni's offer adjustment so one can run more of a street setting and crank things up for the track if needed. Also, the Koni rear Sport shock is shorter to assist with a lowered car.

Again, a car w that low of milage should not have any issue with the shocks unless one is looking for a more of a competition orientated ride or the car was set so low the shocks have been hammered. Even HD's are more on the sport than comfort side. The stock shocks are probably best considered more a "comfort" setting unless equipped with a factory sport kit.

As noted the Bil's will raise the car and likely require resetting the ride height, corner balance, and aliment at about $700+.

However, bushings even on a low milage 911 are suspect as they compress over time and can allow the springs to contact the tubes and suffer damage so this might make a full suspension rebuild something to consider anyway.