I went from Boge to Bilstein recently without making other changes. The ride became much more compliant in my opinion. My rear Boge's were shot, but he fronts were new. I would not describe the ride as harsh at all, just a bit more firm. In fact I'm looking at putting in bigger bars next to compliment the Bilsteins.

With the Boge's, when I hit a big bump the front end would become unsettled and I would have to have a death grip on the steering wheel. I noticed that with the Bilsteins, it calmed the front end down considerably. I feel like the car is more controlable on the street and especially on the track. And my Boge's in the front were less then 4 years old, so they weren't worn.

I can only offer a ride, not a comparison as I've never had Boge's in my car.
I will say that Steve set the car up for freeway cruising/street driving and I couldn't be happier with it. As he said when I picked it up, it now 'squats the way it should' and it doesn't bottom out going over the local railroad tracks.

Thanks, exactly the type of info I need.

Dennis, you will not regret the swap, also Bilsteins are life time warranty. Go Sport Rears and HD Fronts and with your targa body brace already in place,get ready to grin even more Brother! :D

Agree 100%. I went with sport rears and hd fronts as well.

Along with being rebuildable they can be revalved should you ever make suspension changes in the future.

Draco's setup is pretty much perfect combo.

Guess that's it then, this thread and every other one I've read says go for the Bilsteins.
Add another degree of tilt to the slippery slope, we're gaining speed!

Had Boges fitted all round together with a hefty drop/CB/+1mm on front/rr arbs

Perfect combo for me - ford focus like suppleness in a straight line but with added anti-roll on the twist stuff :)

http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/o...02d457c16d.jpg

DRACO A50G, you mentioned you were set up at
87 Sway Bars Front and Back
T-bars" 19MM/27MM Solid
Modified Euro Height ( 1 degree rake )

Is the 1 degree of rake done in conjunction as you modify to Euro height? Asking because I bot a car that had euro spec height, but got the car realigned and it handles weird... not sure if they had missed something.. (sure feels like it)

Thanks

J

well i am in the process looking for a new setup.... i have boge's but i have thought about goin bilstein. now couldnt you get a decent setup running boge's?with changing torsion bars and sway bars?

I made the decision to keep my heavy '89 loaded with factory BOGES. Plenty happy with the outcome...she rides quite nicely,..drives so much better now.

BEST!

Doyle

Decided to go for the BOGES, $ is always a concern and I'm keepng everything stock on the car's suspension except for the replacement rebel rubber tower inserts.

I set to euro height the continued to lower the front till I obtained 1 degree rake then I corner balanced it.

When you "aligned" did you also corner balance it?

Same here, except the stop driving part... Bilstein's off to be rebuilt @ same time.

Just an observation,

Bilstein strut will be better than a Bilstein insert in someone elses strut due to the Bilstein struts reduction of unsprung weight relative to the strut+insert setup

I thought Bilstein struts had inserts as well... Aren't the Bilstein inserts for Bilstein housings the ones that are located at the bottom of the housing with a roll pin?

yes, see diagram, the Bilstein strut design on the left, is upside down from a Boge strut. Most of the weight is at the top and is sprung weight(ie part of the chassis), there is less weight at the bottom moving up and down compared to a Bilstein or other insert in another manufacturers strut design seen on the right
http://www.digitalperformance.com/bi...ubedesigns.gif

Any reason... or not to just keep Boge Struts but just put in Bilstein inserts. What does that addl 1/2" provide from 3 to 3.5.

See above, Bilstein strut will have less unsprung weight and thus be more responsive than a Bilstein insert in a Boge strut

All Bilstein struts use 3.5" brake mounts for A or S calipers, there are 2 different sorts of Boge struts, some have 3" brake mounts for M calipers and some have the 3.5" mounts

Thanks for perspectives and feedback. As my car is a weekend driver (no track/racing) and I have Boge struts up front, I will go with Boge insert in Boge struts, unless anyone else has a compelling reason not to go this route.

Thank you for perspectives