Bilstein b6 struts

[Jaymax85]

Anyone have any experience with these struts pair led with oem springs or with Eibach pros?

[Jaymax85]

Bump

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by Jaymax85

Anyone have any experience with these struts pair led with oem springs or with Eibach pros?

Not many members who changed their struts - f15 has been out only 3.5 years and everyone is happily driving stock suspension that will last for next decade probably

That been said - Bilstein B6 is a universal choice for many cars - can't go wrong with it. I even suspect stock OEM struts are bilstein, no?

[Jaymax85]

Originally Posted by DuSh

Not many members who changed their struts - f15 has been out only 3.5 years and everyone is happily driving stock suspension that will last for next decade probably

That been said - Bilstein B6 is a universal choice for many cars - can't go wrong with it. I even suspect stock OEM struts are bilstein, no?

I'm not sure about the stock struts being Bilstein, my car has 44k on it.. any consensus on when to replace struts on these cars?

[LocksmithNick]

Yes, the factory struts are Bilstein.

[r33_RGSport]

B6 is heavy duty and stiffer strut.

[neverdone]

I'm not sure if want to run a B6 on the X5. Maybe an M3 or some sort of 1/2/3/4 series.

[mikew2069]

Bringing this thread back to see if anyone has taken the leap on B6 paired with Eibach or H&R. It looks like they only make the B6 for the front but I think that's where my floaty issue is with the stock suspension

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by mikew2069

Bringing this thread back to see if anyone has taken the leap on B6 paired with Eibach or H&R. It looks like they only make the B6 for the front but I think that's where my floaty issue is with the stock suspension

They have rear too.

[mikew2069]

Originally Posted by r33_RGSport

They have rear too.

Oh ok,the site I was looking at only showed the fronts... I’ve been researching these a lot the last hour or so and from what I can tell, the B6 is made to pair with stock springs. You need the B8 with lowering springs but they don’t appear to make B8 for F15. FML.

[mikew2069]

I wrote H&R an email over the weekend and just received this reply: "If your X5 has electronic suspension or has air suspension in the rear we would not recommend our products. If it does not have these options then we would recommend our B6 Performance shocks for it with the H&R Springs."

Interesting. I read some reviews on other platforms that said that the B6 did not pair well with a lowering spring. I'm not sure that I want to be the guinea pig on this one. That would put me about $1300 in on shocks and springs when I could have just spent a grand more for KW. Hmmm.

[mikew2069]

Another update for those interested.

I replied to them and said: The media video on the B6 shock for my application states that the B6 is for stock height and the B8 would be for a lowered vehicle. I don't see a B8 for my vehicle. Per the video, wouldn't the B8 be the proper product with the H&R springs?

H&R reply: We do not manufacture a B8 Performance Plus for your X5 as we found through product testing that it was not necessary. Our engineers will build a B6 Performance shock for an application and then test with aftermarket lowering springs, if during that test the shock still performs correctly we will not develop a B8. This is the case with your BMW.

[Road Carnage]

Mike-

Thanks for following up on this, I’m following your investigation closely as I have a set of H&R springs going into my 5.0 this week. Since I have air suspension, looks like Bilstein’s are not an option for me.

[mikew2069]

Originally Posted by Road Carnage

Mike-

Thanks for following up on this, I’m following your investigation closely as I have a set of H&R springs going into my 5.0 this week. Since I have air suspension, looks like Bilstein’s are not an option for me.

You could put them on the front as long as you don't have EDC, just not the back..... I'm flip flopping on whether or not I want to be the test dummy. Maybe just start with the fronts and see how they feel?

[Road Carnage]

I have EDC so looks like the Bilsteins will not work for me. If the H&R springs don’t work out I’ll pull them out and install the KW coil overs. I’m not really looking to lower my X5, I’m more interested in improving the handling a bit. I feel like The F15 has too much body roll compared to the E70 I had previously.

I’d hesitate to have a different setup on the front and back, but who knows maybe it will work just fine?

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by mikew2069

You could put them on the front as long as you don't have EDC, just not the back..... I'm flip flopping on whether or not I want to be the test dummy. Maybe just start with the fronts and see how they feel?

You won't be a test dummy.
Some of the guy in this forum used it already.
I just can't give you feedback since I never used it or ride on it.

Originally Posted by Road Carnage

I have EDC so looks like the Bilsteins will not work for me. If the H&R springs don't work out I'll pull them out and install the KW coil overs. I'm not really looking to lower my X5, I'm more interested in improving the handling a bit. I feel like The F15 has too much body roll compared to the E70 I had previously.

I'd hesitate to have a different setup on the front and back, but who knows maybe it will work just fine?

KW will 100% fulfill your need in this case.
Why gamble.
If you just want to go with a lowering spring, I would do AC Schnitzer spring than H&R since you are not looking to lower the car.

[mikew2069]

Originally Posted by r33_RGSport

You won't be a test dummy.
Some of the guy in this forum used it already.
I just can't give you feedback since I never used it or ride on it.

I haven't been able to find a thread with anyone on the B6 and H&R. If you know of one, please share.

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by mikew2069

I haven't been able to find a thread with anyone on the B6 and H&R. If you know of one, please share.

Believe it or not, my brain search function is much better than this forum search function, lol.
I do remember suggesting it and some even used it already. Because I quoted them but Amazon was cheaper than what I can get it for.
Some was from European country that used it.

[Road Carnage]

Originally Posted by r33_RGSport

KW will 100% fulfill your need in this case.
Why gamble.
If you just want to go with a lowering spring, I would do AC Schnitzer spring than H&R since you are not looking to lower the car.

Exactly the same advice I got from the guys at the performance desk when I dropped off my X5 this evening. I switched to the KW coil overs.

Interestingly they had just installed H&R springs on an X5M, owner wanted max lowering. They took it for a test drive and thought it was too bouncy in the rear. They strongly advised against them.

[Maverik259]

B6 and B8 are essentially the same shock.

With that said this is an suv and the B8 frankly isn't needed. B8 is more for your serious drops you can get in cars.

And whether you go KW or Bistein you are simply disconnecting the wires for the EDC. They don't hook up to the KW. So you can run them on either truck but just can't change the performance of the shock as you could with oem. Although if you had EDC I would simply stick with OEM and HR or eibach.

[mikew2069]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

B6 and B8 are essentially the same shock.

With that said this is an suv and the B8 frankly isn't needed. B8 is more for your serious drops you can get in cars.

And whether you go KW or Bistein you are simply disconnecting the wires for the EDC. They don't hook up to the KW. So you can run them on either truck but just can't change the performance of the shock as you could with oem. Although if you had EDC I would simply stick with OEM and HR or eibach.

Yea I don't have EDC so for me that's not really an issue. I'm trying to decide between:

H&R (already have) and B6 - $1300 total but somewhat of a gamble
or
KW - $2500 and a sure thing.

Is $1200 a big enough difference to gamble a little? I think it is but I have a little time to decide. Just ordered BM3 and stuff for the brake project so I'll be busy with that for the next couple of weeks. It would just suck so bad to go through the hassle of installing the B6 and the ride ends up shitty.

[mikew2069]

Also just learned that Megan makes a coilover that you can get for about $750 shipped. One of those things where is so cheap its scary. I've seen decent reviews about Megan exhaust but I've never heard of their suspension.