So i put some revalved Bilstein HD struts in my 5.3/MN12, the springs are New oem springs with one full coil cut out (NO isolators) with founders caster/camber plates (adj), stock knuckles and poly a-arm bushings(also,has a fiberglass RAII hood), my ride height with engine and tranny installed (no rad or accessories yet) is 30 7/8 inches to the fender, kinda high, infact, it doesnt even look different then when it had no engine/tranny in it. Is it possible the struts were revalved to super-firm for autocrossing? Does anyone have ride height measurements on fresh revalved bilstein HD's with a similar set-up as mine with or without an engine/tranny installed? thanks

 

Struts do not determine ride height. They do not hold up the weight of the car. That is the springs job.

I wouldn't worry about anything until you get all the weight in the car and it rolls. The Suspension will settle almost immediately. Do you have the springs properly indexed?

 

I beg to differ, but only in respect to my particular car. These struts are firm and i mean FIRM, they have no give to them, the springs are indexed per factory intallation (coil tail over one hole, left one hole open). Adding the rest of the engine parts is not going to add a significant amount of weight, all accessories and brakets added w/fluid id say maybe 100-130 lbs, add radiator, fans, shround fluid, maybe 50-75 lbs and those seem like high estimates... id shoot high and say 225-250 but i dont see that much weight making a difference.

 

Ok, pull the springs out. I guarantee the car will drop to the bump stops. I can also guarantee you that they do have give. They wouldn't be struts if they had zero give. 200lbs is a lot of weight. You are using OEM springs on a car that is currently 350lbs lighter than stock in the front end. And you are suprised it is sitting high? especially considering the car hasn't even rolled yet? Not to mention you have poly bushings on the a-arms. They are probably binding preventing the car from settling further. Did you tighten the a-arm bolts with the car at ride height?

 

OEM springs, full coil cut out, A-arm bolts only have the nut threaded maybe 4 threads, completely loose. Ive dropped quite a few reg. SBC engines/autos in and have never seen this height problem. im not surprised the car is sitting high, im surprised that i had ZERO drop by installing the engine and tranny. ZERO.

 

So pull the springs. That is the only way to know for sure. That or someone welded your struts open.

 

let me rephrase, they have give, but its the firmest shock ive ever felt on a car compared to fully adjusted (brand new) koni's, AGX, tokico's etc, out of all the cars ive done, i havent once used bilsteins, im just curious what others ride heights are, Bilsteins can be sent out and valved to your specifications, well i didnt have them spec'd for me someone else sold them to me already done and i have a feeling they are spec'd for auto X, but if someone who has them installed gives me first week install height and it matches mine and they arnt using it for auto X then i wont be too worried about it and ill change the springs to compensate for the valves. Im not an idiot man, i know how suspension works but trust me, my father even gave me a weird look and asked wtf they were valved for when he tried to push down on the fender (hes been a GM guy for 35+ years).

 

So pull the springs and you will find out for sure. Nobody on the internet can guess what has been done to your used struts. Anybody else who has used Bilstiens will tell you they did not raise the front end.

If you pull the springs and it still is high then there is something seriously wrong with your struts, or you have a major bind somewhere in the suspension. An "auto cross valving" would not raise the car and would not be terribly different than an out of the box valving. Why would someone auto crossing want the struts to raise their car?

Finally, can you be sure these are 3rd gen struts? Are they bottomed out at your current height?

It should take you all of an hour to drop the springs, then you'll know for sure.

 

Due to your lighter weight front end you need 2 run 89 TTA front springs. Thats what the aluminum engine/hood comp 91-2 Firehawks use.
U also may need to cut a coil or so off of them.
I use anti-seize to lube poly bushings. (wont squeek when it gets cold out)
Your struts are fine,if they are as new, I use them, best around for agressive street cars.
I have the OEM spring code around some place but Id have to dig 4 it.

 

This is more along the lines of what i was thinking, running V6 springs cut dues to losing over 450 lbs, i didnt realize these Bilsteins are so firm, definetly a quality piece.

87350IROC, i understand your tryiing to help, but i already have almost 6 grand and over 420 hours of labor into this car, last thing i want to do is rip the front end apart again, just wanted to hear from someone who uses Bilstein. Snows soming here in MA, i want to drive my LSx car, not rebuild it twice, althought, looks like im gettin some new springs. yes they are 3rd gen struts, bought from a 20 year 3rd gen veteran builder, he had quite a few sets.

TTOP, what kind of life should i expect out of the front bilsteins on a 3-3.5 inch drop?

 

I understand your pain, trust me. I have a lot more time and money in mine. You don't have to take your whole front end apart to pull the springs. You should be able to get them out just by removing the a-arm to body bolts and lowering the assembly with a jack. At the very least, check to see if there is any pressure on the spring at its current ride height.

I have played with the Bilsteins and did not find them any firmer than my Koni Sports. Both are FAR firmer than the stockers I pulled off.

When you say a 3-3.5" drop, are you talking about from stock heights, or what you have now? Because you are about 3" higher than stock now. New Bilsteins should last a long long time on a street car that is stock height. Do you know how many miles are on your set? If you are talking 3-3.5" lower than stock, that puts you at around 25" fender height which is really low for these cars. And will put you about onto the bump stops. For this kind of duty, you will need significantly raised strut mounts, and strut life will be the least of your problems.

 

3.5 inch drop? wow I sure dont know, sounds like your bump stops are going to wear out tho.. I have read that on a normal setup bilsteins start to show minimal signs of wear at 50,000 miles but easily last well over 100,000.
My cuz changed his B shocks @200,000 for I think edelbrock shocks and he put the old Bilsteins back on. Granted that was a farm truck but still...
How did you lose 450lbs? just by things I have done in the past with many dif combos Id guess 300ish ?
all aluminum motor saves 150ish over a stock TPI
Kmember an no ac air maybe 50 total
hood stock 60lbs glass or aluminum will save 40ish
battery in rear will move 40
ft bumper suport removal 35
these are very gerous weight guesses, I know I have done these and more..

 

3.5 drop from 30 inch current ride height, founders strut plates give me an extra .5-1 inch of strut travel to compensate the lowering alittle, we wieghed my L33 5.3 here at work (LKQ) and it came in @ 347 lbs, old iron 355 w/iron heads weighed in @ 549 lbs, theres 200, lost about 50 lbs off the hood, a/c deleted, no smog (from previous engine, lost 45 lbs total weight), guess im closer to 400ish lbs off the front, feel like im missing something... ill check my comp book at home with all my weights.


87350, the struts are rebuilt from Bilstein so they are new, i hope to get at least 2 seasons out of them, i know that sounds like a short period of time but you'd understand if you saw how bad most of the roads are around here(MA), im not about to sacrifice my handling and stance because our tax money isnt fixing the roads. f that. Anyway thanks for the help, ill run it for a week and check heights after each 2 hour run and see whats going on with it, if i see no change at all, ill rip the springs out and swap some V6 springs in and go from there.

 

Gotcha. I wondered about LS weights.
well 30 inches is higher than stock isnt it?
Im thinking my car is around 27" at the fender lips but its 1.5 lowered and has 17s on it which raises it a lil bit.
I know I have seen strut mounts with 1" nylon type spacers under them (in the early days of these cars) kinda cool
Id say your in for a spring change or 2...

 

Ok, your ride height will be fine. Right around stock height. The additional height of the founders strut mounts is unnecessary but fine. I really think its a good idea to get the car driving first before you worry about the height. I have been down this road before, and was amazed how everything worked out when I swore it wouldn't. A ride around the block is good enough to get the suspension settled. I personally think the V-6 springs are going to be way to soft, they were soft even with the V-6 in the car. But it depends how serious you are about handling vs comfort. I used to live in NH, I am well aware of the poor road conditions there. I would not be happy driving my lowered Camaro in that part of the country. My front fender is at 26.25" I have no doubt you will get more than 2 years out of those Bilsteins.

 

My car was right around 28" stock.