JunJun

I know there are two types for the Bilstein rear, one for normal height and another for lowered,
and each part number is 24-192934 (B6 HD) and 24-010214(or 24-225397) (B8 SP).
But I just can find one type for the front, part number 35-125228,
and some websites say it's B8 SP and some say it's B6 HD with the same P/N.
Front struts don't have two types?
Thanks.

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

You are correct.

The rear Bilsteins have "HD" (for stock height cars) and "Sport" (for lowered cars)

The front Bilsteins only have 1 choice for our cars. That is "HD"

It's very common for companies to make a mistake and offer a HD set of four, as well as a Sport set of four. But the truth is that the front will always be the same HD struts.

JunJun

Thank you very much for your clear-cut answer!

Now I can get Bilsteins without worry.

blakecharles

Nah... that's not all the way right... they also have Bilstein AK's (that's what I have on my car). They are the same as HD's with performance valving (compresses slower and rebounds faster - from what I can see). I looked and found that the AK's are vary popular with other cars (Chevelles and Monte in particular). They seem to be poorly advertised (if at all). The problem is they look the same as HD... That's why you get some folks saying they are as stiff as KONI and others say they are not. Many places sale the AK as the HD... Be warned, if you intend to get the HD and receive AK than you are not getting the warranty that you are paying for!

blakecharles

I found out about the AK's when searching for a place that had then for sale for super cheap... See this thread

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...y-cheap-2.html

Here is the deal
- they are a good bit cheaper than HD
- they are MUCH stiffer than HD (I would say they are as stiff as KONI yellow)
- they are made to order
- they can do custom valving on them
- they take longer to get
- they are IDENTICAL to the HD strut (only diff is the part number printed on them)
- THEY HAVE NO WARRANTY

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

I stand corrected. Thanks for the info Blake.

Z28ricer

iTrader: (2)

Where do you find this no warranty thing ? I havent seen anything bilstein for production vehicles without the warranty, and you can get custom valving on any of their shocks/struts, you just have to do so before/when ordering them. Or you can make them custom valving able on your own.

blakecharles

Before I ordered them I called Bilstein to see if the company was indeed a Bilstein Vendor. Not only did they tell me that this guy was a vendor, but he also dose quite a bit of service and rebuilds on Bilstein products. They also gave me the 411 on the AK's... There is an AK variant for nearly every car they make HD's for. He had to find it in a catalog to provide the part number.

NO - there is no warrant on them, they used almost exclusively for circuit racing where a customer will rebuild them a few times then throw them out.

YES - you can order both HD/AK w/ custom valving, and if you do this... there is no difference (you will most likely get an AK if buying new from Bilstein - they will NOT re-valve an HD strut. They are kept in stock on the shelf - it's done 3rd party. They will re-valve an AK, although I would not call it re-valving (they are assembled to your spec). but I wouldn't know what to tell them anyway.

Z28ricer

iTrader: (2)

If you do some leg work to get the inputs needed, the bilstein motorsports guys will help with coming up with what you need.

You'll need things like cornerweights, unsprung weights, etc, give them a call if you're really interested in doing it.