Wanting to go back to Bilstein
Discussion
I currently run on a set of Gaz Golds which were great for the person I was when I bought the car but now I use it for touring holidays and the springs are so tough that I can't adjust the shocks soft enough. I'm trying to avoid spending £1k on a new set of billies, I was wondering what you folks think about buying second-hand and having them professionally rebuilt. Perhaps that'd be near the same price. Just wish I hadn't scrapped my old billies
I can’t help but I too have moved away from the stiff spring rates and much prefer the car that way
I binned my old Bilsteins
It must have been on here or FB when a Griff owner mentioned replacing his old Koni fitted to early Griff models so I offered to take them off his hands at a very reasonable price.
Best Buy ever. They look awful and old but I really like the handing on them. The damping is so much more refined than sports shocks I tried.
I keep meaning to get them refurbed.
Maybe someone has a nice set of second hand Bilstein or Koni with good bushes etc lying around you could buy and go from there.
I binned my old Bilsteins
It must have been on here or FB when a Griff owner mentioned replacing his old Koni fitted to early Griff models so I offered to take them off his hands at a very reasonable price.
Best Buy ever. They look awful and old but I really like the handing on them. The damping is so much more refined than sports shocks I tried.
I keep meaning to get them refurbed.
Maybe someone has a nice set of second hand Bilstein or Koni with good bushes etc lying around you could buy and go from there.
If they're nearing their life, I would just use it as an opportunity to get them serviced and swap the springs while you're at it. On paper they're a better damper, though I've never driven a car on Gaz to comment how I personally find them. Had OEM Bilsteins on my old MX-5 at one point and felt the ride was quite 'crashy' in comparison to a well-tuned adjustable coilover setup with reputable parts. I keep Nitrons on my Chim and I wouldn't dare look back.
Surely service and springs is cheaper than a set of Bilsteins even 2nd hand - with the benefit being you know the seals are new in the dampers and freshly re-gassed?
Surely service and springs is cheaper than a set of Bilsteins even 2nd hand - with the benefit being you know the seals are new in the dampers and freshly re-gassed?
ray von said:
C'mon Bob you know what the right thing to do is. Get your hand in your pocket 
@geordiepingu Gaz better than Billies? even on paper that's quite a stretch IMO, where TVR's are concerned Gaz Gold shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath
I mean if it was my way, everybody should have Nitrons on their car! Can't please them all ;-)@geordiepingu Gaz better than Billies? even on paper that's quite a stretch IMO, where TVR's are concerned Gaz Gold shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath
I just changed my original billies [after 27 years use ] to the slightly uprated billies from Ben, no complaints here. I tested the old ones and only one front damper was a little weak. Most Griff owners that have changed to non-oem dampers spend their lives adjusting them and never seeming to be happy with the outcome.
Aussie John]I just changed my original billies [after 27 years use said:
to the slightly uprated billies from Ben, no complaints here. I tested the old ones and only one front damper was a little weak. Most Griff owners that have changed to non-oem dampers spend their lives adjusting them and never seeming to be happy with the outcome.
Paying for an expert setup pays dividends with aftermarket suspension (and anything I suppose). There's quite a few (not all!) that have just had at it in their garage because fitting is quite easy. Full geo, corner weighting and adjustment is not as easy in comparison!bobfather said:
I currently run on a set of Gaz Golds which were great for the person I was when I bought the car but now I use it for touring holidays and the springs are so tough that I can't adjust the shocks soft enough. I'm trying to avoid spending £1k on a new set of billies, I was wondering what you folks think about buying second-hand and having them professionally rebuilt. Perhaps that'd be near the same price. Just wish I hadn't scrapped my old billies
Were they actually bilstein (with the correct logo sticker on them ?) .. people seem to forget that not many tvrs actually left the factory with bilsteins, most were harvey bailey ( look identical but tend to leak / knock quite a bit! and of course have no bilstein stickers on them )spitfire4v8 said:
bobfather said:
I currently run on a set of Gaz Golds which were great for the person I was when I bought the car but now I use it for touring holidays and the springs are so tough that I can't adjust the shocks soft enough. I'm trying to avoid spending £1k on a new set of billies, I was wondering what you folks think about buying second-hand and having them professionally rebuilt. Perhaps that'd be near the same price. Just wish I hadn't scrapped my old billies
Were they actually bilstein (with the correct logo sticker on them ?) .. people seem to forget that not many tvrs actually left the factory with bilsteins, most were harvey bailey ( look identical but tend to leak / knock quite a bit! and of course have no bilstein stickers on them )If they don't have bilstein written on the bottom of the damper they are not bilstein.
the early bilstein-look dampers were bilstein, then they used harvey bailey except for the sports suspension kits, then changed back to bilstein for the run-out cars towards the end.
Through the vast majority of chim/griff/cerb/tuscan runs they used harvey bailey.
The colour means relatively little .. they have used green yellow purple black and red coloured dampers from memory (maybe some others too)
the early bilstein-look dampers were bilstein, then they used harvey bailey except for the sports suspension kits, then changed back to bilstein for the run-out cars towards the end.
Through the vast majority of chim/griff/cerb/tuscan runs they used harvey bailey.
The colour means relatively little .. they have used green yellow purple black and red coloured dampers from memory (maybe some others too)
spitfire4v8 said:
If they don't have bilstein written on the bottom of the damper they are not bilstein.
the early bilstein-look dampers were bilstein, then they used harvey bailey except for the sports suspension kits, then changed back to bilstein for the run-out cars towards the end.
Through the vast majority of chim/griff/cerb/tuscan runs they used harvey bailey.
The colour means relatively little .. they have used green yellow purple black and red coloured dampers from memory (maybe some others too)
Cheers Jules, will have a look at them.the early bilstein-look dampers were bilstein, then they used harvey bailey except for the sports suspension kits, then changed back to bilstein for the run-out cars towards the end.
Through the vast majority of chim/griff/cerb/tuscan runs they used harvey bailey.
The colour means relatively little .. they have used green yellow purple black and red coloured dampers from memory (maybe some others too)
spitfire4v8 said:
If they don't have bilstein written on the bottom of the damper they are not bilstein.
the early bilstein-look dampers were bilstein, then they used harvey bailey except for the sports suspension kits, then changed back to bilstein for the run-out cars towards the end.
Through the vast majority of chim/griff/cerb/tuscan runs they used harvey bailey.
The colour means relatively little .. they have used green yellow purple black and red coloured dampers from memory (maybe some others too)
I think my old ones were in fact Harvey Baileys come to think of it and defo no Bilstein sticker so I probably did the right thing in binning them then. the early bilstein-look dampers were bilstein, then they used harvey bailey except for the sports suspension kits, then changed back to bilstein for the run-out cars towards the end.
Through the vast majority of chim/griff/cerb/tuscan runs they used harvey bailey.
The colour means relatively little .. they have used green yellow purple black and red coloured dampers from memory (maybe some others too)
geordiepingu said:
If they're nearing their life, I would just use it as an opportunity to get them serviced and swap the springs while you're at it. On paper they're a better damper, though I've never driven a car on Gaz to comment how I personally find them.
The Bilsteins are monotubes, Gaz are the bum basic twin tube design. In Germany you´d fail the TUV test with Gaz if the tester pays close attention, as it´s forbidden to change to dampers with a ´lower´ level of technology than what the OEM provided...Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff