[dukenukem]

Has anyone installed their set yet?

[SOLUTION]

Originally Posted by stretch

All struts have (or at least should have!) bump stops. Since the Bilsteins are an inverted design, the bump stop is inside. You could see it by removing the nut on the bottom and pulling the strut body out, the same thing you have to do on a stock STI strut.

Thanks Stretch, that make sense.

I don't suppose anyone wants to take their RB320 bump stop (front) out and look?

Just for curiosity's sake.

[cpa]

What's the warranty on these? What's the replacement cost for a strut not coveredunder warranty?

Are these the same design on the RB320 car? I'm assuming not since these have been in development for an extended period?

[Rootus]

Originally Posted by cpa

What's the warranty on these? What's the replacement cost for a strut not coveredunder warranty?

Are these the same design on the RB320 car? I'm assuming not since these have been in development for an extended period?

Do a search, there is a much longer thread on the RB320 setup that has more technical detail. There is also some discussion over on NASIOC.

[cpa]

I did search, I've seen the threads, but didn't see these items covered. The kit also doesn't seem to be on Prodrive's website where something like warranty info would likely be.

I've seen comments that these will stand up to salt and snow since they were originally designed for the UK, but not a specific statement if this is the identical setup to the UK RB LE model or if it's been revised as an aftermarket product apart from that model. I was curious if it has been changed since that car has been out for a while with a revised damper, spring and swaybar, but this kit wasn't available for some time after the RB LE came out.

In as much as protecting margin and being non-compatible will protect vendors and perhaps add to resale, it will likely also drive up replacement cost. Maybe something else to consider depending on what the warranty is or isn't.

If I pursue, I'll ultimately call Prodrive for the information, but thought it might have been useful here. No big deal.

[Rootus]

Keep in mind they are Bilstein struts, not Prodrive. Although you cannot buy them directly from Bilstein, you can certainly have them rebuilt by Bilstein. Springs are unlikely to wear out in the useable life of the car, so that's not an issue. And that's all there is to the kit.

[CGMDan]

Did you get them in yet Dave?

[Rootus]

Originally Posted by CGMDan

Did you get them in yet Dave?

Yup. Just got back from my test drive, and before I pulled in the garage I took a couple of quick pictures. Not particularly scenic, I'm afraid . Perhaps tomorrow I'll wash the car and find a nicer place to shoot some photos.

This is very freshly installed, so I expect to see some settling over the next couple of weeks. It is quite a lot higher than with the PSS9's .

[addicted1]

Getting mine in this week thanks to RCE

[SOLUTION]

Originally Posted by Rootus

Yup. Just got back from my test drive, and before I pulled in the garage I took a couple of quick pictures. Not particularly scenic, I'm afraid . Perhaps tomorrow I'll wash the car and find a nicer place to shoot some photos.

Any driving impressions?

[GoodTimes]

The pics look good, cant wait for it to settle a little more.

[Rootus]

Originally Posted by SOLUTION

Any driving impressions?

Noticeably less high speed damping than stock, i.e. not as harsh. Still plenty firm, and in no danger of being accused as "plush." Corners have a lot more traction than I was getting with the PSS9 coilovers. I suspect that this behavior had as much to do with the fact that I was slammed with the PSS9s as with the high rate spring & sway combo, but I have no proof. The car just seems to do everything better when it's closer to stock ride height. Hard to quantify, it just "feels mo' bettah".

And it's quiet as stock again. (To be fair to the PSS9s, for some reason they quit making the twanging and popping noises at low speed. No idea why, as I did not change anything or add more lube to the perches, but it had stopped altogether in the last week).

I'm still debating what to do about the sways. I believe there are good odds almost all of the thrown together setups we like to do here on IWSTI actually handle worse than a bone stock STI (which I'm not saying is entirely bad -- I think people want the go-kart flat corner feel, and there is something to be said for feel, especially on a daily driver that rarely sees the limits). If Prodrive releases the sways used on the RB320, I'll definitely consider swapping out the bars I have now . The UK has weather and roads that are strikingly similar to what I get to experience in Oregon. And everyone who's ever driven a real RB320 has nothing but good things to say about the way it handles.

[La Mer]

Originally Posted by Rootus

Noticeably less high speed damping than stock, i.e. not as harsh. Still plenty firm, and in no danger of being accused as "plush." Corners have a lot more traction than I was getting with the PSS9 coilovers. I suspect that this behavior had as much to do with the fact that I was slammed with the PSS9s as with the high rate spring & sway combo, but I have no proof. The car just seems to do everything better when it's closer to stock ride height. Hard to quantify, it just "feels mo' bettah".

And it's quiet as stock again. (To be fair to the PSS9s, for some reason they quit making the twanging and popping noises at low speed. No idea why, as I did not change anything or add more lube to the perches, but it had stopped altogether in the last week).

I'm still debating what to do about the sways. I believe there are good odds almost all of the thrown together setups we like to do here on IWSTI actually handle worse than a bone stock STI (which I'm not saying is entirely bad -- I think people want the go-kart flat corner feel, and there is something to be said for feel, especially on a daily driver that rarely sees the limits). If Prodrive releases the sways used on the RB320, I'll definitely consider swapping out the bars I have now . The UK has weather and roads that are strikingly similar to what I get to experience in Oregon. And everyone who's ever driven a real RB320 has nothing but good things to say about the way it handles.

Nice review, Rootus. Thanks.

[Jproz]

Originally Posted by Rootus

Hard to quantify, it just "feels mo' bettah".

I'm not sure I could say it any better than Rootus here (and he has a far wider berth of experience with suspensions than I do).

I will add this however:
Going from Stock struts with Swifts to this is a big difference. The biggest thing I noticed, aside from a much smoother ride, is that I can actually now "feel" the trampoline of the seat. I mentioned in a earlier thread that my goal was to eliminate bobblehead... Another poster said he believed suspension was 80% of it and seats were the other 20%. I could never quantity this given that I was always being rattled so hard that I had no idea what was doing what.
After putting in this new suspension, I'm going to agree with that poster 110%; the suspension no longer contributes to bobblehead at all (and a statement claiming that 80% of the bobblehead is gone if probably about right). I can however actual feel the seat bouncing me up now. Make no mistake, this suspension has an order of magnitude improvement over what I had. I'm confident that once I replace the seats, I'll be 100% happy (I'm like 95% now... )

And for those that are newbish as I am in this area, remember ... this is a car meant to be driven hard, so if you are expecting a pancea from any of these suspensions to drive like a Mercedes "boat", you are driving the wrong vehicle.

At any rate, I've had these in since friday and have about 200 or so miles on em so far ... we'll see how much changes as they settle in. All in all, in my opinion, worth every penny.


But my review is that, if you don't want to go coilovers, these guys are worth it. Take this comment with a grain of salt though, as I have no experience with Ohlins or Coilovers in this vehicle.

~proz

[Dan@prodrive.com]

Great feed back guys.

Just to add a bit:
We do supply a new rear rubber spring seat.

Once you get the alignment set, it gets better.

The sway bars came out of manufacturing about a week ago.
I am going to airfreight them over. Should be here shortly…

Kind Regards