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Bilstein Sport or HD?

4K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  Petem 
#1 ·
So I've finally bitten the bullet, and after almost 3yrs of Viggen ownership have finally ordered new suspension, chassis stiffening braces, bushings etc for my 2000 Viggen. I know at least one of the rear OE shocks is dead, and I get suspension knocks and rattles occasionally from the front, so it's time.

I don't need adjustability for my shocks, and aren't looking to lower the car any more (it scrapes enough as it is) so I decided to stick with the stock Viggen springs, and add Bilstein shocks. I ordered Bilstein Sports, but the fronts are on backorder and not available til mid Jan. I believe the dealer had the full set of HD's.

Normally that wouldn't be an issue but I'm temporarily relocating from Seattle to SoCal very early next year for a few months and would like to have the work done before the 'road trip'.

So the question is which would be the best match to the OE Viggen springs, without resulting an appreciable lowering of the car, the Sports or HD's?

Cheers.
 
#2 ·
I think the Sports and HD have similiar valving...the main difference is the length that the shafts are setup for. Sport's are generally used for shorter then stock springs. Since a Viggen is lower spring wise then a standard 9-3...I would look to see if the Bilstein part numbers are the same for the various shocks between the Viggen and the standard SE.

Sometimes there is a "touring" option as well that you can get - it's stiffer but with the same lenght shaft as the Sports

All this info is from my VW's days...so it may be a little outdate/incorrect.
 
#3 ·
I swear I get less scraping with my viggen lowered vs stock..... drives, rides & handles many times better then the stock viggen springs. The stock springs really suck, these cars would of received much better reviews if Koni's would of been thrown on from the factory.

Not sure if it matters but if it was me I would get whatever is the softest of those shocks. No need making the OEM springs harsher then they are
 
#5 ·
I think it's due to the back end not being so high in the air

sits more level thus not making the front stick down so much...... plus that old crappy ride is gone
 
#11 ·
koni's on a 9-5 not worth it & it's never a good idea to only update one end of a car's shocks/struts. I think the 9000's most preffered bilsteins as well, PITA to use koni's if I recall.
 
#12 ·
hey guys, i to am getting new struts for my car(se model) right now i have stock struts with koni springs.....i live in ohio, so half the time im driving on pothole ridden roads, but i do want a nice tight sporty feel..which ones would you guys pick for my situation?
 
#13 ·
I am also in ohio, koni's give you excellent feel & also give a great ride. No comparison my stock viggen suspension vs koni spring shocks. I keep my koni's on the softest setting at all 4 corners & it's way ahead of the stock springs & shocks. So much more comfortable taking up the ohio pot holes & all that. Then when I go to the track I can easily make it a bit firmer.

Bilstein makes good stuff to but on these cars I would do koni's
 
#14 ·
I am also in ohio, koni's give you excellent feel & also give a great ride. No comparison my stock viggen suspension vs koni spring shocks. I keep my koni's on the softest setting at all 4 corners & it's way ahead of the stock springs & shocks. So much more comfortable taking up the ohio pot holes & all that. Then when I go to the track I can easily make it a bit firmer.

Bilstein makes good stuff to but on these cars I would do koni's
what part of ohio are you from
 
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