Re:Sport vs. HD Bilstein

[ChrisBourk@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 98-12-02 16:13:28 EST, you write:

<<Date: Wed, 02 Dec 1998 14:44:30 -0500
 From: albert jenab <jenab@domain.elided>
 Subject: re: <ALL>Re: Sport vs. HD Bilstein
 
 <<<Are you guys sure this is correct regarding "recent" HD vs. Sports?
 Shorter springs are generally (a lot) stiffer springs.  I would want more
 aggressive "valving" to go with them.  I can't believe the Bilstein
 engineers would be so stupid as to recommend the same damping for widely
 varying spring rates. <snip>>>>

Al,

Bilstein engineers aren't stupid.  They probably realize a thing or 2 some of
the people on the digest don't about suspensions. One is that just because you
go to stiffer springs doesn't me you want stiffer shocks - or the other way
round.  I've heard lot's of people say you need to get suspension components
that are designed to work together - never hear those same people say what it
exactly is they're working together to achieve - in a specific sense.

One approach (Hartge/Dinan) is to use some pretty stiff springs with stock
sway bars - we'll call this *stage one* :).  BMW Motorsport decided to go with
some pretty big sway bars (on some of their cars) with stock springs.  You
take the pieces one at a time and decide what you want to do with it.
 
 <<Example: there's a 45% difference in spring rates between the stock springs
 and the ubiquitous Eibach Pro-Kit springs I recently put on a Miata, lowers
 the car about 1.25" all around.  Turns out Bilstein doesn't make a Sport
 for it and believe me, with the HD's it's way underdamped.  I am having a
 set of the HD's revalved to Sport specs for it.>>

Well,  this isn't a miata list but if Bilstein doesn't make a sport shock for
the car I would seriouly question if one is required - after I had found a
quantitative answer as to what a "sport" shock was.  Also,  if Bilstein
doesn't make a "sport" shock for the car I would argue that it isn't possible
to have the shocks "revalved" to sport settings - how can you revalve to
something that doesn't exist?  but in the end I really don't believe you when
you say the car is *way underdamped* with Bilstein shocks. 
 
<< BTW, "valving" on Bilsteins are really thin shim stacks with various
 thicknesses and preloads, one set on either side of the piston.  The fluid
 goes through an uncovered hole in the opposite side of the piston and then
 bends these shims to create the damping force.  Thus the "deflected disk"
 terminology.  So there really aren't any "valves", there are just these
 shims covering up holes in the piston.>> 

That's good information, what you've discribed are valves - reed valves.

Christopher
  >>

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