Bilstein 46 mm Universal Rally Shocks

any word on these ? are they out yet ?

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madspeed
any word on these ? are they out yet ?

"Maybe November."

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

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madspeed
any word on these ? are they out yet ?

Checked in mid september, Late October is the latest ETA. Lucky you the cars listed should have plenty of off the shelf support. mine, not so much. i would like to pick up a set of these however i am not to fond of 2.5" ID springs. last i checked they were not all to common. Looks like i will be running what i built until/when/if I build/buy a new/used rally car.

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BJosephD

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madspeed
i would like to pick up a set of these however i am not to fond of 2.5" ID springs. last i checked they were not all to common.

A quick look at the eibach catalog shows 6 pages of options in 2.5, more than any other diameter

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BJosephD

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madspeed
i would like to pick up a set of these however i am not to fond of 2.5" ID springs. last i checked they were not all to common.

A quick look at the eibach catalog shows 6 pages of options in 2.5, more than any other diameter

2.5" ID springs are VERY common in the 'offroad' (4x4) world.

King shocks (Different from the Australian 'King Springs' company) coil springs in 2.5" ID http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/2.50-ID-Coil-Springs-p-1-c-1090.html
Eibach coil springs in 2.5" ID http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/2.50-ID-Coil-Springs-p-1-c-740.html

My only question is why aren't they making a true 50mm insert instead of a 46mm insert?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2012 08:00PM by lukethedork.

Luke, the insert IS a 50mm insert with a 46mm piston.

Latest I heard from Bilstein was that the two distributors for the 46mm kits will be officially announced on November 1st. The 36mm kits should be available shortly after that from three distributors.

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Jason McDaniel

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modernbeat
Latest I heard from Bilstein was that the two distributors for the 46mm kits will be officially announced on November 1st. The 36mm kits should be available shortly after that from three distributors.

Man I hate the middle man method of doing business that is so popular here in the US.
"It takes us a year after announcing these to maybe announce who we're going to allow to sell them for us so maybe we'll have a product available sometime before 2015."

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Grant Hughes

Thanks Jason.
I know the piston is 46mm. That is why I ask why not a true 50mm insert (50mm piston). I think we know the external dimensions are just for marketing.

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lukethedork
Thanks Jason.
I know the piston is 46mm. That is why I ask why not a true 50mm insert (50mm piston). I think we know the external dimensions are just for marketing.

Why do you need a 50mm piston? Baja racing?

I've worked with larger struts before and the tradeoff in weight and fitment issues is not worth it for most competitiors. And Bilstein already has a library of shock parts built around the 46mm piston AND they market it as a 46mm. Other companies may market their 46mm piston struts as 50mm, but Bilstein does it properly.

The diameter of the piston will tell you how much fluid flow you have through it at different suspension speeds. Not the diameter of the insert body. And the amount of fluid flow dictates the type of valving and control the damper can exert. Going to a 50mm or 56mm or 60mm piston adds a LOT of internal drag and is more useful for suspensions that see very high travel all the time, not rally suspensions which should get medium sized pistons and hydraulic bump stops for the one-in-a-while jump.

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Jason McDaniel

Reusing parts makes sense for Bilstein.

Heat control would be one reason for a larger piston. I personally feel like I benefit from my 50mm damper, although at over 1400kg that may be why.

I'll be upgrading my 50mm dampers with hydraulic bump stops to control the big hits, by the end of the month.

The reason I was hoping for 50mm pistons was so I could run ohlin valving in a cheaper insurt. Bilstien does have good stuff. But Ohlin in my opionion is far better. Im sure Bilstien does have really high quality pistons also. But we cant even get an insurt let alone good valve stacks.

Nascar is not baja and there stuff is 50mm and the insurt of the strut is unsprung weight so im not sure about the size and weight being an issue. The last set of Ohlins I took apart had 2" insurts in an almost 3" body. I was told they came off of Blocks old Subaru.

I do think if they ever come out they will work good for the avarage rallist. For the few like me who like to change valve stacks and want to learn how to make the car faster with different valving not so much. Rally is made up of all differnt types. Im the type that likes to fiddle with shocks and try to learn what changes do to help make the car handle better.

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First rally 2013
Rally car type AWD subaru
Total rallies as driver 6
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Good valve stacks? Doesn't it share the piston and shims and crap with the circle track stuff? Seems like that gives you plenty of options to revalve the suckers, though I think they make you buy the shims as a kit rather than individually.

For the ultimate in having too many options with pistons and crap, I wonder if someone could make a proper tube to accept Penske guts with the same OD as existing Bilstein inserts used by various folks. I know Penske offers 'em for roadrace stuff...

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lukethedork
Reusing parts makes sense for Bilstein.

Heat control would be one reason for a larger piston. I personally feel like I benefit from my 50mm damper, although at over 1400kg that may be why.

I'll be upgrading my 50mm dampers with hydraulic bump stops to control the big hits, by the end of the month.

More volume of oil, all other things being equal, only changes the time bore temp is reached, not ultimate heat.



What shocks --brand and model do you have?

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Given the same wall thickness a larger piston will require a larger OD tube. More surface area dissipates more heat.

They are made by one of the Australian Rally Champions, who now makes dampers for a number of successful rally cars in the Asia Pacific region.

50mm piston
approx 55mm OD insert
3 way adjustable
soon to be double piston

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lukethedork
Given the same wall thickness a larger piston will require a larger OD tube. More surface area dissipates more heat.

They are made by one of the Australian Rally Champions, who now makes dampers for a number of successful rally cars in the Asia Pacific region.

50mm piston
approx 55mm OD insert
3 way adjustable
soon to be double piston

What is the brand name and who can I contact to find out more about them.

BS Phrases like "They are made by one of the Australian Rally Champions, who now makes dampers for a number of successful rally cars in the Asia Pacific region." mean nothing. WHO and WHAT are what we want to know.

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Jason McDaniel