Surprised to hear that, I love the stock 2012 ride. I think if you are searching for comfort you need to buy an LS or something. I just wish I could find something where I could keep the stock ride and go slightly lower.

 

Yeah I have to agree with Lobux on this one, this isn't really the car you going to get a comfy ride out of. The best you will get is less stiff/more manageable at best. Its kind of wild when I see folks trying to squeeze GS ride out of the ISF, wrong platform for that. Just have to accept her for what she is, a performance platform, and a heavy one too

 

Quick question, I have the B6 dampers ready to install looking to stick with OE springs. Did you transfer over the OE bumpstops to the Bilsteins?

 

i did. Depending on the year of your car you may need custom perches.

 

I have a 2008 so I am hoping it's a straight forward replace.

 

Would u think 16/12 spring rate would improve the ride quality or it would make it worse?

 

Ride quality isn't spring rate, it's a combination of spring and damping. Stiffer springs need stiffer damping to keep under control. His chief complaint is the same complaint any inexpensive shock suffers - the adjustments quite often do nothing of value. So it won't matter what springs you use, the shocks will likely not be able to be adjusted to control them.

If you really want to know what works, you'll need to have your springs tested (only a few brands actually deliver their ratings, most are junk because they're not even close to what they were sold to be), and you need to have your shocks dyno'd so you know two things - one - they actually dampen consistently on all four corners - two - the adjustments actually do something. Many of the adjustable shocks out there do not actually adjust anything when you put them on a dyno, and some that do make a difference are completely non-linear in their action. This is why the premium brands - Penske, Moton, Ohlins, JRZ - cost a lot of money. They actually work when you put them on a dyno.

But don't believe me. I'm just some idiot posting on an Internet forum. Read what this guy says. He's won national championships.

 

Lance

Your opinion please. For a non adjustable shock, do you believe the Bilstein B6 to be a junk shock absorber? I have been contemplating getting them once my shocks wear out, if that ever happens. As you probable know, I am happy with my stock '08 suspension with the RR Racing bushings in front and the F-Sport bar in back.

Lou

 

If you get them dyno tested and they deliver what they promise, no. If you just buy them and assume all is good, yes.

Most of NASCAR runs Bilstein shocks. It's not the brand, it's because they can be built to spec and rebuilt to spec by a competent shock engineer. I've seen rack loads of Bilstein shocks in a shop in Charlotte all waiting to be put back in service. But the guys buying the rebuild service wouldn't consider paying money without a full dyno test and print out. No different than an engine dyno test to prove the work you did actually created a benefit.

 

I can say I have had Bilsteins on number of my custom cars and trucks. Some custom built with dyno sheet and others straight off the shelf. So far I have been happy with then every time. I would not hesitate to use them as a stock replacement on our ISF. That being said, if you are concerned and are willing to spend a few extra bucks there are a number of shops around the country that can get you custom built/valved/length Bilsteins specific to your application that can also dyno them for you. However, if you are like me and do not track your F you would probably be happy with the off the shelf units from Bilstein. Our stock shocks are getting up there in age, when I replace I will go Bilstein and report back my thoughts.

 

Contact FIGS and get their Ohlins setup based on the R&T platform (DFV). I've had the Ohlins DFV's on two of my cars now and it hands down beats any other coilover setup i've had for the dampening quality and ride comfort. The figs setup just adds custom spring rates to the setup but it's still reasonably priced (or you could get the normal Ohlins DFV setup if you wanted their spring rates at a lower price).

 

Bilstein B6 or the Tokico HTS117 is what I'm curious about. What would be the best choice to replace the oem shocks with?

 

Bilstein B6

Tokico is what came in the 2008s (I believe).

This: http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets18.html (thank you Lobuxracer for this)

 

Wonder what would be involved in convincing Bilstein to offer the B8. There's so many F's with swift springs that are happy with the ride height that a B8 just makes WAY more sense than the B6.

 

^^^^^^^^^^This, wouldn't that be nice!