Perfect setup for the Bilstein B14 Coilovers

Dave84 · 12th August 2012, 20:37

I recently purchased the Bilstein B14 kit for my fn2 type r but unfortunately I lowered it 30mm and its scraping the arches and front spoiler fairly badly. I am also running 15mm eibach spacers which I purchased from you too for the stoptech bbk kit.

I would like to know which setup you would go for as my area is full of speed bumps? If I lower it 10mm on the front and rear will this be a good setup? Some people say if you lower the front and rear equal you lose the feel of the rear is this true?

parsco · 12th August 2012, 20:46

I've got Bilstien coilover kit lowered about 20mm all round with 15mm spacers all round and it's never caught the arches or the splitter on speed bumps mate.

And it handles like it's on rails

Dave84 · 12th August 2012, 20:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by parsco

I've got Bilstien coilover kit lowered about 20mm all round with 15mm spacers all round and it's never caught the arches or the splitter on speed bumps mate.

And it handles like it's on rails

Thanks for the info dude, are you running them on the O.E.M wheels and do you have any large speed bumps in your area?

parsco · 12th August 2012, 21:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave84

Thanks for the info dude, are you running them on the O.E.M wheels and do you have any large speed bumps in your area?

Yep OEM 18 inch Type R alloys. There are some large table type humps, some large standard humps and some of those cushion type. It clears them all fine

stoney · 12th August 2012, 23:43

IMO you arent gonna notice a whole lot of difference in changing heights, only the amount of scrub you get.

What will make a difference is the bound/rebound settings you dial in front to back.

What I would do is set a height that you are comfortable with and then spend a bit of time fine tuning the settings.

parsco · 12th August 2012, 23:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by stoney

IMO you arent gonna notice a whole lot of difference in changing heights, only the amount of scrub you get.

What will make a difference is the bound/rebound settings you dial in front to back.

What I would do is set a height that you are comfortable with and then spend a bit of time fine tuning the settings.

You can't change the rebound setting on these kits stoney

they are fixed.

Makes me think you might have a duff kit mate

stoney · 12th August 2012, 23:57

OOH

I wouldn't say they are duff tbh, Bilstein are up there with the best brand wise, maybe swing by ABP and ask for an adjustment

parsco · 13th August 2012, 00:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by stoney

OOH

I wouldn't say they are duff tbh, Bilstein are up there with the best brand wise, maybe swing by ABP and ask for an adjustment

Sorry, when I say duff I meant maybe this set could have dodgey rebound settings. If that's the case I'm sure they will be replaced free of charge under their guarantee.

All ABP will be able to do is amend the ride height I would have thought.

Anybody know if it's possible to change the rebound settings on these kits (not so sure now

)

FN2cub · 13th August 2012, 09:21

The coilovers are set the only thing you can do is alter the height. Mine has been lowered 20mm allround and I'm running a 17" 38offset wheels and don't get any scraps of the arches or catching on speed bumps. Look at getting the ride height altered and you will be fine, I take it you wanted it lowered 30mm allround for the look?

Dave84 · 14th August 2012, 01:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by FN2cub

The coilovers are set the only thing you can do is alter the height. Mine has been lowered 20mm allround and I'm running a 17" 38offset wheels and don't get any scraps of the arches or catching on speed bumps. Look at getting the ride height altered and you will be fine, I take it you wanted it lowered 30mm allround for the look?

Yeah I wanted it 30mm for the look and does look absolutely epic. Damping feels fine on straight road it just needs changing to 15mm front 20mm rear maybe. I'm surprised abp haven't commented on this tread yet, guess they must have been busy on Monday. I might give them a call tomorrow and see what they recommend.

ABP Motorsport · 16th August 2012, 12:12

The main issue with running low AND using +15mm spacers is the position within the wheel arch that the tyre runs. We've set cars at -40mm with no problems but they did not have spacers fitted so didn't have any catching issues. We've also played with our car and found that when using the OE 18" alloys lowering any distance causes no catching issues at all.

However when using the OE wheels with +15mm spacers the front tyres can catch the inner arch liner (mainly the pertruding clip housings) when you lower more than -25mm. So it may be advisable to lift the ride height slightly. Saying that on my car (set to -30mm front and -35mm rear) the tyres (Yokohama AD08) have now worn the clips down and no longer catch.

So you can either let the plastic clips wear away until the tyre clears or lift the height slightly.

Hope this helps,

Chris

Dave84 · 16th August 2012, 17:06

Well I got it changed to 15mm on the front and 20 on the rear and the ride is truly amazing I'm very happy with it. Suspension feels so much nicer and no crashy ride I would really recommend these. When I had the 30mm setup I found the car a lot harder but it did handle slightly better due to the lower centre of gravity. Maybe I could have gone 20 on the front but didn't want to risk catching as it's already caught a chunk of paint out the arches due to the spacers and silly speed bumps.

Overall very impressed, ride quality 100% improved and handling too this kit is awesome!!

ABP Motorsport · 16th August 2012, 18:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave84

Well I got it changed to 15mm on the front and 20 on the rear and the ride is truly amazing I'm very happy with it. Suspension feels so much nicer and no crashy ride I would really recommend these. When I had the 30mm setup I found the car a lot harder but it did handle slightly better due to the lower centre of gravity. Maybe I could have gone 20 on the front but didn't want to risk catching as it's already caught a chunk of paint out the arches due to the spacers and silly speed bumps.

Overall very impressed, ride quality 100% improved and handling too this kit is awesome!!

Excellent - Was good talking with you yesterday and i'm glad you've now got it sorted and are happy with the results

Cheers, Chris

Dave84 · 16th August 2012, 19:53

Yes thanks for your advice and excellent customer service, I will be buying from you again and recommending this kit to other people

Dave84 · 19th August 2012, 23:37

Another unpade to this: the rear suspension has become noisy and sounds like it's knocking. I know the torsion bar make these cars really stiff and hard but is this a common issue? It is quite irritating. No knocking sounds from the front at all however.

ash_rage · 19th August 2012, 23:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave84

Another unpade to this: the rear suspension has become noisy and sounds like it's knocking. I know the torsion bar make these cars really stiff and hard but is this a common issue? It is quite irritating. No knocking sounds from the front at all however.

I have noticed this also. I just live with it. For me it's the near side rear.

ABP Motorsport · 20th August 2012, 09:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave84

Another unpade to this: the rear suspension has become noisy and sounds like it's knocking. I know the torsion bar make these cars really stiff and hard but is this a common issue? It is quite irritating. No knocking sounds from the front at all however.

Not a problem we've come across or encountered on our car.... When exactly is the noise happening? Low speed? High speed? Over which types of road surface or bumps?

The only time my rear suspension makes noises is when the car drives off speed bumps (if i'm not going as slowly as I perhaps should) and when the weight of the car comes off the speed bump the spring coils touch giving a noise which is expected and short lived.

The FN2 doesn't actually have a torsion bar rear suspension set-up - its actually a torsion beam suspension which is quite different. Torsion bars are used instead of springs on mainly french cars.

Chris

Dave84 · 20th August 2012, 18:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by ash_rage

I have noticed this also. I just live with it. For me it's the near side rear.

Thats exact same side as mine too after giving it a bit more of a listen tonight. Hopefully I can sort a fix tomorrow and report back when it's on the ramp

ABP Motorsport · 21st August 2012, 10:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave84

Thats exact same side as mine too after giving it a bit more of a listen tonight. Hopefully I can sort a fix tomorrow and report back when it's on the ramp

Very strange that you are just getting a noise from one side of the rear.....

You need to be careful to check only 1 thing at a time so it gives you the best chance of finding the noise. Suggest the following:
1) Check everything on the N/S/R is tight - Spring seats, top mount etc then road test to check if cured.
2) Switch the shock absorbers left to right then road test to see if the noise moves. If it swaps sides it may be a shocker (very unusual) BUT if it doesn't it rules out a shocker fault.
3) Depending on the shocks trial maybe switch the spring seats and springs left to right and see if the noise swaps sides on road test?

If none of the side-swaps moves the noise it os most likely to be a body or trim vibration causing the noise.

Please let us know what you find as we've not had any other issues and as I said previously my car is very quiet as are all the other kits we've supplied or fitted.

Cheers,

Dave84 · 21st August 2012, 22:05

Didn't have time to swap the suspension just tightened everything up and re checked anything wasn't loose then greased the springs. Still the same rattling noise in the same area. Will next put the oem linear springs back on and see if that works. If this doesn't work send the rear kit back to manufacture as this noise is not acceptable it's quite embrassing.

12th August 2012, 20:37	#1 (permalink)
Dave84 Car: 2009 CTR GT, Albaster Silver Join Date: 6th November 2011 Location: England, Padiham/Burnley Posts: 533 Thanks given: 25 Thanked 41 Times in 38 Posts iTrader: (0)	Perfect setup for the Bilstein B14 Coilovers I recently purchased the Bilstein B14 kit for my fn2 type r but unfortunately I lowered it 30mm and its scraping the arches and front spoiler fairly badly. I am also running 15mm eibach spacers which I purchased from you too for the stoptech bbk kit. I would like to know which setup you would go for as my area is full of speed bumps? If I lower it 10mm on the front and rear will this be a good setup? Some people say if you lower the front and rear equal you lose the feel of the rear is this true?

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12th August 2012, 20:46	#2 (permalink)
parsco THE NINJA Car: 2007 CTR, NHB Join Date: 25th January 2011 Location: Cambridgeshire Posts: 2,201 Thanks given: 748 Thanked 447 Times in 400 Posts iTrader: (54)	I've got Bilstien coilover kit lowered about 20mm all round with 15mm spacers all round and it's never caught the arches or the splitter on speed bumps mate. And it handles like it's on rails

12th August 2012, 23:43	#5 (permalink)
stoney Supporter Car: 2007 FN2 GT Join Date: 24th March 2010 Location: lisburn Posts: 7,156 Thanks given: 159 Thanked 1,072 Times in 909 Posts iTrader: (9)	IMO you arent gonna notice a whole lot of difference in changing heights, only the amount of scrub you get. What will make a difference is the bound/rebound settings you dial in front to back. What I would do is set a height that you are comfortable with and then spend a bit of time fine tuning the settings.

12th August 2012, 23:57	#7 (permalink)
stoney Supporter Car: 2007 FN2 GT Join Date: 24th March 2010 Location: lisburn Posts: 7,156 Thanks given: 159 Thanked 1,072 Times in 909 Posts iTrader: (9)	OOH I wouldn't say they are duff tbh, Bilstein are up there with the best brand wise, maybe swing by ABP and ask for an adjustment

13th August 2012, 09:21	#9 (permalink)
FN2cub Car: 2008 CTR Silver Join Date: 21st December 2011 Location: Wales Posts: 1,045 Thanks given: 23 Thanked 149 Times in 136 Posts iTrader: (8)	The coilovers are set the only thing you can do is alter the height. Mine has been lowered 20mm allround and I'm running a 17" 38offset wheels and don't get any scraps of the arches or catching on speed bumps. Look at getting the ride height altered and you will be fine, I take it you wanted it lowered 30mm allround for the look?

16th August 2012, 12:12	#11 (permalink)
ABP Motorsport Commercial user Join Date: 14th March 2008 Location: Crewe, Cheshire Posts: 1,815 Thanks given: 131 Thanked 212 Times in 178 Posts iTrader: (2)	The main issue with running low AND using +15mm spacers is the position within the wheel arch that the tyre runs. We've set cars at -40mm with no problems but they did not have spacers fitted so didn't have any catching issues. We've also played with our car and found that when using the OE 18" alloys lowering any distance causes no catching issues at all. However when using the OE wheels with +15mm spacers the front tyres can catch the inner arch liner (mainly the pertruding clip housings) when you lower more than -25mm. So it may be advisable to lift the ride height slightly. Saying that on my car (set to -30mm front and -35mm rear) the tyres (Yokohama AD08) have now worn the clips down and no longer catch. So you can either let the plastic clips wear away until the tyre clears or lift the height slightly. Hope this helps, Chris

16th August 2012, 17:06	#12 (permalink)
Dave84 Thread starter Car: 2009 CTR GT, Albaster Silver Join Date: 6th November 2011 Location: England, Padiham/Burnley Posts: 533 Thanks given: 25 Thanked 41 Times in 38 Posts iTrader: (0)	Well I got it changed to 15mm on the front and 20 on the rear and the ride is truly amazing I'm very happy with it. Suspension feels so much nicer and no crashy ride I would really recommend these. When I had the 30mm setup I found the car a lot harder but it did handle slightly better due to the lower centre of gravity. Maybe I could have gone 20 on the front but didn't want to risk catching as it's already caught a chunk of paint out the arches due to the spacers and silly speed bumps. Overall very impressed, ride quality 100% improved and handling too this kit is awesome!!

16th August 2012, 19:53	#14 (permalink)
Dave84 Thread starter Car: 2009 CTR GT, Albaster Silver Join Date: 6th November 2011 Location: England, Padiham/Burnley Posts: 533 Thanks given: 25 Thanked 41 Times in 38 Posts iTrader: (0)	Yes thanks for your advice and excellent customer service, I will be buying from you again and recommending this kit to other people

19th August 2012, 23:37	#15 (permalink)
Dave84 Thread starter Car: 2009 CTR GT, Albaster Silver Join Date: 6th November 2011 Location: England, Padiham/Burnley Posts: 533 Thanks given: 25 Thanked 41 Times in 38 Posts iTrader: (0)	Another unpade to this: the rear suspension has become noisy and sounds like it's knocking. I know the torsion bar make these cars really stiff and hard but is this a common issue? It is quite irritating. No knocking sounds from the front at all however.

21st August 2012, 22:05	#20 (permalink)
Dave84 Thread starter Car: 2009 CTR GT, Albaster Silver Join Date: 6th November 2011 Location: England, Padiham/Burnley Posts: 533 Thanks given: 25 Thanked 41 Times in 38 Posts iTrader: (0)	Didn't have time to swap the suspension just tightened everything up and re checked anything wasn't loose then greased the springs. Still the same rattling noise in the same area. Will next put the oem linear springs back on and see if that works. If this doesn't work send the rear kit back to manufacture as this noise is not acceptable it's quite embrassing.