Bilstein B4 dampers fitted - The Difference!!

[cmr2payne]

where's best place to get the B4's from ?

[850Chris]

Here;

http://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/...oducts_id=7736

[2.4TSE]

+1 for the B4s

See my review of four different struts (albeit on a 2003 V70) here: http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=234785

[volare]

Thanks for the info Welton.

I'm not sure of the spec of a T5. Are you running 18" wheels and "dynamic" chassis?

I'm quite desperate to improve the ride of my V50 Sport (with 18" wheels etc). B4s look like one of the cheaper options.

[Welton]

All T5's have the dynamic chassis which I believe meant slightly lower and uprated springs. I'm running 17" standard wheels.

I firmly believe that whatever the standard shocks were from the factory that they were probably ok for the first 50K miles and after that completely shagged. You would not believe the difference the B4's made to mine, they're pretty cheap for what you get although I guess as a job quite labour intensive especially the fronts.

I was charged 8 hours labour to do: discs & pads on all four corners, all four dampers, new drop links and a replacement CV boot involving draining the gearbox oil etc. in theory the dampers alone should be about 4 hours I guess.

[BigBert]

Excuse the newbie post.



Did these lower the car any or standard ride height?

[Welton]

The B4's don't change the ride height (only the springs dictate the height) although the front did raise slightly (about 5 to 10mm?) as the previous dampers were so knackered. I was more than happy with this as the car now looks better instead of being nose-heavy and the handling is now more balanced.

[volare]

Thanks for your reply, Welton. Bit late following up - been away.

Still considering B4s, but......with 18" wheels the rear OEM dampers are fitted with a longer bump stop - about 5mm - because of the bigger overall diameter. I know the blurb for the B4s says "fits all models" and maybe it's not too important. However, did yours come with any (extra) bump stops? If not, maybe I have to buy them separately. Or maybe I can just ignore it. Apologies for the pestering and thanks for any info.

[Welton]

No there were no extra bump stops supplied, I can't see why this would be a problem for you anyway, I'd just reuse the existing ones.

[volare]

Doh! Of course.

Thanks