How to buy revalved Bilstein sturts for your 3g

[Jims 86LXI HB]

Ok, first thing I now need to clear up, come about because Bilstein is now offering another strut system for the 3rd gen accord. They are offering "Touring class" struts for our cars. DO NOT buy them for revalving or to use on a lowered car. Only use the H.D's for revalving. Don't us the H.D.'s either, unless you have them revalved.

Here are the steps.

1. If you purchase the struts from www.shox.com , ask to speak to Darrell. Tell him you want Bilstein H.D. struts for the 86-89 accord part numbers are B36-1135, B36-1136, and for the rears you'll need 2 B36-1089. Tell Darrell that you want them revalved by Bilstiein and that you have the specs that Jack French at Bilstein needs. Use 300 for compression and 100 for rebound.

(*I spoke to Jack today and asked him what specs he would recommend for someone that wanted the struts a smidge tighter than the above specs provide. His answer was to go up about 10% or 330 compression and 110 on rebound, that's what I'd use for springs over 340lbs.)

If for some reason anyone want's to talk to Jack French at Bilstein he can be reached at 1-800-537-1085

Price will be the cost of the struts, still $370 I believe, plus I'm sure the shipping to Bilstein(maybe not if not sure), the revalve fee is $65 per strut and then you will have return shipping charges from Bilstein to you.

If anyone already has the struts or if they buy them off say eshocks.com you can send them to Bilstein yourself and your revalve fee is a little less at $55 per strut. Send them to:
Krupp Bilstein of America
14102 Stowe Dr.
Poway, Ca 92064
Attn: Jack French
They will only work of your struts if you pay the revalve fee in advance or use a credit card.

[doug]

thanks for the info, Jim.

[Jims 86LXI HB]

Your welcome Doug:wave:

If anyone want's to do revalved Koni's instead, first run a search.
"revalved Koni's (or Koni). Doing so will bring up previous posts on the subject.

[Hash_man_Se_i]

Thanks. I was wondering about this myself. But what do I do when sending myself? Do I just call first? and then send them with a letter or something explaining what I want?

Thanks for the info

[SteveDX89]

Are you saying it costs more per strut to revalve them if they've never been shipped out and less if you send them back?

[Sean]

out of curiosity wouldnt it make more sense to buy the struts directly from billstiens revavled or valved the way we want them ? seems silly to spend all that money on revavling brand new struts that could be ordere that way. i geuss ill have to talk to this jim french fellow. if i can get them that way how many set do you think i should stock ?

[goldyaccord]

I'm not sure if it's a good idea to stock them sean. Mainly becuase what if they need them revavled to different specs?

Ex, I get springs of a 500 front, 400 rear. I then have to order the struts to match. Some other guy may just get the stock rates from say, Ground control. Some other guy may use Sprint springs.

another one would use Dropzone's... all different spring rates.


Maybe what you could do if it's possible, is to have revalved struts set at 550, 400 rear :D having more than enuf for some members couldn't hurt right?:D

[Sean]

ill check into it. i just became a turbonetics dealer. ill see about billstien.

[zerotap]

I gots a question. I can get OEM strust for my 3rd generation accord but I am new to this stuff so I am wondering what is the difference in performance with OEM struts and lets say revalved struts to fit my car.
Ok, first thing I now need to clear up, come about because Bilstein is now offering another strut system for the 3rd gen accord. They are offering "Touring class" struts for our cars. DO NOT buy them for revalving or to use on a lowered car. Only use the H.D's for revalving. Don't us the H.D.'s either, unless you have them revalved.

Here are the steps.

1. If you purchase the struts from www.shox.com , ask to speak to Darrell. Tell him you want Bilstein H.D. struts for the 86-89 accord part numbers are B36-1135, B36-1136, and for the rears you'll need 2 B36-1089. Tell Darrell that you want them revalved by Bilstiein and that you have the specs that Jack French at Bilstein needs. Use 300 for compression and 100 for rebound.

(*I spoke to Jack today and asked him what specs he would recommend for someone that wanted the struts a smidge tighter than the above specs provide. His answer was to go up about 10% or 330 compression and 110 on rebound, that's what I'd use for springs over 340lbs.)

If for some reason anyone want's to talk to Jack French at Bilstein he can be reached at 1-800-537-1085

Price will be the cost of the struts, still $370 I believe, plus I'm sure the shipping to Bilstein(maybe not if not sure), the revalve fee is $65 per strut and then you will have return shipping charges from Bilstein to you.

If anyone already has the struts or if they buy them off say eshocks.com you can send them to Bilstein yourself and your revalve fee is a little less at $55 per strut. Send them to:
Krupp Bilstein of America
14102 Stowe Dr.
Poway, Ca 92064
Attn: Jack French
They will only work of your struts if you pay the revalve fee in advance or use a credit card.

[SteveDX89]

You want to use revalved struts when you lower your car. Lowering springs are stiffer than the stock springs. If you don't have struts that can take the abuse, i.e. stock struts, your ride will be bouncy. Your struts will also fail much quicker.

Also, an update on pricing. It seems that price for the revalve is $65 no matter what. That's what I was charged and I had the struts at home for a couple weeks and then sent them in.

[gekko]

1. If you purchase the struts from www.shox.com , ask to speak to Darrell. Tell him you want Bilstein H.D. struts for the 86-89 accord part numbers are B36-1135, B36-1136, and for the rears you'll need 2 B36-1089. Tell Darrell that you want them revalved by Bilstiein and that you have the specs that Jack French at Bilstein needs. Use 300 for compression and 100 for rebound.

(*I spoke to Jack today and asked him what specs he would recommend for someone that wanted the struts a smidge tighter than the above specs provide. His answer was to go up about 10% or 330 compression and 110 on rebound, that's what I'd use for springs over 340lbs.)





is this good specs for the H&R springs ?

[accelerator]

I'm still a little sketchy about the Bilstein revalve.... I have a set of the H.D. units with a Suspension Techniques 1.5" drop springs. They have been on the car for over 4 years. Do I still need to have the struts revalved? Will it make the ride harsher than it is now? The front is fine, but the rear seems over-stiff. I've seen this post for awhile, but I wanted to see if someone was going to ask my same question.

[racetek82]

anybody have an idea on the turn around time for getting the revalve done? thanx

[SteveDX89]

The revalve and shipping across the country took 3-4 weeks for mine.

[racetek82]

well i'm in calif. so wut about the actual time bilstein takes...minus all the shipping?

[SteveDX89]

Maybe a week or 2.

[jugglaccord17]

exactly how much are these revalved bilsteins? and what is a better cheaper strut that i can use with my new dropzone2.25 drops? where do i find info? am u screwed going the cheaper way?

[racetek82]

all the cost info is in the very first post of this thread, for all other info, please use the SEARCH button...and read through the sticky's. Takes only a few minutes and will give you all the info you need to lower your car correctly.

[P|eszczoH]

very interesting post about bilsteins, but i was making a little research and what can I say...
All 3G accord has the same rear shock absorber wich H. part number is :
52611-SE0-E11
but there are some differences in front shock absorb.
for all EX,DX,AERO EX,1600 LX or LX (carburator) it is :
51605-SE0-G05/G11 -right
51606-SE0-G05/G11 -left
for 2,0 i (injected engines) it is:
51605-SE0-G11/G33 right
51606-SE0-G11/G33 left
and for 20 i - 16 so B20 :-)) it is:
51605-SE0-G33 right
51606-SE0-G33 left

I wounder whats the difference in those original shocks :-))
any way have a nice day :-)))

[shepherd79]

the only diff in those struts is that they are designed for a little more weight. they are still not stiff enough to support the lowering springs or coilovers.

[SteveDX89]

exactly how much are these revalved bilsteins? and what is a better cheaper strut that i can use with my new dropzone2.25 drops? where do i find info? am u screwed going the cheaper way?

Do not use anything other than revalved Bilsteins for coilovers. Your ride will be mucho bouncy and you're struts will blow within months. Coilovers are just too stiff for oem replacement struts.

[standardryder435]

will the bilstiens revalved work good with arospeed coilovers?

[Bloodlust]

I recently bought bilstein rears cause I was planning on having them revalved. Im not sure if I bought the touring class ones, how can I tell if I got the right ones or not?

[epic1400cs]

very interesting post about bilsteins, but i was making a little research and what can I say...
All 3G accord has the same rear shock absorber wich H. part number is :
52611-SE0-E11
but there are some differences in front shock absorb.
for all EX,DX,AERO EX,1600 LX or LX (carburator) it is :
51605-SE0-G05/G11 -right
51606-SE0-G05/G11 -left
for 2,0 i (injected engines) it is:
51605-SE0-G11/G33 right
51606-SE0-G11/G33 left
and for 20 i - 16 so B20 :-)) it is:
51605-SE0-G33 right
51606-SE0-G33 left

I wounder whats the difference in those original shocks :-))
any way have a nice day :-)))


It is not info from Honda but I have a book about 3G Accord written by Japanese car critic published in 1986. He wrote that when the 3G are released, basic compliance of the suspension are the same among the series (sedan, hatch back, 1.8 or 2.0) due to the excellence of the double wish bone. Only the difference is that front damper from 2.0 Si (JDM model w B20 w injection. It is equivalent to 2.0i 16 in Europe) is gas damper. He did not write what kind of gas damper it is nor what type are the others but I think this is a bit believable tale.

About the part number, you might know about this but if I take 51605-SE0-G11/G33 for example, G11 is old part number and later honda changed the parts for improvement or whatever the reason and they changed to G33. So G11 and G33 are compatible but G33 must be good and new ones. I was told this from Honda Dealership mechanic in Tokyo so I am sure it is believable.

[bullard123]

Iwas thinking about getting the revalved bilsteins also. What valving should I use for Sprint 2.25'' lowering springs? I found this web site that sells them alreadly revalved. They are 170/60 valving and 255/70 valving. They have Bilstein 5125 series shocks, 5150 series Fix Reservoir and 7100 series shock. Which is better?? They also sell Comp/Mor, Edelbrock, Exp.Pro Comp, KYB, Rancho, and Tockio shocks/struts for our cars. I even seen a pair of drag racing shacks/struts for our cars.

[epic1400cs]

Sounds cool service. Which shop is it? Do you mind to put the web address here?

[bullard123]

Oh yeah its www.speedycarparts.com click on performance parts catalog enter the year,make, and model of your car and scroll down to shock absorbers.

[Accordtheory]

What valving on the bilsteins would be equivalent to the konis? Anyone know?

[w261w261]

A few months ago, before I realized this site existed, I put Eibach Pro-Kit springs and Bilstein HD struts/shocks on my '89 Se-i. Defiinitely not enough damping with the Bilsteins, especially on rebound. This was a painful discovery, because the cost of the springs/struts-shocks/installation was around $1,000. Also, because I cannot have the car sitting at the shop for two or three weeks while the struts are revalved, I must buy another set of fronts, have them sent to Bilstein, then pay to have the two front corners of the car torn apart again for the install. Sigh.

I did read the thread(s) here about revalving, etc., but since each try on this costs $200 in labor + materials, I wanted to make every attempt to get it right the 2nd time. So I figured I'd call Eibach, get the spring rate, then have a conversation with Jack French at Bilstein about my alternative. Wrong! Eibach did not return 2 phone calls to tech support, so I called Jack at Bilstein to see what he had to say. He said Eibach will not release the spring rates of their product..like this is rocket science!? Anyone so inclined could measure the damn things if they wanted to go to the trouble. Jerks. Anyway, Jack was very nice, and said that his experience with those springs would dictate a 300# rebound, and 100# compression revalve on the struts. He said that the rebound figure is always more than the compression figure, and so it appears that the numbers on the original post in this thread are reversed. He said if the struts are ordered from shox.com, one should ask for Chris. This is a different name from the original post...maybe the other fellow has left or maybe the shox.com salesperson doesn't matter.

Does anyone out there have the Eibach Pro-Kits (not the Sportline, which is a bigger drop) along with the Bilstein revalved struts? I'd sure love to hear what their experience has been before I pull the trigger again.

Also, if all goes according to plan, I will have a pair of perfectly good, 3 month old front struts that are surplus to my needs. Anyone here wants them, I'll sell them for 1/3 of what I paid.

Thanks and happy holidays to everyone. This is a great site.

Hal

[SteveDX89]

You should be fine with that valving. I think that's close to what I have on my Sprint springs which are much stiffer. I think it's a good match. There won't be any bounce to your ride and you probably will have an extremely hard time bottoming out unless you drive stupid. :)

[P|eszczoH]

Hi there Guys I'll be buying some bilsteins in a little while, and I was thinking that it will be just fine to have bilstein B6 and a 45mm drop !!
but right now I'm affraid that what You say it's true...
so when I've got this drop 45mm wich is about 1,8 inch how should I have those Bilsteins B6 revalved ?

Only one sugestions, we've got very bumpy roads in poland, and 45mm drop is a less popular than 30mm, and it is also as much as I can handle to go down.

please help :]

[SteveDX89]

You'll need to have them revalved. The only springs that should be used with Bilsteins without revalving are stock springs. All the other springs are too stiff.

[P|eszczoH]

Ok, I understand that,

My friend has a Daewoo Lanos droped 30mm with bilsteins and he says it's to soft, so I see that what You say it's true.

My question is how much ? or
to what specification should I have them revalved ?

[SteveDX89]

You will have to call Bilstein and tell them you want them revalved. They will ask you for your spring rates. They will determine what the revalve needs to be based on that. It will cost $65 (US) per strut to be revalved.

[P|eszczoH]

You will have to call Bilstein and tell them you want them revalved. They will ask you for your spring rates.

there is one problem I know only how much my car is dropped.
I dont know the spring rates.
This car was slammed in 1991 !! with Dalkmann DA10 (german) springs.

so I have to have my bilsteins revalved for an eye :[

[thegreatdane]

You might as well buy yourself a new set of springs along with the bilsteins. Then you'll know what the spring rate is and you'll have yourself a set of fresh springs. Most likely your current springs are already worn out or close to wear out because of their age. 13 years is a lot for a set of springs, especially if they're not top quality.

[P|eszczoH]

Maybe, but no money for all of those and riding a car with stock shocks and sport springs is like dangerous.
I don't think that those springs are worn out, You can find many other cars here older than CA5. Those spring are not rusted, they are white and You can even read the producer and model so I think they are not so bad- at least its a good sign after 13 years...
Also they did ride in Germany, where roads are really good and You know that.
But if I leave it as it is they will worn out quickly in Poland.

I think that for a set of Eibach or H&R and set of Bilsteins I could buy next Aerodeck :-)

[SteveDX89]

I would go with 300 compression, 100 rebound in that case. That seems to be the popular number.

[P|eszczoH]

I would go with 300 compression, 100 rebound in that case. That seems to be the popular number.

Ok thanks, When I get them I will post an info how does it works. :-)

[danronian]

Iwas thinking about getting the revalved bilsteins also. What valving should I use for Sprint 2.25'' lowering springs? I found this web site that sells them alreadly revalved. They are 170/60 valving and 255/70 valving. They have Bilstein 5125 series shocks, 5150 series Fix Reservoir and 7100 series shock. Which is better?? They also sell Comp/Mor, Edelbrock, Exp.Pro Comp, KYB, Rancho, and Tockio shocks/struts for our cars. I even seen a pair of drag racing shacks/struts for our cars.
Well I checked today and there is nothing on there about getting struts revalved and they no longer carry Bilsteins!

[w261w261]

This is a link to another thread where I describe my results of buying Eibach 1" drop and revalved Bilsteins. http://www.3geez.com/showthread.php?t=43258

[FyreDaug]

Just curious, what are the specs of the strut before it gets revalved?

And are we revalving to make them stiffer? On a 1.4" drop is that too much for these from the factory?

[P|eszczoH]

Nobody knows what are the specs.

[w261w261]

< Just curious, what are the specs of the strut before it gets revalved?
And are we revalving to make them stiffer? On a 1.4" drop is that too much for these from the factory?>

Factory Bilstein specs are 46 compression, 195 rebound. That is matched to the Honda OEM springs, so if you install higher-rate springs without revalving, things will be very unpleasant, just bouncing around like worn-out shocks would. That's what it seemed like to me, in any case. I've read here that eventually that will cause the struts to blow out, but I have no personal experience.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, Jack French at Bilstein suggested 100/300 for my 1" drop Eibachs, but that's still not enough (This was front end only, the Bilsteins as originally delivered work fine in the rear). What happens on a bump is an initial compression, then a rebound, then another (much smaller) compression and rebound. Those secondary oscillations may not seem like much, but in the middle of a corner at speed, if you hit a bump, you don't want them. Not to mention that by the time you've spent the money for new springs/struts, you want something that exceeds the factory performance.

I've delayed pulling the trigger on the next try because of pressures elsewhere and the unsettled feeling that I am shooting in the dark, but am leaning to a small increase over my present settings, to maybe 115/325. Too little, and there's that secondary bounce, too much, and you feel like you have rocks in your suspension. I had a BMW 3.0 CS coupe years ago that had been modified with cut springs and Bilsteins, and they had gone overboard with the shocks. Cornered like on rails, but rode like a coal cart. Not to mention it busted out the top of the suspension towers in the rear.

[FyreDaug]

Does anyone know the specs of Koni reds? compression/rebound?

Before I go and spend all my poor person's money on my suspension, I wanna make sure its the best I can do with my money. If I can ever find a set of koni reds I should be set.

[FyreDaug]

Price will be the cost of the struts, still $370 I believe, plus I'm sure the shipping to Bilstein(maybe not if not sure), the revalve fee is $65 per strut and then you will have return shipping charges from Bilstein to you.

Was that for all 4 in USD?

[P|eszczoH]

Before I go and spend all my poor person's money on my suspension, I wanna make sure its the best I can do with my money. If I can ever find a set of koni reds I should be set.

Bilstein are the best - why ? when they'll worn out You can have them rebuild for cheap. When Konis are worn out You throw it out and buy another set for much more $$.

[keruhas184]

Konis have lifetime warranty. If they go bad on you or wear out, Koni will give you a free replacement. BTW, I have front Konis for sale in the marketplace.

[P|eszczoH]

Konis have lifetime warranty. If they go bad on you or wear out, Koni will give you a free replacement. BTW, I have front Konis for sale in the marketplace.

Myabe if they go bad they will, but I dont believe that they respond to worn out - which is a natural thing.
also Life time usually means that this is about 5 years warranty after they stop to produce this product.

[w261w261]

<Was that for all 4 in USD?>

The rears are shocks, the fronts are struts. I can't find my invoice from April of last year, but I think that the rears were the same price as the fronts. I hadn't discovered this site yet, so I didn't know about the need to revalve them. After spending about $100/corner for the spring/strut install, it was like driving a pogo stick. So in March of this year, I ordered two more front struts, and had them sent over to Bilstein to be revalved. I got them from Shox.com, which is Anderson & Stiehle, Inc. in El Cajon, CA (619-444-9766). They are down the street from Bilstein, so someone just dropped them off to be revalved, to the tune of $75.00 each. Freight was $20.00, for a total of $356.00. I think on the original purchase, the freight was free, maybe because I spent a certain amount of money. I just wish they were adjustable.

[AZmike]

Our cars have shocks, not struts on all four corners. Cars with struts have only a lower control arm and use the damper shaft to locate the suspension. Our cars have both upper and lower control arms front and rear to locate the suspension.

[w261w261]

<Our cars have shocks, not struts on all four corners. Cars with struts have only a lower control arm and use the damper shaft to locate the suspension. Our cars have both upper and lower control arms front and rear to locate the suspension>

I've always been hazy on the difference between shocks and struts. Yours is the first good explanation I've heard, and I have asked before (not on this site). What would be the advantage of a suspension that uses struts, less weight? Do most current cars have upper and lower control arms?

Thx

[AZmike]

Usings struts is usually cheaper to build and maintain (fewer balljoints and bushings), lighter, and easier to package. Using upper and lower control arms allows a greater degree of tuning in the design of the suspension geometry, making it possible to position the roll center and have the ability to determine how the camber will change with chassis roll among other things.

It seems that the most common setup on modern cars is struts for the front and multilink (an improved version of upper and lower control arms) for the rear. Honda tends to use upper and lower control arms on most of their cars for the front (only the Civic doesn't anymore iirc). Toyota seems to really like struts and seems to usually use tham on all four corners.

[w261w261]

OK, after 3 tries I've got it right. I originally ordered a set of Eibach Pro-Kit springs (1 inch drop), and a full set of Bilstein shocks. I didn't know the front Bilsteins had to be revalved (the rears are fine). Upon installation, the front of the car pogo-sticked badly, so I ordered another set of front Bilsteins, and on the advice of Jack French there, had them revalved to 100 compression, 300 rebound (the original specs for them are 46/195). This +almost+ solved the bouncing, but not quite. After the original deflection, the car wouldn't come back as quickly as I liked, but it was very close. So I sent off the original pair and had them revalved to 110/340 (about a 10% increase over try #2)). Just got them on today, and this IS the setup for Eibach/Bilsteins. Any firmer on the shocks, and the ride would be too harsh with no gain.

To me, the extra 10% was worth spending the $65 per shock revalve charge + about $28 shipping + $100 to install. But others could probably live with the 100/300 shocks. I now have them as surplus. they're practically new, as they were on my car about 2 months. Anyone interested let me know.

ps: This has been a real educational experience for me. I had no idea about how important it was for the springs and the shocks to be matched correctly. I have had cars that others had modified in this way, and in retrospect, I think that most of my shocks were too firm, unnecessarily so. What you want is the initial deflection to come back and stop evenly, no more, no less. The problem is, without adjustable shocks, the process of getting to the optimal setup is expensive and time-consuming. I personally think the site here should come up with a list of shock/spring combos that have been tried and shown to be perfectly matched. That way the next guy down the line won't have to reinvent the wheel.