RE: KYB vs Bilstein At the chance I'll start a 'shock flame war' here I'm going to expand on my previous comment. When I acquired my '90 Westy seven years ago I immediately ordered and had installed a set of new KYBs. Drove it that way for four years but really really didn't like the harsh behavior on anything but the smoothest of pavement. So I ordered Bilsteins for the front and had them installed. Then took off from Washington headed to Hollister to attend SDM 2006 (but in a 2wd, just there to watch). When I got to Santa Cruz I had Volks Cafe install the rear Bilsteins, I liked what the Bilsteins in front were doing that much. A few miles down the road I grabbed the FRS walkie talkie and told my traveling partner (in his '87 Westy) "I've got a true road cruiser" the difference was that great for me. Last spring I had installed the Van-Cafe/Syncro Org 2wd springs. Yesterday I returned from a near 4,200 mile three week trip and I couldn't be happier with the ride and handling (on Nokian Hakka CS tires, 185R14s). The Bilsteins are a little soft in the initial travel, you will feel a little more roll/sway going into a turn than with the KYBs, but they stop at the right point, give a great feel and sense of control. To me the Bilsteins defiantly fell more 'sure footed' especially on anything other than a perfect, smooth road. I don't doubt that there is a shock setup out there that may be better if your are willing to pay the premium for essentially custom shocks but for now I'm a happy camper. |
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.