Help me decide: Bilsteins/OEM or Eibach/Bilsteins on 18/19"

[Hapa88]

So I've been going back and forth and can't seem to decide what to do. I was hoping people had some pictures to show me the difference. I just got my 18/19" wheel tire combo installed last night and I have Eibachs and Bilsteins to install on Saturday. I want to lower as little as possible, but I don't want it to have that 4x4 look it has now with the stock Shocks/springs.

The dilemma I'm having is that I wonder if the 7/8" of the Bilsteins lower perch would be enough of a lowering for the 18/19" wheels to look right.

Or should I go the Bilstein OEM height with the Eibach lowering (~1.25")? By keeping the OEM springs, I can sell the unused Eibachs and get back some money :smile: . Anyone have pictures of the different combos? I'm mainly looking for pictures of Bilsteins on the lower perch.

Here's a picture of the car now.

And here's a photoshop lowering job I did. Will the Bilsteins make it look like this? Or is this too lower than the Bilsteins will go?

 

[NRG]

Basically, from 2 inch gap to 1 inch gap.

Before with gap:

After with gap:

 

[91 X]

this is my old NSX :frown: on Bilsteins/OEM lower perch, but on 17/18 combo...Not too low, not too high....just right, looks good and rides nice :biggrin:



damn...I miss this car!!!

 

[goldNSX]

Depending on your wheels offset, Eibach and Bilstein on the lower may too low. The Eibachs are softer than OEM springs initially which gives you back some comfort. My main reason against Eibach and lower perch is that you have to watch out for every bump in the road.

 

[Hapa88]

Depending on your wheels offset, Eibach and Bilstein on the lower may too low. The Eibachs are softer than OEM springs initially which gives you back some comfort. My main reason against Eibach and lower perch is that you have to watch out for every bump in the road.

Thanks, I think you misread my question. I asked about the Eibach drop with the Bilstein at OEM height. Basically I was comparing the Bilstein lower perch/OEM spring drop verses the Eibach spring drop.

 

[D'Ecosse]

You may find a better selection of comparative pics if you just look for stock OEM shox with Eibachs & Bilsteins with stock OEM springs on bottom perch, since these are essentially the same conditions you are looking at
(Bilstein with Eibach on top perch = OEM shock with Eibach)

 

[Hapa88]

Updated! Picture of my car for reference. What do you guys think would be the best bet? I have both the Eibachs and the Bilsteins in my posession. And I will be putting the Bilsteins on for SURE. Just trying to decide if I want to set it to the lower perch with the OEM springs or the Higher perch with the Eibachs.

I figured if I just used the Bilsteins, I could sell the Eibachs and get some money back.

 

[SilverOne]

pending on what you're looking for, mainly looks or performance? For looks, I really like the OEM spring/Bilstein on lower setting. Can't speak from handling as I've never driven one with this combo. Poohbear had this before i think on the black car. My concern with this setup is you can only drive on straight roads, probably need to replace front lip every 2 weeks

I have the eibach/Bilstein combo, personally it handles well. Look wise, it's just about ~.5' higher than above. But, less concern for going up driveways.

 

[NRG]

Happa,

With Bilstein only on lower perch, you'll get 2 fingers gap. If you want zero fingers gap based on your pictures, then you'll probably want to go the other route with lower perch on Bilstein and Eibach. However, you should expect scratches and rubbing underneath your car.

My experience with Bilstein on lower perch with stock shock, the ride is a LITTLE bit sensitive vs. stock height. I'm able to drive the car down/up the driveway without any rubbing but I have to at a certain angle. If not, then I'll be hitting my front.

Good luck!

 

[DarthMaul]

If you get Eibach.. why not get Koni.. I think the Koni's ride is incredible. All my passengers were surprise how well the ride quality was.

Also the plus side is that you can adjust the firmness for tuning your balance.

 

[Hapa88]

pending on what you're looking for, mainly looks or performance? For looks, I really like the OEM spring/Bilstein on lower setting. Can't speak from handling as I've never driven one with this combo. Poohbear had this before i think on the black car. My concern with this setup is you can only drive on straight roads, probably need to replace front lip every 2 weeks

I have the eibach/Bilstein combo, personally it handles well. Look wise, it's just about ~.5' higher than above. But, less concern for going up driveways.

I'm really confused because this is completely backwards from what I understand. The OEM spring/Bilstein on lower setting lowers the car about 7/8" to 1". The Eibach/Bilstein on the higher perch is supposed to lower the car 1.25". In short, the Eibachs would be lower than the Bilsteins and it would thus be harder to go up driveways with the Eibachs.

 

[goldNSX]

IMO it really doesn't matter if you go with Eibach/Bilstein/upper or OEM/Bilstein/lower as ride height is concerned. I've seen both and can't see a difference. Again, have a look at the offset of your wheels as far as rubbing is concerned. IMO steering response is poorer but comfort is higher with the Eibachs as they have an lower initial spring rate. You might like it or not. With 18/19 wheels it safes you some comfort.

regards,
Thomas

 

[spartan2-3]

If you want it for the lower look, I would have gone with H&R instead of Eibachs.

H&R stance is too agressive for me. I personally love the feel and looks of the Eibachs.

Your photoshop NSX looks more like an H&R rather than Eibachs.

good luck

 

[SilverOne]

I'm really confused because this is completely backwards from what I understand. The OEM spring/Bilstein on lower setting lowers the car about 7/8" to 1". The Eibach/Bilstein on the higher perch is supposed to lower the car 1.25". In short, the Eibachs would be lower than the Bilsteins and it would thus be harder to go up driveways with the Eibachs.

My bad.., I think I got it confused myself. 3 options with Eibach/Bilstein

1) Eibach/Bilstein on lower perch, biggest drop, serious scrapping.
2) Eibach/Bilstein on higher perch, my setup, handles well.
3) OEM spring/Bilstein on lower perch, simlar to 2). Looks good, and if you're thinking of saving the cost of Eibach. This is an option.

*note to self, don't do any suspention work or recommendation on a late friday night

 

[nsxtasy]

What do you guys think would be the best bet? I have both the Eibachs and the Bilsteins in my posession. And I will be putting the Bilsteins on for SURE. Just trying to decide if I want to set it to the lower perch with the OEM springs or the Higher perch with the Eibachs.

I figured if I just used the Bilsteins, I could sell the Eibachs and get some money back.

Well, you could install the Bilsteins on the lower perch with the OEM springs, and see how you like it. If you're happy with it, then sell the Eibachs, in which case you're done and you get the money back from their sale. If you're not, you could then install the Eibachs and switch the Bilsteins to the higher perch.

Keep in mind that the difference in ride height between the two options you're considering is fairly small (lowering 7/8" vs 1 1/4")...

 

[Litespeeds]

Here is my car with Bilstein's set on the lower spring perch and stock springs. I also added some aftermarket swaybars for improved handling.

 

[whiteNSXs]

Here is my car with Bilsteins on lower perch and oem springs. The lower perch is 3/4 inch lower than the stock perch setting. My tires are 225/40/17 and 275/35/18
Steve

 

[Litespeeds]

The only thing that I need to warn people about when you set the Bilsteins to the lower spring perch setting when you run wide tires in the back or wheels with a more positive offset, the spring perch plate will actually touch the side of the tire and will cut into it slightly.

I am also running 18x10 wheels with an offset of +44 if I remember correctly. I had 275/35/18 Bridgestone S-02 tires and those did get cut a little on the sidewall. I now switched over to 265/35/18 tires and they clear perfectly.

When you look inside where the spring perch plate is at, it is around 3/16" or less from the tire but I guess when you take hard turns with the car, the tire or suspension flexes enough for the tire to touch that plate.

For those who are running 18x10 with 275/35/18 tires, you should check the inside sidewall of your tires to see if you have this problem or not. I think if your wheel offset is correct, you should be ok but better safe than sorry.

 

[nsxtasy]

For those who are running 18x10 with 275/35/18 tires, you should check the inside sidewall of your tires to see if you have this problem or not. I think if your wheel offset is correct, you should be ok but better safe than sorry.

Very helpful advice. Thanks for posting!

 

[Hapa88]

Thanks everyone for the post. I just got back this weekend and decided just to run the Bilsteins on the lower perch. Look and drive is just about perfect. Looking at it now, I think the extra 1/4" drop would have been nice, but not enough to justify me another $150 to have them pull everything out again and have it redone. Pictures to come soon!

 

[bizman]

Did you decide to go with bilstein shocks just to lower it or did the shocks need replacing? Does anybody know if there is a way to check shocks other than a blown shock ie. leaks? I was going to install some eibach's in the next few weeks and was wondering if my shocks are OK. Car has 58,000 miles and as far as I know the shocks are origional.

 

[Hapa88]

Did you decide to go with bilstein shocks just to lower it or did the shocks need replacing? Does anybody know if there is a way to check shocks other than a blown shock ie. leaks? I was going to install some eibach's in the next few weeks and was wondering if my shocks are OK. Car has 58,000 miles and as far as I know the shocks are origional.

I think I remember NSXtasy writing somewhere that the stocks shocks generally start to degrade in performance by 50,000 miles. I figured that the original shocks are now 14 years old and have close to 60,000 miles on them and that replacing them was imminent. Replacing them with the highly recommend, lifetime warranted Bilsteins just seem to make sense, plus I was looking for the lower stance.

 

[Bobolinski]

this is my old NSX :frown: on Bilsteins/OEM lower perch, but on 17/18 combo...Not too low, not too high....just right, looks good and rides nice :biggrin:



damn...I miss this car!!!

Well when I had my 95 Mdn P years ago I had it lowered with a 18/18 setup. I ripped up 3 front valences before returning to stock. Your car looks awesome stock height. Maybe some Stacy or WW side-skirts to give lower look. I will have my new 18/19s in next couple of weeks and I wll not lower my 05. When you tear up the front plastic, order the 97+ piece to replace it. It has a slightly better look. Hell go ahead lower it its only plastic.

 

[nsxtasy]

I think I remember NSXtasy writing somewhere that the stocks shocks generally start to degrade in performance by 50,000 miles.

Mine did; the car's handling just didn't feel quite as razor-sharp at that point as when it was new. But keep in mind that over 8,000 of those miles were actual track miles. I don't know whether the handling would necessarily degrade quite as quickly in a car without as much track usage as mine.

Glad it all worked out for you...

 

[Onsoku]

this is my old NSX :frown: on Bilsteins/OEM lower perch, but on 17/18 combo...Not too low, not too high....just right, looks good and rides nice :biggrin:





damn...I miss this car!!!

Dude, I'll let you take it for a spin this week, I'll be up there on Thursday.