Custom Re-Valved Bilstein Struts

TL;DR - What does Bilstein need from me to revalve a damper for use with a new (higher) spring rate?

I'm still going back and forth on the suspension setup for my BMW 318ti, and have started to hone in on Bilstein struts with higher rate springs. It seems like the magic number for spring rate is around 500 lb/in front and rear. I found a set of rear Bilstein B8 (sport) that have been revalved for use with 500 lb/in springs on the cheap, but now I need to source some fronts to match.

Bilstein has a listing of their revalve prices here. Seems reasonable to me. But what do they need from me to properly do the job? Obviously, I'd tell them the vehicle, spring rate, and usage (road course)... do they need ride heights or weights? I don't have those yet, as the car is still very much NOT track gutted yet.

Anyone done this before?

You may actually need to provide numbers for the compression and rebound valving, I'm not sure whether they'll figure them out for you based on your parameters or not.

When I got mine done I told them what I was using them for, vehicle rate, spring rate etc. Also referenced another specific customer that they revalved shocks for that had a similar application as mine. They said that was more than enough info to do them.

They are terrible now, not at all what I was hoping for. I haven't driven the car much since then.

I was never able to get a dyno chart from them after the revalve so no idea what exactly they did.

In reply to collinskl1:

Are you currently bottoming out your suspension based on the current setup?

If not I'm curious as to why you want to go stiffer if not for transition and to create rotation via instability as used in autocross.

The current setup is very much used up OEM. I'm turning the car into a track tool, so I want stiffer springs and dampers that can control the rates.

I haven't had this car on track, but my research yields the 500 lb/in number as a good setup. I don't want to spend money or time to get the car back in usable condition to get an OEM baseline, though in an ideal world that is what I would do.

Are there any companies that deal specifically with BMWs that can revalve Bilsteins? They may have a better idea of what will work well for the application.

Maybe check with Vorshlag?

if you're turning it into a track tool, cut the crap and get proper coilovers

In reply to captdownshift:

So that setup is on one side of the coin.

The other side is a lower price of entry setup that can perform at a close level.

This car will probably end up a Lemons racer eventually, and that coilover setup won't fly there.

collinskl1 wrote: In reply to captdownshift: So that setup is on one side of the coin. The other side is a lower price of entry setup that can perform at a close level. This car will probably end up a Lemons racer eventually, and that coilover setup won't fly there.

Ground Controls and Konis fly. The "stage 2" setup with adjustable camber wouldn't. Motion Controls certainly wouldn't. The ability to change spring rates easier with the GC setup is worth it.

I had Bilsteins on a VW Improved Touring race car years ago. I think I had mine revalved by Trusports (sp?). The car didn't bottom out before, but I felt there was some control to be gained. First race with the newly done shocks was a learning experience. The rear of the car was better behaved through a kink and I actually hit the limiter after a couple of laps, where that had never been an issue before. The car was more stable and felt planted, if that makes sense. I told Trusports the type of car, spring rates on it, and the corner weights. They valved for a range around where I had the springs. It was well worth the money IMHO.

I have bilstein coilovers on a Lemons car. Of course they were only $100 used. Really should have hidden them from the team and put them on my car.

You don't want square rates on that car. Motion ratio in the back is poor. It's basically an E30 with an E36 body.

I ran something like 550/700 F/R on my swap car, and 300/425 on my 318is.

I had the Bilstein crew rebuild and revalve a set of Bilstein's for El Rabbito. They were really easy to deal with. I was moving from stock rates to 450F 500R rates and they came up with a great solution on rebound and dampening at 125 each including a full rebuild. The Bilsteins were barely used and ancient out of a parts car I bought at 15 years old. Really pleased with the Bilstein folks and their service as they also include ddyno results and reccomendations.