The new B16 kit offers OEM levels of fit, finish and ride quality, coupled with significant improvements in handling. Everything included in the kit has been designed and produced entirely in-house in Bilstein’s cutting-edge German production facilities.

Thanks to precision-machined threaded steel bodies, the Bilstein kits offer 20mm of ride height adjustment from a lower starting point, which equates to a drop of between -30mm and -50mm. This is regarded by most engineers to be the most that it is possible to lower a vehicle before handling becomes adversely affect and safety is compromised.

The B16 kit represents the pinnacle of suspension performance, allowing the owner to fine-tune the ride height and stance to suit their own needs. Each damper unit has nine steps of adjustment, with bump and rebound being changed together in a carefully pre-set ratio to ensure that the car retains impeccable manners. With a damping range that offers either limo smoothness, track control or indeed, anything in-between, the B16 kit truly allows you to have two cars in one.

As with all Bilstein performance products, this kit has been extensively proven. Not only in Bilstein’s extensive laboratory set-up, but more importantly, at the Papenburg test facility, where Bilstein have their unparalleled research centre. Here, both kits were ‘shaken down’ by real, live test drivers, to ensure that these upgrades don’t just work well in a computer simulation, but can offer ride quality and peerless handling whether fully loaded or on the poorest of surfaces.

As you might expect from the World’s leading original equipment manufacturer, both kits carry full TUV approval and 12 months warranty. The complete B16 is priced at £1550.00 + VAT.

The new kit has been designed to be fully compatible with all versions of Nissan’s latest ‘Godzilla’ and is a true ‘plug and play’ fitment, integrating with all factory electronics. As you would expect from this talented trio, handling ability has been taken up several notches, but without sacrificing ride comfort. In fact, thanks to the vastly superior internals of the damper unit, ride quality is significantly improved, particularly on cars still wearing ‘Run Flat’ tyres.

Offering enhanced body control, allied to an impressively aggressive stance and rake change, the Litchfield kit, once correctly fitted and aligned, will massively reduce the car’s natural propensity to understeer, whilst simultaneously transforming steering feel and accuracy. The lower stance and superior surface damping not only appeal visually and dynamically, but also offer increased high-speed stability on both road and track.

The kit is a true technical tour de force, thanks to Litchfield unparalleled access to both Eibach and Bilstein’s OEM development teams. The damper units are produced to OEM standard, but feature a unique custom shim stack and revised piston design, developed in conjunction with Litchfield’s engineers. This offers the driver significant improvements over the factory dampers, with low speed ride comfort being utterly transformed with much more compliance. As one would expect from Nissan’s original supplier, the dampers retain all Comfort, Normal and Race modes.

The springs have been through the same extensive development process, with the R&D being undertaken by the same design team that is responsible for Eibach’s F1 and WRC programmes. The front springs have been developed from a specification derived from the German firm’s multiple title-winning NASCAR range, whereas the rears have been wound in Eibach’s Special Projects division as a bespoke item.

The damper bodies have been finished at Bilstein’s Ennepetal factory in a hard wearing silver powder coat finish and the Eibach springs have been pre-stressed, shot peened and then electrostatically powder-coated in the motorsport ‘Himmelblau’ hue.

Rear Anti Roll Bar

Although the new spring and damper kit can be fitted in isolation, owners looking for the ultimate GT-R package will also opt for Litchfield’s custom rear anti-roll bar set up. Once again, this has been produced exclusively for Litchfield, by Eibach, and benefits from extensive testing in all manner of road and track conditions. The bar features innovative new geometry developed by Litchfield’s engineers and is fully adjustable with 5 individual settings to allow owners to set the car up to suit prevailing weather or track conditions – or indeed, personal preference.

The thicker rear bar reduces body roll through increased design stiffness over the OEM part. Developed on Eibach’s motorsport production line, they are manufactured from cold-formed, high-strength aircraft-grade steel for precision performance, and finished with the long lasting ‘Himmelblau’ powder coat finish to match the springs. The anti-roll bar comes complete with all new bushes to further improve response and precision.

The Litchfield Kit has taken over 12 months of development, including comprehensive back to back testing of every model year of GTR as well as comparisons against the leading aftermarket solutions.  This ensures all the GTR’s suspension control systems work perfectly and the long term reliability is as good as the original dampers. The kit benefits from a comprehensive 2 year warranty on all components.

The Litchfield GT-R kit offers a more ‘analogue’ link between the steering and the driver, increasing driver confidence, increasing turn-in, reducing understeer and creating a more stable high-speed chassis, particularly over undulating surfaces. Add in the ability to tailor the car to suit driver tastes and makes a compelling package at a very reasonable £2,995 + VAT.

No GTR is complete without it. Please contact www.litchfieldimports.co.uk or call 01684 850999 for more details.

In standard form the car is finely balanced and a brilliant drive, but for those looking to achieve the ultimate in pin-point handling, without upsetting the Suzuki’s superb road manners, Eibach have released a selection of chassis upgrades to endow the Kizashi with unparalleled handling. This is achieved without inducing harshness or spoiling the car’s balance.

The new Eibach Pro-Kit lowers the car by around 20mm and offers a drastically improved stance, better turn-in and lower centre of gravity for decisive direction changes. Working in harmony with the standard dampers, the Pro-Kit rides at almost factory comfort levels, truly offering the best of both worlds. These are priced at £130.87+ VAT.

For more information on the Eibach range of chassis enhancements, please call 01455 285851 or click to www.eibach.com

Pro-Kit ‘Dynamic Benefits’

·         Lowered ride height, more sporty / aggressive appearance

·         Lower centre of gravity, therefore less body roll during cornering

·         Improved braking and accelerating, due to reduced weight transfer between axles (nose diving under braking and squatting under acceleration) – maintaining tyre contact load

·         Improved cornering grip and steering feel

·         Ride comfort preserved whist still improving the vehicle handling (progressively wound)

Pro-Kit ‘Quality benefits’     

·         Full TUV accreditation

·         Industry leading tolerances on spring rate and dimensions

·         Stress relieved, Pre-Set and shot peened – eliminating spring ‘sag’ and vastly improving fatigue life

·         Industry leading corrosion protection – double layered phosphate and electrostatic epoxy powered coated

·         Same high quality spring steel as used in Eibach’s F1 springs!

Not only will the damper giant be unveiling several new products at the show, but will also be showcasing its partnerships with leading race teams/tuners and OEMs. The cars confirmed for the stand will be an Audi TT, complete with the company’s top-of-the-range BILSTEIN B16 adjustable coilover package and to add a dash of British style amongst the finest German engineering, a tuned Jaguar XK-RS from the specialist Jaguar tuner, Spires. This car boasts the latest CATS-compatible BILSTEIN B6 Monotube damper kit, complete with custom-specified Eibach ERS race springs.

As the OEM supplier to the latest Nissan GTR (R35), it comes as little surprise to find that, along with technical partners Eibach Springs, BILSTEIN will also be exhibiting a highly-tuned car from leading JDM specialist and tuner, Litchfield Imports. This car will also be demonstrating the BILSTEIN B6 DampTronic system, which allows the driver to adjust the car’s damping characteristics ‘on the fly’ in response to driving style or changing ambient conditions.

Commenting on the stand, UK sales manager, Aaron Quilter said. ‘The whole team are very much looking forward to ASI 2012. Not only do we have some genuinely exciting new products to show, but also some superb cars to present them with. We very much hope to see all of our industry friends, old and new, there over the two trade days.’

The BILSTEIN stand will be in the Engineering Hall in booth number E720. Please do stop by and take a look.

For more information, please click to www.bilstein.de or call BILSTEIN UK on 0116 247 8930.

In all, the Dutch manufacturer has created some twelve different windings to account for the differing weights and characteristics of the entire range. Also, varying degrees of lowering are available, ranging from 40mm/40mm front/rear through to a more aggressive 70mm/60mm on certain models. The much vaunted M3 version has a unique 30/20mm application.

In each case, the springs have been fully TUV approved and are optimised to work perfectly with the OEM damper set-up. By lowering the car, the Cobra kit endows the recipient Beemer with a superb stance, accentuating its lines and enhancing the sporting nature of the car further still.

Handling is dramatically improved thanks to the lower centre of gravity, and thanks to a careful choice of spring rate, ride quality is hardly affected. In addition, the Cobra springs are shot peened pre-fatigued and heat-treated, before being zinc plated and powder-coated to protect them against the elements. This attention to detail is backed by Cobra’s class leading 5 year warranty.

Kits are available for all and petrol and diesel variants. Prices start from £114.29 + VAT for a set of 4 springs.

For more details please click to www.cobra-suspension.com or call the team on 01530 517920.

This stunningly engineered suspension solution has been designed for both road and racing use and offers an unparalleled balance between track performance and road usability. Both bump and rebound settings can be finely adjusted by race-quality thumbwheels, distinctly, quickly and precisely with no need for specialist tools. Initial fitments will be available from spring 2012 and will cover the VW Golf 6, BMW M3 (E46), BMW M3 (E36) and Porsche 911 GT2/GT3 (997). Other fitments for core tuner and track cars are expected to follow throughout the year 2013.

The BILSTEIN CSC Clubsport coilover suspension incorporates high-grade, OEM and racing quality components and can lower the front and rear of the vehicle between 30 and 55 mm, to suit track conditions or personal preferences. The thumbwheels offer ten levels of rapid and precise bump and rebound, with positive detents to allow the user to ‘feel’ each stage of adjustment. BILSTEIN took the active decision to make these units with an internal reservoir design in order to further reduce the weight of the unit, as well as increasing under-arch clearance for aftermarket wheel and tyre combinations.

Don’t be fooled by the full TÜV approval however, this is a true race-ready kit, which can be ordered with the optional extras of ultra-lightweight aluminium support bearings from BILSTEIN. For those spending more time on track than on Her Majesty’s Highway, BILSTEIN Motorsport can also optimise the damper and spring characteristics to make the recipient vehicle podium-ready.

“The BILSTEIN CSC Clubsport is ideal for sports drivers who want to drive on normal roads but who are also interested in taking their car to its limits on the racing track. Aimed primarily at smaller racing teams taking part in the VLN or the 24 Hours Nürburgring, this suspension represents a cheaper alternative to the BILSTEIN MDS motor sports suspension,” explains Thorsten Schwippert, Director of Sales and Marketing at ThyssenKrupp BILSTEIN Tuning GmbH. “The outstanding performance of this exclusive Clubsport suspension unit stems from the intensive trials we carried out on the Nordschleife and from endurance tests performed at the Papenburg Test Centre.”

The Clubsport suspension will initially be available from spring 2012 for the VW Golf 6, BMW M3 (E46), BMW M3 (E36) and Porsche 911 GT2/GT3 (997). Applications for the BMW M3 (E92), BMW 1 and 3 Series (E87-92), Porsche 911 (1970 to 1989) and Mitsubishi EVO 8, 9 and 10 will then follow in spring 2013. Prices have yet to be confirmed.

For more information, please click to www.bilstein.de or call BILSTEIN UK on 0116 247 8930.

The Eibach kit enjoys several benefits over its competitors, not least in the fact that it weighs in at a whopping 20% less than the part it replaces, whilst offering significantly improved clearance for wider aftermarket wheels and tyres, or when running a softer spring set-up. The parts also enjoy greater engineering integrity than the vast majority of aftermarket offerings, thanks to the brackets being formed from one single piece of high-quality steel, rather than being welded assemblies.

Due to its patented design, this is the only 350Z arm that offers a substantial amount of positive camber change combined with substantial degrees of castor adjustment. There is more than enough camber and caster change to correct cars that have been lowered, or for vehicles used in drifting and racing.

Installed by itself, the control arm provides ±1.5° of camber and ±1° of caster. On very heavily lowered vehicles, too much negative camber can actually reduce road-holding, so the Eibach kit can be fitted with the optional fixed shim (included) to provide up to +3.5° of positive camber. This wide degree of adjustment allows owners to fine tune both camber and castor to enhance tyre life whilst improving handling and increasing the tyre’s contact patch.

The kit includes everything you need, including the ABS sensor bracket, shims, and arms for both sides of the vehicle. The kit is priced at £410.00 + VAT.

Lowermyride.co.uk is a brand new, just launched online shop with an expansive range of coilovers and lowering springs covering a huge range of cars from Alfa to Volvo and everything in between!

We were also pleased to see that the selection covers a good range of budgets, ranging from the lower budget Pro sport coilovers, going up through V Maxx and then the more high end Bilstein all the way from Germany.

We highly recommend this site for anyone who likes to lower cars, or who wishes to do so for the first time, so go ahead and check it out, and get yourself ‘officially, lowered’.

From the winning of the Monte Carlo Rally 1960 through to legendary victories in all important 24-hour races and the world title in the Formula 1 World Championship, BILSTEIN is an established name in motor sport. The list of drivers who have gone down into motorsport history on shock absorbers from Ennepetal is long and fascinating. Racing sports legends such as Klaus Ludwig, Hans-Joachim Stuck or Walter Röhrl remember their own personal relationship with BILSTEIN and guide us with anecdotes through five decades of motor sport. The 160 page book, which is published in a limited edition in German and English, is available for € 29.90 from the BILSTEIN fan shop on the company’s homepage at www.bilstein.de

]]> http://www.maxxd.net/bilstein-50-years-of-bilstein-motor-sport-book-now-available/feed/ 0 http://www.maxxd.net/bilstein-launches-coilover-options-for-audi-a1/ http://www.maxxd.net/bilstein-launches-coilover-options-for-audi-a1/#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:22:55 +0000 dave http://www.maxxd.net/?p=1787 Continue reading →]]> Bilstein, the respected German manufacturer of dampers and suspension systems has released two beautifully engineered enhancement packages for VAG’s popular new Audi A1.

The two new kits offer OEM levels of fit, finish and ride quality, coupled with significant improvements in handling. Both have been designed and produced entirely in-house in Bilstein’s cutting-edge German production facilities.

Thanks to precision-machined threaded steel bodies, the Bilstein kits offer 20mm of ride height adjustment from a lower starting point, which equates to a drop of between -30mm and -50mm. This is regarded by most engineers to be the most that it is possible to lower a vehicle before handling becomes adversely affect and safety is compromised.

The B14 kit comes with a pre-set damping rate, allowing the owner to fine-tune the ride height and stance to suit their own needs, whilst the B16 kit represents the pinnacle of suspension performance. Each damper unit has nine steps of adjustment, with bump and rebound being changed together in a carefully pre-set ratio to ensure that the car retains impeccable manners. With a damping range that offers either limo smoothness, track control or indeed, anything in-between, the B16 kit truly allows you to have two cars in one.

As with all Bilstein performance products, both of these kits have been extensively proven. Not only in Bilstein’s extensive laboratory set-up, but more importantly, at the Papenburg test facility, where Bilstein have their unparalleled research centre. Here, both kits were ‘shaken down’ by real, live test drivers, to ensure that these upgrades don’t just work well in a computer simulation, but can offer ride quality and peerless handling whether fully loaded or on the poorest of surfaces.

As you might expect from the World’s leading original equipment manufacturer, both kits carry full TUV approval and 12 months warranty. The B14 kit is priced at £797.00 + VAT and The B16 is priced at £1093.00 + VAT.

For more information please visit Lower My Ride.