Renewing Whole Suspension Setup & Lowering - Eibach & Blistein

[ATK 142 1 Cars]

Looking to completely renew my suspension setup. Currently lowered around 40mm on rear and front, with AVO dampers and springs. The AVO's are pretty crashy.

 

Don't want to return it to standard height as it looks too high now I'm used to it being lower.

 

REAR:

Was thinking of a refurb beam from here

 

http://sspengineering.co.uk/

Dropped one spline

 

Blistein B4 Dampers

 

FRONT:

 

Eibach 7001 Springs

Blistein B4 Dampers

 

Any comments and any tips of where I can purchase the Eibach/Blistein parts?

Are these the right ones?

 

 

http://www.kamracing.co.uk/car-tuning/peugeot/peugeot-205/suspension/shock-absorbers/peugeot-205-bilstein-b4-dampers-gti-fast-road-setup.html

 

http://www.kamracing.co.uk/car-tuning/peugeot/peugeot-205/suspension/springs/peugeot-205-gti-eibach-pro-kit-springs.html

 

Will this give me a nice drop of say around 30-40mm all round?

 

Cheers

Alex

[Anthony 1,003]

Yes you'll find that setup will work quite nicely and is a sensible compromise height wise between looks, handling and usability.

 

Kamracing that you link to is Batfink (Kev) on here and his service is very good

[ATK 142 1 Cars]

Cheers Anthony, are those the right Blisteins? Only reason I ask is that I read that black ones are crap?

 

When I order the beam from SSP what ride height should I be asking they pre-set it at to match the Eibach's etc?

[welshpug 1,657]

Old stock b4's from many years ago werent up to gti spec, however recent ones are much improved, however on a lowered car i'd be inclined to use zx or xsara rears.

 

You can also get the avo's rebuilt.

[dcc 855]

B4 is like OE afaik. So no real benefit other than a refresh of worn items.

 

I think most people go for 106gti eibach front springs, not 100% sure why, I think it gives 35mm drop.

[ATK 142 1 Cars]

Damper wise was after more of a refresh and more OE, to be honest. So the B4's should work well?

[Anthony 1,003]

For a moderately lowered road car the Eibachs and B4's work well and the new 205 B4 rears are much improved over the frankly dangerous original type that were hopelessly underdamped. Xsara rears are a good option though with slightly firmer damping, and I know that Kamracing can get those too as they supplied the ones that went on the beam I rebuilt for a friend of mine late last year.

 

For the beam ask for around 30-35mm lower than standard which is around 312mm between shock centers with a dummy shock - that should be about right for a 8v on Eibach 7001's

[ATK 142 1 Cars]

Awesome, cheers buddy, I'm assuming a beam swap is an easy enough job for any half decent mechanic? I've got a local guy who loves working on my 205 so if it's an ok job I'll get him to do it all for me.

[Anthony 1,003]

Yeah it's pretty straight forward - easier with two people but not too hard doing it single handedly.

[GLPoomobile 958]

I thought B4s were sort of OE spec, and to be used with standard length OE springs, whereas B6s are the same spec but shorter stroke for use with shorter springs. Is that right? (Miles?). I bow to Anthony's superior knowledge to if he says B4s are fine with 7001s then I'm sure they are, but wouldn't B6s be better if they are intended for shorter springs?

 

And since it's bound to come up, if anyone recommends upgrading to Fast Road/Grp N top mount donuts, give it serious consideration. Don't take it at face value and do it just because everyone says they are good. I'm one of the very few (maybe the only one!) to stand up and recommend that you DON'T use these if you want to retain any sort of comfort. Yes they tighten things up nicely, and for some, that will be fabulous. But UK roads are atrocious, and a 205 doesn't have the greatest of damping finesse unless you spend uber bucks. For me the harder top mount donuts were a step too far for a road car, and they introduced additional crashiness to an OE shock/Eibach 7001 combo that I regretted.

 

Group N (solid) rear beam mounts on the other hand, now that's an upgrade that is well worth it. Little bit of extra road noise introduced, and it'll rob you of some of the lift off over steer (which can be either a good or bad thing depending on your outlook), but it gives a much more solid feel to the chassis that is hard for me to put in to context. Makes the whole car feel better screwed together, without ruining it's road manners.

[Anthony 1,003]

You're correct that the B4's are designed as an OE replacement, but like the OE dampers they will be fine with mild lowering - indeed the old Bilstein "Streetline" kit was B4 dampers and 30mm lowering springs.

 

B6's have increased damping relative to the B4's and would arguably be "better".

 

The B4 and Eibach combo does work well having tried it myself and there's a few people on here running that combination quite happily and for the money you can't go too far wrong.

 

You probably wouldn't want to go much lower or stiffer than Eibach's on them though, same as you wouldn't on the original OE dampers.

 

I'm another that's gone back to new standard top mount donuts btw which as you say makes a noticeable different to ride quality.

[Ams 23 1 Cars]

And since it's bound to come up, if anyone recommends upgrading to Fast Road/Grp N top mount donuts, give it serious consideration. Don't take it at face value and do it just because everyone says they are good. I'm one of the very few (maybe the only one!) to stand up and recommend that you DON'T use these if you want to retain any sort of comfort. Yes they tighten things up nicely, and for some, that will be fabulous. But UK roads are atrocious, and a 205 doesn't have the greatest of damping finesse unless you spend uber bucks. For me the harder top mount donuts were a step too far for a road car, and they introduced additional crashiness to an OE shock/Eibach 7001 combo that I regretted.

 

I have Group N rubbers due to be fited , I currently have Bilstien Group N dampers with Eibach Pro springs. I will report back if my teeth begin falling out, hope it's not too crashy!

 

On the side does anyone have a ball park mileage/experience of life expectancy on Bilstien Group N, B4 and B6 with Eibach springs on UK roads? I'm considering if I should grab a plated diff or just replace the dampers, cost wise there's not much between the two. My Group N dampers have circa 4k miles miles on them and were on the car when I bought it.

[GLPoomobile 958]

The B4 and Eibach combo does work well having tried it myself and there's a few people on here running that combination quite happily and for the money you can't go too far wrong.

 

Indeed. As I mentioned above my experience was with standard dampers and 7001s, originally on the GG 1.9 I had for a short while and then transferred over to the CR 1.6 (with the Group N top mount donuts fitted during the swap). I really liked it, apart from the harshness introduced by the top mounts. My current 205 on Konis doesn't ride as well or feel as planted, but I never tried adjusting the damping to see if it could be improved.

[Anthony 1,003]

On the side does anyone have a ball park mileage/experience of life expectancy on Bilstien Group N, B4 and B6 with Eibach springs on UK roads? I'm considering if I should grab a plated diff or just replace the dampers, cost wise there's not much between the two. My Group N dampers have circa 4k miles miles on them and were on the car when I bought it.

How long is a piece of string? For normal road use I don't see why you shouldn't easily see 50-100k miles from a set of quality springs and dampers like Eibachs and Bilsteins. After all, you'd expect OE items to be fine for that length of time.

 

To give you an idea the Skip Brown Bilsteins on my 306 must have well over 100k miles on them now and they still subjectively drive quite nicely even though I'm sure that they would benefit from a service/overhaul to refresh them.

 

Certainly I'd say that a diff would see much greater benefits than new dampers after only 5k road miles.

[Ams 23 1 Cars]

I was hoping you would say that, I really do want a plated diff.

[acox99 74 1 Cars]

Does batfink aka kamracing offer a forum discount?

[acox99 74 1 Cars]

In dampers and other products or is it just on the omp range.

 

Didn't make myself clear.

[kyepan 291]

Send your hubs off and get the bottom pinch bolt resleeved!

[d7ve_b 44 1 Cars]

And since it's bound to come up, if anyone recommends upgrading to Fast Road/Grp N top mount donuts, give it serious consideration. Don't take it at face value and do it just because everyone says they are good. I'm one of the very few (maybe the only one!) to stand up and recommend that you DON'T use these if you want to retain any sort of comfort. Yes they tighten things up nicely, and for some, that will be fabulous. But UK roads are atrocious, and a 205 doesn't have the greatest of damping finesse unless you spend uber bucks. For me the harder top mount donuts were a step too far for a road car, and they introduced additional crashiness to an OE shock/Eibach 7001 combo that I regretted.

 

This, I went back to standard top mounts as the BBM fast road ones were to harsh.

 

My spec (but soon to be a new owners spec) is listed in my for sale thread here:http://forum.205gtidrivers.com/index.php?showtopic=156831&hl=

 

You won't be disappointed by an Eibach/Bilstein B4/OE Pug hybrid setup. Give some thought to a fatter rear ARB though at some point, they make a big positive difference IMO.

[Batfink 201]

Does batfink aka kamracing offer a forum discount?

I cannot on all product lines but I need to sit down and have a good look at what I can do this year. Best to drop me a PM at the moment.

Kev

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

I've got the B4/Eibach set up with GrpN donuts waiting to be fitted to the front.

 

Your putting me off putting the GrpN donuts on.

 

When i got my beam done i got the solid cylindrical things put on, and new OE sandwiches.

Intended fitting 205 B4's to the back until i read this thread.

 

 

Anyone any idea off the top of head how much roughly the front top mount donuts (service box item "B") are from Pug? or does the full kit (LE-0301) have to be procured?

Edited March 6, 2014 by dobboy

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

 

Old stock b4's from many years ago werent up to gti spec, however recent ones are much improved, however on a lowered car i'd be inclined to use zx or xsara rears.

 

You can also get the avo's rebuilt.

when you say ZX or Xsara rears, are you refering to the OE versions or B4 versions?

[welshpug 1,657]

either

[Batfink 201]

I used Group N Donuts on my old car and was more than happy. If you are looking for a real OE ride but slightly uprated then fit standard ones.

[kyepan 291]

the group n donuts were fine, the standard ones i fitted only lasted about 4 years, group n will last much more