Sorry, what is the actual problem ?

[Edited by IWatkins - 11/2/2002 9:40:16 AM]

 

OK,
am i right then to conclude that the Bilsteins PSS9 are not necesarily a defective/incorrect design for the Impreza, but just unsuitable for the more stressing applications ? Thus better suited for low stress applications (ie. no trackwork) ?

Since Bilstein seems to have given Mellow his money back, i thought they were defective or unsuitable for any Impreza, but now i'm lead to believe that his heavy use (i noticed he does a lot of trackdays) cannot be handled by the Bilsteins. Therefor causing them to be unsuitable for his application, not necesarily ALL applications ?

All this questioning is just for me to predict if i'm going to get myself in trouble at my next trackday (whenever that may happen) or that i'll be fine.

Edit;
Resulting problem then is that this suspension is marketed as 'high performance adjustable to suit everyday and trackwork use' while lots of people complain that they are not suited for heavy use.
That surely defies the purpose of creating/having this set.

Eric

[Edited by Ederijke - 11/3/2002 6:20:02 PM]

 

I was wondering if anybody tried them?
They seem very well built. adjustables for both compression and extension. and with the helper.

Andrea

 

Porsche owners highly rate them as an after market mod.

 

I have tried them, lets just say that I now have KW Variant 3 coilovers on instead!


Len.

 

Why , what was the problem?

 

you should speak to chris king (mellow yellow) about this. he had a handling problem with the rears. something about the incorrect damping. he took them back....shame the look cool enough. 400lb front 250ib rear by the way.

 

The "rebound" was all wrong causing the car to bounce on undulating roads to the extent that it became almost undriveable.No amount of adjustment changed this characteristic.

Len.

 

Thanks,

ANdrea

 

What was Bilstein's line on this, as I've have a similar problem on very uneven roads, I thought it effected all coilovers.
Mine are 8/12 so I'm sure that they won't be interested in changing them.

 

As far as I know the problem relates to the PSS9's only,Bilstein agreed that there were some valving problems and agreed to take them back and refund the cost.

Len.

 

Len,

Where did you get the KW's from? How much?

Cheers.

 

We got the KW's from Motorsport International.
They cost £1147 inc vat and very good they are to.
Cheers Paul.

 

Does anyone know if Bilstein actually fixed this problem with the PSS9 and if so, when ?
I have the PSS9 as well (since april 29, 2002) on my Euro-spec MY98 but I have not noticed this problem yet ?

Eric

 

How do rate them ?

 

The problem has not been fixed,perhaps your roads are not as undulating as some of our "B" roads.As Paul has said the KW'S are far superior.


Len.

 

I still do not quite understand.

If you say the rebound is wrong, does that mean that after hitting a bump (or taking a corner quickly), the suspension is compressed, but does not recover quickly enough ? So i get the following;
- i hit a bump (or go around a corner),
- this compresses the spring.
- the suspension does not recover completely before i hit the next bump.
- this causes the rear of the car to become lower and lower.
- So the spring compresses more and more,
- so if becomes stiffer ?
- until it is too stiff to work normally ?

I have noticed that if i go over a local (high and short)speedbump (sleeping policeman ??) that the car climbs up the bump OK, but if i go off the bump it falls down too far. I mean the spring is compressed so much the tires are rubbing in the wheelarch. As my setting on the damper is halfway the possible adjustment range, it is quite stiff for normal driving.
Maybe i need to try an ever stiffer setting.
However, as i'm not often having this problem, i do not see it as a problem yet. Even more so because our roads here are normally quite smooth.

Or am i completely wrong here ?

Eric

 

You can stiffen them up but it will not cure the problem.I used them on the track and still found them too soft.
To some they are fine but we (Len and I) think the valveing of these units are too soft and don't handle an undulating road very well.
Cheers Paul.

 

Seems strange. They've got 4cm piston diameter, they're coilovers with compression and extension settings and they've got the helper. Dunno the internals, but they seem high performance suspension.

andrea

 

I went in Len's Scooby with the Bilsein kit and have to agree with him that the rebound on undulating roads was very poor. I had a job to stay in the passenger seat I was bouncing around so much and I felt travel sick. Len was not driving hard or fast at the time and a standard Scooby would of easily coped with the situation.

Colin.

 

What type of Impreza is Len's ? And what settings were you using on the Bilsteins ?
I use front 4 and rear 5. Car is lowered approx 1 inch. MY98 Gt turbo Euro-spec, so not a STI.

I'm still amazed people have so much problems with them, but maybe i'm not driving fast enough ?
I have however driven on a wet Zandvoort track and the Nurburgring (slowly, only driven there 7 laps ever) and did not have problems (except i spinned on the 8th lap ).
However, i had Intrax before and that was really hard. Too hard for me. Therefor i switched to Bilstein.

Eric

 

My car is a 96WRX it has Unichip,uprated drop links,uprated 22mm rear anti-roll bar and brakes,it is lowered approx 1.5 inches but I also tried different heights in an effort to eliminate the problem! I tried every setting (well almost!)front and rear over a period of about 3 months but still after the initial compression the car would bounce/spring upwards instead of dampening quickly,I do not do trackdays.

Len.

 

I had them fitted by Powerstation earlier this year and they are fine until as said above the road gets to uneven, I have tried the damping on all the settings and have currently go it set to 6. I was going to mail Powerstation this week to see if there was something that could be done to improve the ride quality.

 

Liteboy,

If you talk to Rich or Dirk at Powerstation and tell them of your problems I'm sure that they will advise you to take them off and get a refund,KW Variant 3's are cheaper and far superior.


Len.

 

May be somebody could contact Bilstein and find out what the situation regarding a fix or refund is ?

Mark A

 

I was refunded the cost of the Bilsteins from the suppliers who then claimed it back from Bilstein.

Len.

 

How do the KWs compare to PSS9 in there structure/construction, ie whats the piston diameter, how much and what adjustment can be made and are they top or bottom adjustable.
Have yours gone rusty yet(struts) ?
Do you use the oringinal top mounts ?

Trying to work out if its worth trying to swop mine over. Has anybody tried TSL's own version of coilovers ?

Mark A

 

I spoke to Rich at Powerstation and am going down to get the units changed. Has anyone tried the Spax RSX kit as I have been offered these at a good price. Or what else other than the KW's are any good ?

 

See here for info on KW Coilovers:-
http://www.motorsportworld.co.uk/default.htm?kw-suspension.htm



Len.

 

Just to add that the KW variant 3's have seperately adjustable compression and rebound ( unlike the PSS9'S ) and are height adjustable,the Struts are Electro-plated.So far mine show no signs of corrosion.


Len.