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Bilstein B6 struts and shocks. If you are installing them, post impressions and questions here....

scotman

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#1
I was reading the Bilstein website product description. They state that the B6 is matched to O.E. shock and strut Dimensions. I took that to mean that the valving for the basic Fiesta with normal ride height would differ from the ST version which is slightly lowered. My comparison of the part numbers says nope!
I just wanted to confirm or deny a difference between the two, if any. There is none.
So, those B6 shocks and struts, #22-245199 is Left front. #22-245205 is Right front. #24-239318 is for the rear. Are the correct application for either basic fiesta or ST. If you are planning to install mild lowering coils on your basic fiesta, these should work just fine. They can be considered to be the Bilstein competitor to the Koni STRT.
The rear shocks seem to be averaging $118 each. The front struts averaging $127 each. But shock surplus.com has them available in a pair for $250 bucks. The B6 is a step up from the O.E. replacement B4 and a cut below the premium B8 product. I plan to install a set of these on my 2011 Fiesta Jolly project.


31w6m70+lpL._AC_SX355_.jpg 24-239318_4.jpg
 
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scotman

scotman

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Thread Starter #2
Everyone here who chooses the B6 Bilstein shocks and struts should feel free to post up an impression of the components and discuss your choice of spring sets! This way we can help each other take the guesswork out of what certain choices might result in.
 
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scotman

scotman

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Thread Starter #3
Expect delivery of the B6 struts and shocks by Saturday. Not sure which pair of them will show up first because they are coming in from two separate locations. I am trying to chase down the last couple of bits to get it all done quickly.
 
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scotman

scotman

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Thread Starter #4
The rear shocks were dropped off at my door this afternoon. I decided to compare these Bilstein to the rear STR.T shocks for firmness effort to compress and the speed of rebound. I will try to do a video as well. The B6 is easily twice as hard to compress as the STR.T! And, the b6 rebounds a full 4 seconds quicker from full compression than the Koni. Too bad the cars these are going on are so different. It would be interesting to run these dampers against each other with a G tech performance meter on board. 20210429_151054.jpg
 
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scotman

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Thread Starter #5
The front struts arrived today. I also picked up the strut bearings. Just waiting for the strut boots and spring insulators now. The rear shocks are assembled and ready to go on the car. 20210503_193735.jpg
 
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Thread Starter #6
Strut boots came in. The O.E. are not available at this time. So i sourced a pair of strut boots from Autoanything.com They are Tough.Country #69127 and cost a little under 20 bucks for a pair, minus the shipping. They appear to be well made and are more than long enough to protect the strut piston and were easy to snugly fit over the strut tube and secure with a zip tie. 20210506_212232.jpg 20210506_213233.jpg
 

Handy Andy

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#7
So these don't "funnel out" to fit the upper strut mount?

I wondered about the bearing cup the strut boot and knowing it fits the bottom of the strut - what do you use for the top? That bumper stop?
 
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Thread Starter #8
So these don't "funnel out" to fit the upper strut mount?

I wondered about the bearing cup the strut boot and knowing it fits the bottom of the strut - what do you use for the top? That bumper stop?
I am going to figure that out tonight. This boot is more generous length wise than the O.E. part. It really doesn't need a barbed retainer to keep it located. The bellows will have more than adequate range of motion without stretching. Unlike the original part.
I just put a zip tie on the bottom of it. The large end fit snugly over the provided plastic clip at the top of the strut tube. They dont funnel out at the top. But, i dont think that is a big deal. So, far.
 
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Handy Andy

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#9
To have the longer bellows is nice, the OEM seems "formed a little short" when it comes to the ease of slipping over the bottom boot to the stab tabs to fit.

But once the OEM bellow is set, it seems to stay ok. It's easy enough for one owner to jack up remove the tire and simply pull down and press into the tabs and set the bellows to seat fully in the bottom pushed onto those tabs.

Thanks for the tip on the "Zip tie" seems right to do just that.

Many Fiestas I've have the luxury of seeing with their front tires off, seem to have loose bellows on the bottom, which to see the techs in the shop ignoring the issue of putting them back on, is one of many reasons I felt the dealership I had purchased from was not truly into "Providing Service to the customer".

Considering the noise or Thunk they make when driving - when loose, I would think more people would have taken it to note - but it doesn't seem that Ford really responds well to this type of careful consideration for the customer.
 
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Thread Starter #10
To have the longer bellows is nice, the OEM seems "formed a little short" when it comes to the ease of slipping over the bottom boot to the stab tabs to fit.

But once the OEM bellow is set, it seems to stay ok. It's easy enough for one owner to jack up remove the tire and simply pull down and press into the tabs and set the bellows to seat fully in the bottom pushed onto those tabs.

Thanks for the tip on the "Zip tie" seems right to do just that.

Many Fiestas I've have the luxury of seeing with their front tires off, seem to have loose bellows on the bottom, which to see the techs in the shop ignoring the issue of putting them back on, is one of many reasons I felt the dealership I had purchased from was not truly into "Providing Service to the customer".

Considering the noise or Thunk they make when driving - when loose, I would think more people would have taken it to note - but it doesn't seem that Ford really responds well to this type of careful consideration for the customer.

I think that the general consensus among mechanics is to not mess with things that are not directly related to the area they are punched in on. Also, some of these things can be made worse when messed with. Shock boots dry rot. I have seen plenty of them with multiple cracks and holes.
 
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Thread Starter #11
Well, as usual it's a mixed bag of joy and frustration. The upper bump stop is a little bigger diameter than the clear opening of the bellows.
The bellows is very flexible and can be worked onto the foam bump stop. I doubt that it would even 20210507_232856.jpg need a zip tie to hold that in place.

20210507_233332.jpg The bump stop moves on the piston with some resistance. So, anything that i use to make it go up and down the strut piston will have to grip the upper stop like the upper stop that is pressed into the rear shock mounting cup. That would give us a functional upper bump stop with a protective piston boot.
I am going to continue to work on it. Im still waiting for the front spring insulators.
Just out of curiosity, i compared the amount of resistance of a new upper bump stop to an original. No detectable difference between the new service parts and the 67k parts!
 
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#12
Interesting about the bump stop resistance. I haven't finished the Koni assembly/install on mine yet due to a painful back issue. What I might do is take one of the new ones into the lab and run a compression check to, say, 40% compression. When I finally get the swap done, I'll check one of the older ones with 96-ish K on it, just to see how much difference we see.
 
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Thread Starter #13
I will guess that we will see less than 10 percent of difference.
I would have thought that the wear on bump stops would be much greater as the damper wears out.
 
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Thread Starter #14
Both front struts are now assembled with the cobbled 3/8 rubber hose spring insulators. Not my first choice. But time waiting for bits and pieces is burned up! The jolly is getting the original spec coils. No lowering coils for this one! 20210518_115302.jpg
 
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#15
Looks good! I suspect that the bellows will straighten out when it's compressed a bit more when the suspension has the vehicle sitting on it. How's the bearing movement?

I'm interested how the beast will sit with this combo, and if any changes in height would be attributable to the strut or new springs.
 
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Thread Starter #16
Hi. Don. I hope that your back is doing better!
I have the Bilstein rears installed. Going to get the fronts on it this evening.
It looks the same with new rear shocks as it did on the blown out , leaking O.E. dampers.
I think that the B6 is going to be considered much closer to a high quality heavy duty shock/ strut than the STR.T will be. The piston is larger and the way it compresses and rebounds is more like an H.D. shock than the much more supple response of the Koni orange. Just a guess. I have had several sets of Koni Sports and am looking forward to seeing what the STR.T will be like.
The revised bearings seem to be easier to turn by hand when installed into the B6 struts. The B6's have the stock coils that places the bearings under tremendous pressure compared to the H&R springs on the Koni's. 20210516_110243.jpg 20210516_110259.jpg
 
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#17
Back is getting along, albeit slowly. Thank you for asking, it's appreciated. Probably surgery by the end of summer. It's put a lot of things on hold.

While this probably belongs in the Koni thread, I have one strut assembled with the KYB set, the other still unassembled. I'm likely going to switch the one currently assembled to the OEM parts and build up the second with the OEM as well. The fit of the mount in the pocket of the bearing of the OEM parts are much tighter due to the axial ribs on the inside of the bearing. I still don't like the locking up effect, but I can't find anything wrong with the assembly using a variety of components, so it must be working (to some degree) as designed. If the car doesn't turn, I'll swap the old struts back in and let somebody else figure it out. :LOL:

I had Bilstein HDs on one of my VWs, and yes, that strut shaft is a hefty bugger. I ran them with Shine springs back then for a pretty solid but controlled ride. I'll be very interested in a ride quality/harshness comparison in the future.
 
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Thread Starter #18
On the B6's the upper bump stop is so tight on the piston that i just squeezed the strut boots up onto the bump stop and called it good! I don't think that the bump stop will creep down at all. But, time will tell.
These are the kinds of little details and differences that can affect what shocks\struts a person might choose if they were aware of them. The Ford bump stops do not easily fit onto the B6 strut pistons. They quite easily move on the O.E. strut and Koni pistons. 20210507_233337.jpg
 
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#19
Excellent point! That larger diameter could throw somebody off if they weren't aware of it. I can see somebody taking a drill and large bit and opening up the ID on the bumpstop, making it too big, then having the bumpstop floating around.
 
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#20
Can all components be reused when installing new struts/shocks (bellows,bump stop etc)? On the ZX2, the front strut mounts are the only component that really needs replacement, however, the stock metal bearing is reused as opposed to the new aftermarket plastic ones.

Also, does strut mount orientation affect camber/caster as it does on some other platforms?
 


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