Bilstein B12 (B6 + Eibach Pro kit) experience/recommendation

[Walt]

I'm looking to get the Bilstein B12 kit, which should just be the B6 + Eibach Pro kit springs. Initially I wanted to pair the B6 with the Steeda minimum drop lowering springs but those springs are not certified for road legal use in my country (I need GOCA certification, not TüV).

Does anyone have the Bilstein B6 and/or Eibach Pro kit and are you satisfied with this setup? Do I need any additional parts to fix the geometry of the car like a bumpsteer kit? Or is it driveable without any additional parts?

My main use is track + weekend cruising, not a daily driver. I don't really like to lower the car too much hence why I was looking for minimum drop springs but the B12 kit comes certified and fully road legal. I don't have much (if any) other springs to choose from, unless I go with coilovers like KW V3 or Öhlins but those are overkill if you are not actively tinkering with it for each track and situation in my opinion.

I want a confidence inspiring setup that I just dial in once and go hit the track and have fun, not having to worry about anything.

My main concern is the altered geometry due to the lowering (1.1 inch front 1 inch rear), I want the car to be stable and not go all over the place when hitting a bump.

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[junits15]

I dont have the kit, but this was (and still is) my first choice for my suspension upgrade someday.
From what I found, the only think you need is a way to correct the camber front and rear. You can use camber bolts up front and a rear camber kit in the back.

Back: https://www.steeda.com/rear-camber-adjustment-kit.html
Front: https://www.steeda.com/steeda-s550-mustang-front-adjustable-camber-bolts-555-4124.html

 

[Bluemustang]

You will have some altered bumpsteer with that drop yes

 

[S550HPP]

B6 is harsh ride alone, except over 50 mph, and will be worse with shorter springs. I just tossed out two perfectly good B6 Struts could not take the low speed harshness.

Koni active now on and have not lost any high speed capability and way better ride around town on junky roads.

I did the Eibach front sway on soft and went from 22-24 MM rear bar and car feels like it on rails with perfect balance along with now comfortable ride after ditching B6.

 

[Bluemustang]

I will echo @***** here and say the Ohlins R&T kit is amazing. It's easy to find damper settings that will work, and it can be setup to feel like a go-kart. It rides extremely well IMO for a lowered car and the higher spring rates. That said it will feel noticeably firmer than stock for the reasons above. Nothing you can do about it. Lowered car has less suspension travel. It's meant to handle corners on back roads and on a track.

The only caveat is, I don't know how long the dampers will last before they need a refresh/rebuild. I think the manual says 20-30k miles but I wager they can go farther than that. I have no regrets going with Ohlins.

 

[Bluemustang]

At 1" drop do you NEED a bumpsteer kit? Absolutely, no. But it will be impacted and you'll probably notice it. And it will behave better with it. Do you need to correct the roll center? No, but it will be impacted for anything over a 0.5" drop.

You could use camber bolts to adjust the front if plates (preferred) are not allowed. Rear camber IS adjustable from the factory. It is done using the slot in the subframe. Many shops do not know how to do it.

IMO, the OP's best bet is to buy GT350 springs and Ford Performance dampers and paint them factory color. No one will notice the drop and it will keep geometry closer to stock.

 

[MidwayJ]

I have Bilstein B6 struts and shocks combined with BMR minimum drop springs. The car rides somewhat firmer than the stock non PP setup but it's not harsh. The BMR springs are just slightly stiffer than PP1 springs and seem to be a good match with the dampers. Just be sure to trim the rear bump stops (better yet replace with Eibach or BMW) because riding on the stock bump stops is harsh indeed.

For mostly track use you probably want stiffer springs but I don't know how they would match up with the B6 dampers. I don't have any experience with the Eibach pro kit springs.

 

[Mustangcol]

I'm looking to get the Bilstein B12 kit, which should just be the B6 + Eibach Pro kit springs. Initially I wanted to pair the B6 with the Steeda minimum drop lowering springs but those springs are not certified for road legal use in my country (I need GOCA certification, not TüV).

Does anyone have the Bilstein B6 and/or Eibach Pro kit and are you satisfied with this setup? Do I need any additional parts to fix the geometry of the car like a bumpsteer kit? Or is it driveable without any additional parts?

My main use is track + weekend cruising, not a daily driver. I don't really like to lower the car too much hence why I was looking for minimum drop springs but the B12 kit comes certified and fully road legal. I don't have much (if any) other springs to choose from, unless I go with coilovers like KW V3 or Öhlins but those are overkill if you are not actively tinkering with it for each track and situation in my opinion.

I want a confidence inspiring setup that I just dial in once and go hit the track and have fun, not having to worry about anything.

My main concern is the altered geometry due to the lowering (1.1 inch front 1 inch rear), I want the car to be stable and not go all over the place when hitting a bump.

I had the B6 with PP springs and it was awful. After the fiasco I had with Bilstein, I'm sticking with ford OEM stuff. I went to ford track struts/shocks with GT350 springs and I'm happy with it. The GT350 springs are 211lbs linear front and 857lbs progressive rear. Fronts are linear and rears are progressive same like the ford track handling pack. So I feel like they're a perfect match for the track struts/shocks if you want a minimum drop (gt350 is 10mm). If you want even more performance you can go GT350R springs or the springs that come from ford track handling pack, but you'll have more drop.

 

[Walt]

I had the B6 with PP springs and it was awful. After the fiasco I had with Bilstein, I'm sticking with ford OEM stuff. I went to ford track struts/shocks with GT350 springs and I'm happy with it. The GT350 springs are 211lbs linear front and 857lbs progressive rear. Fronts are linear and rears are progressive same like the ford track handling pack. So I feel like they're a perfect match for the track struts/shocks if you want a minimum drop (gt350 is 10mm). If you want even more performance you can go GT350R springs or the springs that come from ford track handling pack, but you'll have more drop.

May I ask what issues you had with the Bilstein dampers? I heard they are similar to the Ford track handling struts and most say that they are a little better even.

I'm trying to keep the car roadlegal and Bilstein B6 is readily available and comes with the necessary certifications, so do the Eibach springs. Unfortunately almost no other springs are legal. I might do the GT350 springs because they look OEM, or maybe I can get away with the GT350R ones, if it doesn't lower the car too much.

I can import the Ford Track handling dampers but they won't be street legal unless I paint them black and carry over the stickers/warnings and such.

 

[Mustangcol]

May I ask what issues you had with the Bilstein dampers? I heard they are similar to the Ford track handling struts and most say that they are a little better even.

I'm trying to keep the car roadlegal and Bilstein B6 is readily available and comes with the necessary certifications, so do the Eibach springs. Unfortunately almost no other springs are legal. I might do the GT350 springs because they look OEM, or maybe I can get away with the GT350R ones, if it doesn't lower the car too much.

I can import the Ford Track handling dampers but they won't be street legal unless I paint them black and carry over the stickers/warnings and such.

They weren't damped right at all. The rear was bouncing like crazy. Some people reported the shock mounts can cause the bouncing and that I should replace with steeda billet mounts. But the steeda billet mounts dont work on bilstein. Another member messaged me about a similar problem he had so I put the OEM blown shocks in to test it and it drove better. The OEM non-PP shocks are really bad, mine had 43.000km and were weak, and I preferred those than the bilstein I ended up swapping for the FR3 track shocks with steeda billet mounts, its stiffer, but no weird dampening problems. I just learned that I need to drive slower on crappier roads.

 

[GrabberBargeCaptain]

They weren't damped right at all. The rear was bouncing like crazy. Some people reported the shock mounts can cause the bouncing and that I should replace with steeda billet mounts. But the steeda billet mounts dont work on bilstein. Another member messaged me about a similar problem he had so I put the OEM blown shocks in to test it and it drove better. The OEM non-PP shocks are really bad, mine had 43.000km and were weak, and I preferred those than the bilstein I ended up swapping for the FR3 track shocks with steeda billet mounts, its stiffer, but no weird dampening problems. I just learned that I need to drive slower on crappier roads.

Tbh i've heard of QC issues with Bilsteins for a while since COVID. Sucks that you got a bad batch.

 

[Mustangcol]

Tbh i've heard of QC issues with Bilsteins for a while since COVID. Sucks that you got a bad batch.

After I installed them, it was an immediate "wow, this cant be right". I also had a 2022 BMW 118i that the OEM bilstein strut went bad after 11k miles and started clunking. Car was already out of warranty and I had to import it from Europe to colombia, lucky I have a friend in portugal that took care of it. $200 shipped to get it here.

 

[MidwayJ]

Tbh i've heard of QC issues with Bilsteins for a while since COVID. Sucks that you got a bad batch.

That makes sense. I bought mine after seeing several positive reviews here, and they've been good.

 

[Walt]

IMO, the OP's best bet is to buy GT350 springs and Ford Performance dampers and paint them factory color. No one will notice the drop and it will keep geometry closer to stock.

Why GT350 springs and not R springs? Is it the height difference?

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