In this pic from the front suspension How To (fitting Koni inserts) you can see the combined bump stop and protective boot on the right These come as a single part from Fiat but the ePer drawing is misleading as it only shows what appears to be the boot.

I threw my boots/bumpstops out with the old OE shocks when I changed to FK coilovers, and if you want to experience a hard and crashy ride, wind the FK fronts right down and use the supplied FK metal top mounts With the bravo top mounts the ride is much improved, and winding the coilover up so the sump isn't dragging on the ground also helps But in the end the FK's seems to have shaken themselves to bits and I had lots of handling issues before I took them off and put billies/eibachs on.

I got some used bump stops from Joe78 but they came without the boots, however since the FK's had (thin) bump stops and no boots, I think the lack of boots contributed to their early demise, so I bought a pair of the OE boots with bump stops as per the pic. Just as well, since I originally was going to install the bump stops upside down (not sure it really matters though).

So, to echo the advice above, put the bump stops (and boots) on, and if you feel it necessary, chop out a section of the bump stops (I've not felt the urge to do this yet).

Again, unless you chop out sections you WILL be resting on them. (Eibach's + Billies)

Having driven a car with the billies/eibach solution I cannot think why anyone would ever see it as an improvement over a fresh OE set up. Crashy and with no better and less predicatble handling...one the road that is, track may be different.

I would be worried that i had just wrecked an expensive set of top mount bearings. The crashing may well have brinneled the bearing surface and this will affect the steering You may be Ok but maight be worth ckecking when you take the struts apart.

Can't see this being a drop link issue, as abpve it is the bump stop that will help.

The OE bump stops on standard suspension had very little signs of use or wear. I would not want to be subjecting my coupe, albeit taty, body shell to that sort of shock, just protected by 2 inches or rubber. Long term I sure it would get tired?

Thanks for the advice...
Im going to go over my options while at joes on saturday and decide what to do...

Fingers crossed the top mounts and bearings are ok

As I have said before, my suspension setup is OE and all replaced within the last 1000 miles and its the best coupe I've ever been in for on the road performance. And thats with budget tyres!!!

Hope you get it resolved Mario.

Ross

I will weigh out my options when i get to joe...

Im keeping the eibach springs, they arnt too low and were nice on my old setup. However it does seem the Billies are a bit soft which is causing the car to be even lower.

I will either stick with the set up and get the bump stops or swap the shocks out for either standards or Konis (as before)

The rear billies and eibachs can stay...

Will update with the results once im back from joes on saturday night

Mine has Eibach/Billies/cut stops/18" wheels, and it outhandles a std Coupe easily. The motorway comfort is peerless too.
The only times it's crashy is over potholes.

Im reluctant to get rid of them just yet per... As you said on a nice road and round twisties the car handles superbly...

Plus its not my everyday car so im really not fussed about comfort...

Per you have le lips on your car dont you... how low is it to the ground... I still think mine looks lower than it was before (see the pics above of how it is) Im probably just mistaken and 8 months of driving the stilo has clouded my mind

Fixed that for you. standard coupes handle fine!!

Ross

"Fine"... yes not necessarily better round a track... (depends on the contex and what application)

Lets not forget the coupe was designed as tourer/coupe not a track car

Coupe on New Std Suspension would be far more pleasant to drive than a Coupe on Eibachs / Billies / Konis / Coil overs etc etc.... whether or not it would out handle them on a track is another question... I would think probably not IMO

im going to slap you when i see you

any car can be a track car!!
you just need to know how to drive it like tis stolen!!

If you actually read and digest what i was saying...

A coupe, new out of the factory on its standard suspension isnt designed for a track its as i said a tourer/coupe road car.

Its only with the aid of modifications that you can improve it for track use.

Therefore it would probably be unlikely that the cars standard suspension would handle better on a track than modified suspension. Its the same the otherway round, the track suspension wouldnt be suited to use on an everyday road car (in most cases)

So now you will be getting the slap...

You're cheating Per! Sweden's roads are billiard table smooth compared with the rubbish we have to put up with in the UK

Mario, I don't know if this will help, but here's a photo of my coupe which has Eibachs - it gives you a bit of an idea in terms of the gap between the top of the tyre and the wheel arch - how does yours compare?

hard to tell with the angles



Doesnt look "too" different

Mario, feel free to hop in during one of the Grand Parades I've booked at Spa. A factory fresh suspension is much much better than you would think. I reckon however about 95% of Coupe owners are running around on tired suspension parts.

As above I agree, as I had FK's and 18's last time on my coupe and the difference is amazin!!

Ross

I guess it´s all about the lowered car look though...

And if you want a lowered car, the Billies/Eibach (ok maybe osrav/eibach) combo would be the best. I've been struggling to stay with the standard height, it´s just that the car looks like it´s on stilts at the Coupe meets... And I can't get it out of my head.

And frankly, if you want nice handling and good comfort, isn't the Bilstein and standard springs the way to go? I've not seen anyone complain on this setup...

Edit: Doing a search, reading old stuff about suspension setups and just starting to think that it´s not only the cars that are getting old and soft...? Reading stuff like: http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=186748&Searchpage=16&Main=14762&Words=%2Bsuspension+%2Bsetup&Search=true#Post186748

Opps, suddenlly I can't log on anymore, wonder why..?

And from what i've read, FK:s f**k up the ride completely.

Errrm.... NO brand new OE suspension will be good on track!
Will not last long, but would be good for a bit SO warm your cheek (S) up your getting a

Absolutely, don't argue with that at all.
But you haven't driven mine yet..


Well yes it's low. In Gothenburg the roads are BAD (almost UK std) which have made one crack a little. I just have to watch out.. And keep complaining to the City Council..


Maybe 10yrs ago. Not anymore and certainly not around poor old Gothenburg..

I reckon the best way to compare ride heights is to measure the height above ground of the top of the sills at the front and the rear, on level ground. With the old FK's I ended up at 28cm at the front (just behind the front wheels) and 29cm at the rear (just ahead of the rear wheels). With billies and eibachs on the front, the ride height looks similar but I've not measured it, I still have the FK's on the rear.

I was sure Bilstein sports had internal bump stops

Generally B6's were designed to work with STANDARD springs, it could be that the 20vt Eibachs are a bit too short and what you are hearing is the shock base hitting the underside of the top mount

I have bilsteins with 16vt Eibachs (Bit longer and different coil set up) Mine are firmer than standard but are not too hard and seem to offer a nice compromise. I have encountered crashing (very rarely) but this seems to be when hitting pot holes. Such pot holes have already destroyed two wheels on my Alfa

Sports suspension will be harder than standard and they will expose poor road surfaces. On the plus side when the roads are good the feedback and ride will be fantastic.

I had standard springs and Bilsteins, the latter now 5yrs (50k miles) old. Roger just changed the springs to Eibachs and put on new trackrods, droplinks and top-mounts.

Ride has gone from mega-crashy to compliant and bump/thud, much smoother overall, so well pleased.

The Billies don't have anything to do with ride height Mario, they only control the spring to stop it from becoming a pogo stick and just keep bouncing.

The bump stops should sort this out, something about 2" long should be fine.

I'd double check everything is put together correctly, it really shouldn't be happening.

we know what the issue is and in the process of sorting it out.

Is it a secret?

Classified information at the moment Jimbo until ive got a resolve on the issue, I.e not for public knowledge yet.

Great reading. Just redid my suspension and was thinking about doing Billies with standard springs. But ended but with Billies and 16VT springs in the end. Due the the clutch being changed the same time it took two weeks before I got my car back so it's not really a back-to-back comparison.

Compared with my previous standard suspension, I would say that it's now a little bit less sensitive to road imperfections. Somewhat crashier over bigger bumps but not substancially. Handling is much improved of course and it looks great!

I've had Eibachs on old standard shocks for over a year now and it outperforms the standard setup without doubt.
I tested it around the same sequence of corners on the same weekend with almost identical weather both days, standard springs first time and Eibachs second time, I used the same device to record the lateral Gs (Dynomaster on my Android phone) three times for each setup and then averaged the results, the Eibachs allowed me to pull more Gs consistently, and there was noticeably less body roll, my exit speed from the corner was also 5-10mph higher.
Obviously newer shocks would be better but new Eibachs and new OE shocks will outhandle new OE springs and shocks.

Just had my bilsteins and lowering springs fitted,along with rear arb upgrade and toyo t1r's
Wow what a difference.
Previously i had cobra lowering springs and standard shocks.Lots of buoyant bouncying when bowling along.Now the car seems planted,handles immense.