- Bilstein Heavy Duty Shocks -
Excellent ride control
Excellent lean control - Who needs a thicker stabilizer bar?
Firm but not harsh
Controls a solid sear axle in a heavy car like the Firebird very nicely
Better than expected comfort level on rough roads
Greatly reduced squat under acceleration and dive under breaking

- Very poor installation instructions
- If I had used Bilstein's installation instructions plus mounting hardware instead of my car's repair manual and OEM bushings the shock piston would have been damaged.

I only changed the rear shocks on my 97 Firebird V6 and the ride improvement was far more than I expected. With these shocks installed I don't even think I need a thicker stabilizer bar in the future. Don't know who was the dumbass GM engineer who had the brilliant idea to put the weak AC Delco shocks on the back of the V6 Firebird, but he should be fired immediately for saving GM $100 by going with the crappy AC Delco. The Firebird is a way better car with these Bilstein shocks.
The rear shocks were very easy to change so I did them myself.. But MAKE SURE you follow your car's repair manual. If you don't, you could damage your rear brake lines. I will change the front shocks this summer, but this time I'll take them in to the shop and have the GM dealer install them. The front ones are a pain to replace. Then the ride will be perfect.
Now if I could only get Bilstein to program computer operating systems... Imagine the possibilities! GET THESE SHOCKS NOW!

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AC DELCO OEM Rear Shocks.. No comparison. The AC DELCOS are very low quality, which translated in an equally low quality, poorly controlled ride

Really improves the handling, especially in transients--the truck just clunks over and stays down, instead of rocking. Quicker turn-in, generally more nimble feel. Ride is stiffer, but I like that. It was too soft before.

Not much. Doesn't completely control axle hop in the rear, but I think that's a fault in the suspension. It's much better than it was.

$210 for four from some mail order place in Florida. They're a huge improvement over stock, and only about five to 10 bucks a shock more than ther alleged "heavy duty" shocks in the discount places. I'd buy them again in a minute.

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Only the stock (junk) shocks on this truck. I've used Konis and other high-perf shocks on sports cars. Hard to compare the effect of Konis on a Fiat with Bilsteins on a pickup, though.

"Firm but not harsh". Very flat cornering, Rock-steady highway ride, no bouncing around before it settles and less harshness when hitting big bumps and potholes, better steering feel.

You can feel the road which is both good and bad. Good because you know what road surface you're on. Bad because the "steering feel" can be tiring when you're having a long drive on rough surface. Can be jiggly at low speed.

Mail ordered for 290 bucks and installed it myself. Great ride! The wife loves the secure handling (ala sports car). Been scaring BMW drivers running head to head at the twisty Bronx River Parkway. Less harshness on big bumps and potholes where the OEM can become downright slamming harsh.

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OEM "Isuzu brand" which I believe is Tokico. It is bouncy and has poor lean control when cornering.

Great ride on and off road, leaves all competitors in the dust. They are definitely worth the extra money you will pay when compared with the OEM's, Monroes, Ranchos, Pro Comps, etc

A little stiff in the back, but not as bad as what they replaced.

Bilsteins are by far the best buy. Yes, one can argue that you are just paying for the brand name, but ask anyone who's owned them and they'll tell you there's a reason that they are the best.

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Had OEM's first, then I replaced them with Pro Comps. Pro Comps are horrible. Ive riden in trucks with Ranchos and they feel ok, but they are not quite stiff enough. They dont ride as smooth as bilsteins either.

One of 3 brands that offer valving tight enough for duty with lowering springs on 3rd gen accords. Others are, Koni specials and Doetsch.

Barely enough power to deal with my lowering springs

In spite of a Bilstein tech telling me that these struts offer 30% to 40% tighter valving than oem, they barely have enough power to deal with the H&R sport lowering springs that I got. Still they are performing well and are delivering the performance I had hoped for.

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stock