Found some Bilstein inserts.

[zKars]

Everyone:

I took apart a rusty sad example of a 73 the other day, and found what appear to be a decent set of Bilstein strut inserts waiting to be rescued.

Part numbers are P 30 061 (front) in green and P 30 062 (rear) in yellow.

The posts on Bilstein shocks for Z's are far and few between, but they seem (ed) well regarded.

And as far as Bilstein themselves, they seem to be long since NLA from them.

Their action feels smooth in both directions, nice and firm, there is no signs of rust or abuse, the strut gland nuts are clean and came out easily.

There, that's everything nice about them that means absolutely nothing about how they might perform when actually in a car.

Worth the risk to throw them in my car and see what they are like? I have illumina's and really don't need them, but if they are a bit softer, might be worth it.

Anyone have any clue how they "rate" (a little shock humor there...) compared to their contemporary counterparts?

Jim

[Carl Beck]

Hi Jim:

As I recall - I put Bilstein Shocks in my 72 240-Z around 1975. They have been in there ever since, and performing just like new. They have a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser. Years ago I spoke to a Bilstein Representative at the Daytona Raceway. I was complaining that the "life time" warranty didn't do me much good, since they no longer make shocks for the 240-Z. He said that if they went bad, just take the out and send them back to Bilstein - if they couldn't replace them, they would rebuild them - - but in any case they would honor the warranty. As I said - so far they are fine.

They are the best shock I've ever had on a 240-Z with stock springs. Firm when they need to be, soft ride but not too soft... As I recall, back in 75 they were advertised as being filled with nitrogen gas to reduce foaming, but not advertised as "Gas Pressure"...

Today several racers use various Bilstein shocks - selected via the shocks dimensions, and/or valve spec.'s. I'm sure someone else will know far more about that...

I'm amazed at the condition of the inserts - they look like new. I also don't recall the Part Numbers from the 70's - so really don't know how old the one's you have would be..

FWIW,

Carl B.

[zKars]

Thanks Carl!

Sound like pretty good shocks. Now I'm very tempted to try them.

Anybody want a set of Illumina's?

Jim

[ChrisZ]

Depends on shipping cost;)

Chris

[Arne]

I'd rather have the Bilsteins...

[jmortensen]

More than you ever wanted to know about Bilsteins:

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=138601

http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets6.html

I'd run em. As Carl says they can be rebuilt by Bilstein if necessary, but it might not be. if you push them through their full stroke a couple times then you can feel for dead spots where there is no damping. If there are any, send them back to Bilstein. If not, run them as is.

Not sure what the valving is on the old units designed for the 240z. Not sure if there are any mods necessary to run them with stock isolators. I think you'll have to open up the hole in the middle, and I'm pretty sure you'll have to use an impact to tighten the nuts on top down since there will be no D shaped cutout left there. No biggee, and I think those are well worth the effort to use. Bilsteins kick arse.

[Arne]

I had a pair of front inserts rebuilt by Bilstein a few years back. They were long NLA, Alpina-valved units for a gray market BMW 323i. No warranty for me, as I wasn't the original purchaser. But they had no problems rebuilding them, as long as I was willing to pay for the work. They came back working like new, turn-around was about a week. I don't remember the exact cost, but it was comparable to the cost of a new pair of Konis, which was the only choice left that was truly correct for that car at that point. And by rebuilding I got to keep the tuner-valving.

No secondary bump stops are possible or even needed with those Bilsteins. They have an internal bumpstop built in. If they came with accordion boots (gaiters) to protect the tube, I'd use them.

[fixitman]

Those parts numbers are correct for a 240Z-early 260Z. FYI, I purchased my Bilsteins for an early 260Z in 1984 for $77.35 each from a distributor called MIAH in Columbus, OH.

I had a set of Bilsteins installed on my wife's 2000 BMW 528i in December. The ride is a little firmer that stock and very controlled. The ride also seems to improve as more miles are put on the car.

Fixitman

[rxsleeper]

FWIW, I would have them rebuilt and use them. Rebuild only because they are out and I would hate to install them only to find out after a week one or more needs rebuilding.

Curiosity has got me now. Could you measure the insert tube, shaft length and overall length? Just wondering if they would fit into a shortened housing. If Bilstein does not want to rebuild them, let me know. I have located another company that will rebuild/revalve/dyno a Bilstein for a little bit less than what they charge for a revalve.

+1 on Jon's recommended reading at hybridz and Farnorth. More than you will want to know!

Edited April 27, 2009 by rxsleeper

[Jeff G 78]

...they can be rebuilt by Bilstein if necessary...

Is that true again?

I had a set of Bilsteins in my 240 about ten years ago. I worked closely with Bilstein for my job as a Vehicle Dynamics engineer, so I asked them if they could rebuild mine since the car I bought with them had been sitting for close to a decade and they were leaking a bit. The local engineer I worked with put me in touch with their lab guy in San Diego. He told me it might be tough as they hadn't made that piston diameter since the mid-eighties, but he said to give him a few days and he'd see what he could find. He called me back and said I was in luck. He scrounged just enough parts to do four shocks. He then joked and said that I better not wear them out because mine cleaned him out of parts for good. I sent them to San Diego and had them back within a few weeks as good as new.

I'd like to know if anyone has had 240Z Bilstein dampers rebuilt in the last few years. I believe I had mine rebuilt around 1998. I guess if the demand was high enough, they might have made a small run of pistons and seals, but it would surprise me.

I LOVE working with Bilstein and find their products to be as good as anything I have ever used. When we used them on our SVT products at Ford, they were easy to tune and held up great. I remember dynoing an SVT Lightning set before and after vehicle durability testing and the curves were unchanged. That simply does not happen with OEM shocks. Durability testing simulates 150,000 customer miles. Most shocks are lucky to last 40,000 miles before degrading.

Here's where the story goes south. When I sold my 240 with it's freshly rebuilt Bilsteins, the guy who bought it restored the car beautifully and replaced pretty much everything on the car. When he bought it, I told him over and over how rare and good the Bilsteins were and the story about them being freshly rebuilt. After his car was fully restored, he showed it to me and told me about everything he had done to it. One of the "upgrades" was the suspension. He replaced the Bob Sharp springs and bars and the Bilstein strut inserts. He took out the Bilsteins and replaced them with Tokico blues. Surprised, I asked him what he did with the old struts. He shrugged and said all the old junk was pitched. :stupid:

It was none of my business, but I couldn't help but be saddened. He sold the car a short while later and it ended up in Paris, France. The new owner is a member here. I like Tokicos and have Illuminas in my 280, but I'd never consider them over Bilsteins.

[jmortensen]

P30 denotes a 30mm piston. I just bought the 30mm piston VW GTi struts mentioned in the Hybrid Z thread last year and had them revalved. So yes, parts are available and never should have been unavailable.

[subtle_driver]

i bought 240z with rear bilsteins the greenish yellow, but the fronts were not. they have thick shock shafts, unlike the tokico and kyb's. I'm thinking of using them if i can find a pair of used front tokico's.