Comfort vs heavy duty Bilsteins, front and back?

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wakefield907
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Joined: January 11th, 2017, 1:45 pm
Location: Lake Havasu City AZ

Comfort vs heavy duty Bilsteins, front and back?

Post by wakefield907 »

Hi, we have a 2004 Concourse XL. Installed Bilstein comfort shocks all around. Ride seems to be too soft. Has anyone used the heavy-duty version, on front only, back only, or all 4? Also, we have the factory-installed front & rear sway bars. Thanks for help.
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kdarling
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Location: Northern NJ

Re: Comfort vs heavy duty Bilsteins, front and back?

Post by kdarling »

Hi!

If you click the "View Active Topics" link above, you'll find that there was just a long thread about that topic called "Shock Absorbers".

In short, I installed the HD and liked them except for feeling every road crack through the steering wheel, which could be due to something else. Someone else got the Comfort and liked them. I know that some get just HD in back.

Describe "too soft", please. Bouncy? Wallowing / leaning in turns?

Could be you need heavier sway bars. The stock ones are kind of wimpy. People usually start with replacing the front one first.

Is your steering damper doing okay, btw? Been replaced?

Kevin
1994 Concourse dinette, Ford 7.5L (460 V8)
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Blue~Go
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Re: Comfort vs heavy duty Bilsteins, front and back?

Post by Blue~Go »

When I got my Chinook is was bone stock (but only had 49k on it, so nothing was really worn out). I had previously driven an E-250 campervan, so I kind of knew what to expect.

But, the Chinook felt like I was driving on top of a ball, in that if I got toward any "edge" I'd roll right off (if that makes sense). I knew I was going to be doing a full suspension change-up, because I'd even done some of that on my cars. I don't typically like the wallowy feel you get in stock vehicles (never bought a sports car though because I always needed practicality).

I started with the shocks. Went from the stock ones to Koni FSD (purpose made motorhome shocks). That did help quite a bit, but not totally. Which didn't surprise me as IME shocks don't really give you "handling," just more bounce recovery. (Of course worn out ones can affect handling.)

What really gave me "fun through the turns" and completely took away the giant ball feeling was added/larger anti-sway bars. Ooh, now it was fun to drive. On my way up to where I got the work done (drove from AZ to OR), there was one particular set of curves marked 35mph. I had people behind me and even at 30mph I felt massive lean, and was kind of hanging on with the butt pucker to try to not block people (no pullouts). On the way back I could take them at 40mph without any trouble (was doing that to test; no other traffic at the time). I now find I can regularly take corners at the posted speed (presuming good road conditions) without any undue "gripping" of the seat cushion :D Could even go faster but that's not my style. Another benefit is less side to side lurching when coming off something like a gas station apron/driveway at an angle. It moves once then stops.

I also added a Safe-T-Steer but that was mostly just because I was there at the shop. It does help slightly with needing to make "corrections" on straight stretches. OTOH if you get one that is too heavy it's a chore on curvy roads/in town corners.

One note is that with full Roadmaster anti-sway bar upgrade, I had too much harsh/bounce in the rear of the Chinook. I went to a happy medium with a stock E-450 bar in the rear (keeping Roadmaster in the front) and that seemed like the best balance between handling and ride for that component.
1999 Concourse
pdemarest
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Re: Comfort vs heavy duty Bilsteins, front and back?

Post by pdemarest »

I went with the comfort Bilsteins on my 2003 Premier and am very happy with them. I do have a pretty beefy aftermarket rear sway bar and air lift bags so I think those both help with the handling. On a recent trip over a nearby mountain highway with lots of curves I found myself at or slightly above the speed limit with no excessive lean. Like Blue was I'm still not totally happy with the way the rear still shudders over bumps but I'm looking at a different bar or even the Schulastic Shackles. Of course, I'm waiting until someone on the forum gets the Shackles to see if they make a difference.
Paul Demarest
2003 Premier V-10
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