Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community - FT86CLUB - View Single Post - ***Finally!!! Bilstein B14/PSS Coilovers***

Kostamojen · 08-08-2015, 10:06 PM

OK, I've tested out my B14's a bit now and wanted to post a quick review...

Bilstein B14's with Group-N Top Hats

What are Group-N top hats some of you may say? Well they are OEM Subaru tophats designed for rally back in the day, and considering the BRZ uses the same tophats as pretty much all Imprezas, its a part we can actually use. It consists of much stiffer rubber compounds, however its only available for the front, I had to use standard (actually part numbers from a ~2010-2015 STI) rear top hats.

Combined with the B14's, this makes for a very Street Friendly setup. You don't get the added camber/caster with Camber plates up front, but the stiffer tophats do increase the overall rigidity of the suspension for basically the same price as buying stock tophats new.

Initial Impressions

When I first installed the suspension, I noticed the "bounciness" that other people refer too. Having had coilovers before, I know that bouncy is different from harsh. These B14's are NOT harsh at all! In fact I'd say they are less "harsh" than stock in terms of how they respond to nasty issues with roads.

After a couple weeks, I've grown use to it and they do seem to have broken in a little bit more. During freeway driving or regular driving, I'd say they are no worst than the Racecomp springs I had on my stock shocks in terms of ride/comfort.

During freeway driving, I do find the front end to be a little more "loose". Reminds me of the FRS I test drove now. I think mostly due to the soft front spring rates. The car doesn't require any constant inputs or anything, its not darty on the freeway now which is good IMO.

Autocross Impressions

I did my first Autox with the coilovers and new wheels/tires last Saturday. The car was actually AMAZING IMO. A lot of it had to do with the new tires, but I was a bit frustrated before with my springs because I kept on having to go with different swaybars to get the car to handle correctly during autocross...

This is no longer the case with the B14's! I'm still running the Strano swaybar up front, but I went back to the 14mm bar in the rear. My overall setup also includes a front strut bar, whiteline front endlinks and kartboy rear endlinks with poly bushings for the swaybars and the Subframe support bushings.

The car REALLY likes to rotate with these coilovers, which is what I was looking for. The softer progressive springs up front allowed me to "play" with the weight distribution much more while cornering, allowing small inputs with the wheel or pedals to rotate the car, rather than having to throw it hard into the corner and upset it to get it to rotate. I was VERY pleased with this!

IMO the cars handling character now is more like an FRS than a BRZ, with the greater rear bias in spring rates. However, it doesn't want to step out on you like the FRS does/did stock, it wants you to play with it and make adjustments and decide how much you want to angle the car. Its hard to describe.

I do know some people might not be as happy with this as I am, because they want a car to be very linear and have more of a sudden release of traction with a very stiff spring. But I find this setup to be more "rally-car-ish" where you deal with a suspension thats able to eat up the bumps yet at the same time be able to put the car where you want to.

Impressions for back-road driving/twisities

I took the car out today on my favorite road route. A lot like some of the Youtube car review guys, I drive the same road constantly for fun which lets me compare cars or changes I've made with my car.

When I had the original "basic" setup I started with this car, with the BRZ front springs, FRS rear springs, Strano front swaybar and camber bolts, the car was quite different. The front end was stiffer and the car liked to rotate at a completely different point in the corner than the car does now. Before it would rotate later and only at a specific point, but now with the B14's I can pick and choose when and where I want it to rotate. Again, hard to describe without showing it in person.

The weight shift of this suspension works wonders with back road twisties. I can balance the car while still eating up imperfections in the road. A good example was a large bump (wasn't there before) in the middle of a corner. When the car hit it, it didn't get airborne or get upset, the weight just shifted. I was able to counter it with a slight lift of the gas and turn of the wheel and the car just stayed in the lane and kept going. Before, when I relied on the swaybars more, the car would have stepped out and possibly been unrecoverable.

Conclusion

So yes, this is certainly a VERY good setup for daily driving/street driving, even for non-ultra-competitive Autocross (results are here if you are curious: http://www.sfrscca.org/solo2/Sacrame...%209%20Raw.htm ). If you want a quality shock with the ability to lower the car, or even run custom springs a latter date and keep the quality shocks, this is certainly a great choice.

08-08-2015, 10:06 PM	#223
Kostamojen Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Drives: 1993 Impreza w/ WRX Swap + FWD! Location: Roseville, CA Posts: 2,071 Thanks: 217 Thanked 951 Times in 500 Posts Mentioned: 31 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	OK, I've tested out my B14's a bit now and wanted to post a quick review... Bilstein B14's with Group-N Top Hats What are Group-N top hats some of you may say? Well they are OEM Subaru tophats designed for rally back in the day, and considering the BRZ uses the same tophats as pretty much all Imprezas, its a part we can actually use. It consists of much stiffer rubber compounds, however its only available for the front, I had to use standard (actually part numbers from a ~2010-2015 STI) rear top hats. Combined with the B14's, this makes for a very Street Friendly setup. You don't get the added camber/caster with Camber plates up front, but the stiffer tophats do increase the overall rigidity of the suspension for basically the same price as buying stock tophats new. Initial Impressions When I first installed the suspension, I noticed the "bounciness" that other people refer too. Having had coilovers before, I know that bouncy is different from harsh. These B14's are NOT harsh at all! In fact I'd say they are less "harsh" than stock in terms of how they respond to nasty issues with roads. After a couple weeks, I've grown use to it and they do seem to have broken in a little bit more. During freeway driving or regular driving, I'd say they are no worst than the Racecomp springs I had on my stock shocks in terms of ride/comfort. During freeway driving, I do find the front end to be a little more "loose". Reminds me of the FRS I test drove now. I think mostly due to the soft front spring rates. The car doesn't require any constant inputs or anything, its not darty on the freeway now which is good IMO. Autocross Impressions I did my first Autox with the coilovers and new wheels/tires last Saturday. The car was actually AMAZING IMO. A lot of it had to do with the new tires, but I was a bit frustrated before with my springs because I kept on having to go with different swaybars to get the car to handle correctly during autocross... This is no longer the case with the B14's! I'm still running the Strano swaybar up front, but I went back to the 14mm bar in the rear. My overall setup also includes a front strut bar, whiteline front endlinks and kartboy rear endlinks with poly bushings for the swaybars and the Subframe support bushings. The car REALLY likes to rotate with these coilovers, which is what I was looking for. The softer progressive springs up front allowed me to "play" with the weight distribution much more while cornering, allowing small inputs with the wheel or pedals to rotate the car, rather than having to throw it hard into the corner and upset it to get it to rotate. I was VERY pleased with this! IMO the cars handling character now is more like an FRS than a BRZ, with the greater rear bias in spring rates. However, it doesn't want to step out on you like the FRS does/did stock, it wants you to play with it and make adjustments and decide how much you want to angle the car. Its hard to describe. I do know some people might not be as happy with this as I am, because they want a car to be very linear and have more of a sudden release of traction with a very stiff spring. But I find this setup to be more "rally-car-ish" where you deal with a suspension thats able to eat up the bumps yet at the same time be able to put the car where you want to. Impressions for back-road driving/twisities I took the car out today on my favorite road route. A lot like some of the Youtube car review guys, I drive the same road constantly for fun which lets me compare cars or changes I've made with my car. When I had the original "basic" setup I started with this car, with the BRZ front springs, FRS rear springs, Strano front swaybar and camber bolts, the car was quite different. The front end was stiffer and the car liked to rotate at a completely different point in the corner than the car does now. Before it would rotate later and only at a specific point, but now with the B14's I can pick and choose when and where I want it to rotate. Again, hard to describe without showing it in person. The weight shift of this suspension works wonders with back road twisties. I can balance the car while still eating up imperfections in the road. A good example was a large bump (wasn't there before) in the middle of a corner. When the car hit it, it didn't get airborne or get upset, the weight just shifted. I was able to counter it with a slight lift of the gas and turn of the wheel and the car just stayed in the lane and kept going. Before, when I relied on the swaybars more, the car would have stepped out and possibly been unrecoverable. Conclusion So yes, this is certainly a VERY good setup for daily driving/street driving, even for non-ultra-competitive Autocross (results are here if you are curious: http://www.sfrscca.org/solo2/Sacrame...%209%20Raw.htm ). If you want a quality shock with the ability to lower the car, or even run custom springs a latter date and keep the quality shocks, this is certainly a great choice.