i installed bilstein hd stuts on the front of a 02 accord expecting a exceptional ride.i used all new hardware also. bushings, cap, etc. due to a high compression rate they rebound so fast the car bounces at every rise in the road. at higher speeds its ok over rough roads. some send them back to bilstein to get revalved at 65$ a strut plus shipping and the paying another install fee. its like starting another strut purchase and install expense. im hoping they soften with time but so far they are an annoying ride. between my tire issues and my bouncy ride im presently dissapointed with honda. allthough this could happen with any car… maybe camry next time.
Never used Bilstein struts/shocks on cars…but have used them several times on trucks…and I LOVE them. Currently have them on my 4runner…superb ride.
You put hd (heavy duty) struts on the car and a stiff ride is the result you should expect. If you want a softer ride or close to the original ride then you buy OEM replacement struts. Even these are going to feel stiff compared to the old struts that had deteriorated over time.
Revalving sounds like an expensive proposition, as does replacing them with another set of struts. To add more bad news since these are hd struts they really aren’t going to get that much softer. More likely you are going to get more used to the ride. If you bought these struts with the advice of a shop sales person perhaps the shop will offer some kind of deal to change to a softer better riding strut at a reduced cost.
If you can’t change out the struts; I’d suggest taking a few pounds of pressure out of your tires. Then the next time you buy tires put emphasis on a smooth ride. By all means don’t upgrade your Honda with those fat tires with skinny sidewalls, your teeth will rattle as you hit every expansion strip.
On this one you really can’t fault Honda or the car as you are the one who decided what strut to put on the car. Bilstein are excellent shocks and struts, but I usually have associated them with racing. Racing struts are stiff by design as that is the best way to maintain control at high speeds.
I’m not sure what the range of models is, but if the ‘HD’ are the stiff ones, they’re built for high speed handling, not a smooth (luxury) ride. I’ve used Bilsteins on one car (a VW Scirocco) and an SUV ('95 Suburban). They resulted in a much more controlled ride and better handling, but certainly not what I’d call ‘plush’. And I have to ask: why only on the front? When making such a major change in suspension, I would want them all the way around.
I don’t understand why you’re pointing a finger at Honda and considering a Camry. Honda has less than zero to do with the installing of Bilsteins.
Have you considered the fact the valving may not even be the problem and it may simply be a faulty shock, or shocks, from the get-go?
While working for dealers, I installed Bilsteins per customer request on 2 near new cars (both VWs in this case).
With one car, one of the Bilsteins failed within a week.
In regards to the other car, both rear Bilsteins failed within a month.
And in both cases the car owners, who were told up front that we do NOT warranty labor on aftermarket parts, became irate and blamed us also.
Just my opinion but I don’t think you even need Bilsteins on a Honda Accord and while I’m not familiar at all with the failure rate of that brand, the fact that 3 out of 8 that I installed failed within a month would turn me off.
And it’s also possible that you’re simply not acclimated to the new ride quality and they simply feel much different than the old ones.
Different shocks = differnt ride. You decide.
Bilstein makes several levels of shocks as do the other brands.
It was bilstiens that completely fixed an RV sway problem after numerous tries with Gabriel and Monroe’s stiffest, short of welding on brackets for quad shocks. The bilstiens were so stiff a floor jack had to be used to compress them for installation.
On an 80 Bronco we took off the o.e. oil shocks and put on the “new” gas shocks.
Yuck-o ! Zipped 'em right off the next day and went back to h/d oil filled shocks.( The oil filled shock dampens/stiff on the extension stroke, the compression stroke is easy. The gas shock dampens on the compression stroke and the extension stroke is free. Somehow this made a massive difference on that truck. )
Actually, I’m very surprised they will ‘revalve’ Bilsteins, they’re gas pressurized and would be very difficult to disassemble. Are you sure?
everyone was right.i have one option, get used to them, or install an oil filled strut. and i am installing some other brand struts in the rear. its the fronts that take the brunt of these pot holed filled roads. i am concerned as to how many bilsteins failed.and on bilsteins website youll see revalving info. and do i do i apologize for suggesting next time maybe a toyota tacoma with a 5 spd.