New Bilstein Suspension Option (B4)

Hi All,

 

I have recently run across B4 rear shocks for our chassis and I was intrigued as to what these would be like.

 

For those not familiar with Bilstein naming, B4s are usually OE-like replacement parts, sometimes for cars that came with Bilsteins and the vehicle manufacturer is no longer selling the OEM-part number, or for vehicles that didn't use OEM Bilsteins.

 

For our chassis, there are three different suspension setups (2.5i, 2.5 GT, and GT Spec.B) that vary noticeably in performance (both in feel and instrumented testing).

 

These B4s show up in the catalog search with the same part number (19-158686) for all three models of Legacy.

 

I emailed Bilstein and so far have not received a clear answer as to what model these are OE-like. If anybody has tried these, please add your feedback to this thread.

 

As of now, only rears are available, as COVID has delayed development and manufacturing of the B4 front struts. Questions like strut construction (mono vs twin tube, inverted vs conventional, strut mount compatibility etc.) can't be released at this time, according to Bilstein.

 

These look like a good option (depending on performance) as they are priced similarly to KYBs. Perhaps if enough people email Bilstein about the front struts, more information will be released, or timelines will decrease (both wishful thinking on a 15 year old chassis, I know).

Contact information? Part numbers? links?

Bilstein site Part Number 19-158686

 

Tire Rack shows that same part number

Part number in original post and in tehspud's post (19-158686). No part number for fronts yet.

 

I can pm you contact info but I'm not posting it online.

I got my last full set of Bilstein strut replacements for my Spec.B from FastWRX (SKU: K08308). I think they're B6s though. They definitely won't fit the stock top hats in my 2.5i; so if you're planning that swap, add a set of top hats to the list of parts to buy (SKU#: K05060). I'm not sure if the standard GT uses the same top hat as the Spec.B though, so one more thing to verify. In either case, I prefer them over the standard 2.5i suspension. I think they're a good balance for a suspension. Not too soft or hard. Edited September 18, 2020 by teranaut

I got my last full set of Bilstein strut replacements for my Spec.B from FastWRX (SKU: K08308). I think they're B6s though. They definitely won't fit the stock top hats in my 2.5i; so if you're planning that swap, add a set of top hats to the list of parts to buy (SKU#: K05060). I'm not sure if the standard GT uses the same top hat as the Spec.B though, so one more thing to verify. In either case, I prefer them over the standard 2.5i suspension. I think they're a good balance for a suspension. Not too soft or hard.

 

OEM spec.B, B6 and B8 use the spec.B top hats. It is unclear what the B4 struts will use as they haven't released any information. If they are targeting 2.5i and GT customers, then one would assume these will use the same mount as those cars and likely not be an inverted strut. If they are inverted, they most likely will use the spec.B mount.