Re-valving Bilstein shocks

[petroscf]

Has anyone done this to yellow Bilstein (B6 I think are they called? ) shocks?
I mean, instead of fitting 4 new shocks

There is a guy here in Athens who does this, and, he claims using better oil quality that the initial from factory, and also, he can put pistons of motorsport type (which he claims to be better than the factory ones) as an option (he can also use the same pistons like factory if one prefers)

The price for 4 shocks is a bit less than bying and fitting 4 new ones

Any such experience / opinions?

My car's Bilsteins have 50000 km, which may not seem too much, however, these were done in extremely bad road conditions (at least at a 50%) and also their age is 10 years (they were fitted new 10 years ago)

[Jeroen]

Bilstein offer the same service. Usually it's too expensive through them, new ones are cheaper then, but a perfect solution for shocks that are NLA. And if a local specialist can do the same job, yeah could very well be an option.

[uwbuurman]

Well, I tried at Bilstein Deutschland, they send me to bilstein Netherlands and they couldn't help me. The gave me the credentials of a guy, though, who should be able to help me. So I called him and meet up with him today. As it turnes out he used to work at Bilstein Deutschland and lateron in life at koni. He now builds custom made schockabsorbers for cars and motorcycles. Still has a good relation to Bilstein Deutschland.

So I now let my b8 sport shocks with him. He'll change the fluids, the NO, which keeps the pressure on the shock. Also all the seals and bearings. When everything is taken apart, I"ll pick up the tubes, so I can blast them and paint them. The guy has all original bilstein stickers and logo's, so they gonna be like new, or better!

I will place lots of pics of the rebuild, pics of the inside aswell. I now know what the difference is between normal b8 and alpina and hartge b8.

[Jeroen]

That screams for a dedicated topic Koos, looking forward to that!

[uwbuurman]

Will do! Because Jurgen does this on the side, it may take up to 4 weeks... Some parts needs to come from Bilstein Deutschland and have somewhat 3 weeks delivery time.

[petroscf]

Really good to know!
The point with the guy here in Athens is that I am not sure he is just a local specialist, I do think that his workshop is something like "official" Bilstein service (and his phone number was even given to me by Bilstein dealer in Athens: " There is a Bilstein service, ...etc." )
The price he asked is high in total, as a new set of B6 is only a bit more expensive, besides, B6 are not yet NLA for E21, they are still in production
So, what's the reason to prefer him over a new set?
I guess it's the curiosity to see his work, as he promises better performance than a new set, because he will redo mine for my car's weights, height etc., something that can't be an option for non adjustable suspension

[petroscf]

In any case, your suggestions are welcome. Would you people go for new suspension, or would you re-valve your billies? To me, the second option is heard not bad, as the guy says that the shock is possibly done for the specific car, weight, lowering etc. somehow like a tailor made one

[uwbuurman]

Very simple. If you can buy the same, but new, always buy new. For Bilsteis with a price of about €100 a piece, its most likely nearly the same price as rebuild. My B8 Sports are no longer for sale, so I need to overhaul them. Costs are almost the same a new B6's.

[gerrit323]

Nice to know because the Hartge spec B8's that I'm running on the car are NLA