Hello all! I recently picked up a pair of Cross coilovers to replace my Bilstein PSS9's. Thank you Mario for a great price on a low mileage set in great shape. Also, thanks to Konstantinos and Glen for purchasing my previous setup which included Bilstein PSS9's and H-sport 2nd generation camber plates, I hope you guys are happy with your new stuff! Ok, on to the comparison...

I think it is important to specify what my goals are with my car and what I was looking for in a suspension. I initially just wanted to lower my car and had heard good things about the build quality and reliability of the Bilstiens. I got a great price on a set and so I went ahead with them. I hadn't really done my homework or gotten a ride in someones car that was setup with them. I ran the setup for about 18 months and then realized there were other options that might be better suitable for street driving.

Bilstein PSS9's

Install and adjustment of these is simple. To lower, you have to preload the spring more and more, but you can definitely slam the car. I don't know how much suspension travel you eat up when lowering 2" below stock, but it certainly didn't feel like there was much left. I didn't track the car at all so all my driving and impressions are based on street driving in Tucson, Arizona and Orange County, California. I didn't play with the rebound/compression on the coilovers, they were always set at 0 on all four corners. If I did want to adjust though, it was simple. The adjustment **** was on the base of all four struts.

The ride at low speeds was a little bouncy. Small bumps in the road were absorbed quite nicely, but if there was any kind of pothole, uneven pavement, or debris in the road, it was not pleasant. There were a couple of times that I thought the strut was going to break thru the tower and thru the hood. It was definitely scary. On the other hand, the car felt very stable at highway speed and in corners. It felt planted and was just waiting for steering imput. I was running -1.75 camber in the front and 0 toe and the car was very responsive to throttle in corners. The amount of negative camber was limited with the Bilstein's because of the barrel type springs, but I had no problem getting to -1.75.

I had a decent amount of noise with the Bilstein/Hsport combo. There was a really odd noise when turning the wheel at low speeds, almost like a cracking sound. I never did figure out what the source of the sound was, but it was really annoying. I think it might have been the end links or the spring rotating in the perch, but I didn't take the time to figure it out.

Here are some pictures of the amount of threads I had to play with in terms of lowering the car or raising it up.

Front:


Rear:


Ride Height:


Cross

The Cross setup was just as easy to install and almost as easy to adjust. The ride height is adjustable independent of spring
preload and once I got the hang of the new adjustment style, it is just as easy to adjust ride height. I am running softer spring rates than what Jan at RMW sells his system with. I believe they are 337 lbs in the front and 280lbs in the rear. The front compression/rebound **** is at the bottom of the strut but the rears are at the top. There are adjusters but I was too lazy to install them for the rears. With how easy it is to drop the rear struts (3 bolts once the cars in the air), I didn't feel the need to add the adjusters. I knew that I wasn't going to be playing with 'em much either. I set the fronts at 8 clicks from soft and the rears at 6 from soft. I am happy with that setup.

The ride is far softer than the Bilstein's. They are not bouncy at low speeds and they absorb bumps in the road perfectly. They are firm but not harsh. Over uneven pavement, I don't feel as much vibration and jolts as I did with the previous setup. Having full travel at 2" below stock is prettty awesome. The car feels lighter on the wheels than it did with Bilstein's. There is slightly more body roll than I was used to, but I am sure that can be adjusted with the rebound/compression adjustments. The steering imput is precise and turn in is great. I got it aligned today and set the front camber at -1.75. There is plenty more to go if I so desire. Also, I did end up making cuts in the strut tower to make adjusting it easier.

One of my favorite parts about the Cross setup is NO NOISE. The system sounds like stock, which is very important to me. Even when I hit significant bumps in the road or potholes, everything sounds normal.

Here are a couple of crappy pictures of how the car sits now.






All the information here is just based on my limited experience with both systems in certain conditions. For my specific needs, the Bilsteins weren't the best choice, but that doesn't mean that they aren't a great system. I think I will be happy with the Cross setup in the long run, but only time will tell. I will try and answer questions as best I can, but to anyone that is looking for a new suspension, make sure you get a ride in a car setup the way you want it. It's the only real way to tell if its something you are going to like.

 

nice writeup. I just did the same swap last week. sorting out some things but I'll get some miles on them soon to tell. I feel like the ride improved for sure, and that's even without setting things up yet.

 

ya I instantly noticed the difference when I swapped. I drove around for about 2 weeks and played with the ride height before getting it aligned. I will be interested in hearing your impressions as well!

 

well, I'm still sorting it out. just getting it back together and drivable was enough for now. I hate doing suspensions. I did cut holes for the rear adjusters...that caused some grief.

 

ya if I didn't have access to power tools I would've cut the holes and done it once...but dropping the strut is so easy (and I knew I wouldn't play with it more than once or twice) that I just didn't bother. From the instructions I saw it looked like there was potential for headaches.

 

great write up matt! ill call you later tonight

 

the front springs are 400 and the rear are 337
just wanted to clarify

 

THanks for the write up. I've been waiting to hear comparisons of Bilstein vs. Cross. I'm glad I took a leap of faith with the Crosses. I could not be happier with the ride so far. And, thanks, Jan for supplying them

 

Me, too. Oh wait... what's your number again?

 

Glad to hear you liked them

They are a great setup! I couldn't be happier with mine.

 

I'm glad it worked out for you Mat. I could tell you liked them, the instant you got into my car. BTW you are running 280lb front and 225lb rear. I do miss how the Cross handled and they look so Sweet!
Give me a call so we can do some runs.
Peace

 

Thanks for the clarification on spring rates. What are the ones Danny has on order?

I have done a couple trips back and fourth to LA and its so nice not having to worry about hitting major potholes that will knock my teeth loose.

 

Nice set up man really like it... wish my pure silver was the darker silver... beggers cant be choosers...

 

I'm confused between post #7 and #11. What are the rates used in the above application?

 

Here's a noob question - depending on what the rates are, 400/337 or 280/225, what would be the benefits of either? What do the stiffer rates get you as opposed to the softer rates? What's best for street or track driving?

mb

 

I hear ya, sometimes I wish mine was Pure Silver...its the whole, "the grass is always greener on the other side" thing

The spring rates I have are different then what you get out of the box from Jan, Danny, and other Cross retailers. The previous owner of my setup wanted a softer ride, so he bought a softer set of springs.

Well the lower rates are going to offer a slightly softer ride (maybe at the cost of some "at the limit performance", but I doubt I would ever notice the difference) vs the higher rates that are stiffer and will probably stiffen up the ride a little bit. I am no expert, so I will let someone else explain this better. At the end of the day, I haven't heard anyone complain about the stiffer rates, so I am sure most people wouldn't look for softer rates.

 

Thank you - I'm just trying to compare because the TSW AST setup has 342 front and rear, and 400 seems like a significant difference. But that's for another thread...

mb

 

Well in terms of a full coilover system, there is more to compare than just spring rate. The valving of each system will vary and that is not going to be easy to compare in terms of a #. If you are concerned with how they are going to feel, get a ride in a car setup with them. Like Mario said, once I got a ride in his car I knew that this system was for me. They just rode so much smoother at the ride height I would most likely run.