H&R Springs, Bilstein B8's and Eibach sway bars installed on C2

Hi all, Got a few before and after shots to share from my suspension refresh on the 2nd gen C2. Rear shocks were leaking and the fronts had 120k miles on them and very probably due so I thought as it's all coming apart I might as well drop it a little with the H&R sport springs at the same time. Before. After. I've only had it out for a short run since I picked it up this morning but it feels great so far. On the mechanic's advice, I went with the stiffest setting on the rear sway bar (front is not adjustable). Certainly feels tighter and firmer than before but still very comfortable. I chose the H&R springs over the M030 and Eibachs as the reports I read said they had the biggest drop of those 3 options. I was a little worried that it might be too low but I think they look great. It looks like plenty of clearance under the wheels arches still but a vast improvement compared to before.

Looks great! You'll be very happy with them - excellent bang for the buck! " I read said they had the biggest drop of the 3"... "3"what, inches? Nah... 1.25 - 1.5", but that's plenty... anymore you'd be scraping the ground on every bump. Good Luck

Thank you! I'm always impressed with the look of your car in your profile shot and used that as a guide for what I wanted. Very tasteful and I especially love the side stripe. I'm wondering if picking a similar stripe in silver to match my rims might look good on mine too? Good job on the double take, 3" might be a bit aggressive I agree. I've noticed that my exhaust tips are sagging a little so have some Rein engine mounts on order that should be here in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping that I can reclaim some clearance from the stated 1.25" drop by lifting the engine back up a little.

Looks great, I'm looking at a similar combo to upgrade from stock. Height looks perfect and love the color!

Looks good, I am probably due for a suspension refresh and I want to drop it just a bit.

It seems to be a pretty popular combo and also the most cost-effective. I shopped around for weeks looking at all the different options and am very pleased. I'm sure coilovers would have been better by someone's standards but I was looking at roughly twice the price for the PSS10's. I figured for the money it was better to get the best spring / shock combo rather than the cheapest coilover setup.

Well done, Looks great I think you will be impressed once get out somewhere when you can put them to the test

Coincidentally my c4s is at the shop today getting B8s put in as well (and rein engine mounts)! I already have had the H&R springs in through the prior owner and the stock shocks were definitely on their last legs. I'd be interested in a rear sway in the future. I wanted to tackle the engine mounts myself but given covid, the only garage space (and most of my tools) is at my folks place and I'm trying to avoid contact as much as possible . Interested to hear your thoughts after more miles. I debated going KW or Ohlins coilovers and am a bit worried I will regret B8s.

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You can always get something better for more money but I think it's practically impossible to go from stock to B6/B8 and not have an improvement. Especially if the old ones are worn. Given the number of places I tried to buy B8's from that had a 3 month back order, if you do hate them I'm sure you'll be able to move them fairly easily too.

Another photo with straight wheels and hopefully less shadow.

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I don't think you'll regret the B8/H&R combo - the KW V3 & The Ohlins RT will bith run you 3-4x as much $$ I ran the B8's with H&R combo for about 3 years ad really liked them - the only reason I got the KW's is that I got them for a great price only slightly used.

Looks great. Add some wheel spacers and the visuals will be perfect.

I recently installed B8s and H&R springs too and I couldn’t be happier. It’s a great street set up with the perfect ride height. I Haven’t done the sway bars yet though, that’s next up and probably going H&R there too. I also recommend getting spacers... it’ll look even better with those wheel wells filled out. Good luck with it!

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I already know ... just when I think I was done What do you like for spacers? 7mm front and 15mm rear seems to be a popular choice.

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Educate me on spacer sizes please

For anyone that's interested I would say the weight of the Eibach front sway bar was probably twice as heavy as the stock one. I wish I had weighed it before it went on but the difference from the feel of holding it was substantial. The front is a solid bar, the rear is hollow and wasn't quite as heavy but still heavier than stock.

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This is a good video for figuring it out. Just looking at the side pic you posted, it looks like you could probably do 15mm all the way around. You Tube

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I'm lowered on Feal coilovers with 15mm on all four corners and it fits perfectly. Stock 18 inch turbo twists.

I run 15mm on all four wheels - no rubbing/problems (I ran them with the B8's/H&R's as well)...

The spacers I’m using are 7 front, 14 rear. Not sure I would want more on the front, but it will depend on wheel size and (obviously) personal preference.

I debated 15mm all around on my 996.2 NB but ultimately went with 8mm front/15mm rear ECS tuning spacers with extended bolts. They come in Monday but I may throw the 15mm on the front to see if I'm comfortable with the look. I was mostly concerned with rubbing once lowered (currently on stock suspension) and went with 8mm to be safe. Sounds like rubbing isn't an issue and comes down to personal preference and depends on the wheel/tire combo on the car. I'm on original turbo twists with 225/40 up front and 285/30 in the rear. Spent plenty of time looking at pics but I think I just need to see it in person to really appreciate the subtle difference. Thanks to everyone above who shared their experience and pics!

I ended up at ET45 on the front with a 19x8.5” wheel and ET52 on the rear with a 19x10” wheel after spacers. (Narrow body mk1) I could have went another 2mm or so but I wanted to leave room for going up in tire size. Currently running 225/35 and 265/30 but I want to go to 235/35 and either 275 or 285/30 rear. I have no rubbing issues whatsoever.

I'm 99% sold on 15mm all round. What do you all think about something like this? https://www.ebay.com/itm/4X-15mm-Hub...r/114181684155 Is there any need to go for name brand?

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Definitely buy quality hub centric spacers and lug bolts. RSS (Road Sport Supply), ECS Tuning and H&R all make very high quality spacers.

Got my B8s in today and am happy with the results. Much more compliant than the stocks shocks. Will need to do more driving to compare them to my kw's in the other car. Still have an annoying squeak in the front end that seems to be the front way bar... so sways may be up next! And i also ordered spacers

Not sure if it has been said but make sure u get the appropriate length lug bolts to match the spacers

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Fantastic! Please share photos!

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I know, it seems that 20 x 60mm bolts will cost about as much 4 x 15mm spacers. http://www.essexdistributors.com/pro...oducts_id=6863 http://www.essexdistributors.com/pro...oducts_id=7249 Plus the original locking bolts won't fit ... ughh

I run NO spacers '03 C2 Carrera Aero with 33mm drop 18"x 9" et 47 & 18"x11" et 62 235s & 295s Standing still is first view, looks ok But the second view, full compression uphill WOT, wheels, tires & suspension doing what it is suppose to (when it all goes together as it should)

Was my son's birthday last weekend so couldn't get out for a real test drive but I've been across town a handful of times and am really enjoying the new setup. The car feels lower when you sit in it, feels firm and tight around corners and best of all no scraping over speed humps or driveways. The before and after photos from this angle really show off this car in it's best light I think. BEFORE AFTER

Looks awesome. There must be something in the air...I'm in the middle of the same job for my '99 C4 as well. Doing all links and coffin arms as well. Looking forward to how it turns out. Decided to replace the front wheel bearings while everything is apart so I'm currently waiting on parts to arrive. Did you have any issues with alignment after the change? Specifically the rears.

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You will definitely need an alignment when you're done, and you won't be able to get the front camber within spec unless you've got adjustable camber plates (you'll have too much negative camber, and the stock slots won't allow for adjusting it out).

I did need an alignment, here's the results if you're interested. Top is after the install but before the alignment. Bottom is after the alignment. I had just got an alignment done a few weeks ago after the blown tire was replaced so I'm pretty sure that deviances in the upper section are a result of the install and not old issues. Disclaimer, I really do not understand all the terms and the impact they have on the way the car drives but I do understand that green is good

Those camber angles (-1.7 & - 1.6) aren't that bad - I'd be perfectly happy with them (in fact that's about what I'll be shooting for - 1.5 on both sides - since mine are currently -3 & -2.8 with my current top mounts) and may be fine/in spec (even the one that says "max") for a "sport suspension setup" (which is what you've got now). In the rear 1.2 - 1.3 is within spec. so you're a little bit out on them - adjustable dogbones would fix that. The toe can got to .17 - .19 and still; be within spec. (that's what it is on mine). In the front it looks like they might be shooting for specs for a normal height street suspension... Food for thought - It's my understanding that improper toe settings will do more damage/uneven wear to your tires than camber will (as long as it's not way out/ricer like).

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Thanks for the insight. Appreciated! I've ordered the 15mm spacers as recommended here and should have them next week. Do you think I'll be ok with the current alignment to install them as is?

The biggest problem with spacers is �caster� adjustment when the wheels are pushed further out ( it can cause them to rub the wheel liners) seeing as you just had an alignment done, your caster is in spec. and you shouldn�t have any problems...

Thanks El Roso and dporto for the replies. No doubt I'll need an alignment, especially when replacing everything, I had planned on it. My question was more about running up against adjustability limits and you addressed that, thank you. On a side note, I was somewhat surprised in the condition of most of the old parts- for a 20-year-old car with 150k miles, the rubber bushings were is decent shape and the shocks were not leaking and still had damping. Confirmed on everything that was obvious that the parts were original (1998 date codes). 3/4 ball joints on the coffin arms were pretty loose, and the tuning fork ball joists weren't tight either, but nothing was overtly sloppy or clunky. M030 (US) spec car from factory.

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I had a similar experience with mine ... when I first bought the car and thought the ride was a bit compromised my immediate thought it was worn bushings and was getting ready to replace all the control arms but I've had 3 places look at them now and tell me they are fine. My front struts were also fine, just the rear shocks were leaking but I replaced the fronts anyway with the B8's to accommodate the lower springs. Hoping these are good for a few years now. The stock sway bars also looked ok but were notably thinner and lighter than the Eibachs that replaced them. Hard to tell by looking if they were any less stiff than the day they went in.

I had a similar experience with my B8s and H&Rs. I ended up with adjustable rear dogbones (upper control arms). Solved my excess camber situation.

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^^^ You shouldn't run up against any adjust-ability issues with the stock US 030 suspension (or the ROW for that matter, even though it is lower than US spec) - only if you decide to lower it, you may experience problems with getting the camber within spec (too much negative with not enough adjustment to dial it out), possibly toe in the rear, and possibly bump steer...

Reviving an old thread but I’ve put a few thousand km and two track days though my b8/h&r setup and overall found them to be a bit on the soft side at track speeds. I put an order in for eibach front and rears and while waiting I coincidentally found a pair of used kw v3s for a great deal. They’ll all be going on in a week or so!

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Interesting. I did a track day with my new setup and even though it could have been a little stiffer the suspension didn't feel like the weakest link in the car. I was getting some understeer when really giving it some but I found out that I somehow have all season tires at the front and summers at the back. That needs resolving first. I was also driving rather aggressively and managed to cook my brake rotors, they were on their way out anyway so not too big of a deal but there is definitely room for improvement in my driving skills. Had tons of fun though and managed to make my girlfriend scream when she came out for a passenger lap so I consider that a success. Let us know how your new setup works out.