Road noise - Bilstein Comforts vs HD
 

Vehicle : 1986 300E

I have been reading through the various posts discussing Bilstein shocks and I was looking to find something comparing the difference in road noise between vehicles installed with Bilstein comforts and HD's.

People have just mentioned that the ride is harsh at times with HD's.

If anyone could shed some light on whether the level road noise would be higher, lower or the same between the comfort and HD shocks, it would be greatly helpful.

TIA.

hs

I made a mistake and put on KYB's. Now these are STIFF, MUCH stiffer than Bilstein HD's. They offer an objectionable ride, but I cannot tell any difference in road noise. Even these steel rod shocks don't increase road noise. Your shocks, unless they had no soft bushings, mounted metal to metal instead, would have no effect on road noise.

The ride stiffness between HD's and comforts is minimal if even noticable.

Have a great day,

Big fan of the HDs.
Perhaps a little more suspension noise if you hit a choppy section, but less likely to bottom out on big bumps.

Bilstein is no longer listing the Front HDs for the early 124s on their website, and my usual vendors are not stocking them. You may no longer have a choice! Not sure how the later struts differ.

Gotta agree with Larry. My wife's used 190e came with KYB's on it. And as the alignment guy said after he took it for a test drive "it drives like a truck" It has a lousy ride. Bounces over road irregularities, but handles pretty good. If we keep the car, the shocks are on the long list of things I need to replace.

For shocks, spend a bit more to get the better product. Either Bilstein shock is a good product. Remember that shocks and springs are generally matched for dampening and rebound rates.

Tinker

My recommendation would be Bilstein, but neither the HDs nor the Comforts. Just trust the folks who designed in the car in the first place, and stick with the standard Bilsteins.

hey now,when a concern of road noise comes up, the thing to remember is the tires are the source.
have not worked for tire shops in a while, but pirele(spelling?) tire are quiet. because they are soft, they also wear fast. road noise is related to tread design. ask anyone with off road tires.
hd shocks and soft tires work well together.
most name brand tires are quiet. dunlop seem to ride hard,so putting them with hd shocks and the bumps are felt more.
good luck
rich

Bilstein comforts ARE the standard Bilsteins.

Have a great day,

I have the HD Bilstiens on my 126 300SD and love them. I had Bogies on prior and there is no comparison. I think this size car and weight (126) demand the HD. I found NO increase in road noise

I forgot to mention. On my other German car I went from a HD Bilstein to a Sport Bilstien. Very noticeable difference. It is almost too firm for me and I am use to firm cars. No increase in road noise, but a deterioration in ride quality. I don't know if a step from comfort to HD would be as drastic.

Tinker

The Sports are designed for shorter springs and suspension travel. If you didn't change to the shorter springs, the Sports a very bad mismatch.

Have a great day,

Road noise would have to do more with your tires than anything else.

i agree, it's the tires!!!