Switching to Billstiens on a '00 [Archive] - TALON Club - Texas Area Lightning Owners North

wesman

10-16-2002, 08:58 PM

Originally posted by 99WhiteBeast
I put 02 Billstiens on my 99 with no issues.
You need a 18mm socket for the front and a 22mm for the rear to remove and install- about an hour job to swap them out.

The tools are no problem, i was just concerned that there may be some hardware , brackets etc that I may need, apparently not.

How did you like the ride compared to the stock '99's ? Good improvement ?

Red2002

10-16-2002, 09:10 PM

Wes I ran into your girl today on S. Cooper. She can really drive that L of yours! :D :D

We couldn't get lined up, but with the 20's and 3.55 rears on your L, and the new Nitto 555R's on my L, I didn't want to put her down too bad. j/k Those wheels are enormous btw! If there was ever a time I felt inadequate......:)

Truck looks good, when did you get the bra? She really attracts a crowd when the windows are down. A dude on a Goldwing couldn't stop staring amd started veering into my lane!

wesman

10-16-2002, 10:13 PM

Originally posted by Red2002
Wes I ran into your girl today on S. Cooper. She can really drive that L of yours! :D :D

We couldn't get lined up, but with the 20's and 3.55 rears on your L, and the new Nitto 555R's on my L, I didn't want to put her down too bad. j/k Those wheels are enormous btw! If there was ever a time I felt inadequate......:)

Truck looks good, when did you get the bra? She really attracts a crowd when the windows are down. A dude on a Goldwing couldn't stop staring amd started veering into my lane!

lol....she told me about when she got home. I told her she's grounded from all L activity until further notice, beating on my poor baby like that :D

It may have been a pretty good race, Im runing the 6# now and have added a few other things since we lined up last :tu:

I let her drive the L this whole week since I'm breaking in my new 350Z...but it looks like rain possibly tomorrow and Friday so she's gonna be going back to the Convertible Z, cause the 350 is too young to play in the rain yet :)

I need to get my gears installed...tired of getting beat off the line by other L's because of those heavy ass rims/tires, at least they look real good :)

What did you do with the F1's you took off to slap those 555's on? I need a set to go on the front of my stock rims for the track.

New mods coming soon:

Long tubes with freeflow cats and a powercooler...also got my chip burned to my dyno....gonna see what she puts down with all the new goodies :tu:

--wes

Red2002

10-17-2002, 12:48 AM

Originally posted by wesman
[B]I let her drive the L this whole week since I'm breaking in my new 350Z...but it looks like rain possibly tomorrow and Friday so she's gonna be going back to the Convertible Z, cause the 350 is too young to play in the rain yet :)

You live a tough life Wes. :D

[QUOTE]What did you do with the F1's you took off to slap those 555's on? I need a set to go on the front of my stock rims for the track.

I've still got them bouncing around in the back. One tire has about 4-5K left on it and you'd be lucky to get another 2K on the other. I'll give you the one with more wear for free. I was planning on keeping the other for a backup. Lemme know.

It's funny what happens to women when they get behind the wheel of an L. :)

Red2002

10-17-2002, 12:50 AM

I so wanted a chance to get an open spot to see if she would've hammered it. My money says she would've put that pedal through the floor. :) It's funny what happens to women when they get behind the wheel of an L.

I've still got the F1's bouncing around in the back. One tire has about 4-5K left on it and you'd be lucky to get another 2K on the other. I'll give you the one with more wear for nothing more than meeting me somewhere to pick it up. I was planning on keeping the other for a backup. Lemme know.

MadMax

10-17-2002, 02:27 AM

Installed the Bilstein's on my 2000. I have the full Hotchkis enchilada....Springs/Bars/Panhard Rod/Nitto's...etc. I removed the Bilstein's and threw them away. The final result was the 12-way adjustable HAL QA1's from Stan aka ruslow@yahoo.com I run agressive on the street and run every Porsche, Mercedes, BMW I can find between the Toll Booth (Spring Valley) out to Legacy. I love the "**** eatin' lookin' WTF happened I just got the **** kicked out of my ass" look on those .com yuppy faces in my rear view mirror.....end of story...

#1 reason for keeping this vehicle...stealth status...

I would have done Roush had I done it over again...talk to SixPipes about this one....

:D

L8 APEX

10-17-2002, 08:58 AM

You can have my 01 takeoffs for 80 bucks:D About 7K miles on them. I went with the QA1's also but I know you don't want to spend 650 bucks on shocks.

wesman

10-17-2002, 09:27 AM

Originally posted by Red2002
I so wanted a chance to get an open spot to see if she would've hammered it. My money says she would've put that pedal through the floor. :) It's funny what happens to women when they get behind the wheel of an L.

I've still got the F1's bouncing around in the back. One tire has about 4-5K left on it and you'd be lucky to get another 2K on the other. I'll give you the one with more wear for nothing more than meeting me somewhere to pick it up. I was planning on keeping the other for a backup. Lemme know.

LOL...she would've hammered it. I don't think she's gotten a feel of the full out from a stop grunt the L has but she can probably handle it. She had a LS1 for a year or so before we gave it to her sister and she got the Convertible Z. She's also driven one of my TT's before that was putting down about 450ish to the wheels so she's felt power. She's driving it again today since it's nice out, so you may see her again :tu:

I'll take the tire with a little life left on it, I actually only need the one anyway, as one of mine is completely to the cords gone. I only need them to switch to the 18's when I go to the track.....cause as nice as those 20's look they are a b!tch to get going (48 pounds per rim, tire not included).

Let me know when and where you wanna meet up.

Thanks! :tu:

--wes

MadMax

10-17-2002, 09:54 AM

The 350Z appears to be a hit. Wes....did you purchase the "Track Package" option? jw

wesman

10-17-2002, 10:13 AM

Originally posted by MadMax
The 350Z appears to be a hit. Wes....did you purchase the "Track Package" option? jw

Here's the email I sent you, in case anyone else was interested :tu:

I didn't get the Track, got the Enthusiast.

I didn't see the need to get all of that stuff(18" rims,brembo brakes,BOSE stereo etc) because it was going to be replaced anyway.

I have a hookup for Willwood brakes, the guys that design the Corvette racing brakes. I'm getting a 6 piston front and 4 piston rear system at cost. I will also buy my own wheels, ones I like :)

For the money the Enthusiast was the best buy, it has all the stuff I wanted (Limited slip diff, Xenon lights ,TCS etc., just not the foofoo stuff like Navigation and electronic tire pressure gauges that come with the 18's etc)

It's a bad ass little car, handles like crazy. If you autocross
or road race look out for them, they are handling machines :)

I'm anxiously awaiting NISMO to make it to the states in Jan or
Feba dn releasing that Supercharger that is rumored to be out there, it'll haul ass then cause it's surprisingly quick now. It has great gearing and an excellent drivetrain (Carbon Fiber driveshaft etc).

I expect mid 13's stock when I take it to the track, 13.3-13.4 with drag radials...we'll see :)

One of these days when everyone goes out to Ennis I'll bring it
out along with the L and see what the both of them can do :)

--wes

wesman

10-17-2002, 10:17 AM

Here's a couple pics that I took the first day I got it. They kinda suck because I was in a hurry to get going to Florida so I just snapped some quickies.

http://www.f150online.com/galleries/images/1542-2426-31568.jpg

http://www.f150online.com/galleries/images/1542-2426-31569.jpg

wesman

10-17-2002, 10:18 AM

http://www.f150online.com/galleries/images/1542-2426-31570.jpg

http://www.f150online.com/galleries/images/1542-2426-31571.jpg

Here's some pictures of a few little guys to match it :)

http://www.f150online.com/galleries/images/1542-2426-34001.jpg

Red2002

10-17-2002, 10:58 AM

I LOVE those cars! Nissan definetely has a winner on their hands!

The Infinity G35 Sport Coupe is a looker as well!

98Cobra

10-17-2002, 04:09 PM

I have the Bilsteins on my '00. Man, talk about an improvement! Of course, tow of the ones I replaced were destroyed/leaking anyway.

I have some pictures from the install up at my site: http://vectra.dyndns.org

wesman

10-17-2002, 04:33 PM

Originally posted by 98Cobra
I have the Bilsteins on my '00. Man, talk about an improvement! Of course, tow of the ones I replaced were destroyed/leaking anyway.

I have some pictures from the install up at my site: http://vectra.dyndns.org

Cool...thanks :tu:

Did you have to order anything else besides the shocks? Someone mentioned you needed other nuts for the top of the shocks and gave me a part number. Did you do this as well ?

--wes

Silver_2000

10-17-2002, 04:57 PM

99WhiteBeast

10-17-2002, 05:28 PM

Mine bolted right in no issues. Much stiffer response now.

L8 APEX

10-17-2002, 05:46 PM

Originally posted by 99WhiteBeast
Much stiffer

huhuhu... He said stiffer huhuhuh :D

WA 2 FST

10-17-2002, 07:40 PM

Originally posted by wesman
Cool...thanks :tu:

Did you have to order anything else besides the shocks? Someone mentioned you needed other nuts for the top of the shocks and gave me a part number. Did you do this as well ?

--wes

On the '99 you DO need the rear "capture nuts" that go on the top of the rear shocks. I do not know if your '00 needs these or not, but since the truck did not come with Bilsteins from the factory, I would bet that you will need them.

The install is easy to do. No gotchas.

I noticed a significant difference with these shocks, but my truck is only lowered 2" all the way around. I can't remember how low yours is.

99WhiteBeast

10-17-2002, 08:39 PM

WA2,
Can you explain or post a pic of the "capture nuts" so I can better understand why these are needed?

98Cobra

10-17-2002, 09:04 PM

No extra pieces were needed for mine. I bought mine from HIHOAG, they came with his suspension kit but he only ran them for like, 100 miles or so. I gave him $75 or $100, I don't remember. The bonus was him showing me how to do it, and lending his tools/garage/help. :tu:

wesman

10-17-2002, 10:16 PM

Originally posted by 98Cobra
No extra pieces were needed for mine. I bought mine from HIHOAG, they came with his suspension kit but he only ran them for like, 100 miles or so. I gave him $75 or $100, I don't remember. The bonus was him showing me how to do it, and lending his tools/garage/help. :tu:

The $64,000 question is if you used your stock nuts (here come the jokes :p) or were there nuts provided with the Billstiens in the kit?

--wes

99WhiteBeast

10-17-2002, 10:46 PM

They were takeoffs from an 02 with nuts. I didn't see any issues on the install.

wesman

10-17-2002, 11:20 PM

Originally posted by 99WhiteBeast
They were takeoffs from an 02 with nuts. I didn't see any issues on the install.

I don't believe there to be any issues with the install as long as you have those larger nuts. The '99-'00 have smaller nuts holding the shocks on than the '01-'02 models. If you got the shocks with the nuts already on them it should be a simple plug and play installation.

I believe the question has been answered that there are two larger nuts required to install the Billstiens on a '99-'00.

BTW- Part# for those are F65Z-18197-BB

--wes

WA 2 FST

10-18-2002, 09:33 AM

wesman nailed it.

I did not get take-offs, but rather bought the shocks alone. These require new top "capture nuts" compared to what comes with the standard '99-00 shocks.

I would just hate for someone to get everything taken down, only to realize that the stock nuts will not work.

L8 APEX

10-18-2002, 05:00 PM

A shock that doesn't come with hardware is :bs I haven't bought a shock that doesn't come with bushings, washers and nuts!:nono:

Silver_2000

10-18-2002, 05:06 PM

Originally posted by L8 APEX
A shock that doesn't come with hardware is :bs I haven't bought a shock that doesn't come with bushings, washers and nuts!:nono:

When you are buying them as replacements for a 2001 the nuts can be reused... When you are putting 2001 shocks on a 2000 there may be parts required the manufacturer is gonna have a hard time guessing what you need since they never intended them for that application

Doug

WA 2 FST

10-18-2002, 07:24 PM

Originally posted by L8 APEX
A shock that doesn't come with hardware is :bs I haven't bought a shock that doesn't come with bushings, washers and nuts!:nono:

I felt the same way, so my friendly Ford dealer threw 'em in for free...and I only paid $38.xx each for the Bilstein shocks.

But, if you go to the Ford house, you will not get the upper capture nuts for the rear shocks, if you just order the shocks themselves.

L8 APEX

10-18-2002, 08:56 PM

That is how they are doing it! If you order a replacement part from the dealer it will not come with hardware. If you buy a new shock from any other parts house it should come complete:tu: Ah, the great capture nut caper is solved :D

Red2002

10-18-2002, 09:18 PM

Originally posted by L8 APEX
Ah, the great capture nut caper is solved :D

All this talk about captured nuts has got me worried about mine. :eek2: My nuts will never be captured!

But given the size of the nuts in question, no one is gonna make off with these things with a Lightning to tow them with. :D

wesman

10-19-2002, 09:32 PM

Originally posted by Red2002
All this talk about captured nuts has got me worried about mine. :eek2: My nuts will never be captured!

But given the size of the nuts in question, no one is gonna make off with these things with a Lightning to tow them with. :D

Hey man let me know when you wanna meet up so I can get that F1. My cell # is 817-797-8907 . I'll be out and about on Rice patrol tonight.....maybe I'll see you out there :tu:

Silver_2000

11-15-2002, 11:51 AM

Does anyone have the PN for the actual shock ?
I am considering trying to swap mine tomorrow... The old beast is geting a little loose at highway speeds

Doug

wesman

11-15-2002, 02:49 PM

Originally posted by Silver_2000_;)!
Does anyone have the PN for the actual shock ?
I am considering trying to swap mine tomorrow... The old beast is geting a little loose at highway speeds

Doug

Sure do Doug, I just got mine from fordpartsonline.com on Wed. I was gonna swap them out this weekend, but some new stuff has come up that requires my attention on the truck :(
Part #'s:

01 Bilstein Shock Stocks #1L3Z18124AC Front
01 Bilstein Shock Stocks #1L3Z18125AA Rear

For the '99+ '00 you will need two of these nuts as well:

F65Z18197BB- Nuts for Billstein shocks (need 2)

--wes

Silver_2000

11-15-2002, 06:41 PM

Originally posted by wesman
Sure do Doug, I just got mine from fordpartsonline.com on Wed. I was gonna swap them out this weekend, but some new stuff has come up that requires my attention on the truck :(
Part #'s:

01 Bilstein Shock Stocks #1L3Z18124AC Front
01 Bilstein Shock Stocks #1L3Z18125AA Rear

For the '99+ '00 you will need two of these nuts as well:

F65Z18197BB- Nuts for Billstein shocks (need 2)

--wes

THANKS !!!

I ordered them from FPO...

Try to install one evening next week.... Ill buy the beer...

Doug

Silver_2000

11-15-2002, 06:41 PM

Originally posted by wesman
Sure do Doug, I just got mine from fordpartsonline.com on Wed. I was gonna swap them out this weekend, but some new stuff has come up that requires my attention on the truck :(
Part #'s:

01 Bilstein Shock Stocks #1L3Z18124AC Front
01 Bilstein Shock Stocks #1L3Z18125AA Rear

For the '99+ '00 you will need two of these nuts as well:

F65Z18197BB- Nuts for Billstein shocks (need 2)

--wes

THANKS !!!
Couldnt find them locally
I ordered them from FPO...

Try to install one evening next week.... Ill buy the beer...

Doug