rcblur69

I’ll get some pics as requested. Don’t think I need to post part codes, this info is pretty clear from Bilstein. Top mounts and bearings I just got straight from local ŠKODA dealer. Polybushes are from…..Polybush lol, code is 44EX. If you’re on the fence about lowering, mine is defo sitting higher now on the B6. Not sure how much it’ll settle over time. It drives so nice now that I’m not bothered.

Yes it was on the standard damper, not dcc. It wasn’t massively expensive I don’t think, not for the improvement anyway. Dampers, fitting and alignment was about £900.

In the last week I’ve had Bilstein B6 fitted with standard sportline springs. The thing is like a whole different car. No wallowing, no wheels thumping around on the rebound. Had polybushes on the rear of the front arms at the same time and the car is now amazing. Wife and kids haven’t noticed at all. I was actually avoiding driving it beforehand cos it annoyed me so much. Now I’m after any excuse to drive it.

Yes completely, I don’t want a Superb BTCC car. But I fail to see why anyone would want more chassis flex? And by that I mean the structure of the car moving around. Given how creaky the interior of a superb can already be, more chassis flex should only make it worse. Whilst less chassis flex should improve it. Rubber bushes, springs and dampers are there to sort the NVH, ride and handling out.

That’s an interesting take on it. Suffer in what way? Don’t most manufacturers boast about increases in chassis stiffness from model to model? I would have expected that increased chassis stiffness reduces cabin creaks and lets the suspension perform better. Now polybushing etc, that adds NVH.

No not gone for it yet. B6 dampers are on the cards soon so might add the strut brace then. Currently battling with some never noisy rear suspension that’s driving me up the wall, so that needs sorting first.

Yes it looks like that would be the equivalent of my wheel, but in leather. This document also seems to back that up. So your current airbag should fit. I don’t know the part number of my original wheel, I’m sure if I rung up the local dealer they could tell me.

Sure, see below image. This is a later ‘deeper’ airbag. If you look at yours the rear will be quite a lot shallower. Obviously, the pictured airbag wouldn’t fit into a wheel with a shallower space like the older wheels have. This is why I needed an older style airbag for my wheel. When you look at your wheel and compare to this image, you should get an idea of the size of the gap if you fit the old bag to a newer wheel. I believe someone in another thread estimated it at 1 cm. Of course, this might all be academic if the wheel you are looking to purchase is the older style, then it would fit perfectly.

I’m after a ride that can control the wheels on rebound and doesn’t bounce the body over speed bumpers. I’m not after a sports car, cos it isn’t one anyway. The standard dampers are crap at rebound and generally underdamped. I understand the B6’s add significant damping, but it perhaps might be too much for my tastes. I was originally querying if the B4 has enough additional damping rate over OEM to fix the general issues. There appears to be no conclusive answer from someone who has fitted the B4 to a superb. Only people who have fitted B4s to Octavia VRS and say it’s the same. But this isn’t really an indication of how they will be on the Superb. There are also good reports of B6 on Superb, but again, this may be a little far for me.

Looks like the difference in part codes is just the two letters at the end. Does anyone know what these letters refer to or indicate about the shocks?

That is very interesting. So the B4 part numbers aren’t listed as replacement for the OEM items. But AUTODOC does list them as compatible with the Superb and they are the numbers that Bilstein themselves list for the Superb. They are also different from the Passat and Arteon. I wonder what it all means? 🤣

If you see the image below, this is a pre June 2018 airbag. Notice how the crease on the sides doesn’t continue around the top, so the top of the bag has a smooth appearance. Now if you look at the bag that my car came with below, you should see that crease continues all the way around the front of the bag to make kind of a triangle shape. If your bag looks like the one at the top, it’s shallower and I believe should fit any wheel, although you’ll have a slight gap. If yours looks like the bottom one then it’s deeper and will only fit the new wheels (no idea what the part numbers are). It may be worth consulting with your dealer as, like I said, mine was able to tell me if the wheel was listed as compatible.

Yes, thanks for the heads up on the typo! Not only are the B6 used across the whole platform, but they are also used on loads of other VW models like Golf 7 and 8, as well as a Caddy California and even a Ford Tourneo MPV/van. My assumption with the differences in the B4 therefore is that they are a universal fit, but must have different damping rates to match the OEM supplied shocks. But with the B6, it’s generic across the board. I guess this may work in the Superbs favour, as those shocks would surely feel stiffer on a lighter golf.

I would second @JR RS here. I changed my MY18 sportline wheel for the above mentioned alcantara alternative. The complication here is that a June 2018 onwards build has a slightly different wheel and deeper airbag. So I sourced an older airbag to go with the alcantara wheel. I also had to swap the buttons as they were different. I ordered through my local Skoda dealer and to be fair to them, their lead parts/service guy prompted me that the alcantara wheel wasn’t listed as compatible, which made me go away and figure it all out with help from people here. Once I explained the difference to him, he was cool and the wheel turned up pretty quickly. The service guy also noted that my MY18 sportline wheel was listed at £700+ from them, which backs up what you are finding @BurtMacklin. He couldn’t explain why it would be so much more expensive though, so that part is still a mystery. Everyone has their own opinion on wheel materials, which is fine. I’m really happy with the alcantara though. To me it feels really luxurious, it matches the fabrics on the sportline interior better, it feels much warmer in winter and it’s been on 6 months now and still looks mint.

I finally looked into this. See Bilstein part codes below. Superb Bilstein B4 Front - 22-232342 Rear - 19-232362 Arteon Bilstein B4 Front - 22-296245 Rear - 19-253428 Passat Bilstein B4 Front - 22-230539 Rear - 19-253428 Superb Bilstein B6 Front - 35-229872 Rear - 24-229880 Arteon Bilstein B6 Front - 35-229872 Rear - 24-229880 Passat Bilstein B6 Front - 35-229872 Rear - 24-229880 So interestingly the Superb, Arteon and Passat all share the same B6 struts/shocks. But in B4’s, the Superb’s aren’t the same as an Arteon/Passat at all. And an Arteon and Passat share a rear B4 but not the front. Wonder if Bilstein themselves can give more details on compatibility and damping rates across all these variants?

Yes I’m decided on staying away from the Koni’s. I’m sure people have had good experiences, but I’m not prepared to roll the dice on a quality issue. @Vidmor thanks for the input, I’m not sure I want it to be firmer than an Octavia VRS, especially since mine is a sportline so I’m already marginally stiffer. I’m convinced by the Bilstein quality though, so will almost certainly be putting B4’s on.

Thanks for the input @Carlston. With regards to stiffer springs, this doesn’t seem like the right approach. At the moment the dampers aren’t sufficient for the spring rate, hence the bouncing. I’m trying to select dampers with enough additional damping rate to be in line with the sportline springs. I’m concerned the B6 is too far the other way. For some I’m sure it is how they like it. I’m leaning towards B4 as I know it won’t be too stiff and it’s the more cost effective option. If they prove to still be underdamped, I’ll know I need to go B6.

My understanding is that both B4 and B6 are considered OE replacement, so I’m not concerned by insurance. I’m concerned by getting the right ride and a quality product. So far, I’m leaning towards B4 as an improvement on OE but not too far. Only issue is, no one else seems to have done the same to have any experience.

Thanks for everyone’s input so far. I think B4 would seem a sensible option. But if they are still very soft like the monroes then I wouldn’t be interested. Is there anyone out there who has actually fitted B4’s though?

So before we start, I know the damper thing has been done to death. However, I wondered if there was another way? I have a 68 plate 272 hatch without DCC. As we all know, it’s rather underdamped as standard. We also know the general options seem to be Koni SA or Bilstein B6. People have their own take on those and I’ve done a lot of reading. Koni is possibly the better option in terms of ride, but might have quality/longevity issues. Bilstein is the higher quality item, but is likely a touch firm for most and is more costly. Has anyone tried a Bilstein B4? I know this is supposed to be an OEM replacement, so may also be too soft. Are dampers from a facelift Superb any different? Are dampers from an Arteon any different? I may end up going the Koni route, but wanted to see if there is another way. Everyone’s knowledge on this would be awesome.

As standard you can’t add camber, only even up each side. As we’ve calculated before, from a front camber point of view, these arms really aren’t suitable. They’re for a golf’s track width. When the time comes I’ll be fitting the solid rubber bushes either from BFI or a TTS.

Again, that’s great to know. There is surprisingly little out there in terms of qualitative opinions on wheel weight. Lots of people say they can’t feel a difference, but I find I’m quite sensitive to these kinds of things. And lots of people (probably the ones that can’t feel it) are focused on losing 0.1s 0-60, which I’m not bothered about. I’ll be after some better dampers at some point as well.

Still good to know. Mine is a 272 sportline hatch but without DCC. It’s been covered a lot before but it’s pretty underdamped as standard. So hoping when I get around to some lighter wheels, they have a decent impact given my setup. Should be able to lose 4kg per corner.

Looking good! Did you notice any improvement in ride losing that much weight per corner?

Yes I imagine that they would hold up better on a superb given the extra sidewall. As per the imagine above, I think they look really good. If I could get a great deal on a set then that would be nice. The draw with the R8 wheels is they are cheaper, lighter, stronger and give better stance (prets will need spacers). I just can’t make up my mind on how they’ll look.