Two epoch-making vehicles are celebrating their 50th birthday in 2022: the W116 from Mercedes-Benz - the first S-Class by name - and the BMW E12, which founded the 5 Series.
As representatives of the luxury and upper mid-range, both still surprise today with their good handling.
Even then, as now, there were people who were not entirely satisfied with the standard condition of their car, regardless of its type, and therefore opted for a suspension upgrade in the form of the BILSTEIN B6 high-performance shock absorber. One of them is classic car collector Heinrich Hövelberndt, owner of a long-established car dealership in Gelsenkirchen. "Our aim is always to achieve the best possible perfection, especially in terms of driving dynamics," Hövelberndt says of his classic cars.
One long-ago experience that he has not forgotten was particularly formative: "I had a BMW 3.0 Si back then. It had 200 hp and could keep up with a Porsche. But the chassis was cheese". As a result, he installed the yellow BILSTEIN B6 in his car: "I drove out of the garage at the time and just thought to myself: 'Wow, that's amazing!'" The BILSTEIN B6 is still available today as an improved series replacement that has been further developed in many ways - for current vehicles as well as for youngtimers and genuine classics. It is often a clever and, due to its series-identical functional dimensions, registration-free alternative to dampers requiring registration, for example if no tuning look is desired.
What is the talent of the Bilstein B6?
The name BILSTEIN B6 is not a one-size-fits-all product. Rather, the name is a philosophy that summarizes a group of high-performance shock absorbers that are always noticeably better than the respective standard shock absorbers - whether on a car from 1972 or 2022. By way of comparison, BILSTEIN uses the term B4 to describe all gas pressure shock absorbers that are 100% equivalent to the original in terms of quality and function. The BILSTEIN B6, which is also available without registration for the Mercedes S-Class W116 and the BMW 5 Series E12, is designed to always exceed this specification. And since the gas pressure shock absorber was already available when the two icons were built, retrofitting it has no effect on the H-registration eligibility - but it does have a positive effect on performance.
The differences to the series are clearly noticeable
The BILSTEIN B6 brings significantly more damping force into play with a high level of comfort and thus offers higher performance reserves, which are positively noticeable during rapid load changes. Among other things, it reduces body roll and ensures greater stability and safety. This applies in particular to heavily loaded vehicles or when towing a trailer.
Another major advantage in the competitive environment is that the shock absorber is not only adapted for different car models on the basis of data sheets: Individual tuning always takes place in extensive road tests. The BILSTEIN online catalog provides an overview of all vehicle applications.
