Bilstein was OEM on Mercedes from the mid 1960's until the W201 & W124 chassis came about in the mid 1980's. At the time Boge (now Sachs-Boge) became OEM on those cars. Now they are OEM on everything. The shocks are identical in design. It, the mono tube gas shock, was originally designed by a Frenchman named DeCarbon. He actually sold his shocks as an aftermarket item for the W108 chassis in the mid 60's & 70's. He was an idiot that let his patent lapse and Bilstein copied the design. Then Boge copied it before Bilstein patented it. I personally believe the major difference between Bilstein & Sachs-Boge is the quality of the parts used. They both have lifetime warranties if you keep all you original paperwork, though warranties are a pain in the butt. This is my $.02 of banter.
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, October 20, 2005 8:53 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [MBZ] Bilstein as OEM in Mercedes two totally different design philosophies ? since when ? Mercedes and BMW have been rivals since anyones guess. Mercedes might be more into the luxo field but considering when BMW started with the Motor sport engines and Mercedes not wanting to be outdone goes to AMG. How can you figure they aren't competing ? Its not any different than the domestic brands fighting about who has the most horsepower. 69 280 SEL 120,000 Miles 72 350SL 108,000 Miles 2004 VW Passat 4 Motion 1999 Mazda Miata -----Original Message----- From: Gabriel S. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Mercedes mailing list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 08:08:17 -0700 Subject: Re: [MBZ] Bilstein as OEM in Mercedes How can you compare BMW to Benz handling, they are totally different design philosophies. On 10/18/05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > In a message dated 10/18/2005 10:20:07 P.M. US Mountain Standard Tim, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > Could it be that BMW, Audi and VW know something that Mercedes doesn't ? > They are getting a little sloppy in the handling department. It was stated > by > several auto magazine editors that the 06 VW Passat handles, rides and > performs > as well or better than several high end Mercedes models. Could be that > Mercedes is slipping or the others are just getting better while the 3 > pointed > star is standing stlll. > Hate to knock a car that I still appreciate but the sad fact is BMW has > been > kicking Mercedes a$$ in the suspension and handling for many years now. > > > > My 79 still has the original Bilsteins at 261,000 miles and still takes > the > speed humps better than any car I drive. ON the other hand, the 98 ML 320 > came with ARVIN shocks as OEM. I recently put Bilstein on the front and > Sachs > on the rear. They were way overdue! The Sachs were 1/3 the price of the > Bilstein struts and came with new springs installed so I cheaped out. I'll > give > them 50,000 miles! > > Regards, > > Jim Friesen > Phoenix AZ > 79 300SD, 261 K miles > 98 ML 320, 138 K miles > _______________________________________ > For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ > For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net > -- Gabriel Soto Southern California 1987 300D 230K=- _______________________________________ For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net __________________________________________________________________ Look What The New Netscape.com Can Do! Now you can preview dozens of stories and have the ones you select delivered to you without ever leaving the Top Home Page. And the new Tool Box gives you one click access to local Movie times, Maps, White Pages and more. See for yourself at http://netcenter.netscape.com/netcenter/ _______________________________________ For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net