Bilstein HD's for rough roads?

Has anyone here had experience with Bilstein HD shocks on rough/ gravel roads? I'm looking to firm up the suspension on my Mazda 2, and am thinking of going with B6's. The car gets fairly regular use on Gravel roads so I'm hoping they are not too harsh on sharp bumps. Any help would be appreciated.

I know someone who drove a new beetle to the arctic ocean and various other off road adventures and Bilstien HDs were a perfect choice.

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I had them on my RX-8. They seemed to soak up irregular, potholed pavement very well.

Unless going w/ some Uber rally shock, HD's are the go-to for e30 rallyx. Good ride balance and They hold up well.

Thanks for the quick replies. This gives food for thought. I'm presently running Bilstein B4's in front and KYB Gas-a-just in the rear with a DDMworks rear bar. Now that Bilstein has released B6's for the Fiesta, It's got me scheming...

Firm but good. I've had many cars with Bilstein, they seem to believe in really aggressive rebound so the car definitely won't wallow all over the place but don't expect a pillowy ride.

Well, I guess if they have too much rebound it would be an opportunity to go with stiffer springs... hmmm. Still have to consider budgetary concerns.

I'd check some application-specific feedback before purchasing. Bilstein HDs worked great in my '94 Chevy 4x4 pickup, but had a reputation of being too harsh in the E36 chassis.

Good to know, thanks. I'm not unhappy with what I have now, and I'm thinking of following up with Mazdadeuce's work with bumpstops to firm up the rear end a touch. A considerably more budget friendly option.

I've had HDs on a 318ti for 15k miles, regularly driven too fast on chewed up rural PA roads- they're great, especially paired with some big progressive foam bumpstops.

I ran Bilstein 5100s in my Xterra for 50k+ miles.

Got me from PA to AK then to CA and back. No issues and solid ride.

I have Bilstien HDs on my lancer Evolution now. I unfortunately have done very little loose surface driving with them. They will work out fine for some of the larger motion road events. But if you are on a high frequency, lots of little pebbles or washboarding can actually cause a much different behavior than you currently have. It may result in the car wanting to slide more as the damper acts more like a fixed rod rather than allowing the small high frequency motions. I have also experienced down jacking as the damper accepts the compression but the rebound valving doesn't allow the shaft to extend before the next compression event. Thus the dampers compress down to the bump stops even though you are going straight.

You won't know what you will get until you try it out. Maybe query the local forums for anyone nearby with those dampers on a Mazda 2 or Fiesta.

I'm in the same boat, but I'm interested in the Bilstein PSS Coilover for the 2.

I have the Sports on my 79 3 series and the HD on my Jeep.

I have heard they are virtually indestructible and I believe it.

The rebound control is good. But overall, the ride is more Prussian than Bavarian. Pretty strict and unrelenting in its precision.

Going with adjustable rebound Konis instead on the Fubari to see how the other side lives.

I have Koni yellows in a 1995 850 Volvo wagon and Bilstein B6 in a 2007 V70R Volvo wagon and if I could get the Konis for the V70 I would for exactly the use you queried about. The Bilies are awesome, and I find the ride very good in most uses, and low speed uneven surface is exactly where the Konis are much much better (more compliant). Application may vary results ect..

Thanks for the responses. After much humming and hawing, ripping around trying to figure out what I like and dislike about my present setup, and analyzing my tiny little budget, I've decided not go with the HD's. I'm going to stay with my Bilstein B4's in the front, which seem to work fairly well. I have ordered a set of KYB AGX's for an 02 VW Golf to use in the rear. All indications are that these will fit, and I've had good experiences with AGX's in the past. I also ordered an extra set of KYB bump stops. After reading Mazdaduece's work with bumpstops I'm hoping to mess with them a bit and see if I can totally screw things up. So, to sum up, stock springs to maintain ride height, B4 struts up front, AGX's in the back with some extra bump stop to increase spring rate, a DDMworks rear bar. Let's see what happens.

We have HDs on the e30 rally car. The fronts have been on there for 6 years (50+ rallycrosses and 4-5 stage rally/rallysprints). The rears we blew one of by hitting open train tracks (which also broke a wheel), but if not for that would probably still be good.

I also have them on our Sequoia and my Porsche 924S. My WRX has Bilstein Cup shocks with 130k miles on them now and still not blown :)