thank you! and yes, white letters out! the bilsteins have been pretty good so far. "firm" but not "harsh." if that makes sense. i was afraid that it will be overly stiff at the highest setting, but that has not been my experience. the shocks do not feel overwhelmed at all with the preload. i have only put in 200 miles on them so far though. need to drive more so i can give more feedback on them. however, they are a pretty big improvement over the OEM shocks when it comes to small bump, speed bumps, potholes, small jumps (okay, not "real" jumps), less brake drive, and less rear squat when accelerating. the shock movements feel more "controlled."
once i get in more miles, i'll see if they change from firm to harsh with the 2.5" setting.