[Sanelko]

Hey guys. Looking for some advice on upgrading the standard suspension on my 328i. What I'd like to get is:

1. A stiffer suspension, but nothing teeth-jarring. This is a daily driver with a little spirited driving every now-and-then. I do not track the car.

2. A modest drop. I have an M-sport bumper where the lip scrapes often enough as-is, albeit this can be attributed to the soft/bouncy suspension in many cases. Regardless, a 30-50mm drop seems like it would be a bad idea.

I know my options are as follows, but each seem to have some negatives. Maybe they're not as bad as some people make them out to be, which is where'd I'd like to hear some opinions:

1. Lowering Springs - Have the Dinan springs in mind here. Can get a modest drop and decreased body roll. Negative here is that you still have your stock soft/bouncy dampeners, which also get worse very fast due to the increased strain/wear with an unmatched springs.

2. New Shocks + Lowering Springs - Have the Bilstein B6/B8 + Dinan springs in mind here. Same drop as above but much stiffer and sportier suspension. Negative here is that you still have shocks with unmatched springs, and the consensus seems to be you might as well get a proper coilover set that are designed to work with one another. Also cases of people blowing out their OEM strut mounts with this setup.

3. Adjustable Height Coilovers - Bilstein B14 in mind here. You now have matched springs + shocks with excellent handling. However, the B14s do not have adjustable damping, which many claim is too stiff for a daily-driver. Also, the drop of 30-50mm seems like it might cause a lot of front bumper scraping issues down the line.

4. Adjustable Height + Damping Coilovers - Bilstein B16 (comfort versions)come to mind here. You still have the dependability of matched springs + shocks with excellent handling as above, but now you also get adjustable damping where you can find the perfect median between comfort and performance for a street car. Also, the drop of 10-30mm seems safer than the choice above. Negative here is obviously the price; the adjustability seems to be geared for a DD that sees a good amount of track time, which would be overkill in my case as I do not track the car.

Appreciate any input you guys may have.

[alohasurftoad]

additionally...

M-Performance suspension. 10mm lower than M-sport, 20mm lower than base suspension.

Ohlins Road & Track. 10mm lower. little pricey, considered the best in class by many.

[valve float]

3. b14 are NOT too stiff for DD...those who say they are old and cranky... ;-)

[sspade]

Very interested in this topic as well. Definitely upgrading to Bilstein B6 but not positive what springs to go with as I really dont want to lower my car much, if at all. Suggestions would be appreciated.

Also, is it recommended to upgrade mounts from stock or will stock mounts last long term without issue for non tracked car?

[Sanelko]

Originally Posted by alohasurftoad

additionally...

M-Performance suspension. 10mm lower than M-sport, 20mm lower than base suspension.

Ohlins Road & Track. 10mm lower. little pricey, considered the best in class by many.

The M-performance suspension might be the one to fit the bill here, too bad its around 2k for someone with the base suspension ($$ for new swaybars)

The Ohlins would probably fall into category "4." here; a bit overkill for a car that won't see any track time.

Originally Posted by stumppuller

3. b14 are NOT too stiff for DD...those who say they are old and cranky... ;-)

Maybe getting the B14's and adjusting them to max height would get me to where I'd like to be. On that note, do the base swaybars really NEED to be upgraded when lowering the car?

[dr.roro]

KW Street Comfort?

[pjkbrit]

Best thing I ever did to my 2013 335i XDrive F30 was install M Sport Springs from a RWD car...cost $200.00 used from a guy on this site. Followed up with Bilstein B4 shocks for the XDrive....PERFECT balance of ride/handling/roll dial out and firmness. Feels nicely european without any harshness. Can be pushed and thrown around, feels planted and very sure-footed. High speed wandering is gone, bounce is gone, numbness is waaaaaaay improved. Ride height lowered by approx 1" off the standard X-Drive height.

Why these cars came from the factory without this basic setup is beyond me.

I used to have a 328i XDrive...same 2013...same issue. I tried the B6s....too firm for normal street use. (Metro NY with third world roads).

Fitted them all myself...pretty easy if you work on your own cars....

Pete

[Buse]

I am in the same boat as you and I'm pretty set on the M-performance suspension. I like the idea of going with an OEM setup for reliability and since I have the M-sport suspension now it's only going to cost me around $1k and a Saturday's worth of work.

If I didn't go with the M-performance, my second choice would be KW street comforts based on what I've read.

I have no experience with either, but after a weekend in the mountains I know I need something better haha.

[dsc888]

Originally Posted by pjkbrit

Best thing I ever did to my 2013 335i XDrive F30 was install M Sport Springs from a RWD car...cost $200.00 used from a guy on this site. Followed up with Bilstein B4 shocks for the XDrive....PERFECT balance of ride/handling/roll dial out and firmness. Feels nicely european without any harshness. Can be pushed and thrown around, feels planted and very sure-footed. High speed wandering is gone, bounce is gone, numbness is waaaaaaay improved. Ride height lowered by approx 1" off the standard X-Drive height.

Why these cars came from the factory without this basic setup is beyond me.

I used to have a 328i XDrive...same 2013...same issue. I tried the B6s....too firm for normal street use. (Metro NY with third world roads).

Fitted them all myself...pretty easy if you work on your own cars....

Pete

I thought you would have clearance issues with those springs with the xDrive cars. Or maybe I am confusing them with the Red M Performance ones. So maybe us xDrive owners can have more options than I had thought.

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by dr.roro

KW Street Comfort?

I also suggest to add KW Street Comfort coilovers to the list of options being considered. The handling on my previous 2013 BMW 335i xDrive sedan (which was a daily driver) was completely transformed w/KW Street Comfort coilovers. Exactly what I wanted at that time.

[pjkbrit]

Originally Posted by dsc888

I thought you would have clearance issues with those springs with the xDrive cars. Or maybe I am confusing them with the Red M Performance ones. So maybe us xDrive owners can have more options than I had thought.

Probably no different than using DINAN lowering springs. The drop is noticeable but looks like a RWD clearance .... which it is of course. Works really well.

[dsc888]

Originally Posted by pjkbrit

Probably no different than using DINAN lowering springs. The drop is noticeable but looks like a RWD clearance .... which it is of course. Works really well.

Thank you for the feedback. I am considering your setup and had my mind set on the B6 shocks but it looks like the B4s are the way to go. I live in Boston and the roads can be bad but they have been repaving quite a bit so I will still see which setup is best. Did you get new bump stops with the reduced ride height?

[pjkbrit]

Originally Posted by dsc888

Thank you for the feedback. I am considering your setup and had my mind set on the B6 shocks but it looks like the B4s are the way to go. I live in Boston and the roads can be bad but they have been repaving quite a bit so I will still see which setup is best. Did you get new bump stops with the reduced ride height?

Nope.... works fine with std bump stops.

[3ToAgree]

I just installed B16 PSS10's on my 340i. Transformed the handling the car and I use for DD. I have the comfort setting on 3 on a 1-10 scale with 10 being firmest.

[dr.roro]

Originally Posted by ejn1

I just installed B16 PSS10's on my 340i. Transformed the handling the car and I use for DD. I have the comfort setting on 3 on a 1-10 scale with 10 being firmest.

How much did you pay for install + alignment?
Can you elaborate on the pros and cons vs. stock? Were you coming from base suspension, Sport suspension, or Adaptive M suspension?

[3ToAgree]

Originally Posted by dr.roro

How much did you pay for install + alignment?
Can you elaborate on the pros and cons vs. stock? Were you coming from base suspension, Sport suspension, or Adaptive M suspension?

I have a 2016 Sportline edition of the car so not M-sport and not Adaptive. Originally the car was very spongy with a lot of body lean and nose softness when going around corners or just switching lanes quickly. Honestly, it was much worse than my old 2008 335i imho who's sport suspension was much better than my 340i stock. Also, the stock suspension made the front of the car feel heavier... sorry dont know how else to describe it. And also, the steering reponse felt a little light to me.

The B16's completely changed the above in the reverse. All the things mentioned above it moved the feel in the other direction to the point that the car is a blast to drive You can adjust the comfort settings on the PSS10 but you can expect at all settings it to be tighter than stock which is what you want. I think you can buy the Bilstein's in an adaptive version but to me that's just one more thing to break and more of an install charge plus something non-oem on your dash somewhere.

For labor, i paid 5.5 hours plus an alignment (around $650 total). I would expect somewhere around that range and I had an independent performance shop install as no reason to have a BMW dealer do it as its not BMW parts.

Hope that helps...

[MacklinUSOB]

Originally Posted by ejn1

I have a 2016 Sportline edition of the car so not M-sport and not Adaptive. Originally the car was very spongy with a lot of body lean and nose softness when going around corners or just switching lanes quickly. Honestly, it was much worse than my old 2008 335i imho who's sport suspension was much better than my 340i stock. Also, the stock suspension made the front of the car feel heavier... sorry dont know how else to describe it. And also, the steering reponse felt a little light to me.

The B16's completely changed the above in the reverse. All the things mentioned above it moved the feel in the other direction to the point that the car is a blast to drive You can adjust the comfort settings on the PSS10 but you can expect at all settings it to be tighter than stock which is what you want. I think you can buy the Bilstein's in an adaptive version but to me that's just one more thing to break and more of an install charge plus something non-oem on your dash somewhere.

For labor, i paid 5.5 hours plus an alignment (around $650 total). I would expect somewhere around that range and I had an independent performance shop install as no reason to have a BMW dealer do it as its not BMW parts.

Hope that helps...

This helps me out a lot, thanks. Before learning of the korfort variant of the pss10 (10-30mm vs 30-50) I was hesitant. At first, I was looking for a solution with a similar drop to the KW Street Comforts as I need the clearance in snow. The adjustability alone makes these worth the extra money. I also want to do some HDPE at Lime Rock, I take it these will perform quite a bit better there.

[3ToAgree]

Originally Posted by MacklinUSOB

This helps me out a lot, thanks. Before learning of the korfort variant of the pss10 (10-30mm vs 30-50) I was hesitant. At first, I was looking for a solution with a similar drop to the KW Street Comforts as I need the clearance in snow. The adjustability alone makes these worth the extra money. I also want to do some HDPE at Lime Rock, I take it these will perform quite a bit better there.

The drop specs were a little confusing to me... On my car, I lowered the rear all the way down and it was perfect and not too low for me so you should be fine to adjust upward for snow clearance. I posted this in another thread but below is a pic of how my car sits lowered with the B16's....

[3ToAgree]

Here is a pic of the lowered front so you can see the tire clearance. When i get rid of these run flats, i will likely tweak the tire size a tad.

[PabloK]

based on what you state you're looking for, I would go for the dinan springs/bump stops.
20mm drop
30% increase in firmness

[3ToAgree]

Originally Posted by PabloK

based on what you state you're looking for, I would go for the dinan springs/bump stops.
20mm drop
30% increase in firmness

For me the labor rate was the same so I went all in and got a full coilover set which had adjustable height and comfort ranges to dial up to ones preference. I looked at the Dinan spring and bump stop set and getting the full B16 coilover set was "only" $1500 more in total so for me, it was worth it. Like you say, either option will produce a lowered car and a stiffer ride.

[PabloK]

Originally Posted by ejn1

For me the labor rate was the same so I went all in and got a full coilover set which had adjustable height and comfort ranges to dial up to ones preference. I looked at the Dinan spring and bump stop set and getting the full B16 coilover set was "only" $1500 more in total so for me, it was worth it. Like you say, either option will produce a lowered car and a stiffer ride.

yup at the end of the day it comes down to how much you want to spend.