[djacinto]

Hey everybody,

I just watched engineeringexplain's video on why you shouldn't (necessarily) upgrade your suspension on road cars

While it didn't dissuade me from still wanting to swap to coilovers, I do wonder, does anyone else feel this way?

Obviously many of us want to retain O.E feel with a sportier aspect but for the money we spend on our cars, we want to get our money's worth for performance as well, right?

Idk maybe it's just cause cars are getting much better off the lot and we just need that extra push to break our backs over bumps but I'd like some feedback from people

[anotheran]

If you don't know what you're doing and mismatch springs and shocks then your car may ride worse. Coilovers are usually safer as they supposed to be tested together. So do your research. Tho it's going to be a challenge researching here as most don't know what's a good ride and what's not (eg dropped car on H&R super sports with stock xDrive dampers or some alibaba special coilovers).

If you have xDrive or adaptive and want to keep it go bilstein otherwise go ohlins r&t

[djacinto]

Originally Posted by anotheran

If you don't know what you're doing and mismatch springs and shocks then your car may ride worse. Coilovers are usually safer as they supposed to be tested together. So do your research. Tho it's going to be a challenge researching here as most don't know what's a good ride and what's not (eg dropped car on H&R super sports with stock xDrive dampers or some alibaba special coilovers).

If you have xDrive or adaptive and want to keep it go bilstein otherwise go ohlins r&t

I 100% agree, my plan was to go for b14's to get rid of some of my xdrive monster truck gap

Additionally, having read threads of people saying how much people hated lowering springs for always riding on bump stops, it definitely has its place just not for a strictly performance upgrade

Regardless, like I mentioned, the video didn't dissuade me from still wanting to do the upgrade, it'll definitely be an aesthetic thing for me with the less body roll being an additional factor, I just wanted some other members weigh in for how their setups have fared since swapping

[anotheran]

Originally Posted by djacinto

I 100% agree, my plan was to go for b14's to get rid of some of my xdrive monster truck gap

Additionally, having read threads of people saying how much people hated lowering springs for always riding on bump stops, it definitely has its place just not for a strictly performance upgrade

Regardless, like I mentioned, the video didn't dissuade me from still wanting to do the upgrade, it'll definitely be an aesthetic thing for me with the less body roll being an additional factor, I just wanted some other members weigh in for how their setups have fared since swapping

B14 are a great option! A friend of mine got his installed a few weeks ago and loves the drop on the car and ride. He got them for the same reason you're going for.

[bheng89]

IMO most of the suspension modding is done for aesthetic purposes. I do think that the right setup can instill more confidence on the road but for again for a daily driver, it probably won't matter. That being said, I would still get either a good matched spring/shock combo or entry level coil over set up.

[therealm3]

You know it's funny but I just watched that video the other day too and was thinking the same thing. Why do I bother with suspension upgrades anymore? And if I am honest with myself, it's just for looks and maybe some better "feel". But that's it. Back when I was doing track days with my old M3 there were things I did that for sure made it faster, but really killed the streetable use for the car. So I ended up with two cars. Which doesn't make much sense anymore given where I am in life.

The video brings up really good points and is based off this tire rack test with e92's. So while not completely relevant to our f30's it is still, in the family, so to speak.

https://m.tirerack.com/suspension/te...ch_rd_2010.jsp

Modern bmws are softer but also much more capable in that softer set up than cars of recent past that were much stiffer. I don't agree with Jason that this is better. I personally like a car that is a bit stiffer sprung and that feels like it's holding the road tightly even though it's pretty much the same speed and grip as the softer set up. Case in point my f30. It's a 340 m sport with track handling package. (Adaptive shocks). Out of the box I liked the ride for a daily when it was in sport but I wanted it to look better (sit lower) so I tried a few different things and finally settled on a set of coil overs. I like how it rides now and the way it feels in corners. Probably over kill on the street but it's the look and feel I wanted. Given what tire rack found in their testing I doubt it's much faster. Maybe a couple seconds at best on an average two min per lap road course. Which in the daily "race" to get groceries or take kids to sports, means nothing.

So in summary, I personally think most suspension changes need to classified as cosmetic mods and not performance mods. At least for street cars. And I am ok in that category. Leave the crazy set ups for the track guys and if you truly want to add performance on a street car buy the absolute best tires you can fit/afford. That's where you truly can feel a difference. Just my 2 cents.

[anotheran]

@therealm3 you haven't driven on the floaty boaty xDrive suspension. Then you'll know how truly bmw was off the mark

[cfm56d7b]

KW Street Comfort coilovers transform the behavior of xDrive suspension. Of all coilovers which offer substantial performance improvement at a reasonable price, I would recommend these on any given day.

[anotheran]

Originally Posted by cfm56d7b

KW Street Comfort coilovers transform the behavior of xDrive suspension. Of all coilovers which offer substantial performance improvement at a reasonable price, I would recommend these on any given day.

I wouldn't do kw if I plan to keep it for a while: https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1375462

Friends of mine had similar experiences

[therealm3]

Originally Posted by anotheran

@therealm3 you haven't driven on the floaty boaty xDrive suspension. Then you'll know how truly bmw was off the mark

I actually had one as a loaner for a few weeks while our x5 was getting fixed so I can relate to the x drive pain folks have. Recently I had a g20 x drive m sport while they were doing the eccentric shaft on my 340 and it wasn't nearly way I remember the f30 drive. So maybe they learned from their mistakes. Who knows.

[anotheran]

Originally Posted by therealm3

I actually had one as a loaner for a few weeks while our x5 was getting fixed so I can relate to the x drive pain folks have. Recently I had a g20 x drive m sport while they were doing the eccentric shaft on my 340 and it wasn't nearly way I remember the f30 drive. So maybe they learned from their mistakes. Who knows.

Yes, bmw didn't jack up the height and soften for xDrive in the g20

[Logicoeur]

Originally Posted by therealm3

You know it's funny but I just watched that video the other day too and was thinking the same thing. Why do I bother with suspension upgrades anymore? And if I am honest with myself, it's just for looks and maybe some better "feel". But that's it. Back when I was doing track days with my old M3 there were things I did that for sure made it faster, but really killed the streetable use for the car. So I ended up with two cars. Which doesn't make much sense anymore given where I am in life.

The video brings up really good points and is based off this tire rack test with e92's. So while not completely relevant to our f30's it is still, in the family, so to speak.

https://m.tirerack.com/suspension/te...ch_rd_2010.jsp

Modern bmws are softer but also much more capable in that softer set up than cars of recent past that were much stiffer. I don't agree with Jason that this is better. I personally like a car that is a bit stiffer sprung and that feels like it's holding the road tightly even though it's pretty much the same speed and grip as the softer set up. Case in point my f30. It's a 340 m sport with track handling package. (Adaptive shocks). Out of the box I liked the ride for a daily when it was in sport but I wanted it to look better (sit lower) so I tried a few different things and finally settled on a set of coil overs. I like how it rides now and the way it feels in corners. Probably over kill on the street but it's the look and feel I wanted. Given what tire rack found in their testing I doubt it's much faster. Maybe a couple seconds at best on an average two min per lap road course. Which in the daily "race" to get groceries or take kids to sports, means nothing.

So in summary, I personally think most suspension changes need to classified as cosmetic mods and not performance mods. At least for street cars. And I am ok in that category. Leave the crazy set ups for the track guys and if you truly want to add performance on a street car buy the absolute best tires you can fit/afford. That's where you truly can feel a difference. Just my 2 cents.

You can't say it's not a performance mod because your use case doesn't make use of said performance improvement a majority of thr time.

That would be equivalent to saying a knife isn't a deadly weapon because most of the time it's used to cut carrots.

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by anotheran

I wouldn't do kw if I plan to keep it for a while: https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1375462

Friends of mine had similar experiences

There isn't a mechanical component which lasts forever. Manufacturers do not want to support consistently failing products because in automotive aftermarket two things drive sales: community feedback (this and other forums) and general absence of negative feedback. The outcome is profitability. Warranty repairs directly impact profitability and sales based on recommendation.

KW Street Comfort coilovers served my prior 2013 BMW 335i xDrive sedan exceptionally well. My experience of course may not be identical to others.

[anotheran]

Originally Posted by cfm56d7b

There isn't a mechanical component which lasts forever. Manufacturers do not want to support consistently failing products because in automotive aftermarket two things drive sales: community feedback (this and other forums) and general absence of negative feedback. The outcome is profitability. Warranty repairs directly impact profitability and sales based on recommendation.

KW Street Comfort coilovers served my prior 2013 BMW 335i xDrive sedan exceptionally well. My experience of course may not be identical to others.

I'd agree but price seems to be a big motivator as bmws depreciate hard. Otherwise why would anyone recommend BC racing coilovers? Lol

[therealm3]

Originally Posted by Logicoeur

You can't say it's not a performance mod because your use case doesn't make use of said performance improvement a majority of thr time.

That would be equivalent to saying a knife isn't a deadly weapon because most of the time it's used to cut carrots.

My point was that there really isn't an "improvement" to use. It just feels different and looks better. Therefore not really a "performance" upgrade.

[casualDIYer]

Originally Posted by anotheran

B14 are a great option! A friend of mine got his installed a few weeks ago and loves the drop on the car and ride. He got them for the same reason you're going for.

Question: On the b14, isn't the minimum drop 30mm? I guess it's 30mm from the 'standard' suspension, not sport, nor M performance suspension?

[anotheran]

Originally Posted by menncars

Question: On the b14, isn't the minimum drop 30mm? I guess it's 30mm from the 'standard' suspension, not sport, nor M performance suspension?

correct and op is on xdrive so i think on F32 it also rides higher than standard

[RbBugBitMe]

This testing reaffirmed my personal bias, after I saw EE presenting the data I knew what was going on and had to go to tire rack to look it up. Don't make judgments off of Eibach. Eibach is a spring manufacturer with a few MBAs that knew they needed to expand the business by selling the things their springs sit on. They're not a serious damper company.

I will say, I expected more when comparing stock to just stiffer shorter springs. It's possible in both scenarios the car was riding around on the jounce bumper which equalized the grip levels a bit but who knows how the modified cars were setup. Shit camber settings will equalize all as well.