[FaRKle!]

I've had the pleasure of regularly meeting up and hanging out with a good number of members on this forum and know that we have a myriad of different suspension setups. I've also been lucky to have tested an driven many of those setups as I've helped members work on their cars. That said, I'm sure there are lots of you that are wondering how different coilover and spring/damper setups feel.

I've been thinking of putting together a suspension demo and comparison day where we can all meet up and drive each others' setups. There are some great stretches of road and freeway around me in the Tri-valley area that are good for testing/tuning suspensions (andino, kreuz, and I test out stuff there). We can get lots of back to back comparisons on those looking at body control, smoothness, steering feel, ect.

So who's interested in joining and trying different setups? If you're still stock, and trying to figure out what direction to go, you're welcome too.

Details:
We'll meet up at 10AM on Sunday, Jan. 5th. The meet location will be Las Positas Community College (3000 Campus Hill Dr, Livermore, CA 94551), parking lot A or B. If for some reason we can't do that, then we'll meet at the Lam Research parking lot (1 Portola Ave, Livermore, CA 94551) across the street.


Collier Canyon will be the test road, and there's a nice ~8mi loop going up and down it with various suspension testing features. Once we're all gathered I'll lead the group on an orientation run and point out various features along the route and what they're good for testing. Then we'll meet back at the staging area and people can trade cars and go on runs as they like. Also, a local suspension specialist will be joining us to hang out, answer your questions, and give insight into suspension design.

Later we'll shift over to 680S in Pleasanton from Sunol blvd to Pleasanton Sunol rd for daily driving ride comfort comparison.

Attendees (9):

• FaRKle!, 328dx F31 - Fat Cat Motorsports Stage 3 damper tuning w/ M-Perf & Hyperco springs, K-MAC camber bushings, K-MAC caster monoballs, Dinan 25mm front sway bar, KC Design 17mm rear sway bar
• Andino, 328ix F31 - Bilstein B14, VAC Motorsports LCA monoballs, Millway camber plates, K-MAC caster monoballs, KC Design 17mm rear sway bar
• Kreuz, 435i F32 - Ohlins Road & Track, SuperPro LCA and TS bushings, M-Perf LSD, H&R rear sway bar
• jh_F30, 335i F30 - H&R sport springs, M-Sport dampers
• jvit27, 330ix F31 - xDrive base suspension
• moupe, 330ix F31 - Adaptive-M suspension
• Percychow, 435i F32 - Eibach springs, Adaptive-M Dampers, Turner TS monoballs, M-Perf LSD
• SD29, 340i F30 - Adaptive-M Suspension
• romemedrano, 335i F30 - M-Sport suspension

Potential Setups:

• FaRKle!, 328dx F31 - Fat Cat Motorsports Stage 3 damper tuning w/ M-Perf & Hyperco springs, K-MAC camber bushings, K-MAC caster monoballs, Dinan 25mm front sway bar, KC Design 17mm rear sway bar
• Andino, 328ix F31 - Bilstein B14, VAC Motorsports LCA monoballs, Millway camber plates, K-MAC caster monoballs, KC Design 17mm rear sway bar
• Kreuz, 435i F32 - Ohlins Road & Track, SuperPro LCA and TS bushings, M-Perf LSD, H&R rear sway bar
• Percychow, 435i F32 - Eibach springs, Adaptive-M Dampers, Turner TS monoballs, M-Perf LSD
• jh_F30, 335i F30 - H&R sport springs, M-Sport dampers
• MrZeeMan, 328i F30 - H&R sport springs, M-Sport dampers
• ktw, 328ix F31 - Bilstein B16 "komfort", 900 lb/in rear springs, K-MAC camber bushings, Powferflex TS bushings
• romemedrano, 335i F30 - M-Sport suspension
• spicyalgebra, 435i F32 - Dinan springs & bumpstops, Adaptive-M Dampers, Dinan Shockware
• SD29, 340i F30 - Adaptive-M Suspension
• aw340m, 340i F30 - ST-X

[andino]

I'm down to join in on this. Will be fun to see how others have their cars setup.

[jh_f30]

Uh...I'd be down...but my car would be "underdressed" for this party...

[exE36M3]

Hey, let me ping the BMW CCA chapter. At best, we *might* be able to get the sheriff's office test track or worst, a parking lot and cones.... But count me in!

Percy 2015 435i - kinda stock...
Eibach Pro-Kit/Sport kit hybrid, Turner Monoball, Stock EDC/Adaptive - no tune.

[FaRKle!]

Originally Posted by percychow

Hey, let me ping the BMW CCA chapter. At best, we *might* be able to get the sheriff's office test track or worst, a parking lot and cones.... But count me in!

Percy 2015 435i - kinda stock...
Eibach Pro-Kit/Sport kit hybrid, Turner Monoball, Stock EDC/Adaptive - no tune.

Thanks for the look into CCA Percy, but I think I'd like to keep things closer to our F2x/F3x/F8x niche. Also a track surface won't really show how well a suspension deals with surface imperfections/features, which is a big area I want people to experience the differences between setups.

[exE36M3]

Drew - gotcha. Well if you end up needing a venue with a bit more room, holler back. The club used to host test & tunes for stuff like this.

[jh_f30]

I see the merits of what FaRKle! is saying and since I assume we all daily our cars, it makes sense. But at the same time, driving around a test track sounds like a blast.

[MrZeeMan]

I'm down to hang out. F30 328i w/ HR sports.

[exE36M3]

Drew - occurred to me last night, would you add the BMW Motorsport Limited Slip Differential (LSD) to my list? It's maybe maybe related to suspension, but definitely changes the nature of the driving experience.

BTW thanks for organizing this!!!

[FaRKle!]

Originally Posted by percychow

Drew - occurred to me last night, would you add the BMW Motorsport Limited Slip Differential (LSD) to my list? It's maybe maybe related to suspension, but definitely changes the nature of the driving experience.

BTW thanks for organizing this!!!

Done. Kreuz also has the M-Perf LSD.

I'm probably going to aim for around the holidays in Dec and put some preliminary dates up around there.

[ktw]

I'm still pretty new around here, but suspension is my latest love affair. Would be interested in joining if the dates work out.

328ix F31 - Bilstein B16 "komfort", 900 lb/in rear springs, K-MAC camber bushings, Powferflex TS bushings

[Gen13 F36]

I need a demo ride on spring only setup with stock suspension or bilstien.

I want to lower my car with H&R, eibach pro kit or dinan. But I want a demo ride so I know how they ride vs stock.

[romemedrano]

I'm down just to go. I'm just stock but I've been tracking now for over a month ( 3 events down ) in my F30! Also located in Bay Area.

[spicyalgebra]

I'm down. F32 435i with Dinan springs, bump stops, and Shockware

[SD29]

I'm also down to meet up and get some bimmer knowledge dropped on me 😁

2016 340i
MPPSK
Stock EDC

[jh_f30]

Updates?

[FaRKle!]

Originally Posted by jh_f30

Updates?

It's supposed to be wet the next couple of weekends, so I'll be on the lookout for a dry spell between the 21st and 5th.

That and I'm waiting to get my FCM stage 3 dampers back, and swap my H&R front bar for a less stiff Dinan one (next weekend) . Got Kreuz set up with the H&R rear bar from my kit today.

[aw340m]

New member, long time lurker. I'd be down to meet up as well. Still on stock 704m suspension but just ordered ST-X coilovers which should be here and installed just after the new year.

[redEYEjedi]

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

It's supposed to be wet the next couple of weekends, so I'll be on the lookout for a dry spell between the 21st and 5th.

That and I'm waiting to get my FCM stage 3 dampers back, and swap my H&R front bar for a less stiff Dinan one (next weekend) . Got Kreuz set up with the H&R rear bar from my kit today.

Unfortunately I won't be able to make it up north for this event, but definitely interested in hearing everyone's feedback!

Thank you FaRKle! for organizing and sharing so much.

[FaRKle!]

Originally Posted by redEYEjedi

Unfortunately I won't be able to make it up north for this event, but definitely interested in hearing everyone's feedback!

Thank you FaRKle! for organizing and sharing so much.

I can't quite take credit yet .

That said, longer term forecasts look like Jan 4th or 5th (Sat/Sun) might have favorable weather with a couple dry days before them,

[andino]

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

I can't quite take credit yet .

That said, longer term forecasts look like Jan 4th or 5th (Sat/Sun) might have favorable weather with a couple dry days before them,

I should be driving back from Zion on the 4th or so. I think I'll be able to make it if this is on the 5th. Car will probably be filthy from all the driving!

Originally Posted by redEYEjedi

Unfortunately I won't be able to make it up north for this event, but definitely interested in hearing everyone's feedback!

I'll be down in LA visiting family for xmas next week if you're free and want to link up to check out my suspension. Should at least give you one other datapoint in your suspension search.

[FaRKle!]

OK folks, let's shoot for Sunday, Jan 5th for this meet/demo day. Of those who showed interested, who's still available?