[5mall5nail5]

Hey all -

So I have about $2500 to spend, max, on suspension. I am looking to attend a few HPDEs. I am using to driving an "on rails" E34 that has custom coil overs and is very, very low. However, my F30 is my daily and I will be interested in honing in on driving a slow car fast rather than trying to keep my E34 on the track (~700+ rwhp, its a bit of a handful).

That said - I've read stories of KW Vx being "too low". I've also noticed that Bilstein has some coil over kits out.

My ideal would the ability to put the car at the stock "M Sport Suspension" height in the winter time and throw the stock 18s and winters on, and then in the spring bring the car down, stiffen her up, and throw on my HRE FF01s w/ PS4s.

What coilover would you guys go with? If it meant that I wouldn't be able to get the car as high as stock but the ride/handling/setup was superior, I'd be willing to hear that setup too.

Thanks all!

[Relax19]

While I'm still on stock suspension I really enjoyed custom valved Fortune Auto 500 with a swift spring upgrade on my old e36 m3 track car. If I had to get coilovers done, I would go that route without hesitation.

Their HQ is one state over from you.

[Mkswoosh]

Love my bilsteins b16. Having dampening adjustments as well not just height is really awesome. And access to adjust dampening and ride height is easy to access compared to kw.

It doesnt drop it super low compared to bc. And just a tad bit higher than kw.

BuT they are OOS til April.

[cfm56d7b]

KW Street Comfort will allow you to maintain OEM height if needed during the winter and at about $1600 + installation well within the budget.

Bilstein B16 PSS10 are even better but will lower your vehicle.

Ohlins R&T for a slightly higher price are superb coilovers (but no adjustments for compression and rebound).

[sspade]

Bilstein B8 with AC Schnitzer spring kit has worked extremely well for me.

Cost was $1,300 with new hardware (including front mounts).

I did the install myself and overall - it was simple.


Would recommend this setup. Although not adjustable... the stance in perfect in my opinion. Never have I bottomed out and I have very minimal and very even wheel gap all around.

Ride quality is definitely firm but an absolute joy on smooth motorway.

[MacklinUSOB]

Love my V2's. Really good on track when you tighten them up a few clicks, really nice in the winter when I soften it up and throw on the snows. Ride height is more often an issue for M-Sport pack cars since the front bumper hangs lower to the ground, it looks like you've got a sport line so you have more room to play with. I have mine set at almost the top and I'd say it is very close to the M-Performance suspension height, which is 10mm lower than the M-Sport. They also have the option to add on a helper spring up front and/or a spacer in rear if you want a bit more height. Beyond that you'd need to step up to Street Comforts which I have heard nothing but good things about.

Ohlins R&T is a great option for near stock height, but is a good bit more expensive.

[Logicoeur]

Bilstein makes a PSS10 Streetkomfort variant, as well. You'll just have to find a vendor that has a line to get them.

Its max height is 10mm lower than xdrive, which is base suspension. This is the same maximum height that the KW streetcomfort provide.

The KW offering is, however, in the $1600 range, and the Bilstein options at $2000+. Bilstein will perform better, and you can adjust the rear dampening without removing the strut.

[kobluna]

This is interesting thread as I'm also on the fence of upgrading my base suspension. I'm also worried that KW Vx would drop the car too low especially for winter and it doesn't help that you can't easily adjust them either for summer and winter application.

So I guess Bilstein B16 would be way to go but I have a question about them. There seems to be option to stay passive as I'm now or go with the B16 ridecontrol version which would add electronically (via smartphone) adjustable dampening. That would cost ~500€ more so what do you guys think, is it worth it? They are already quite expensive with sticker price of ~2000€.

Some says that Bilsteins would perform better than KW offerings. Do you mean that they performs better at track, daily use or just generally? I don't track that much but do some back road driving so track performance is not that important for me.

[MacklinUSOB]

I think people overestimate how difficult adjusting the rear on the KW's is. If you're doing it while rotating/swapping tires you're only spending maybe 10 minutes extra on each side. Pop three top hat bolts, compress the shock to rotate out, adjust and torque again. No, it's not as simple as the Bilstein, but it isn't difficult.

As far as performance between equal product tiers, both brands are used heavily in sanctioned competition where either is allowed, there is no clear winner. With either brand you are getting a very high quality and performance product.

Also, getting your hands on any Bilstein product has been damn near impossible for a year now. I had ordered B16's originally but gave up after waiting two months.

[cfm56d7b]

@5mall5nail5, another approach to narrow down the suspension upgrade choices:

- How important are individual adjustments for compression and rebound?
- Ability to maintain OEM suspension height during winters
- Corrosion (some coilovers do not use stainless steel for all components)

[kobluna]

Originally Posted by cfm56d7b

@5mall5nail5, another approach to narrow down the suspension upgrade choices:

- How important are individual adjustments for compression and rebound?
- Ability to maintain OEM suspension height during winters
- Corrosion (some coilovers do not use stainless steel for all components)

For second and third, for me, both are important because roads here are sometimes full of wet snow which might also freeze. So I need more ground clearance for winter and because of salt I also need good corrosion protection.

But for first, I don't know how important it is as I have never had a car that has ability to adjust compression and rebound? So could someone enlight me, how important it is for spirited driving which happens sometimes on not-that-great-condition roads (I mean pot holes and cracked asphalt)? I would assume that it would be nice to be able to use softer settings for winter and tighten them up for summer (and for rare track days). But is adjustable rebound setting that important or is it enough if only compression is adjustable?

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by kobluna

For second and third, for me, both are important because roads here are sometimes full of wet snow which might also freeze. So I need more ground clearance for winter and because of salt I also need good corrosion protection.

But for first, I don't know how important it is as I have never had a car that has ability to adjust compression and rebound? So could someone enlight me, how important it is for spirited driving which happens sometimes on not-that-great-condition roads (I mean pot holes and cracked asphalt)? I would assume that it would be nice to be able to use softer settings for winter and tighten them up for summer (and for rare track days). But is adjustable rebound setting that important or is it enough if only compression is adjustable?

My previous vehicle had KW Street Comfort coilovers which served well during the summer and winter.

Another way to look at individual compression and rebound controls. KW V3 coilovers provide both but lower the vehicle in my opinion too much for winter driving. I personally wish V3 were available in the same configuration as Street Comfort to maintain OEM height if needed.

Compression - the ability to provide comfort by quickly absorbing road imperfections with sufficient suspension travel. Incidentally, this feature becomes very important for vehicles with 20" wheels and bad roads. There isn't enough rubber on the sidewall and suspension travel / compression has to increase. Otherwise, bent wheels and blown tires eventually materialize. It's only a question of when.

Rebound - the ability to provide planted (sport) posture by returning the suspension to proper position as quickly as possible.

KW Street Comfort coilovers provide only rebound controls so compression setting is fixed which I found to be counterintuitive. However, these coilovers provide reasonable comfort during daily driving duties at a competitive price.

Bilstein coilovers are on back order as of recently due to factory being relocated. Very unusual situation as no company wants lose sales and typically ramps up production in an alternative location first.

[cfm56d7b]

Oh - forgot to ask if your vehicle is xDrive. This can limit coilover choices.

[5mall5nail5]

My car is RWD, so I have options I suppose. I have 19x8.5 and 19x10 HRE FF01s with 235/40/19 and 265/35/19 Michelin Pilot Sport 4s. I am going to want to lower the car a bit, but I want to be able to raise it back up to stock M Sport height for winter.

[kobluna]

My car is also RWD. BTW, sorry for "hijacking" your thread 5mall5nail5 but it seems that we are in very similar situation actually. Both has RWD and both wants to lower slightly for summer but retain OEM height for winter.

I guess that Bilsteins would be available this summer at the latest? I will anyway wait until summer as it's more comfortable to work when under side of the car is not full of salt and dirt. But I'm trying to decide well before that so there is time to order all the necessary parts.

I'm also considering to replace my wishbones/lower control arms to the ones found on M3. Those would add some more negative camber but there are reports that they would also move wheel forward / add too much caster which is why I'm not decided yet if it would make sense or not to use them. This is one thread about the that mod: https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1541469

[M4_GTS]

I have had the Bilstein B14 on my 328d touring for 2 years now. They ride really firm and handles great, but I am starting to get a tired of the firm ride. I have just ordered a set of the KW V2 because they are on the softer side so I will have to see how I like them.