[wlegge]

Hi everyone

I am curious about the ACS springs for the 435d. Having had my car for nearly a week now, I can honestly say that probably only once have I felt the body roll / wallow feeling that is regularly talked about on the forums here.

I am probably not driving the car as hard as many do, plus I haven’t really tried attacking my favourite back road yet, so i am sure i will experience it there when i do.

In terms of lowering springs, my only experience has been Eibachs on a MINI JCW (F56) that also had adaptive dampers and it made it handle fantastically, but the ride was unbareably hard, really bouncy and just horrible. I re-fitted the standard springs back on the car and it was a lot more drivable. (That had non-RFT on 18s).

So my 435d has 19s with RFT tyres and does not have adaptive dampers. Realistically, how much harder, harsher, noisy, bouncy will the ride be with the ACS springs? I don’t want to ruin what is quite a pleasant ride at the moment but I would like to get rid of the silly arch gap and maybe a bit of body roll.

Thoughts, experiences?

[Jeff123]

There are some advantages with the ride height - I have not kerbed the spoiler on this car yet. Just seems slightly higher than the kerbs.

If you are happy with the ride so far, maybe you are trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist?

[335d Rocco]

I haven’t got a 435d, I have a F31 335d & made the switch to ACS springs yesterday & the difference is massive, ride is nowhere near too hard.

[dizzy619]

Give it a bit more time mate... Go attack your favourite roads and see for yourself.. Having said that I don't think anyone will say that the ride is too harsh... It's a good upgrade

[bishbosh]

Part of the problem with swapping only the springs is that they won't be matched to the stock dampers and you might find the dampers struggling to cope in some situations. Ideally you would upgrade the dampers at the same time.

[Steve_M_Sport]

Originally Posted by 335d Rocco

I haven’t got a 435d, I have a F31 335d & made the switch to ACS springs yesterday & the difference is massive, ride is nowhere near too hard.

I saw the tweet from Mulgari this morning with a picture of your car - it looks great

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by wlegge

In terms of lowering springs, my only experience has been Eibachs on a MINI JCW (F56) that also had adaptive dampers and it made it handle fantastically, but the ride was unbareably hard, really bouncy and just horrible. I re-fitted the standard springs back on the car and it was a lot more drivable. (That had non-RFT on 18s).

Thoughts, experiences?

Can you get into a car with ACS springs fitted? Perhaps one of the forum members can help you out.

Ride quality is subjective, many on here will be saying "not too hard", "nowhere near too harsh". Whatever those expressions really mean, is lost on someone who wants a decent ride quality.

Was with a friend yesterday who's in a courtesy car which he hates. He drives a Lexus which guides along with superb ride quality, this 'baby' Lexus, to put in his words, "finds every bump in the road". I'm sure there are guys on here who'd drive the car and say it is no way too hard or harsh.

[APJ]

Are ACS generally softer than Eibach and H&R, or are they all pretty much the same.

[Stainy]

Mine aren't ACS, but they are similar (drop, spring rate etc). It's not too harsh at all and it has reduced to nothing that wallowy feeling I was getting when pushing the car hard.......but the standard dampers now can't cope with the stiffer springs and instead I have the occasional bottoming of the bump stops and a whole new bouncy feeling at low speed when the shockers are trying to correct the stiffer suspension!
It's still better (subjectively) from the standard setup, but it can be further improved with shock absorbers to match the springs. I wish I'd done both in the first place to minimise the labour costs.

I should probably grow old gracefully and remember this is a bit heavier and more laid back than my previous rice rocket - it isn't designed for B roads. Where's the fun in having all that power and not being able to use it occasionally, other than in a straight line though?

[DriveS]

ACS springs alone do not make the ride less comfortable, in-fact I would say the opposite as its a more planted secure ride.

The only negative I have is that I wish I had gone for the dampers at the same time. When cornering with undulations or higher speed with undulations the damping is not sufficient and you get a bouncy feeling. Once I thought I was going to bounce off the road when overtaking at speed on a B road. There were undulations in the road and I had to hold on tight!

[The Lum]

Had ACS on my F36 435D. Had them fitted before ever taking delivery of the car. Car drove spot on. Not harsh at all.

[Soul_Glo]

Not in the slightest. While you are at it. Upgrade the rear sway bar to the M140i version. You won't regret it in the slightest.

Mulgari took care of mine.

[Alscoob]

Maybe you should chat to Lorcan he has the ACS 335d Xdrive as a demo, if you try that you will get your own opinion.

He has the car at various places in the UK, actually your not that far from him, so give him a call maybe?

[wlegge]

Originally Posted by Chelsea_Tractor

Not in the slightest. While you are at it. Upgrade the rear sway bar to the M140i version. You won't regret it in the slightest.

Mulgari took care of mine.

Interesting. How much did the rear sway bar cost to supply and fit?

[Soul_Glo]

Originally Posted by wlegge

Interesting. How much did the rear sway bar cost to supply and fit?

You'd have to ask around for a quote. I gave all the service paperwork away when I sold mine. You're looking at less than 1.5 hour labour if done alone. No more than 30 minutes if done at the same time as the springs. Off the top of my head I think the new bar was around 270 excluding VAT.

Don't forget your spacers and security bolts.

[Lorcan]

OP - the ride isn't harsh or hard at all. AC Schnitzer don't do hard suspension. You're near to our dealer Speed Ministry at Mallory Park, we can probably arrange a test drive there with our 335d if you fancy it.