[djacinto]

Hello everyone!

This weekend, I plan on installing the Suspension kit from FCP Euro including Koni special active shocks and struts as well as the eibach pro kit!

Now I come to write this today just for other in the future to understand some nuances I came across when ordering the kits.

So, to start, when purchasing from FCP Euro, it is key to note this kit in particular is geared for LCI cars. Reason being is the front strut tops are the 5xm8 bolts, and the front lower spring perch's part number is from 8/2016 MY f3x's. I am a pre-lci 5/2014. I spoke with FCP Euro and they sorted me out quickly by sending me the Febi Bilstein 3xm10 tops. Additionally, this does not come with rear bump stops, so if you plan on getting new ones, don't forget to order them. Here is a full parts list plus numbers on all that I ordered

Front Upper Strut Mount 31306880438
m10 upper strut mount 31306863134
front spring pad 31336787114
m4 Front bump stop 31336859768 (Suspension Strut Bumper 31336857729)
m4 rear bump stops 31337847662 (BMW Jounce Bumper 33536850537)
Shock Mount Cap 33506791708
Shock Mount 33506862725
Shock Mount Gasket 33506866038
rear top coil spring perch 33536764419
rear bottom coil spring perch 33536791709
Strut Assembly KON-87451378L
Strut Assembly KON-87451378R
Shock Mount Bolt 7119907137
Suspension Strut Dust Sleeve 31306791712
Suspension Strut Mount Washer 31306869890
Shock Absorber KON-82451319
Eibach springs: E10-20-031-02-22

Replacement Mounting hardware
Hex Nut 7119907135
HEX NUT WITH FLANGE 7119905032
Rear Lower Shock Mounting Bolt 7119907372
HEXAGON SCREW WITH F 31306798530
Hex Bolt with Washer - Priced Each 31306863134
Self-Locking Nut - Priced Each 33326760668

LCI parts
Coil Spring Shim 31336860788
m8 Strut Mount Mounting Bolt 31306869931
Suspension Strut Mount 31306881929



Now, a couple things to note. I've divided the parts numbers into multiple sections. The first, is all that I ordered. These are all compatible with pre-lci f3x's with 3 bolt fronts. There should be no issue there. Also, I swapped my bump stops to M4 ones, as Farkle's thread on bumpstops provided good info and pushed me to get the m4's. In parentheses are the OEM ones. As mentioned previous, fronts come with the kit so if you are planning to stick with OEM, you will just need to order the rears.

Next category is mounting hardware. This is mostly nuts and bolts that SHOULD be replaced, but as far as I know, most of these bolts can be reused. Again, if you want to replace them, there are the numbers.

Last category are parts I returned, but I labeled as LCI. The lower spring perches are listed per RealOEm as from 8/2016, and the front top hats 1/2015. Big thing to note is there is clearly a space here. If your car is made between 1/2015 and 8/2016, you will need to purchase a combination of pre lci spring perches and 5xm8 top hats. Another note, the perches look almost identical, and I strongly believe both could be used interchangeably. The only minor change is the outermost rubber goes out farther on the pre lci one and the lci one is narrower overall.


Ok, boring part over. Putting the pieces together and installation!

Putting the struts and what not together, starting with the front.

Aside from the struts, the mounting hardware is symmetrical. Start by compressing your front springs, text up, unless your manufacturer states otherwise, and grab your strut. Grab the bottom spring perch and line up the perch on the strut itself. Next, you'll want to grab your bump stop and push firmly into the top hat and place the dust boot over the bumpstop into the rubber piece that's on the bottom of the hat. You will then place the spring on the strut. Line up the end of the spring with the little stopper on the perch. Place the top hat on the strut, and again line up the end of the top of the spring with the dust boot's stop. it is noticeable where it will line up. Next, you will put the nut that came with your strut on the threads. For the koni kit, it's a 19mm nut with a 6mm hex. you will need to use a passthrough socket and tighten down. Torque spec is 64 nm. Repeat other side and you're finished with front


Moving to rear, it's very simple. take your shock top mount and firmly push the bump stop into the top mount. Then, place the top mount on the shock. For the rear, the top nut is a 17mm with a 5mm hex. Again, a passthrough socket is needed. Torque is 34nm.

Now that the parts are put together, we work on installation of the parts

Now, before we jack your car up and place on stands. It's up to you whether you want to put your car on all 4 stands or just do front/rear at a time. I chose to do all 4. Break the torque on all the wheels you're doing. jack up the car and put on stands and finish taking the lugs out to take off the wheels.

For installation we will start with the front since it's a bit more installed. I have a service manual. but also used Farkle's video since he has an xdrive car. S big note here is for xdrive owners. If you want to follow the service manual to the letter, it requires you to remove the axel, and therefore the giant ass bolt holding in the axel. I am choosing not to Farkle's video fortunately shows both ways.

For the front, we are going to start in the engine bay. Take off the plastic covers for the strut tops. Break the torque on your top hat bolts. They should be a 16mm for the m10, and 13 for m8. Then, using an e18, remove the strut brace bolt.

Moving into the wheel well, we start by removing the brake line clip that is in against the liner, and the wheel speed sensor and brake pad wear sensor out of a holder. Next there is a self level sensor for xenon headlights that you will have to unclip. Then, we are going to remove the stabilizer link using a 16mm nut and a t30 counter hold. Passthrough's work or a wrench is fine. Moving down to the knuckle, we have an 18mm bolt and a 16mm nut. Remove these, and then grab a jack, and support the knuckle. using a knuckle spreader tool, we go to the back of the knuckle and push the tool in, turning it until it's at max spread. Spraying some lubrication of sorts on the strut, begin to push down on the knuckle to separate the two. You can also try a soft mallet and hitting the knuckle down. Once separated, while keeping your hand on the strut, remove the bolts holding the top hat in place. Now theoretically, you should be able to easily remove the strut. Of course it doesn't always turn out that way, and if it's being stubborn, I suggest taking a break. Give your back and hands a break and clean off.

once you've returned to your car, or if you are continuing, we take he new struts, and work it into the wheel well. At the top of the top hat, there should be a new paper gasket that goes between the strut tower and the top hat. This is to prevent rust bonding the two in case of moisture. Now something I didn't mention till now is if you are having a hard time lowering the knuckle far enough down to put the new strut in, it may be necessary to loosen the onboard bolts for the control arms just a touch to get more movement. If this is necessary, keep note of that for later because you have to torque those under load, not at droop. Once the the strut is back in, using the jack supporting the knuckle, pump it up until you can put a couple bolts in the top hat to support everything.

Next, turn the spindle spreader and put in the 18mm bolt and 16mm nut back in this will be torqued to 44 nm on the bolt side. Next put the stabilizer link back in place, using a 16mm pass through and t30 counter hold to tighten back down. in order to torque here, you may use a crow's foot on the pass through socket, and toqrue to 56 nm. Put back all the sensors back in their respective places and repeat on the other side! Put the rest of the bolts in the top hat and tighten to hand tight. We will torque when on the ground.

If you had to loosen the inboard control arms, use a jack to push up on the knuckle until the car barely comes off the car at the stand closest to the corner you're working at. This indicated the suspension is under load at ride height. The tension strut is torqued to 100nm and wishbone is also torqued to 100nm


Moving to the rear...

Start by using an external torx, or etorx 12 to remove the bolts holding the shock mount. Move to the bottom of the control arm, you will see a plastic aerodynamic piece held in with 10mm bolts. Then, At the lower control arm, we have a 21mm bolt (or e21 on some cars) and nut, and an 18mm bolt and nut holding the shock in the control arm. Break the torque, and then using a jack, support the control arm. Run the bolts out and move the jack until the bolts easily come out. If not, you may need to use lubrication. Lower the jack, and you may need to use some force to compress the damper to pull out. The spring comes out as well with a top and bottom rubber perch. If replacing, take these out, if keeping, just leave them in.

Installation is reversal. Start with the spring. Note that the bottom rubber perch has a little nipple that slots into the bottom control arm. Place it back in its spot and put your shock in with the bolt to hold into place. using the jack, you may need to go up or down in order to put the 21mm bolt that goes into the control arm to knuckle. You can also use a flat head or other long metal piece to pry up or down to line things up. Put the bolt in and hand tighten down. once tight, Push the jack up until you see the car barely come off the stand. We are then going to torque the 18mm bolt to 100nm and the 21mm to 165nm, both on the bolt side. Tighten up the e12's on the strut top, each to 28nm! Reinstall the 10mm bolts for the plastic aerodynamic piece under the control arm, and repeat on the other side.

After both sides are done, put your wheels back on, and tighten down as far as you can. lower the car and torque them boys down to 140 nm

Moving back to the front to torque the strut bolts, the m10's will be torqued to 56nm, plus if new with 90 degrees additional to torque to yield
and the m8's to 28nm, if new with 90 degrees additional to torque to yield. For the strut tower e18, its torque to 56 nm.


Reinstall the plastic cover and weather strip and before you go ripping it on the back roads, GET AN ALIGNMENT!! Regardless of what you touched or didn't, it's always a good idea to do so to ensure your car is at tip top spec and a tire rotation and rebalance wouldn't hurt either

And you're done! Give the suspension a week to settle, and take pics. Share them here and share any tips and tricks that you feel will help others!

Edit 2.4.2023: Some notes after install I'd like to bring attention to for future koni installers. I came across this guide that used koni yellows, rather than Bilstein's like Farkle's video. If you decide to do this as well, please refer to this guide for some more nuance regarding koni installation. A couple things to note is the lower dust cap in step 3. I was unaware this was part of the install as there aren't really any steps regarding it. I decided to forego this and am hoping this doesn't bite me in the ass because apparently it is not found separately to purchase, and I've already gotten rid of the old dampers. Additionally, look at the depth at which your old dampers went into the knuckle. In the guide, it measures 51mm. This results in the aligning pin being just above where the spline is. I thought it would go in, but no need to force it down more.

[toxik]

thanks gonna save this part list for when i do my suspension

[djacinto]

Originally Posted by toxik

thanks gonna save this part list for when i do my suspension

Glad to hear. It's always interesting to see what everyone changes to make their car just that more unique to the owner's driving style. Simple is easier but the changes can add up for sure.

What have you been looking at to do your suspension?

[toxik]

Originally Posted by djacinto

Glad to hear. It's always interesting to see what everyone changes to make their car just that more unique to the owner's driving style. Simple is easier but the changes can add up for sure.

What have you been looking at to do your suspension?

haha well for me its as soon as i leave NY. trying to retain EDC so probably either Bilstein B6/B8 shocks and ACS/Eibach springs. I looked into KW DDC damptronic coilovers and Bilstein B16 Damptronic coilovers, but I believe both of those at minimum low are too much of a drop, something like 1-1.25 inch drop. I'm only looking for .7-.8 inch drop. also from what I read, xdrive doesnt like that much of a drop up front in the long run.

i think Konis are awesome, I know it's same as having EDC shocks but I really don't want to disable the feature on my car.

[djacinto]

Originally Posted by toxik

haha well for me its as soon as i leave NY. trying to retain EDC so probably either Bilstein B6/B8 shocks and ACS/Eibach springs. I looked into KW DDC damptronic coilovers and Bilstein B16 Damptronic coilovers, but I believe both of those at minimum low are too much of a drop, something like 1-1.25 inch drop. I'm only looking for .7-.8 inch drop. also from what I read, xdrive doesnt like that much of a drop up front in the long run.

i think Konis are awesome, I know it's same as having EDC shocks but I really don't want to disable the feature on my car.

I agree too, it’s great keeping oem functionality where possible. I’ve been in the market for an e38 7 series and many of those came from the factory with edc as well. Issue is each strut is like 1500 bucks!! So most people end up swapping for standard dampers. Sucks, but hopefully with how many of our cars there are, we don’t see that much of a rise on parts

[mike@x-ph.com]

Thank you for sharing

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by djacinto

Hello everyone!

This weekend, I plan on installing the Suspension kit from FCP Euro including Koni special active shocks and struts as well as the eibach pro kit!

Now I come to write this today just for other in the future to understand some nuances I came across when ordering the kits.

So, to start, when purchasing from FCP Euro, it is key to note this kit in particular is geared for LCI cars. Reason being is the front strut tops are the 5xm8 bolts, and the front lower spring perch's part number is from 8/2016 MY f3x's. I am a pre-lci 5/2014. I spoke with FCP Euro and they sorted me out quickly by sending me the Febi Bilstein 3xm10 tops. Additionally, this does not come with rear bump stops, so if you plan on getting new ones, don't forget to order them. Here is a full parts list plus numbers on all that I ordered

Front Upper Strut Mount 31306880438
m10 upper strut mount 31306863134
front spring pad 31336787114
m4 Front bump stop 31336859768 (Suspension Strut Bumper 31336857729)
m4 rear bump stops 31337847662 (BMW Jounce Bumper 33536850537)
Shock Mount Cap 33506791708
Shock Mount 33506862725
Shock Mount Gasket 33506866038
rear top coil spring perch 33536764419
rear bottom coil spring perch 33536791709
Strut Assembly KON-87451378L
Strut Assembly KON-87451378R
Shock Mount Bolt 7119907137
Suspension Strut Dust Sleeve 31306791712
Suspension Strut Mount Washer 31306869890
Shock Absorber KON-82451319
Eibach springs: E10-20-031-02-22

Replacement Mounting hardware
Hex Nut 7119907135
HEX NUT WITH FLANGE 7119905032
Rear Lower Shock Mounting Bolt 7119907372
HEXAGON SCREW WITH F 31306798530
Hex Bolt with Washer - Priced Each 31306863134
Self-Locking Nut - Priced Each 33326760668

LCI parts
Coil Spring Shim 31336860788
m8 Strut Mount Mounting Bolt 31306869931
Suspension Strut Mount 31306881929



Now, a couple things to note. I've divided the parts numbers into multiple sections. The first, is all that I ordered. These are all compatible with pre-lci f3x's with 3 bolt fronts. There should be no issue there. Also, I swapped my bump stops to M4 ones, as Farkle's thread on bumpstops provided good info and pushed me to get the m4's. In parentheses are the OEM ones. As mentioned previous, fronts come with the kit so if you are planning to stick with OEM, you will just need to order the rears.

Next category is mounting hardware. This is mostly nuts and bolts that SHOULD be replaced, but as far as I know, most of these bolts can be reused. Again, if you want to replace them, there are the numbers.

Last category are parts I returned, but I labeled as LCI. The lower spring perches are listed per RealOEm as from 8/2016, and the front top hats 1/2015. Big thing to note is there is clearly a space here. If your car is made between 1/2015 and 8/2016, you will need to purchase a combination of pre lci spring perches and 5xm8 top hats. Another note, the perches look almost identical, and I strongly believe both could be used interchangeably. The only minor change is the outermost rubber goes out farther on the pre lci one and the lci one is narrower overall.


Ok, boring part over. Putting the pieces together and installation!

Putting the struts and what not together, starting with the front.

Aside from the struts, the mounting hardware is symmetrical. Start by compressing your front springs, text up, unless your manufacturer states otherwise, and grab your strut. Grab the bottom spring perch and line up the perch on the strut itself. Next, you'll want to grab your bump stop and push firmly into the top hat and place the dust boot over the bumpstop into the rubber piece that's on the bottom of the hat. You will then place the spring on the strut. Line up the end of the spring with the little stopper on the perch. Place the top hat on the strut, and again line up the end of the top of the spring with the dust boot's stop. it is noticeable where it will line up. Next, you will put the nut that came with your strut on the threads. For the koni kit, it's a 19mm nut with a 6mm hex. you will need to use a passthrough socket and tighten down. Torque spec is 64 nm. Repeat other side and you're finished with front


Moving to rear, it's very simple. take your shock top mount and firmly push the bump stop into the top mount. Then, place the top mount on the shock. For the rear, the top nut is a 17mm with a 5mm hex. Again, a passthrough socket is needed. Torque is 34nm.

Now that the parts are put together, we work on installation of the parts

Now, before we jack your car up and place on stands. It's up to you whether you want to put your car on all 4 stands or just do front/rear at a time. I chose to do all 4. Break the torque on all the wheels you're doing. jack up the car and put on stands and finish taking the lugs out to take off the wheels.

For installation we will start with the front since it's a bit more installed. I have a service manual. but also used Farkle's video since he has an xdrive car. S big note here is for xdrive owners. If you want to follow the service manual to the letter, it requires you to remove the axel, and therefore the giant ass bolt holding in the axel. I am choosing not to Farkle's video fortunately shows both ways.

For the front, we are going to start in the engine bay. Take off the plastic covers for the strut tops. Break the torque on your top hat bolts. They should be a 16mm for the m10, and 13 for m8. Then, using an e18, remove the strut brace bolt.

Moving into the wheel well, we start by removing the brake line clip that is in against the liner, and the wheel speed sensor and brake pad wear sensor out of a holder. Next there is a self level sensor for xenon headlights that you will have to unclip. Then, we are going to remove the stabilizer link using a 16mm nut and a t30 counter hold. Passthrough's work or a wrench is fine. Moving down to the knuckle, we have an 18mm bolt and a 16mm nut. Remove these, and then grab a jack, and support the knuckle. using a knuckle spreader tool, we go to the back of the knuckle and push the tool in, turning it until it's at max spread. Spraying some lubrication of sorts on the strut, begin to push down on the knuckle to separate the two. You can also try a soft mallet and hitting the knuckle down. Once separated, while keeping your hand on the strut, remove the bolts holding the top hat in place. Now theoretically, you should be able to easily remove the strut. Of course it doesn't always turn out that way, and if it's being stubborn, I suggest taking a break. Give your back and hands a break and clean off.

once you've returned to your car, or if you are continuing, we take he new struts, and work it into the wheel well. At the top of the top hat, there should be a new paper gasket that goes between the strut tower and the top hat. This is to prevent rust bonding the two in case of moisture. Now something I didn't mention till now is if you are having a hard time lowering the knuckle far enough down to put the new strut in, it may be necessary to loosen the onboard bolts for the control arms just a touch to get more movement. If this is necessary, keep note of that for later because you have to torque those under load, not at droop. Once the the strut is back in, using the jack supporting the knuckle, pump it up until you can put a couple bolts in the top hat to support everything.

Next, turn the spindle spreader and put in the 18mm bolt and 16mm nut back in this will be torqued to 44 nm on the bolt side. Next put the stabilizer link back in place, using a 16mm pass through and t30 counter hold to tighten back down. in order to torque here, you may use a crow's foot on the pass through socket, and toqrue to 56 nm. Put back all the sensors back in their respective places and repeat on the other side! Put the rest of the bolts in the top hat and tighten to hand tight. We will torque when on the ground.

If you had to loosen the inboard control arms, use a jack to push up on the knuckle until the car barely comes off the car at the stand closest to the corner you're working at. This indicated the suspension is under load at ride height. The tension strut is torqued to 100nm and wishbone is also torqued to 100nm


Moving to the rear...

Start by using an external torx, or etorx 12 to remove the bolts holding the shock mount. Move to the bottom of the control arm, you will see a plastic aerodynamic piece held in with 10mm bolts. Then, At the lower control arm, we have a 21mm bolt (or e21 on some cars) and nut, and an 18mm bolt and nut holding the shock in the control arm. Break the torque, and then using a jack, support the control arm. Run the bolts out and move the jack until the bolts easily come out. If not, you may need to use lubrication. Lower the jack, and you may need to use some force to compress the damper to pull out. The spring comes out as well with a top and bottom rubber perch. If replacing, take these out, if keeping, just leave them in.

Installation is reversal. Start with the spring. Note that the bottom rubber perch has a little nipple that slots into the bottom control arm. Place it back in its spot and put your shock in with the bolt to hold into place. using the jack, you may need to go up or down in order to put the 21mm bolt that goes into the control arm to knuckle. You can also use a flat head or other long metal piece to pry up or down to line things up. Put the bolt in and hand tighten down. once tight, Push the jack up until you see the car barely come off the stand. We are then going to torque the 18mm bolt to 100nm and the 21mm to 165nm, both on the bolt side. Tighten up the e12's on the strut top, each to 28nm! Reinstall the 10mm bolts for the plastic aerodynamic piece under the control arm, and repeat on the other side.

After both sides are done, put your wheels back on, and tighten down as far as you can. lower the car and torque them boys down to 140 nm

Moving back to the front to torque the strut bolts, the m10's will be torqued to 56nm, plus if new with 90 degrees additional to torque to yield
and the m8's to 28nm, if new with 90 degrees additional to torque to yield. For the strut tower e18, its torque to 56 nm.


Reinstall the plastic cover and weather strip and before you go ripping it on the back roads, GET AN ALIGNMENT!! Regardless of what you touched or didn't, it's always a good idea to do so to ensure your car is at tip top spec and a tire rotation and rebalance wouldn't hurt either

And you're done! Give the suspension a week to settle, and take pics. Share them here and share any tips and tricks that you feel will help others!

This should be a sticky thread. Thanks for sharing! Koni Special Active shocks are one of the better options if replacing OEM shocks.

[djacinto]

Originally Posted by cfm56d7b

This should be a sticky thread. Thanks for sharing! Koni Special Active shocks are one of the better options if replacing OEM shocks.

Ah thank you I’m flattered! I think farkle’s video should be the sticky as it’s all his info. I plan on posting pics as well once I get it installed this weekend, so it will probably be changed once I have some real nitty gritty to back it up.

Thanks for stopping by!

[djacinto]

Hello friends and happy sunday.

Posting a quick one month update on how the car's handling and look has changed since install. The suspension really feels great, I love the extra firmness and feel that I get with proper damping and the springs are great at keeping the ride composed.

A couple things I've noticed. I hear some sounds on occasion, but I think it is from lines possibly interacting with another. hard to describe but I'll hear the same sound from time to time in the back right corner. Another small concern I've noticed is that if something upsets the back tires, it almost feels like the car gets a little squirelly for a moment. Again, a hard concept to describe, simply a feeling.

I've really enjoyed the swap, but the roads around the city don't as much. pot holes can be a major worry but as long as I am going slow or not hitting the deepest areas, it's much better than the old setup. having low profile 20's with a firmer ride is a recipe for a blow out so I am just trying to be careful.

After taking the car through some back roads I can confidently say the car feels very planted. I know where the weight is shifting and overall the car just feels tighter. I would love to do sway bars next with all the coverage I have seen on it, but I'm not sure if I'm going to be getting around to that any time soon as the only major project I have in terms of upgrading are the m perf brakes. If I get around to some sort of subframe job, then I'll consider it

For those who are looking to replace their worn shocks and springs, I would highly recommend this setup. If you want to have a bit more control over your dampening, consider the koni yellows as they have that ability whereas the special actives don't. If you care more about ride height, coilovers may be the better choice, but having both height and dampening control adds costs quickly, where buying your typical damper and spring combo can save some money. It all depends on driving style and needs!