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      11-23-2013, 06:05 AM   #1
AdiSinghV12
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Coilovers Dillema

I'd be booking a BMW F30 320d Sport Line in the first week of December. The stock ground clearance of the car is gigantic 158mm (refer the picture attached).
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I wanna lower the car 'slightly' but still don't wanna compromise on the ride quality/comfort. The roads scenario in India is not too great and the car will have 3-4 people at all times since this would be my daily drive to college.

I wan't something that can handle the load well, tackle bad roads, lower the car slightly and still offer a nice and comfortable ride... Something similar to the KW Street comfort;

Which one would you suggest ?

1. KW V1
2. BC Racing BR Series
3. Bilstein B14
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      11-23-2013, 07:39 AM   #2
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I believe KW has a lifetime warranty, not much to discuss after that.
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      11-23-2013, 09:57 AM   #3
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Go with the KW or the Bilsteins.
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      11-23-2013, 09:39 PM   #4
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go with Bilstein if u don't want a very low ride.
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      11-23-2013, 10:24 PM   #5
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Bilsteins B14 have a race inspired quite rough ride though. I have them and they improve the handling a lot but also take away about 50% of the comfort.

Best option would be "B16 type komfort" which is Bilsteins product to compete with KW street comfort.
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      11-24-2013, 12:18 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rossifumi
Bilsteins B14 have a race inspired quite rough ride though. I have them and they improve the handling a lot but also take away about 50% of the comfort.

Best option would be "B16 type komfort" which is Bilsteins product to compete with KW street comfort.
Looks like the B14's will go on my M3.
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      11-24-2013, 12:34 AM   #7
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B16 would have suited the need perfectly but it'd be a bit expensive (around $3800) getting it imported to India...thanks to our crazy import duties. My only options are KW V1, KW V2 and the BC Racing coilovers.

Does anyone have any experience with the V1s ?
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      11-24-2013, 01:54 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan View Post
Looks like the B14's will go on my M3.
Bilstein is a great choice. Prefer them over KW and H&R but they are a bit more track oriented.

Quote:
Originally Posted by AdiSinghV12 View Post
B16 would have suited the need perfectly but it'd be a bit expensive (around $3800) getting it imported to India...thanks to our crazy import duties. My only options are KW V1, KW V2 and the BC Racing coilovers.

Does anyone have any experience with the V1s ?
Since they are non adjustable (except height) they too will remove some of the comfort. So don't expect them to offer a nice and comfortable ride to use your own words. To do that you need their comfort-lines or maybe KW v3 at their softest boat like setting.

I don't know of BC, maybe they are fully adjustable and gives a decent ride.
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      11-24-2013, 02:14 AM   #9
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I love my KWV2s although many people gripe it is "too low". But I have never had any problems with them, and they seem to take shitty roads well for the most part. I am in Los Angeles area, and downtown LA, parts of Hollywood, and the 710 freeway truck lanes are absolutely awful, but they still hold up.

I have never used the other C/O's you mentioned though, so I might be bias.

Why the hell does the 320D look like it has a lift kit on it though? SMH
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      11-24-2013, 02:29 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RollingLower42 View Post
I love my KWV2s although many people gripe it is "too low". But I have never had any problems with them, and they seem to take shitty roads well for the most part. I am in Los Angeles area, and downtown LA, parts of Hollywood, and the 710 freeway truck lanes are absolutely awful, but they still hold up.

I have never used the other C/O's you mentioned though, so I might be bias.

Why the hell does the 320D look like it has a lift kit on it though? SMH
you rollin out to the meet in the morning from LB? (nvm, I'll text you)
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      11-24-2013, 04:15 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rossifumi View Post
Bilstein is a great choice. Prefer them over KW and H&R but they are a bit more track oriented.

Since they are non adjustable (except height) they too will remove some of the comfort. So don't expect them to offer a nice and comfortable ride to use your own words. To do that you need their comfort-lines or maybe KW v3 at their softest boat like setting.

I don't know of BC, maybe they are fully adjustable and gives a decent ride.
But keeping them on boat like setting, I'll again face embarrassing situations on a fully loaded car on long bad patches, right ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by RollingLower42 View Post
I love my KWV2s although many people gripe it is "too low". But I have never had any problems with them, and they seem to take shitty roads well for the most part. I am in Los Angeles area, and downtown LA, parts of Hollywood, and the 710 freeway truck lanes are absolutely awful, but they still hold up.

I have never used the other C/O's you mentioned though, so I might be bias.

Why the hell does the 320D look like it has a lift kit on it though? SMH
The 320d Luxury Line looks high because it has something known as 'Poor Road Package'. It's a big boon for the chauffeur driven owners but again kills the look and stance totally. BTW, I just checked out the pics of your F30. Are they lowered to the maximum ? Is there any potential of raising it by more than an inch from your current height ?
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      11-24-2013, 05:41 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AdiSinghV12 View Post
But keeping them on boat like setting, I'll again face embarrassing situations on a fully loaded car on long bad patches, right ?
Define embarrassing situation?
It will be less precise but still pretty good. I have attached KWs comfort chart.

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      11-24-2013, 09:08 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AdiSinghV12
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rossifumi View Post
Bilstein is a great choice. Prefer them over KW and H&R but they are a bit more track oriented.

Since they are non adjustable (except height) they too will remove some of the comfort. So don't expect them to offer a nice and comfortable ride to use your own words. To do that you need their comfort-lines or maybe KW v3 at their softest boat like setting.

I don't know of BC, maybe they are fully adjustable and gives a decent ride.
But keeping them on boat like setting, I'll again face embarrassing situations on a fully loaded car on long bad patches, right ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by RollingLower42 View Post
I love my KWV2s although many people gripe it is "too low". But I have never had any problems with them, and they seem to take shitty roads well for the most part. I am in Los Angeles area, and downtown LA, parts of Hollywood, and the 710 freeway truck lanes are absolutely awful, but they still hold up.

I have never used the other C/O's you mentioned though, so I might be bias.

Why the hell does the 320D look like it has a lift kit on it though? SMH
The 320d Luxury Line looks high because it has something known as 'Poor Road Package'. It's a big boon for the chauffeur driven owners but again kills the look and stance totally. BTW, I just checked out the pics of your F30. Are they lowered to the maximum ? Is there any potential of raising it by more than an inch from your current height ?
All of the coilover kits are likely going to be more stiff even on the softest setting. Nobody is going to be able to answer your question for you. You're just going to have to take a risk.
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      11-24-2013, 11:40 AM   #14
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Talking The way I see it..

AdiSinghV12, if I understand all of your requirements correctly through reading the posts that you've been making: you want to lower your car just enough, just enough to handle well despite bad roads over in India. And, if possible, you also want as close a comforts to a stock suspension setting for India market. Your F30 is your daily drive and you haul 3 to 4 people at any given day. At the same time, you also want to spend as effectively as you possibly can..

Well, as other had said multiple times, you won't be able to have a lowered car and have the same comfort level as a stock setting so there is, and will be, to a degree, a compromise between ride quality and suspension height. In addition, comfort level is different from one person to another. To tell you the truth, I don't think you'll be able to achieve that lowered-and-still-as-comfort-as-a-stock-suspension balance even if you were getting a coilover. If you are looking for the best compromise then go with the MPerformance Suspension (MPS) but in order to achieve that compromise, you have to purchase the whole set which came with shocks/struts, MPS springs, as your car is not equipped with the sport suspension to begin with. And as I understand, this MPS would cost you a lot of Rupees (INR). Else, you could go with the settings on Sedan_Clan's F30, the H&R sport+B8; would this setting be cheaper than the MPS? Perhaps, but, alas, this is firmer than the MPS according to your requirements
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      11-27-2013, 12:41 PM   #15
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After an extensive research, I have finalised on the BC Racing BR Series coilovers. My other considerations were the KW V2 and the Bilstein B14 but finalised on the BC Racing because it's the only one out of the three which can go the highest and the lowest because of its fully threaded design and also has 30 point adjustable dampers. The B14 doesn't even offer adjustable dampers for 1.8L and the KW V2 has less scope for height adjustment hence considering everything I have chosen the BC Racing BR Series. Will place the order in a week.
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      11-27-2013, 12:41 PM   #16
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Thank you all for your advice and opinions, amigos!
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      11-27-2013, 01:05 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AdiSinghV12 View Post
Thank you all for your advice and opinions, amigos!
Good luck! Hope that you like the BC's.
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      11-27-2013, 01:13 PM   #18
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Have you considered just shocks and lowering springs? I am currently trying to decide between them myself: http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=918295

If you are like me and do not track the car, the adjustable ride height may not be necessary.
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      11-28-2013, 12:35 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan View Post
Good luck! Hope that you like the BC's.
Thanks bro!

Quote:
Originally Posted by inChargeOfIT View Post
Have you considered just shocks and lowering springs? I am currently trying to decide between them myself: http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=918295

If you are like me and do not track the car, the adjustable ride height may not be necessary.
Since the cost is turning out to be the same, why don't just go for the coilovers because you will also get the height adjustment. You're not paying anything extra so... The Springs + shocks combo is nevertheless a good upgrade as well


PS : Just got a call from the dealer and they have offered me the 'M-Sport Suspension - 33502320980'. Should I consider this or go ahead with the BC Racing ? By how much do you think the M-Sport suspension make the difference to the car shown in the very first picture ?
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      11-28-2013, 05:09 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AdiSinghV12 View Post
PS : Just got a call from the dealer and they have offered me the 'M-Sport Suspension - 33502320980'. Should I consider this or go ahead with the BC Racing ? By how much do you think the M-Sport suspension make the difference to the car shown in the very first picture ?
What are they quoting you for the m-sport suspension?

The drop isn't as dramatic as the M-perf which lowers 20mm to the M-sports 10mm IIRC
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      11-28-2013, 05:21 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AdiSinghV12
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan View Post
Good luck! Hope that you like the BC's.
Thanks bro!

Quote:
Originally Posted by inChargeOfIT View Post
Have you considered just shocks and lowering springs? I am currently trying to decide between them myself: http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=918295

If you are like me and do not track the car, the adjustable ride height may not be necessary.
Since the cost is turning out to be the same, why don't just go for the coilovers because you will also get the height adjustment. You're not paying anything extra so... The Springs + shocks combo is nevertheless a good upgrade as well


PS : Just got a call from the dealer and they have offered me the 'M-Sport Suspension - 33502320980'. Should I consider this or go ahead with the BC Racing ? By how much do you think the M-Sport suspension make the difference to the car shown in the very first picture ?
The cost isn't the same. The coilovers are $1300 I believe; the shock/spring combo is $900.
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      11-28-2013, 05:45 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AdiSinghV12 View Post
After an extensive research, I have finalised on the BC Racing BR Series coilovers. My other considerations were the KW V2 and the Bilstein B14 but finalised on the BC Racing because it's the only one out of the three which can go the highest and the lowest because of its fully threaded design and also has 30 point adjustable dampers. The B14 doesn't even offer adjustable dampers for 1.8L and the KW V2 has less scope for height adjustment hence considering everything I have chosen the BC Racing BR Series. Will place the order in a week.
Good luck bro! and share us on the reviews
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