[InceptionBW]

Interesting thread, subscribed..

[natesi]

Question for KW Street Comfort users: I want my 3 series to ride more like a 5 series. I recently drove the new G30 and really appreciated the comfort. However, I don't want a car as big as the 5 series. Are the KW Street Comforts capable of this?

Much thanks.

[Logicoeur]

Originally Posted by natesi

Question for KW Street Comfort users: I want my 3 series to ride more like a 5 series. I recently drove the new G30 and really appreciated the comfort. However, I don't want a car as big as the 5 series. Are the KW Street Comforts capable of this?

Much thanks.

That's exactly what they for.

[natesi]

Originally Posted by Logicoeur

That's exactly what they for.

Well, I'm a bit confused. You said this, in post 7 of this same thread:
" They will always be stiffer than stock from the jump. If you were expecting softer, then you won't find a coilover that you like. "

And a couple others were saying that it rides stiffer too, in this thread.

I know they are variable though -- so that's why I ask. Can they be made to ride about as good as 5 series? Or is that not possible? A 5 series doesn't ride stiffer than a 3 series. Also, I'd be coming from the standard x-drive suspension (LCI revision) -- so I'm looking for something that might ride just a little softer overall -- but especially over little bumps (manhole covers, etc). The back-end is too brittle (I think they revised the rear dampers with the LCI, or something.)

[Logicoeur]

You are conflating "soft" with a good ride. Just because the 5 series has a softer dampening rate doesn't mean it rides better. That's subjective.

The street comfort will definitely soak up small bumps better than oem suspension. They have higher dampening rates to do just that. You'll be fine.

[simonhch]

Originally Posted by natesi

Well, I'm a bit confused. You said this, in post 7 of this same thread:
" They will always be stiffer than stock from the jump. If you were expecting softer, then you won't find a coilover that you like. "

And a couple others were saying that it rides stiffer too, in this thread.

I know they are variable though -- so that's why I ask. Can they be made to ride about as good as 5 series? Or is that not possible? A 5 series doesn't ride stiffer than a 3 series. Also, I'd be coming from the standard x-drive suspension (LCI revision) -- so I'm looking for something that might ride just a little softer overall -- but especially over little bumps (manhole covers, etc). The back-end is too brittle (I think they revised the rear dampers with the LCI, or something.)

I have the Street Comforts and put them on my XI. I have it at around stock sport height now. Although the rear is a little low, and needs to be raised. Anyway....

- I initially had it at 7 clicks, and for daily driving in Chicago, it was harsh, especially coming from an XI ride which is absurdly comfortable (but sloppy). There are tons of potholes and ridges here, and it was a little jarring.

- I dialed it back to 9 clicks open, and it was much, much better for daily driving. It takes most bumps comfortably.

- The car feels a million times more planted than it did prior, with the XI suspension. For a sporty car, it is vastly superior to what it had.

- There are still some ridges here on well travelled roads, that will generate a huge bang when I hit them driving, that when I drive an XI loaner, it just sucks up. So don't be under any illusions that it's going to drive like an M4, but float like an XI. It won't. There are some trade offs.

- Overall it is very comfortable for 90% of road conditions, and for the other 10% you'll have to drive carefully and/or slow down. And tbh one should be doing that anyway to avoid damage to rims etc.

- I am also going to say that as an XI owner, you should be doing these in conjunction with sway bars. I took the 435xi autocrossing earlier this year (and I dialed the stiffness up to 6 for that) but there was so much bodyroll going through the corners, it was ridiculous. I just had the dinan sways fitted and it is night and day different. The bars that came off were like toothpicks. With the added rigidity of the new sways, I am probably going to dial the SC's to 10 clicks open for daily driving and report back.

N.B. Getting sway bars installed on an XI is a huge pain. Huge! They have to drop the whole rear subframe. Good luck finding a shop that will quote you under 10 hours for the whole job (just sways). But I can say it's worth it.

Having driven many different aftermarket suspensions across the years, I will say that the SC's are close to the most comfortable I have had, and offer the best balance of ride vs performance. On my e46 I had sport springs matched with Koni FSD's, and I honestly thought those were just outstanding.

[FaRKle!]

Originally Posted by simonhch

N.B. Getting sway bars installed on an XI is a huge pain. Huge! They have to drop the whole rear subframe. Good luck finding a shop that will quote you under 10 hours for the whole job (just sways). But I can say it's worth it.

Sways are a pain, but I find the front to be more of a pain than the rear. The rears I don't mind doing, but the fronts (especially on an xDrive car) I don't really enjoy doing with how many more fasteners and restricted access there are. 10hrs for both is pretty fair.

[simonhch]

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

Sways are a pain, but I find the front to be more of a pain than the rear. The rears I don't mind doing, but the fronts (especially on an xDrive car) I don't really enjoy doing with how many more fasteners and restricted access there are. 10hrs for both is pretty fair.

You seem really knowledgeable on the whole subject, so let me ask you a question. I want to raise the rear on my 435xi on KW SC's. I think I understand the process involved and can self perform, but how vital is it that it is done in conjunction with a corner balancing? Should I just take it to a shop to do it? People here seem to do it themselves and not worry. I am not even sure if the original shop did it on install. I had assumed so, but who knows? Interested to get your input.

[natesi]

Here's some vids on how to do the sway bars

[natesi]

Originally Posted by simonhch

I have the Street Comforts and put them on my XI. I have it at around stock sport height now. Although the rear is a little low, and needs to be raised. Anyway....

- I initially had it at 7 clicks, and for daily driving in Chicago, it was harsh, especially coming from an XI ride which is absurdly comfortable (but sloppy). There are tons of potholes and ridges here, and it was a little jarring.

- I dialed it back to 9 clicks open, and it was much, much better for daily driving. It takes most bumps comfortably.

- The car feels a million times more planted than it did prior, with the XI suspension. For a sporty car, it is vastly superior to what it had.

- There are still some ridges here on well travelled roads, that will generate a huge bang when I hit them driving, that when I drive an XI loaner, it just sucks up. So don't be under any illusions that it's going to drive like an M4, but float like an XI. It won't. There are some trade offs.

- Overall it is very comfortable for 90% of road conditions, and for the other 10% you'll have to drive carefully and/or slow down. And tbh one should be doing that anyway to avoid damage to rims etc.

- I am also going to say that as an XI owner, you should be doing these in conjunction with sway bars. I took the 435xi autocrossing earlier this year (and I dialed the stiffness up to 6 for that) but there was so much bodyroll going through the corners, it was ridiculous. I just had the dinan sways fitted and it is night and day different. The bars that came off were like toothpicks. With the added rigidity of the new sways, I am probably going to dial the SC's to 10 clicks open for daily driving and report back.

N.B. Getting sway bars installed on an XI is a huge pain. Huge! They have to drop the whole rear subframe. Good luck finding a shop that will quote you under 10 hours for the whole job (just sways). But I can say it's worth it.

Having driven many different aftermarket suspensions across the years, I will say that the SC's are close to the most comfortable I have had, and offer the best balance of ride vs performance. On my e46 I had sport springs matched with Koni FSD's, and I honestly thought those were just outstanding.

Thanks for all the feedback -- very interesting. YES -- please keep the thread updated with your experimenting. I'm very curious.

Funny you should mention Koni. They make a Koni Special Active Red shock that sounds about as good as the KW Street Comforts (in terms of comfort and ride control trade off) -- and make a shock designed to work with the standard F30 suspension. I was thinking about trying that.

[FaRKle!]

Originally Posted by simonhch

You seem really knowledgeable on the whole subject, so let me ask you a question. I want to raise the rear on my 435xi on KW SC's. I think I understand the process involved and can self perform, but how vital is it that it is done in conjunction with a corner balancing? Should I just take it to a shop to do it? People here seem to do it themselves and not worry. I am not even sure if the original shop did it on install. I had assumed so, but who knows? Interested to get your input.

Corner balancing isn't terribly important unless you're trying to extract every last ounce of performance at the track. You're not going to throw it off horribly with small changes in height. I would set the height you want and not worry about it. Unless you paid for alignment with corner balance when you had the KW SCs installed, I can almost guarantee you that the shop didn't do it.

Originally Posted by natesi

Here's some vids on how to do the sway bars

Don't forget my own guide :

xDrive vehicle, more brevity, full index so you can find the sections you need, and no annoying ads! Rear bar guide to follow soon (in the editing process).

Originally Posted by natesi

Thanks for all the feedback -- very interesting. YES -- please keep the thread updated with your experimenting. I'm very curious.

Funny you should mention Koni. They make a Koni Special Active Red shock that sounds about as good as the KW Street Comforts (in terms of comfort and ride control trade off) -- and make a shock designed to work with the standard F30 suspension. I was thinking about trying that.

Koni SAs only vary rebound damping. The compression side doesn't change.

[natesi]

WOW -- that was an amazing video tutorial! Bravo!!

[natesi]

Originally Posted by simonhch

- I am also going to say that as an XI owner, you should be doing these in conjunction with sway bars. I took the 435xi autocrossing earlier this year (and I dialed the stiffness up to 6 for that) but there was so much bodyroll going through the corners, it was ridiculous. I just had the dinan sways fitted and it is night and day different. The bars that came off were like toothpicks. With the added rigidity of the new sways, I am probably going to dial the SC's to 10 clicks open for daily driving and report back.

How would you rate the ride now, at 10 clicks? Did you do 10 front and rear?

Thanks!

[Gen13 F36]

Originally Posted by rcaso26

I recently had KW street comfort coilovers installed on my 2015 328i xdrive to remove the huge wheel gap on the xdrive. While I really like the look of my car lowered, the ride quality isn't as great as I was expecting after shelling out for these coilovers. If I were to slightly increase the ride height, would that make the ride smoother? Thanks in advance!

Can we get an update on how the coilovers do since you have it for a year now? How many miles?

[rcaso26]

Originally Posted by Gen13 F36

Can we get an update on how the coilovers do since you have it for a year now? How many miles?

I took the coilovers off and they are for sale on the forum. I honestly could never get them dialed in to where I wanted so I reverted back to stock suspension for now. Keep in mind that long island NY roads are notoriously bad, so maybe it is more a result of the roads than the suspension.

[natesi]

Originally Posted by rcaso26

I took the coilovers off and they are for sale on the forum. I honestly could never get them dialed in to where I wanted so I reverted back to stock suspension for now. Keep in mind that long island NY roads are notoriously bad, so maybe it is more a result of the roads than the suspension.

Sorry to hear that, but thanks for the update.

[cfm56d7b]

KW Street Comfort coilovers still need to be adjusted to both the road imperfections and driver preferences. It takes a bit of time and patience.

I selected KW SC coilovers for my previous 2013 BMW 335i xDrive sedan after an extensive research. The right choice for me.

[rcaso26]

Wondering if I should have the coilovers reinstalled and give them another try...

[simonhch]

Originally Posted by natesi

How would you rate the ride now, at 10 clicks? Did you do 10 front and rear?

Thanks!

Hey....

So only the front are at 10 clicks, as I couldn't be bothered to drop the rears to change them, but it makes a massive difference to daily driving. It's plenty stiff enough for regular spirited driving, but takes the bumps a lot better. Very happy. Perfect ride comfort for me. Responsive and firm in a good way. Like a pillow top mattress on firm springs. Feels great. When I take it back tot he track I will definitely be taking it back to around 6 or 7 though.

Chicago has terrible roads, so I hope this helps.a If it can feel comfortable here, it can feel comfortable anywhere.

[Gen13 F36]

Hi guys,

I know I ask this question before but toward the OP. Anyway can anyone chime in on how long this coilovers last until they start leaking or some sort of life changes ...how many miles?

I heard story most coilovers don't quite last long. Just wondering coming from JDM cars with JDM coilovers ( Tein Suspension and HKS suspension) on my S14 and civic lasted at least 50k miles before a noticeable changes and leaks.

[natesi]

Originally Posted by simonhch

Hey....

So only the front are at 10 clicks, as I couldn't be bothered to drop the rears to change them, but it makes a massive difference to daily driving. It's plenty stiff enough for regular spirited driving, but takes the bumps a lot better. Very happy. Perfect ride comfort for me. Responsive and firm in a good way. Like a pillow top mattress on firm springs. Feels great. When I take it back tot he track I will definitely be taking it back to around 6 or 7 though.

Chicago has terrible roads, so I hope this helps.a If it can feel comfortable here, it can feel comfortable anywhere.

Thanks for the update!

[davidz8855]

Hi all.
new to this forum, new to car improvements.

I'm about to get my KW street comfort coilovers, after 3 months of waiting.

my car is (dont laugh) seat Ibiza KJ 2019.

my goal is to get much more handling, sharper corners, and get the car as much as low it can get.

my question is, can i expect really huge difference in handling, without paying the price in driving comfort on bouncy roads?

promise i will update with photos and impressions after installation and adjustments and few test drives.