[stu435]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. It would appear the only reason not to go for the dampers is cost and a lack of patience on my part.


It would also annoy me if i just get springs now and later wanted the dampers resulting in paying for labour twice.

Saving time I think...

[Lorcan]

Originally Posted by 5tuart

Did you go straight to ACS Springs and Dampers? Or did you do springs first and then dampers at a later date?

Would be good to get someone who has done it two stages to see how much improvement they felt after each.

There are a couple of reviews on our website from people who have done just that and bought the dampers later. They are for 3 series but the same improvement applies.

https://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/spor...rom-8106-p.asp

[stu435]

Originally Posted by Lorcan

There are a couple of reviews on our website from people who have done just that and bought the dampers later. They are for 3 series but the same improvement applies.

https://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/spor...rom-8106-p.asp

Thanks Lorcan

[g9icy]

I have a 435d xDrive and just got the ACS springs, not the dampers. They changed the feel of the car dramatically, and because I only got the springs, it means adaptive still works.

They are not as good as the whole kit, compared to the 335d I tested with Lorcan which had both, but I feel that just having the springs is a good compromise.

Getting rid of run flats is a must however!

As a side note, I had swapped out the run flats for MPS4S tyres before the ACS springs had been fitted, and the car felt absolutely brilliant and smooth on the original springs with non-rfts. Not sporty, but more 'luxury'. The RFT's are horrid and shouldn't be anywhere a BMW imo.

[anielsen71]

Originally Posted by g9icy

I have a 435d xDrive and just got the ACS springs, not the dampers. They changed the feel of the car dramatically, and because I only got the springs, it means adaptive still works.

They are not as good as the whole kit, compared to the 335d I tested with Lorcan which had both, but I feel that just having the springs is a good compromise.

Getting rid of run flats is a must however!

As a side note, I had swapped out the run flats for MPS4S tyres before the ACS springs had been fitted, and the car felt absolutely brilliant and smooth on the original springs with non-rfts. Not sporty, but more 'luxury'. The RFT's are horrid and shouldn't be anywhere a BMW imo.

I did exactly the same on my 435dx GC.
The car now feels and looks much better!!

[Skyhigh]

Originally Posted by g9icy

I have a 435d xDrive and just got the ACS springs, not the dampers. They changed the feel of the car dramatically, and because I only got the springs, it means adaptive still works.

They are not as good as the whole kit, compared to the 335d I tested with Lorcan which had both, but I feel that just having the springs is a good compromise.

Getting rid of run flats is a must however!

As a side note, I had swapped out the run flats for MPS4S tyres before the ACS springs had been fitted, and the car felt absolutely brilliant and smooth on the original springs with non-rfts. Not sporty, but more 'luxury'. The RFT's are horrid and shouldn't be anywhere a BMW imo.

Don't believe you without photos

[Firaxis]

Originally Posted by scoss

Not many people on here talk of bottoming out. Have you hit pot holes etc? Or taken a speed hump at speed?

Not the other poster but BMW suspension (especially M-Sport) seems to hit the end of its travel and crash through the cabin when hitting a pot hole / high man hole cover. It's dumpy over speed bumps and fidgety over anything but smooth surfaces.

It's better in the 3 than the 1 however, going for this setup.. https://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/spor...rom-2135-p.asp

Lorcan Is there anywhere you can test the full sports suspension setup on a RWD F30?

[Lorcan]

Originally Posted by Firaxis

Lorcan Is there anywhere you can test the full sports suspension setup on a RWD F30?

Not at the moment, but the customer reviews in the link you posted should give you an idea of how good it is.

[Jasperold7]

Originally Posted by Lorcan

Not at the moment, but the customer reviews in the link you posted should give you an idea of how good it is.

Hi I was wondering if there is any deals on the springs at the moment.
Would be for a 2017 330d xdrive.

[Olly_P]

Thoiught I'd post on this thread as well, had some ACS lowering springs fitted to my 440i GC, with adaptive shocks.

Really happy with the lowering, nice and even and get pretty much bang on the 2cm all round lowering. Ride is pretty much stock for the most part but feels more planted when pushing on. Seems to have fixed the slightly uneven lowering from stock too which is a bonus.

BEFORE


AFTER


BEFORE measurements:
Passenger front - 37cm
Passenger rear - 37cm
Driver front - 37.3cm
Driver rear - 36cm

AFTER measurements:
Passenger front - 35cm
Passenger rear - 35cm
Driver front - 35cm
Driver rear - 34.5m

Total LOWERING:
Passenger front - 2cm
Passenger rear - 2cm
Driver front - 2.3cm
Driver rear - 2.5cm

[Lorcan]

Originally Posted by Jasperold7

Hi I was wondering if there is any deals on the springs at the moment.
Would be for a 2017 330d xdrive.

The deal is we haven't increased our prices this year, when we should have.

[stuartanthony]

I recently purchased a 330d Xdrive Touring with Msport kit and, like all others joining this post, was surprised how it wallows. It was like a fast barge!

Like others above, I thought an Msport would have Msport suspension (like previous Msports I have owned). The AC Schnitzer spring route appeared to the the solution.

Having read the posts, I decided to proceed and checked around for pricing...
some of the Indys wanted around £1K just to fit the springs.

I purchased the Bilstein B4s myself and took the car to Deutsch Tech in Milton Keynes this morning ( Thanks Lorcan for the recommendation). I chose B4s as this is a family touring/dog car.. rather than aiming to make it a 'sports car'

Enjoyed a very pleasant 2 hour drive home.... It is weird.... still very comfortable, however you can now 'feel' the road and the car stays balanced in the corners and under braking. It feels just like the car should have been manufactured.

Paid circa £1K all-in including my purchase of Bilsteins.

[Firaxis]

Originally Posted by Lorcan

Not at the moment, but the customer reviews in the link you posted should give you an idea of how good it is.

Sorry Lorcan but three reviews ain't gonna cut the mustard, what am I actually getting? I've seen many times that amount of reviews saying M-Sport suspension on S-drive is amazing but from my experience of ownership (and reviews) a Jag XE dual wishbone setup would run rings around any BMW setup whilst remaining several times more compliant and comfortable.

Obviously nearly any setup would be an improvement but a little more data before throwing £1600.00 at something would be nice, what if I don't like the suspension for e.g.?

[Lorcan]

Originally Posted by Firaxis

Sorry Lorcan but three reviews ain't gonna cut the mustard, what am I actually getting? I've seen many times that amount of reviews saying M-Sport suspension on S-drive is amazing but from my experience of ownership (and reviews) a Jag XE dual wishbone setup would run rings around any BMW setup whilst remaining several times more compliant and comfortable.

Obviously nearly any setup would be an improvement but a little more data before throwing £1600.00 at something would be nice, what if I don't like the suspension for e.g.?

You would be getting AC Schnitzer suspension springs and matching fixed rate dampers based on Bilstein units, but with AC Schnitzer valving aimed at improved comfort, over a B8 for example (I have B8 on my own car so I'm quite familiar with them).

It's not possible for us, or any suspension company, to run every BMW model with every suspension variant as demo cars for customers to see if they like them. If you don't like our sports kit, you would be the first to say that in my 9 years of experience with the company, but I can't guarantee 100% that it will be what you are looking for as expectations vary.

[Firaxis]

Originally Posted by Lorcan

You would be getting AC Schnitzer suspension springs and matching fixed rate dampers based on Bilstein units, but with AC Schnitzer valving aimed at improved comfort, over a B8 for example (I have B8 on my own car so I'm quite familiar with them).

It's not possible for us, or any suspension company, to run every BMW model with every suspension variant as demo cars for customers to see if they like them. If you don't like our sports kit, you would be the first to say that in my 9 years of experience with the company, but I can't guarantee 100% that it will be what you are looking for as expectations vary.

I was thinking more along the lines of returns but I understand, you could set up your own car show room with the amount of models.

Besides from avoiding BMW there's really little option besides sorting out a few things which turn a good car into a great one.

[Lorcan]

We can't resell a fitted/used suspension kit as new and there is considerable labour cost in reverting a car to stock suspension - certainly more cost than we make on the kit in the first place - so offering suspension kits on a trial basis is not really an option for us. We did offer a 14 day money back arrangement on performance upgrades for a while as fitting on most of these is only one hour, but there was not much uptake.

We do try our best to explain what you can expect from each kit via our suspension blog, offer demo cars here and at our dealers (Mallory Performance have an M2 Comp with RS suspension and Berry BMW will have an M340i with springs and sports suspension very soon), customer reviews and by answering questions as honestly as possible so that customers are as well informed as they can be when it is not possible to drive the actual kit for themselves before buying. That's about all we can do

[Firaxis]

Originally Posted by Lorcan

We can't resell a fitted/used suspension kit as new and there is considerable labour cost in reverting a car to stock suspension - certainly more cost than we make on the kit in the first place - so offering suspension kits on a trial basis is not really an option for us. We did offer a 14 day money back arrangement on performance upgrades for a while as fitting on most of these is only one hour, but there was not much uptake.

We do try our best to explain what you can expect from each kit via our suspension blog, offer demo cars here and at our dealers (Mallory Performance have an M2 Comp with RS suspension and Berry BMW will have an M340i with springs and sports suspension very soon), customer reviews and by answering questions as honestly as possible so that customers are as well informed as they can be when it is not possible to drive the actual kit for themselves before buying. That's about all we can do

The only reason I'm pushing harder this time around Lorcan is because I'm actually considering it vs. a cursory glance remarking hmm that upgrade looks nice. So don't take it like I'm just tyre kicking to invoke response or troll..

The car market and economy is in a rather peculiar state. Diesels are being pushed off the pier, BMW's 340i replacement demands M4 money and other alternatives are slim therefore the best option does seem to be get an F30, keep it long term and mod away. Issue being it's obviously a risk to do so..

Seems like I'll have to take a leap of faith, I do hope it's better than M-Sport suspension though.. Then again it doesn't have to be all that great to achieve its goal.

[Cootie]

Firaxis,

If it’s any help I’ve experience of different ACS offerings on two F30/F80s - my old 335d, where a set of the springs transformed it from a wobbly barge of a thing, to a very competent (albeit heavy) sports saloon. One of my best mates went the full RS suspension on his M3 Competition - transformed the car from one that really struggled on bumpy B roads to one that tackled everything a gnarled road could throw at it and just replied with impeccable damping, finesse and composure. He said he would have sold the car within 3 months had it not been for changing the suspension and his view was it allowed it to hold its own against some of the much fancier cars he’s owned.

Based on experiencing the two different ends of the ACS suspension offerings I would suggest it highly unlikely you’ll be disappointed if you do bite the bullet.

[Firaxis]

Originally Posted by Cootie

Firaxis,

If it’s any help I’ve experience of different ACS offerings on two F30/F80s - my old 335d, where a set of the springs transformed it from a wobbly barge of a thing, to a very competent (albeit heavy) sports saloon. One of my best mates went the full RS suspension on his M3 Competition - transformed the car from one that really struggled on bumpy B roads to one that tackled everything a gnarled road could throw at it and just replied with impeccable damping, finesse and composure. He said he would have sold the car within 3 months had it not been for changing the suspension and his view was it allowed it to hold its own against some of the much fancier cars he’s owned.

Based on experiencing the two different ends of the ACS suspension offerings I would suggest it highly unlikely you’ll be disappointed if you do bite the bullet.

It does help, thank you.

[Lorcan]

A couple more reviews of sports suspension for you Firaxis

https://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/spor...rom-8106-p.asp

https://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/spor...rom-6128-p.asp

In most cases I find that customer expectations arise from their driving history. If you'd like to give me a call I'd be happy to discuss this with you. We can cover more detail in a phone call.

For customers with little or no modding history the spring kit alone is an eye opener. Approx 1 in 10 will want to get the sports dampers as well to meet their expectations, based on other cars they have driven. And a small number who simply want the car to be as good as it possibly can be will go for the RS kit. There are two reviews for this, both from forum members, on this page:

https://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/rs-a...rom-4628-p.asp

[jdrally]

I have a 2017 335d amd could not believe how bad the standard suspension is even with edc. I fitted ac springs which made it bearable on slow to medium speeds. But if you want to drive faster then changing shocks has to be done.

[Skyhigh]

Folks, I suspect a silly question, but still worth asking:

I have the ACS springs + 13mm (per wheel) plates + 19" 255 width tyres on the rear axle.
Is there no risk of the rear tyres rubbing against the arch when the car is loaded, e.g. at speed bumps, etc!? I have that on my Audi, with just 5mm plates and stock suspension.

This is how it looks like empty:


2 persons on the back seat, empty boot, 1/4 full tank:

(imagine what it would be with full tank and load in the boot....!)

I have thought of going over to 15mm plates, as many here suggest and drive, but must be 100% sure I will not get contact coming down from speed bumps, etc.