Noob in coil overs.....

[sesat88]

Hello...Need some help on coil over absorbers. Never use coil overs before. Totally ignorant about them.Thought maybe I give them a shot as my current(M43) front suspension and coils are just too soft for the M50 engine I am having now. Instead of getting the M50 spring strut, pads etc. for the assembly, can i just use coils overs absorbers to replace them? Presently will do the front first. The back... i think can still maintain the original M43 setup.If can, what brand is most recommended and what is the price range? Not really looking for sports type(local road conditions... aiyoyo lerr), ordinary ones will do.Can advice? Cheers

 

[LCP]

The M43 is lighter than the M50 by all means. At the minimum, the suspension should be "upgraded" to the 6-potter spec. Coilovers, even at the softest settings (or valving), are always a tad stiffer than standard stock suspension, they are aftermarket upgrades afterall, mainly for better handling, but at the extreme will be coilovers with race-spec settings.

So, if ride comfort is a very important priority, change first to the stock 6-potter set up. From there, if you decide to up the performance, there's always Bilstein, Eibach, etc etc etc... unlimited choices.... have fun!!!

And oh yes, take your time too, suspension set up must never be rushed.

 

[leforte]

there's someone selling a hotbits front coilover setup in the classified a few weeks back. do a search and give them a try. fully serviceable and upgradeable. i think the seller is asking for 700 for them(brand new is 2600), and its value for money in the long run as you never need to buy new dampers again, just service them.

speedworks the manufacturer also carries a variety of different spring rates for the suspension as well as damping rate for the struts, do a research at bimmerforum or others to get the best spring rate and oil weight for the dampers from there and get them customized to your spec.

i have good experience with speedworks hot bit setup from the basic single height adjustable coilover setup all the way to their DT2 three way height, damping and compression adjustable suspension on my previous e36. i initially had the basic kit but decided with an upgrade when i send it in for service as an upgrade will include the service anyway and cost just slightly more. what surprised me was a totally new unit when i got it back.

anyway, LCP is right. before you considered getting a coilover, you should decide whether it is COMFORT or PERFORMANCE that you are after as a coilover setup would be more suited for performance driving and no matter how soft you tune it, it will still be not as comfortable as you usual spring on strut setup.

 

[sesat88]

The M43 is lighter than the M50 by all means. At the minimum, the suspension should be "upgraded" to the 6-potter spec. Coilovers, even at the softest settings (or valving), are always a tad stiffer than standard stock suspension, they are aftermarket upgrades afterall, mainly for better handling, but at the extreme will be coilovers with race-spec settings.

So, if ride comfort is a very important priority, change first to the stock 6-potter set up. From there, if you decide to up the performance, there's always Bilstein, Eibach, etc etc etc... unlimited choices.... have fun!!!

And oh yes, take your time too, suspension set up must never be rushed.

i c.. i c.....

Compromise in ride comfort a bit i dun really mind la. After years of "bum abuse" (no i am not gay!) thru riding on my rig, I couldn't really tell the difference between a comfy setup and a hard setup. (Bum got numb liao! ) If handling improves drastically, then I am all for it.

Yah... am taking my time lerr.. but will definately change within these few week, as i need to do a bit of outstation travelling. Tyres keep hitting the dampers when I am on high speed whenever i go thru a patch of uneven highway.

thanks for clearing up matters.

 

[sesat88]

there's someone selling a hotbits front coilover setup in the classified a few weeks back. do a search and give them a try. fully serviceable and upgradeable. i think the seller is asking for 700 for them(brand new is 2600), and its value for money in the long run as you never need to buy new dampers again, just service them.

speedworks the manufacturer also carries a variety of different spring rates for the suspension as well as damping rate for the struts, do a research at bimmerforum or others to get the best spring rate and oil weight for the dampers from there and get them customized to your spec.

i have good experience with speedworks hot bit setup from the basic single height adjustable coilover setup all the way to their DT2 three way height, damping and compression adjustable suspension on my previous e36. i initially had the basic kit but decided with an upgrade when i send it in for service as an upgrade will include the service anyway and cost just slightly more. what surprised me was a totally new unit when i got it back.

anyway, LCP is right. before you considered getting a coilover, you should decide whether it is COMFORT or PERFORMANCE that you are after as a coilover setup would be more suited for performance driving and no matter how soft you tune it, it will still be not as comfortable as you usual spring on strut setup.

Hmmm.... thanks for the advice bro. I think I pop by Speedworks in Jalan 222 to check out Hotbits.

Wow, i didn't know that they were serviceable. How long is the service cycle, meaning how do i know when to take it in for servicing? Is the service cost more expensive than the getting a new shock for e.g. like bilstein?

 

[sesat88]

there's someone selling a hotbits front coilover setup in the classified a few weeks back. do a search and give them a try. fully serviceable and upgradeable. i think the seller is asking for 700 for them(brand new is 2600), and its value for money in the long run as you never need to buy new dampers again, just service them.

speedworks the manufacturer also carries a variety of different spring rates for the suspension as well as damping rate for the struts, do a research at bimmerforum or others to get the best spring rate and oil weight for the dampers from there and get them customized to your spec.

i have good experience with speedworks hot bit setup from the basic single height adjustable coilover setup all the way to their DT2 three way height, damping and compression adjustable suspension on my previous e36. i initially had the basic kit but decided with an upgrade when i send it in for service as an upgrade will include the service anyway and cost just slightly more. what surprised me was a totally new unit when i got it back.

anyway, LCP is right. before you considered getting a coilover, you should decide whether it is COMFORT or PERFORMANCE that you are after as a coilover setup would be more suited for performance driving and no matter how soft you tune it, it will still be not as comfortable as you usual spring on strut setup.

hmmm.. search but cannot find. You remember who the bloke ka?

 

[leforte]

the shocks would last a long time, my friend was using his for years before sending it in for servicing. i sent mine for servicing only as a preventive measure after i went to some "ulu" and sandy place for some amature drifting NO thanks to my friend.

anyway the servicing only cost 80 per strut. upgrading or modification will be from 100+ per strut. Just get the one on sale by one of our forumer and service or upgrade it. and it would be as good as new with all new manufactured parts and warranty for two years.

speedworks have done their homework and r&d. all parts are manufactured from scratch and a variety of different setup for you to choose from unlike another local suspension specialist in ampang whom i visited, who wanted to modify my original springs by way of heating and compressing it to fit the coilover setup. BIG NO NO. anyway, a number of local car producers have been getting their cars custom fitted with hotbits suspension for their limited edition sports model at speedworks for sometime now. this should be a testament to their r&d and product know how.

give it a try ...

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please note: i am just a enduser and i am not affiliated with speedworks nor hotbits.

 

[leforte]

the hotbits adjustable was advertised for sale in UDMOWNERS.com.

here's the link http://udmowners.com/v2/viewtopic.php?t=380

cant remember how i got the price of 700 for it. please check with seller for a direct quote.

 

[sesat88]

the hotbits adjustable was advertised for sale in UDMOWNERS.com.

here's the link http://udmowners.com/v2/viewtopic.php?t=380

cant remember how i got the price of 700 for it. please check with seller for a direct quote.

oh okie.. never occured to me to go check UDMowners out. Hee hee.....
Thanks thanks!

 

[initialM]

Guys,

Normally for BMW coilover set up, is there any difference for 4 pots & 6 pots? How bout RG coilover is it good?

 

[sesat88]

How about Teins or GAB coil overs?
Are they any good?

 

[leforte]

initial m:-
someone i met from the forum has some really bad experience with the RG suspension he has on his e36. same goes for another person i know who complaints about the same leaking and squeking absorbers problem on his vios from RG. both sets were new and less than 3 months of normal usage and they tried making a claim with RG and was rejected by RG with a reply saying that as long as the absorbers are not stuck they are not claimable. so there's only one word they can tell you....RG SUCKS.

 

[initialM]

initial m:-
someone i met from the forum has some really bad experience with the RG suspension he has on his e36. same goes for another person i know who complaints about the same leaking and squeking absorbers problem on his vios from RG. both sets were new and less than 3 months of normal usage and they tried making a claim with RG and was rejected by RG with a reply saying that as long as the absorbers are not stuck they are not claimable. so there's only one word they can tell you....RG SUCKS.

Thanks bro. Any diff between 4 pots and 6 pots for BMW coilover. Anuder thing is the rear coilover is adjustable? Now on eibach/sachs setup. Thinkin of getting Bilstein B8 or coilover coz current set up quite soft and bumpy on highway. Only experience wt japs and proton car coilover. Sori hijack little. Lets share on this coilover thingy

 

[sesat88]

Thanks bro. Any diff between 4 pots and 6 pots for BMW coilover. Anuder thing is the rear coilover is adjustable? Now on eibach/sachs setup. Thinkin of getting Bilstein B8 or coilover coz current set up quite soft and bumpy on highway. Only experience wt japs and proton car coilover. Sori hijack little. Lets share on this coilover thingy

hahaha... no prob. la. I also super-noob in this area. All info and discussion on coilover and related matter is alwis welcome la (talk about GT girls .. also more than alwis welcome! ).

This coilover really grey area. Some say ok, some say not. The more i go thru post from other forum.. the more i think it is x-files! Hahahaha!

I wanna look in the possibilities of getting coil overs as the cost of getting the spring strut assembly i.e. springs, pads etcs plus new dampers is almost the same of getting a set of coil overs lah.

On the matter of comfort and handling capabilities..... as long I have more control with a acceptable comfort level i.e. not having "free fall" when going crest and wake on both highway and road... then OK-loh!

 

[LCP]

Okay, sesat88, I'm using Speedworks Hotbits coilovers too, but on my Satria, for the last 7 years or so. On average I rebuild them once every two years... about every 30k km approx before it leaks. Mine's valved quite hard, much harder than those land rovers (saw your profile). The "hardness" of coilovers is very different from 4WD suspension hardness.

Yes, it's RM80 per shock for revalve, and I'm gonna go revalve again this Thursday here at Speedworks Penang. This time it's not because of leak but rather I screwed up when specifying the amount of compression and rebound damping during the last rebuild. Very choppy ride at high speeds now, insufficient rebound damping to control the stiff springs. Don't think I want them to upgrade mine to the adjustable damping type (like leforte's) yet.

 

[sesat88]

hmmm... almost there ... almost there... getting real shit poisoned liao.. hehehehhe

LCP >> Thanks for the heads up. If harder that LR than I would really experience Zero Gees when going thru a hump.... with a real bad thump on me head. That's what happened with riding on a LR anyway.. hehehehe!

 

[LCP]

That's minus one G... ouch

With E36 stock suspension, you can actually "glide" through speed humps, that means, without having to slow down to "dead slow" category. With coilovers, and their generally stiffer nature, there's no way you can "glide" through speed humps anymore. But not to worry, you will not lose the ride refinement on your E36 for most street specs coilovers, just some loss of comfort.

Fyi, the spring rates on my Satria's Hotbits are 4.5kg/mm front, 2.5kg/mm rear, I think the stock springs that Proton specified were around 1.8kg/mm and 1.5kg/mm respectively only. And these are not race-spec coilovers.

 

[DanPromote]

initial m:-
both sets were new and less than 3 months of normal usage and they tried making a claim with RG and was rejected by RG with a reply saying that as long as the absorbers are not stuck they are not claimable. so there's only one word they can tell you....RG SUCKS.

actually rg & hotbits suspension were created by the same designer ie. Rudiber Grebe (RG for short) initially about 10 yrs ago. Both companies took a different direction since Grebe retired but many earlier models share the same design.

Have many friends who owns coilovers and most of them have complaints, even our much talked about local co. Titan has complaints from my friends who bought them as well as the famous Tein. Here's the list of common complaints :-

1) hard ride - duh.. what do u expect when u are using coilover? All coilovers are at least 50% stiffer than stock suspension due to their construction
2) leakage - common problem with most brands
3) foreign noise from components after some time of usage .. usually some 'tak tak tak' sound
4) poor service from distributor/factory

On the other hand here are the good points :-
1) unmatched handling, cornering feels like going on rails
2) lifetime servicable - don't need to throw them after 1 year
3) cheap servicing - RM80-100+ to service compared to paying hundreds or thousand for a bilstein
4) braking more responsive
5) cheap compared to bilstein yellow & lowered springs combination (savings of around RM1000)

Moral of the story is, choose either comfort (standard absorbers/springs) or performance (coilovers). You can't have both. Also check the type of warranty given.

I have used a few types of suspension - RG coilovers, Eibach springs + stock absorbers, stock springs + stock absorbers.

The most comfortable, obviously, is using stock absorbers. Somewhere in between is the Eibach springs + stock absorbers, but I find that the car feels too soft. The best handling is coilovers, but bumpy ride.

All setups have their problems :-
1) stock absorbers - feels like driving a boat during hard cornering.. damn floaty, but very comfortable for daily use and slow driving
2) eibach + stock absorbers - have to touch up my front bumper a few times coz too low and soft, car bottoms out on fast and high degree slopes/bumps
3) rg coilovers - feels like schumaker during corners.. 160kmh and I tried flipping the steering wheel left and right over and over and the car still stuck to the ground, but bumpy .. not good for your back. Also needed servicing after a few months due to rear absorber leaking.. surprisingly the front coilovers did not leak .. but did have some foreign noise after a few months.

 

[theCROW]

bro sesat,
you can test drive my car if we meet in TT
Yes I was planning to sell it but not anymore hehe guess I'm getting use of the hard ride already. But still pain in the ass for city driving.

 

[initialM]

bro sesat,
you can test drive my car if we meet in TT
Yes I was planning to sell it but not anymore hehe guess I'm getting use of the hard ride already. But still pain in the ass for city driving.

Do I get the chance oso arr? What set up r u on now?