Time for new pair of shocks

[Vanquish]

Current Koni's are due for a change. Current set up is Koni with Eibach springs ... (not Bilsteins as I originally thought) which is not very comfortable given the 18inch rims in play.I wanna maintain the rims ... ( too hooked on them ) but am looking for the right partner for the springs. What are my options ? Bilstein ? HotBits ? Sachs ? Primary concern will be a nice balance between handling and REASONABLE levels of comfort .. ( not too mention the lowered look la )!Cheers,VaN.P/S - someone suggested stock springs with uprated sports dampers ... your comments, fellas ? Thanks.

 

[bimmerman]

Since youre on 18" rims, you can't expect your tires with that thin sidewall to give you much of a comfortable ride so the answer could be in long stroke but well damped suspension.

If you notice how Alpina set's up their cars, you'll find that they lower their cars not more than 15-20mm to maintain much of the suspension travel which is suitable for our type of roads as they'll soak up the bumps your ultra low profile tires no longer can. Such a setup can give better handling on Malaysian roads than an overly stiff and lowered setup which will surely cause your car to be skipping around corners.

Those springs which lower from 30-40mm are really more suitable for looks and track use and coupled with 18" rims is surely a recipe for bone jarring ride. But on a smooth purpose built race track it will surely outdo an Alpina type setup.

One or the other bro, Which do you want?

p/s: I've have an article on this topic. Post it later when I find it.

 

[willie]

bimmerman, got one question here.... the spring that we normally find are usually low down abt 30~40mm right??? can i actually get any other springs that low down only 20 mm other then the super expensive alpina????

 

[Vanquish]

bimmer,

Thanx for the input. My mech was also saying the same thing .. he's asking me to look at Bilstein with stock springs ... worth a look I guess. Anyone else can help me ? Thanx fellas.

 

[bimmerman]

Dear Willie and Vanquish,

If you want aftermarket spings that don't lower much, Dinan makes them. You get just enough lowering up front to banish the ugly fender gap (2 fingers opposed to 1 fist on ori) while the rear gets a 15mm drop. But gooooood luck trying to find it in Malaysia

If you use original springs, your nose will be hanging way up high and your front fender gap will be ugly as grannies knickers!!! If you have an M20 engine which is lighter than the M50, expect your nose to be higher still!

So the only way to handle it would be to cut 1 coil at the front and leave the rears alone. Cut springs will make your springs softer but hopefully the Bilstein shocks can compensate for it.

I'll be trying it soon so i'll let you know once i've done it.

 

[E34EuroTouring]

Hi Vanguish,

If you are thinking of a more confortable ride without upsetting your handling too much, you might want to go with Bilstein HD or Normal rather than Sports. The yellow Sports are harsh to some people. Nice when roads are smooth like the highway but on normal roads, you might complain like Bimmerman and he is using a 5-series! .

On a 328, since it is lighter, you will suffer more especially on those 18inch rims. To me, on 525 with Bilstein/Eibach Prokit and 18in OK on Yoko AVS Sports tires but terrible on Conti Sports tires. Noisy and harsh on Contis!. AVS is rather soft. Great handling but those Yokos wear out too quickly! Expensive.

I dislike the rear Bilstein Sports as going over speed bump is not a good feeling!. Stock is better and it does not swat that much. On lowered springs and Sports, it swats too much under loading!.

Just a suggestion.

PS: If you can get Sachs or H&R, they are more confortable as well, not as great handling as BIlstein but not far off. Unless you seriously track your car and you know what to expect.

 

[E34EuroTouring]

Bimmerman,

Good description of one fist in the front fender and 2 fingers for lowered springs. Its the sort of compromise we have to live with.

My sedan had Bilstein/Eibach Profit, Mparallel 17 inch rims and Zender body kit. Looks great but chin scraping my driveway every day!. Also does speed bumps I have to be careful. Great handling like a E34 M5 but daily driving has it downs with rough roads.

Now my Touring will not suffer the fate of the sedan, so I am sticking to stock springs/stock shock for now, Bilstein HD when current shocks need replacement. That fist becomes 1/2 fist when you seat on it and drive, so it does not look so bad. But you are right, when you accelerate quickly, our tails starts to squat, so naturally the front would look like its pointing into the air, trying to take off like a rocket ship!.
Also, the touring lower cat converter and its support bracket are faily low, so I am afraid of hitting the speed bumps (and breaking something...), so lowering is not an option I would consider ever.
Actually, I wanted to raise the rear by 1/2 a fist becuase now, the fender "swallows" about 3 fingers already! Tilted rocket ship ?.
ON a nice day, I will take the Bilstein shorts from my sedan, take it to a welding shop and weld the lower perch higher by 3 inches just to get (hopefully) the "raised" effect I wanted. Hopefully, this , might lower the front to 1/2fist unladen. so the parked look would be very nice.
{ Yeah, wanna make it like X3 bro....}
:yahoo:

 

[bimmerman]

Hey bro, if your want to raise your rear then contact Wolverine. He has a few sets of rear spacer thingies that will raise your rear ride height without the hassle of welding. Just slot them into your rear shock mount.

Afterall, you're both in the justice league right? Wolverine and Captain America! :lol:

See here ---> http://bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2529

 

[E34EuroTouring]

Hi Bimmerman,

Thanks for the reference link,
2cm is not enough for me. I needed 2 inches. The bilstein rear perch weld is better for me. Then I can claim to stick 3 fingers over it which is what I wanted. With 2 cm raised, I would not get one finger in there to show it what I am after :yahoo: