[335i E92]

335i Eibach v M3 Arb's (swaybars)????
Hi all

Very proud owner of the below 335i SE!!!

Loving the car but not the terrible standard wollow that BMW have installed as standard. I don't want to lower the car so I belive swaybars as you guys call them in the states or anti role bars as we call them over the pond in the Uk!!

I was looking at eibach as they are a great make and only up the rear bars from the standard 13mm to 15mm this is important to me as I don't plan at this stage to fit an LSD and I belive if I stiffen too much at the rear I will struggle with traction.

Problem is the eibachs are 6 week back order and I don't want to wait that long. I think the next best option would be the M3 bars instead, I know they are thicker but they are also hollow so would maybe be similar to the eibach!!

Has anyone got any advise or have any experience of either of the above bar upgrades on the 335i E92 SE????

Thanks in advance!!

[335i E92]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101524

I did try the above link but Unfortunatley it doesn't answer my question as the hartge bars that E92 Fan had fitted are paired with the quaffe LSD which I won't be installing. (due to funds)

with the eibach on a long back order I need to know which of the following will be best matched to my 335i SE standard suspention and diff without hurting the traction to badly

hartge / H&R or M3?? They are all 20mm thickness at the rear compared to th more forgiving 15mm eibach's. Would I be right in saying the M3's are best as they are hollow and would be the softest option out of the 3

any advise would be greatly appreciated!!

[doughboy]

Hi,

I have the Hartge ARBs with an LSD, so I only reccomend them to you i'm afraid.

You have a 335i SE which has M sport suspension by default, so when you way 'wallow' do you mean rolling left/right movement?

Although the ARBs do help to control roll in gentle turns, ultimately its the road springs that will control it as the forces build up due to the relatively low strength of ARBs when the leverage forces are taken into account. And it is the damping that will control the rate of transition left to right or right to left roll that you get when changing direction.

The main function of ARBs is to control the front / rear handling balance by altering their relative stiffnesses, which is why I went for the Hartge set as it gave the most rearward balance. IMO the main reason to change them.

It hasn't improved the problem of soft damping in the more recent M sports setup and too soft a road springs also which still manifest themselves in my car by excessive nose/tail roll under acceleration and braking.

The have transformed the balance of the car, but in the process highlighted the already poor standard suspension.

I'm going for the Hartge Suspension kit soon, which only lowers by about 10mm from M Sports as I don't want it LOW, just working better.

Tony (e92fan)'s car is a pre LCI model, as was my previous 330i, which seem to benefit from firmer suspension prior to BMW mucking it all up!!

What year is your?

[335i E92]

Morning, thank you for the reply!!

I've read quite a few of yours and E92 Fans posts regarding the upgrades at birds. I would love to go for the quaffe diff but funds won't stretch just now as I'm saving for my wedding!!!

My car is a December registered 56 plate on 18" rims, i know they have sports suspension as standard but I think the msports 335i suspension is slightly different. Lower springs maybe.

As I said I absolutley love the car but can't belive how sloppy the standard suspension Is given the cars performance.

It's especially the role from left to right that I can't live with. I did look at the eibach lowering springs to firm things up but they drop the car 35mm at the front and 25mm at the back which is too low for me. I really don't want to pimp my ride.

Will upgrading the role bars help with the left to right role and motorway instability, if so given I can't stretch to the LSD at the mo which ones would you advise that won't hinder the traction too badly. I won't be tracking the car and I'm not looking for real hard core cornering performance, I just want to feel confident when I have a little fun on round abouts and bends.

Also if the hartge springs will only lower my SE by 10mm this could be an option for me to pair with the upgraded role bars.

This is why I was looking to upgrade the role bars instead. How much would the hartge springs lower my current hieght? Would it still be just 10mm, as you said it would drop the m sport suspension by 10mm but I'm sure m sport is slightly lower than the SE anyway.

[335i E92]

Ps really happy that you have responded as both you and E92 fan seem to know your onions!!

[doughboy]

Tony started me on the path to righteousness... I owe my empty wallet entirely to him

I think your 335i SE has pukka M sports springs and dampers, the factory wouldn't lower it without using suitable uprated dampers too.

Remember the drop heights quoted by suspension kits are always from standard suspension unless mentioned otherwise, so subtract 15mm (M sport lowering) from these drops to give the drop relative to m sport.

The ARBs will much improve motorway stability and remove a lot of the centre 'dead' feel from straight ahead steering, but they won't add damping effect of course.

Its not advisable IMO to just upgrade the springs, people do it for easy lowering as its cheap, but if you want to actually improve the suspension rather than just looks, you will need to change springs and dampers together. (although many on here will disagree, so you may wish to go that route if ultimate handling is not your goal)

The Hartge suspension kits are known to be very stiff at the rear, which may be not what you are after. I'm able to get round that by using a coupe kit on my tourer as the tourer is heavier at the rear which will make the weaker Hartge coupe spring feel softer. This has been tested by Birds and appears to work well. (good for tourer owners anyway!)

Obviousy as you have a coupe you can't go anywhere with that method.

The hartge bars are expensive too, but I would say the eibach ones would be a good alternative and will tighten things up for you without being too biased to wards the rear or causing you too many grip problems.

E92fan really rated his ARBs on OE M sport suspension and ran with it for 2 years I think. It must have been a good setup to last him that long!

Is 6 weeks really too long to wait?

[marcel b]

Did you check KW? I have KW clubsport ARB in my car, and they are made by Eibach (they are even Red painted). 28 / 15mm front / back. Maybe you can find them with a shorter leadtime.

Check here in the clubsport catalog, totally down there is a chapter "anti swaybars"
http://www.kw-suspensions.co.uk/uk/kw_catalogs.php

[335i E92]

[SIZE="2"]Thank you for the info guys!!

It's very interesting that the eibach pro sport give lowering dimensions from standard suspention. This might just make the pro sport springs a possibility as with my sport suspension I will only get a 10mm drop rear and a 20mm drop front.

Do you guys have any photos of the pro sport springs on a car??

To conclude I rekon I will upgrade to eibach bars or equvilent and pro sport springs. If in the future I feel I need to I can upgrade the dampers I can.

Would you agree this would improve on shag k have without being to crashy and harsh or looking too low? Agian any photos of the pro sport would be fantastic

[335i E92]

Marcel

do you rate those arbs?? Did they improve over stock for role??

Cheers

[335i E92]

Marcel

do you rate those arbs?? Did they improve over stock for role??

Cheers

[335i E92]

Sorry about the shag k in previous post. Ha ha posting from my iPhone and I tried yo type standard supsention but it decided to predict somthin else!!

[marcel b]

Originally Posted by 335i E92

Marcel

do you rate those arbs?? Did they improve over stock for role??

Cheers

I had them installed together with the KW clubsport suspension, so I cannot compare stock set-up with stock coils and KW ARB. Sorry.
The role dramatically reduced, which for sure partly are because of the ARB. A bit stiffer ARB in general allows you to run a bit softer springs. KW told me that if I would not have taken the ARB they would have recommended stiffer springs for my set-up.
FYI, changing the rear ARB is a pita. The exhaust needs to be dismounted and the rearaxle carrier has to be lowered...

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by marcel b

FYI, changing the rear ARB is a pita. The exhaust needs to be dismounted and the rearaxle carrier has to be lowered...

+1, forgot to mention that. Mine was done with the LSD & subframe bushes..

[A335i]

Best thing for you to do, as you've already sort of suggested is eibach pro kit springs and their anti roll bars.

If you're looking to get the Hartge products you might as well add another £5 and get an lsd because in the market I think they're highly overpriced in this department especially as there are leaders in this field who offer their products for half the price.

No one would argue that for the 335i the eibach pro kit solely for springs are probably the best all round springs for this car. Any sensible person would also tell you that if you're going to get ARB it is also then best to get a matched set. Many people in the states have experimented with different suspension set ups and ARB. For some it has worked, but, for many others to their own admission it hasn't.

You can't go wrong with the eibach's in terms of quality, handling and value for money. I also don't understand why there's such a back log for the eibach ARB's because there are so many vendors offering these all across the UK.

[335i E92]

Hi

Thank you again for the advise!!

I have decided to wait for the eibach arbs and a very seriously considering the eibach pro sport springs with. I would also upgrade the dampers but funds are tight. My only hesitation is that I don't want the car to look slammed.

Has anyone fitted these?? Did the car look slammed or just a nice subtle drop?? Photo would really help if any one has any??

Also not sure what you meant in the previous post as below especially the "£5" comment.

If you're looking to get the Hartge products you might as well add another £5 and get an lsd because in the market I think they're highly overpriced in this department especially as there are leaders in this field who offer their products for half the price.

Finally would you all agree that with limited funds (due to wedding) upgrading to eibach arbs and pro sport springs with standard dampers be a good improvment over my standard set up. I don't push the car really hard but just want to improve the overall stability. Do you all also agree that I won't look like I've pimped my ride with the pro sport springs??

I know some of you will say that dampers should also be done but my feeling is if they start to fail in a year or two I can upgrade at that point.

Thanks agian, look forward to your comments!!

[Yahoo]

Pro Sport springs do not look slammed at all - more classy and balanced imo.

You might get what you are looking for with just springs and ARBs - but stock dampers will certainly by a weak link in that setup. It depends on how much of a ride connoisseur you are.

[dxb335d]

The Msport suspension is exactly the same as 335 SE coupe. Same height. Same spring and damper rates.

[Yahoo]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

The Msport suspension is exactly the same as 335 SE coupe. Same height. Same spring and damper rates.

Correct - but they are not well matched to lowered springs. Stock dampers are softened to compensate for RFTs and become even softer / wollowy when combined with lowering springs.

Damper rates wouldn't be an issue with the pro kit spring and the spring rates are similar to OEM - except for being progressive rather than linear.

[dxb335d]

Thats why I never bothered fitting lowering springs.

I wouldnt bother unless you get coilovers.

[335i E92]

Hi all

I've decided on the eibach arbs and eibach pro sport springs. As for the dampers due to funds I will be keeping them as stock.

Given that my 335i already has updated sport dampers and the pro sport springs will only lower the car by 15mm rear and 20mm front I am hoping they will be allright.

If they start to fail in a year or two then I will replace with FSD's or similar.

Would you all agree with my selection?? As I previously stated I'm not looking for the ultimate handling package and just want to get rid of the left to right wollow and squat under acceleration

[doughboy]

Sounds like a good setup..

Just have to wait 6 weeks for the ARBs!

Some pics / review would be nice when you get it done.

[335i E92]

Hi

Good... Then its decided!!!

Spoke to Teddy from SSDD today and should have them by the end of the month.

Photos and review will follow soon.