[doughboy]

Originally Posted by Yahoo

I may do in time. The main reason for me to change the shocks would be if I found the damping to be too crashy/bouncy given the drop. But to be fair, the drop on the Eibach pro is only 20mm front and 0mm rear - so I don't see this presenting too much of a problem.

My main reason for changing the spring is to even out the stance of the car front to rear, the pro kit should achieve this.

Once the rfts and the ARBs and bushes have been changed I will take stock and see if anything else is required. I feel that what I am planning so far are necessities for the e91 to get it to handle like my old stock e92 - and hopefully a bit better.

Yahoo, if your E91 is like mine, the damping is too soft. Personally I wouldn't change just the springs as stiffer ones will increase the relative under damping even more, but throwing non rfts into the mix will add another variable.

I'll be interested to hear how you get on!!

[Yahoo]

If I were to go for shocks to match the Eibach pro spring, does anyone know which damper to go for?

[doughboy]

Why no go for a proper full set, like Bilstein or Koni etc? Then they are matched.

The Basic bilstein sets, dampers, springs, bump stops etc are about £800 I think?

[Yahoo]

Originally Posted by doughboy

Why no go for a proper full set, like Bilstein or Koni etc?

If money was no object at this stage, then perhaps - but unfortunately it is!!

I already have the Eibach Pro's ready to install and would like to know the most cost effective means of matching a damper to these springs.

[Yahoo]

Does anyone know about the Koni FSD range? Would this bee OK on an LCI e91 335i?

http://www.koni-suspension.co.uk/p1357160.htm

Or the alternative would be to go with the Koni adjustable damper kit - not much cheaper that the FSD though by the looks of it, aprox £50 cheaper:

http://www.koni-suspension.co.uk/p1369789.htm

[YvesD]

Originally Posted by Yahoo

Does anyone know about the Koni FSD range? Would this bee OK on an LCI e91 335i?

http://www.koni-suspension.co.uk/p1357160.htm

Or the alternative would be to go with the Koni adjustable damper kit - not much cheaper that the FSD though by the looks of it, aprox £50 cheaper:

http://www.koni-suspension.co.uk/p1369789.htm

If I ever get around to it, I'm going to match my Eibachs up with a set of koni sport 'yellows' adjustable dampers.

That combo worked well on my previous M3

Yves

[Yahoo]

Originally Posted by YvesD

If I ever get around to it, I'm going to match my Eibachs up with a set of koni sport 'yellows' adjustable dampers.
Yves

Are these the ones Yves?

http://www.koni-suspension.co.uk/p1369789.htm

[YvesD]

Originally Posted by Yahoo

Are these the ones Yves?

http://www.koni-suspension.co.uk/p1369789.htm

Certainly are.

From memory, the range of rebound adjustment is from a bit stiffer than stock to rock hard !

Well priced and very good quality too.

Yves

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by Yahoo

Does anyone know about the Koni FSD range? Would this bee OK on an LCI e91 335i?

http://www.koni-suspension.co.uk/p1357160.htm

Or the alternative would be to go with the Koni adjustable damper kit - not much cheaper that the FSD though by the looks of it, aprox £50 cheaper:

http://www.koni-suspension.co.uk/p1369789.htm

The main issue you have is that the Eibach Pro Kit does not really have a specific damper matched to it. Some people have had subjective success with matching the springs to a set of Koni Yellows. Others say that the FSD system is wondrous and the best thing on earth...

I can't comment on the Koni Yellows, but I do have a view on the FSD dampers as I spent two days driving a car with H&R sport springs and FSD dampers.

My initial impression of the FSD was how subtle the damping was, and how it seemed to smother minor imperfections in the road at low speeds. This was despite the H&Rs being a bit stiffer and lower than the regular BMW MSport springs. However on further driving, I found that the FSD setup was lacking considerably in rebound control - at higher speeds, gentle undulations had the car floating in sympathy, with a result of a decrease in steering feel, body control and overall sense of stability. This got progressively worse the harder I drove the car - on rutted off-cambered B roads, I simply couldn't predict how the dampers were going to cope and what reaction they would give. As a result, I had to drive considerably slower on those roads than I would have done on a regular BMW suspension setup.

IMO, predictability and understanding what a car is going to do in reaction to a challenging road is the absolute key to being able to push the car towards its limits. This is regardless of whether the suspension setup is good or bad - at least it has to be consistently good, or predictably bad. The issue with the FSD is that I never understood how the dampers were going to respond - there were too many variations, too many uncertainties. This was in stark contrast to the initial feel when I first drove the car, especially at low speeds.

My vote? Avoid the FSDs. Try the Yellows if you want to, but be prepared to not like it or be disappointed. At which point, you might as well have gone for a matched setup in the first instance (like the Bilstein B12). It may be more money initially, but it removes the suck-it-and-see risk approach.

[YvesD]

Wise words as always Tony.

Another route might be KW's matched and lowered spring and damper set that I saw on their website the other day ? Only £550 ish all in.

Yves

[Jay6t9]

Originally Posted by Yahoo

I may do in time. The main reason for me to change the shocks would be if I found the damping to be too crashy/bouncy given the drop. But to be fair, the drop on the Eibach pro is only 20mm front and 0mm rear - so I don't see this presenting too much of a problem.

My main reason for changing the spring is to even out the stance of the car front to rear, the pro kit should achieve this.

Once the rfts and the ARBs and bushes have been changed I will take stock and see if anything else is required. I feel that what I am planning so far are necessities for the e91 to get it to handle like my old stock e92 - and hopefully a bit better.

Hi Ben

Sorry to hijack the thread. I've finally found the time to say hello to the forum in the newbie thread. see here: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...128471&page=42

I'd be very interested to hear how you get on after changing just the ARBs and bushes. Don't get me wrong, there's huge amounts of grip in the standard 335 but it surprised me how much body roll there is and slight lack of confidence on turn in that I feel.

I confess, some of this maybe my driving style. I will have to adapt after 6 years of light weight VX220 driving and I appreciate they are two very different cars.

I've also tried experimenting with the tyre pressures a little too.

Still, I'm immensely impressed with the car, It's an absolute credit to you Ben.

Hope you're enjoying your new touring.


Doughboy:- Your review made interesting reading, LSD sounds like a worth while investment. I notice you're in S. Manchester like me. Are there any regular meets near by?

Cheers

James

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by Jay6t9

Doughboy:- Your review made interesting reading, LSD sounds like a worth while investment. I notice you're in S. Manchester like me. Are there any regular meets near by?

Cheers

James

Hi Mate - I was trying to guess the location in you pictures!!

I think your coupe will be a better handling beasty than the tourer, lower c of g probably helps! The LSD is superb, i think you'll notice the lack of one as you start to explore your car a bit more.

I haven't been to any meets, but I have just joined the BMW car club (£45), admittedly only to get the £20+ discount on their brilliant track days (oulton park next 4th Nov). Apparently you get good car insurance deals etc, but we'll see about that one.

The magazine they send is quite good and I was amazed at the amount of North West division meets in the listings.

Their main Sunday meet is at The Swan at Bucklow Hill on the A556, but the car club listings gives loads more.

http://www.bmwcarclubgb.co.uk/rm/eve...gion&period=M6

Don't think the missus would be too pleased if i sloped off on a sunday though....

[Yahoo]

Originally Posted by Jay6t9

I'd be very interested to hear how you get on after changing just the ARBs and bushes.

James - pleased to hear that you are liking the coupe, looks great in those pictures.

I have decided to go the whole hog on the suspension. I have collected my M3 ARBs, M3 sub frame bushes and Eibach Pro springs. I have also got a set of Koni FSDs on back order, which should be in the country in November.

I am going to wait to get it all fitted when the FSDs come in stock, but once it all goes on, in conjunction with the Eagle F1 Assymetrics, I should notice a significant improvement in handling.

I will report back once installed.

Ben

[Jay6t9]

I haven't been to any meets, but I have just joined the BMW car club (£45), admittedly only to get the £20+ discount on their brilliant track days (oulton park next 4th Nov). Apparently you get good car insurance deals etc, but we'll see about that one.

Doughboy - Thanks for the info. I'll look out for you around here. Would be nice to have look at your handling upgrades one day.

I have decided to go the whole hog on the suspension.

Ben - That sounds great. You, must do a write up like Doughboy and make sure you upload some piccys when you get your wheels sorted.

Cheers

James

[Yahoo]

As mentioned above, I have purchased some M3 ARBs for my 335i touring. I bought these as I understand that they are slightly more forgiving than the offerings from Eibach, Hartge and H&R - as I don't want to loose too much traction at the rear and don't want to invest in an LSD.

It has just occurred to me today though that I could change my e90 M3 ARBs for e93 M3 ARBs. The e93 ARBs are 1.5mm thicker at the front and 3.6mm thicker at the rear than the e90 M3 ARBs.

At present, I would be upgrading my current ARBs for the same diameter on the front (26.5 mm) - although the M3 ones are hollow and made from a different material, so it is difficult to comparing the rigidity of these directly with my stock ones. On the rear I would be upgrading from 13mm on the rear to 20mm M3 ones - which should significantly stiffen up the rear end (in conjunction with the M3 sub frame bushes).

Alternatively, I could exchange the e90 M3 ARBs for the e93 M3 ones which are 28mm front and 23.6mm rear - much beefier to handle the non carbon roof and extra 200kg over the e90 M3.

So, what I am asking is - would my touring (without any plans to install an LSD) be better matched to my current e90 M3 ARBs, or should I exchange for the beefier e93 M3 ones?

Any thoughts??

[E92Fan]

Keep to the E90 M3 items, and NOT the E93 ones. If you go too stiff at the rear, you'll end up losing rear-end traction as there won't be enough compliance. You'd need to invest in an LSD to redress the traction issue.

[Yahoo]

As I thought - thanks e92fan

[PhilL]

Excellent thread and very interesting indeed; having just swapped out my 18" Michelin RFTs for non-RFT Falkens I'm loving the improved ride and feel, but the handling is noticeably softer and there's more body roll (tyres are 35/38 psi f/r)

Funds won't stretch to the LSD (I've just spent a few Ks on the latest 2-wheeled suspension technology that'll fit IN the rear of the car LOL) but I'm wondering if the M3 ARBs might be a cost-effective mod with the M Sport suspension?

[Yahoo]

If you do ARBs, then the sub-frame bushes are a no brainer. These items are relatively inexpensive, it is just the cost of the install that makes it a pricey mod. You can be looking at enything from 4 - 7 hours labour to replace ARBs and bushes. Well worth it though I'm sure.

[Jay6t9]

Originally Posted by PhilL

Excellent thread and very interesting indeed; having just swapped out my 18" Michelin RFTs for non-RFT Falkens I'm loving the improved ride and feel, but the handling is noticeably softer and there's more body roll (tyres are 35/38 psi f/r)

PhilL - Out of interest what's the load index of your non-RFT that are on now? Reason I ask is on my previous non BMW car the load index made a huge difference to handling. My e92 came with non-RFT so I can't compare before and after.

Yahoo - Sorry, I'm sure this has been covered to death, but did you notice a similar affect on body roll (or at least perceived body roll) after fitting non-RFT to the coupe?

Cheers

James

[PhilL]

Originally Posted by Jay6t9

PhilL - Out of interest what's the load index of your non-RFT that are on now? Reason I ask is on my previous non BMW car the load index made a huge difference to handling. My e92 came with non-RFT so I can't compare before and after.

Yahoo - Sorry, I'm sure this has been covered to death, but did you notice a similar affect on body roll (or at least perceived body roll) after fitting non-RFT to the coupe?

Cheers

James

Hi mate,

92Y front 94Y rear which is higher than the RFT Michelins that were replaced (88Y front 90Y rear)

[doughboy]

Phil - I think it must be more of a roll perception, as even under hard cornering a non RFT should only squash by and inch or so, lowering that side of the car by an inch. This would be very slight roll indeed. You should run non rfts at higher pressure than the RFT.

Try increasing the pressures to say 38/41. the 35/38 you mention is the same as the standard pressures for RFTs on mine

Extra load rated tyres, eg 92Y, are re-inforced and require higher pressures, so they would probably firm up the ride. The Conti sport contact 3's I'm looking at are ONLY available in XL rating for the 18" m sport sizes.