[belcom]

This is lower than what I was looking for so its going to be raised up maybe 20mm - 25mm or so. Not looking to be slammed.

Rear vs front fender gaps are this way they because I was recommended to keep the car parallel to the ground instead of going for rake to keep the handling characteristics of the car.

I will withhold from commenting on the ride quality and handling until it is raised up and aligned. Going to ask to do suspension pre-loading on all ball joint type connections as well when it hits the alignment rack.

[belcom]

I've raised it up to max and its still pretty low in the back. The fender is pretty much sitting on top pf the tire with minimal gap and front has a bit of a gap now. Did the alignment at the same time. Ended up with 1.55/1.55 negative camber in the rear and front is pretty straight at 0.33/0.33 degrees. Stock rear camber should be 1.3/1.3 by factory spec so its very close and just a tiny little bit more aggressive.

It handles and drives like a real street sports car now. No lean, no roll, tires stick like never before, lane changes are effortless and quick, high speed stability is excellent and overall I feel safer. Absolutely love it! However the lower you go, the quality of ride goes down.

The ride is now perfect for me. I am enjoying the hell out of my daily communte now

First things first though, people who say this is how it should come from factory are mistaken. KW V1s have excellent capability to comfortably handle majority of road conditions however the ride is quite a bit firmer than stock in comparison. Just looking at the spring rates if you want comfy it is best to go for Eibach Pro + Koni yellow. But if you like your ride firmer KW V1 is for you. My 2 cents in that respect

Also wanted to add my wheel/tire setup for people's reference in case you're wondering.

2011 335xi e90 (LCI)
Sportline CS 16 (CSL rep)
Front: 8.5 width +35 offset wrapped in Michelin PSS 235/35/19
Rear: 9.5 width +45 offset wrapped in Michelin PSS 265/30/19

Rears can tuck under the fender without any rubbing and so are the fronts. Could probably use some spacers but I don't think I will bother with that.

[albsEDM06]

Nice! I went with the Sonics just waiting for time to install but seeing threads like this fuels my motivation. looks really good!

[BreathLess]

Nice looking car and awesome wheels. Made me start researching them. Did you get them locally?

As for the KW's, nice review. I'm still undecided if I should just stick with springs or pay extra for full coilovers. I just want a minimal drop as well and to just not have as much body roll.

I think you should get rid of that reverse rake tho.

[belcom]

Originally Posted by BreathLess

Nice looking car and awesome wheels. Made me start researching them. Did you get them locally?

As for the KW's, nice review. I'm still undecided if I should just stick with springs or pay extra for full coilovers. I just want a minimal drop as well and to just not have as much body roll.

I think you should get rid of that reverse rake tho.

Thanks. Its pretty much stock except suspension and wheels. But suspension changes the looks and handling a lot. Way more fun to drive now.

Sportlines I bought from m0dbargains and had them ship to a buffalo address (cbiusa.com). Picked them up there. Paid the duties on the way back. Done deal. Shipping within US was $99 and to Canada close to $500. Beware though these guys only accept wire transfers from canada. No CC or paypal.

These wheels are rotary forged. Meaning barrel is forged and face of the wheel is cast. So they're a little stronger than regular cast but most important they're quite a bit lighter than others reducing the unsprung weight. Basically your suspension will spend more time compensating for bumps in the road, and less time compensating for the mass of the wheels etc.

I was researching for months what to get. But I knew one thing for sure that I was not going to do just springs if I went ahead with the upgrade. It was between koni yellow + dinan or eibach pro springs or kw v1. Price was very close for either. Decided on kw due to stainless steel construction and because the shock valving is matched to spring rates perfectly and all comes in one kit etc. No regrets. I would prefer if it was just a tiny bit softer when going slow over bad roads but that's what you sacrifice when you go for sporty unless you have an active suspension like an M cars or something. Still it is very good in handling bad roads.

The other things that has been improved a lot.... since its 335 and 6mt I noticed right away that on hard acceleration with stock suspension I was getting tons of nose lift and when braking hard it would nose dive pretty bad too putting majority of pressure on front tires. Once upgraded it feels way better on acceleration, lift is minimal, chassis stays put, does not sway and torque steer is minimized. During braking chassis stays much flatter, nose dive is very much reduced and feels great. And I also noticed similar things when shifting gears. Somehow it feels better when shifting gears as well. Smoother maybe, I am not sure. Perhaps its a perception thing because nothing in that respect has changed.

As far as rake goes. I did the upgrade to imporve suspension performance not just for the looks. The car has to stay parallel to the ground in order to keep and maintain the balance. The rear arches are lower by aproximately an inch or so that is why there is perception that there is rake when in fact the car is perfectly parallel to the ground so technically there is no rake. It is when you adjust it so that front and rear gaps are same or similar is when you really get the rake. I also like how it looks this way but was recommended to stay away from doing that. A friend of friend did the install for me and he's got tons of experience at the track and has been working for BMW for many years. I'll take his word So far there has been zero issues with the install, no clunking or any other noises that some other people complained about. KWs are dead quiet and meeting 99% of my expectations

BreathLess, if you want to come down to newmarket one day and go for a spin to see what it feels like you're more than welcome. Just shoot me a PM.

[BreathLess]

Thanks for the info and the offer.

One more question and it's off topic but what % is your tints? Looks nice and clean.

[Zero_09]

Looks awesome!

I just did the same install on my E90 as well and feel KW V1 ride is stiffer but still comfortable for me. Drove my sister in it and she didn't notice any harshness or stiffness.

My rears are lower than the fronts if you're measuring fender gaps but my installer said he made the front a little lower than the back to get a bit of a rake.

[belcom]

Originally Posted by BreathLess

Thanks for the info and the offer.

One more question and it's off topic but what % is your tints? Looks nice and clean.

I picked up the car with these tints on. I think its about 35% all around and kind of bronze in color. Pretty light. But both driver side tints are scratched and dinged inside from previous owner so I need to replace it all at some point unfortunately

Looking good Zero_09! Did you do the alignment already? If not, don't wait too long. After I did mine aproximately a week after the install it changed the handling for the better... way better.

[Silver330xi]

I too have the KW V1 and couldnt be happier. Like you I have my rears as high and they will go and still sitting pretty low. My fronts are officially as low as they will go without a single thread left. Stiff ride up here in Maine but well worth it in the corners. I'm sitting on 19's with 35 series up front and 30 series in the back/staggered...and I have no rubbing issues.

[niquehawk5]

Originally Posted by Silverfox330xi

I too have the KW V1 and couldnt be happier. Like you I have my rears as high and they will go and still sitting pretty low. My fronts are officially as low as they will go without a single thread left. Stiff ride up here in Maine but well worth it in the corners. I'm sitting on 19's with 35 series up front and 30 series in the back/staggered...and I have no rubbing issues.

What widths do you have front and back? Im wondering if 19x9 front and 19x10 rears will fit lowered with V1s

[belcom]

Originally Posted by niquehawk5

What widths do you have front and back? Im wondering if 19x9 front and 19x10 rears will fit lowered with V1s

Depends which offset

[niquehawk5]

Originally Posted by belcom

Depends which offset

AG M359s, not sure of the offsets. I was more concerned about them just fitting in general. I don't want to rub obviously and would rather not roll the fenders. It seems most on here with a drop stay with 8.5 and 9.5 to be safe

+35 front and +38 rear, just looked it up

[belcom]

Originally Posted by niquehawk5

AG M359s, not sure of the offsets. I was more concerned about them just fitting in general. I don't want to rub obviously and would rather not roll the fenders. It seems most on here with a drop stay with 8.5 and 9.5 to be safe

+35 front and +38 rear, just looked it up

Not being an expert on this I just looked at my rear wheels which are 9.5 with +45 offset which is very conservative. I could maybe pull it off with a 10-12mm spacer. But that's a big maybe. Most likely have to roll the fenders.

Your 10 inch wide wheel will be 1/2 inch wider overall and has more aggressive offset in comparison. So if the rim sticks out about 6.5mm more + 7mm offset difference that's about 13.5mm difference compared to mine. So just looking at these differences and considering you're talking LCI sedan it will fit but with some fender rolling and pulling. Tires will be wider too unless you want to stretch. Personally I'd never want to stretch tires but that's me. Like at least a bit of rim protection and I get that with 9.5" wide wheel and 265 tire in the rear.

[niquehawk5]

Originally Posted by belcom

Not being an expert on this I just looked at my rear wheels which are 9.5 with +45 offset which is very conservative. I could maybe pull it off with a 10-12mm spacer. But that's a big maybe. Most likely have to roll the fenders.

Your 10 inch wide wheel will be 1/2 inch wider overall and has more aggressive offset in comparison. So if the rim sticks out about 6.5mm more + 7mm offset difference that's about 13.5mm difference compared to mine. So just looking at these differences and considering you're talking LCI sedan it will fit but with some fender rolling and pulling. Tires will be wider too unless you want to stretch. Personally I'd never want to stretch tires but that's me. Like at least a bit of rim protection and I get that with 9.5" wide wheel and 265 tire in the rear.

Ya, my plan all along was 8.5 and 9.5 rears, 235 front, 265 rears. That seems to be what everyone is running safely dropped with coilovers. Just really like those wheels. I guess its VMRs since the M359 doesn't come in those sizes Thanks for the help tho.

[Silver330xi]

My front offset with 8.5 wheels is 35 and the rear is 30 with 9.5... with the same offset another 1/4 inch on each side would be reeeeal close to the fender in the rear and you would rub on the spring more than likely with 9.5's in the front.

[belcom]

UPDATE:

Probably like any other suspension the shocks have now worked in after a couple thousand kms. So the ride has improved even more comfort wise. Still really enjoying it. Hope it lasts.

[Zero_09]

looks nice. Just got these a few weeks ago and loving the ride height and comfort.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1135446