[RMNB]

Need to know the advantages/disadvantages of either the H&R touring cup kit or BC br coilovers. I won't be tracking, need some comfort, not slammed, got 19's now something that will handle great, less roll and just be a great daily driver. Anyone have some feedback on these set ups?

[RMNB]

Anyone??

[turb0mik3]

Originally Posted by 550i Beast

Anyone??

H&R absolutely stinks. They ride like crap and will sag in the rear. I would suggest saving up for some Ohlins R&Ts.

[RMNB]

Originally Posted by turb0mik3

H&R absolutely stinks. They ride like crap and will sag in the rear. I would suggest saving up for some Ohlins R&Ts.

Good to know. What about BC br series? Don't want a stiff ride...

[turb0mik3]

Originally Posted by 550i Beast

Good to know. What about BC br series? Don't want a stiff ride...

BC makes a good coilover. I honestly recommend going Ohlins because they are competitively priced for what you get and they ride the best on the street of any coilover in my opinion.

[nis270r]

Originally Posted by turb0mik3

BC makes a good coilover. I honestly recommend going Ohlins because they are competitively priced for what you get and they ride the best on the street of any coilover in my opinion.

KW is also another good option, lifetime warranty/replacement.
Eibach also makes coilover but haven't seen anyone on the forum mentioned about them.

[9krpmrx8]

ST XTA's (comes with camber plates) are nice or the normal ST's. They are rebranded KW's without the protective coating or some shit, which might be important to you in MD. The Bilstein B14 kit is also only $950-1000 shipped. Then they go up from there. Ohlins makes different levels of stuff but all wel built and designed.

BC is built to fit crap. Same with the rest of the made and designed in Tawain crap (no platform R&D at all). If you go with something that is rebuild-able locally then you save money in the long run.

But if you just want to go low then get whatever with the understanding that the cheaper off brands won't last.

[RMNB]

I'm thinking now either the FSD/Eibach pro kit combo or Bilstein 16 kit. I don't track the car nor do I want a very aggressive set up. Want some comfort based upon 19's/low profile pss so I think it's down to these 2.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

I've had multiple customers complain about BC and H&R riding stiff. That being said, some of them still enjoyed them despite being stiff.

I'd sooner consider KW OR ST options if you daily drive the vehicle.

The other options are better for race applications (and I know there are actually better race options too) and most people don't race.

I don't like shock/spring combos either as you are stuck with height. Consider KW V1, honestly.

Also FSD are notorious for riding a bit bouncy and you are stuck with those settings so if you insist on a shock/spring combo at least go with Koni yellow so you can adjust them.

Of course with any suspension modification and relation to ride stiffness, harshness and any other opinionated areas, your sensitivity will vary. I only speak on my personal experience and the experiences of what my customers have told me.

I have KW V1 on my Xi and had Kw V2 on my 335i, thoroughly enjoyed them and daily drove with them.

[matteblue3er]

Originally Posted by turb0mik3

H&R absolutely stinks. They ride like crap and will sag in the rear. I would suggest saving up for some Ohlins R&Ts.

Not sure where you heard H&Rs sag. I've been on H&R coilovers for the past 50k miles and there is no sag in the rear at all. Struts/shocks are still tight and perform well.

I do agree they are stiffer than most setups but I prefer that. In the end, you don't buy coilovers for comfort....

If you want comfort, do with a spring and shock combo. Koni yellows allow you to adjust the damper rate some.

[RMNB]

Originally Posted by matteblue3er

Not sure where you heard H&Rs sag. I've been on H&R coilovers for the past 50k miles and there is no sag in the rear at all. Struts/shocks are still tight and perform well.

I do agree they are stiffer than most setups but I prefer that. In the end, you don't buy coilovers for comfort....

If you want comfort, do with a spring and shock combo. Koni yellows allow you to adjust the damper rate some.

Coilovers doesn't appeal to me because of the stiffness which I cant deal with. Want comfort running 19's so I believe the Koni/Eibach will be my best bet. I looked up the Koni's and can't tell what part # I need. Any sponsor want to help out with the part # so I don't screw this up. Or better yet just send the me the Kit set up so I get it all correct. Much appreciated!

[turb0mik3]

Originally Posted by 550i Beast

Coilovers doesn't appeal to me because of the stiffness which I cant deal with. Want comfort running 19's so I believe the Koni/Eibach will be my best bet. I looked up the Koni's and can't tell what part # I need. Any sponsor want to help out with the part # so I don't screw this up. Or better yet just send the me the Kit set up so I get it all correct. Much appreciated!

Go Koni + Swift SpecR. Exactly what you are looking for.

[Camman]

Originally Posted by 9krpmrx8

ST XTA's (comes with camber plates) are nice or the normal ST's. They are rebranded KW's without the protective coating or some shit, which might be important to you in MD. The Bilstein B14 kit is also only $950-1000 shipped. Then they go up from there. Ohlins makes different levels of stuff but all wel built and designed.

BC is built to fit crap. Same with the rest of the made and designed in Tawain crap (no platform R&D at all). If you go with something that is rebuild-able locally then you save money in the long run.

But if you just want to go low then get whatever with the understanding that the cheaper off brands won't last.

The BC comment is a bit of a stretch. While yes, these are made in Taiwan, they aren't like the other Taiwan coilovers you hear so many bad things about (megan, ksport, d2 etc). In the beginning, BC had some problems in the early days but all of the more recent reviews I've been reading on multiple platforms have been positive for the intended use, which is mostly street driving. These aren't designed for heavy track use. They're meant for lowering the car while giving better handling characteristics and not breaking your back or wallet. I've also seen people go 40k miles on these which is impressive for any brand coilover. Overall, BC's are the best bang for your buck.

Now, for the OP, the most comfortable option is a spring shock combo. I've heard Eibach and Koni FSD is the best for comfort. If you don't need dampening adjustability then the best coilover option would be KW/ST V1. These have a lot of height adjustability and friends of mine who run this setup say it's very comfortable for coilovers.

[RMNB]

Originally Posted by Camman

The BC comment is a bit of a stretch. While yes, these are made in Taiwan, they aren't like the other Taiwan coilovers you hear so many bad things about (megan, ksport, d2 etc). In the beginning, BC had some problems in the early days but all of the more recent reviews I've been reading on multiple platforms have been positive for the intended use, which is mostly street driving. These aren't designed for heavy track use. They're meant for lowering the car while giving better handling characteristics and not breaking your back or wallet. I've also seen people go 40k miles on these which is impressive for any brand coilover. Overall, BC's are the best bang for your buck.

Now, for the OP, the most comfortable option is a spring shock combo. I've heard Eibach and Koni FSD is the best for comfort. If you don't need dampening adjustability then the best coilover option would be KW/ST V1. These have a lot of height adjustability and friends of mine who run this setup say it's very comfortable for coilovers.

Good information to know, thanks! Once I'm ready to pull the trigger I think I might lean towards the coilovers so I can fine tune it to my liking and not be stuck with just a spring/strut combo deal.

[AtlasM]

I'm pretty happy with the Koni FSDs and B&G springs on my E92 335xi. The Koni FSD part # for the xi is 2100 4123. The B&G springs are apparently pretty similar to Eibach but just a tad more drop. I also have shorter bump stops from E36 M3 in front and Z4 M in rear.

Overall the ride is pretty comfortable considering it's a lowered car on 19" summer tires (Kumho PS91) and assorted poly bushings. I wouldn't call it bouncy. If I were to guess, some of that may come from using stock bump stops and/or sway bar end links on lowered cars and people are attributing the bouncing to the shocks instead. In addition to the shorter bump stops, I have adjustable end links front and rear, dialed in to get the sway bar ends as close as possible to parallel with the ground.

The only negative is the car does occasionally bottom out on extremely sharp bumps, and also this one intersection near me where there's a big sort of mound and then dip in the middle of it and the limit is 40 mph, if I go through it much faster than 40. But other than when I first got the suspension on the car and I intentionally took some hard bumps to see how it took them, bottoming in normal driving is very rare.

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by turb0mik3

BC makes a good coilover. I honestly recommend going Ohlins because they are competitively priced for what you get and they ride the best on the street of any coilover in my opinion.

They are sprung too soft and cost almost double with no alignment adjustment...all so you can say you have a smooth ride? Uh, no thanks.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by AtlasM

I'm pretty happy with the Koni FSDs and B&G springs on my E92 335xi. The Koni FSD part # for the xi is 2100 4123. The B&G springs are apparently pretty similar to Eibach but just a tad more drop. I also have shorter bump stops from E36 M3 in front and Z4 M in rear.

Overall the ride is pretty comfortable considering it's a lowered car on 19" summer tires (Kumho PS91) and assorted poly bushings. I wouldn't call it bouncy. If I were to guess, some of that may come from using stock bump stops and/or sway bar end links on lowered cars and people are attributing the bouncing to the shocks instead. In addition to the shorter bump stops, I have adjustable end links front and rear, dialed in to get the sway bar ends as close as possible to parallel with the ground.

The only negative is the car does occasionally bottom out on extremely sharp bumps, and also this one intersection near me where there's a big sort of mound and then dip in the middle of it and the limit is 40 mph, if I go through it much faster than 40. But other than when I first got the suspension on the car and I intentionally took some hard bumps to see how it took them, bottoming in normal driving is very rare.

You shouldn't be hitting the bump stop, even in an extreme scenario on a typical road way.

I've had cars slammed down over 2 inches and never hit bump stops, proper shocks will control it.

FSD aren't made for lowering springs, which is likely why they aren't responding correctly.

[AtlasM]

I wouldn't call either of the places where I've bottomed out "typical."

One is this intersection, driving side to side across this picture:



It's hard to see in the picture but the concrete slabs join at an angle such that there's a couple rises and dips across the intersection. I've driven and ridden in lots of different vehicles that have problems with this intersection, even staying at the 40 mph speed limit. My car only bottoms if I go through it at more like 50 mph. I did that once trying to make the light.

The other is turning left across a concrete slab road at the bottom of an off-ramp, and this spot was all torn up from construction, but was a pile of crap before they tore it up. This is what it looked like before construction:



It's much worse now, with weird elevation changes of different lanes temporarily just slapped on top of an uneven surface. The first time I drove through here after the construction changed it up, I didn't realize how steep they had made the transitions between concrete slabs, and

So yes, I have gotten the FSD/B&G/shortened bump stop combo to bottom out, but it's only been while carrying too much speed through specific challenging places.

[turb0mik3]

Originally Posted by TheAxiom

They are sprung too soft and cost almost double with no alignment adjustment...all so you can say you have a smooth ride? Uh, no thanks.

I don't disagree as the fronts are relatively soft at 250lb (or something close to it). However, they can be replaced with swift springs, which is quite the combo. If it's predominately a street car and some track that is the ideal setup hands down.

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by turb0mik3

I don't disagree as the fronts are relatively soft at 250lb (or something close to it). However, they can be replaced with swift springs, which is quite the combo. If it's predominately a street car and some track that is the ideal setup hands down.

No, it's not. You're talking about another 300? For new front Springs (and I think it's the rears that are too soft) and we are talking about almost $2500+ dollars for a suspension kit to drive around town in.

Nothing about is reasonable.