[stratplaya06]

Hey guys,

Long story short, I ended up getting in a little accident with a curb when there was snow on the ground. No body damage, but both wheels hit pretty hard. Got an estimate at my dealer for 3500 dollars. They wanted to replace both right wheels, the wheel bearings front and rear, and the rear knuckle which I cracked. Labor was, get this, 1400 dollars. Ridiculous. I had the car towed to an independent shop, and apparently there's a small crack in the subframe too. I am going to have to replace it (but the repair will still likely end up being less than the 3500 quoted at the dealer)

Here's the good stuff. The subframe is coming out anyway, which means doing a whole lot of disassembly on the rear end. I think it is the perfect time to get the m3 parts for the rear end of the car. Has anyone attempted this yet on the xi, or am I going to be the guinea pig? The subframe job is what seems to scare most away from doing the conversion, but mine is coming out anyway, so I figure why not? I am going to keep this car for probably the next 7-10 years. Any thoughts? Opinions?

[TheAcAvenger]

If you've got to mess with the subframe, it's beyond worth it. The rear subframe bushings are by far the most obnoxious part of the install.

I did the entire kit minus the rear camber plates with my original tckline DA coilovers. I absolutely love it. The price isn't too bad either considering what you'd pay for OEM parts.

[stratplaya06]

Got almost all the parts. Tischer is waiting on one of the guide rods to come in. It will be done Wednesday. I got everything except the camber arms as I already have a set of kw v3s. Yes, I have a tune. I am going to pick up the m3 strut brace too. I think I am going to be the first xi on the boards doing the swap I wish they made a set of front components that were compatible with the xi to get that more direct feeling to the steering.

Question, I have the bmw perf. mufflers, will the hotchkis brace fit on my e92? I used to hear that the stock resonator on the e90 was in the way, but never heard about problems on the e92.

[stratplaya06]

Haha I am hoping that it makes the xi handle and ride even better. I find the v3's to be a little bit stiff, so we're going to redo their settings after the m3 suspension swap and see if we can get things dialed in. I need to figure out what is more important to me, an FMIC or a set of braces (hotchkis if it fits, and m3 strut brace)...

I am going to give the shop doing the work a call tomorrow and see if he can take a few pics as the pieces go on. I checked them out before I gave them to him, and I loved the little ///M logos etched into each piece. So cool.

[PKumarM3]

i was highly considering the m3 subframe bushings, but after going from kw v1 back to oem and NOT NOTICING ANY DIFFERENCE what so ever, other than height, I am going to stick w/what BMW gave me.

The biggest difference i notice from going back to OEM, is that the car just wobbles a bit more in the rear, but nothing as awful as I had perceived and projected it before i put on the coils last summer.

[stratplaya06]

Wow. Not noticing any difference? My v3's are on almost full soft, and they still are very stiff over bumps. While the ride height looks fantastic, I wish that they rode better. I am thinking that I might need to swap on a set of softer linear springs. I figure that the rest of the suspension will be stiffened, so maybe I can use a lighter spring and still have a good handling car. I would really do anything for it to ride like the 135i msport I test drove the other day, while still having great handling characteristics.

[stratplaya06]

UPDATE: Hey guys, got the car back today. Feels amazing. I had them raise my v3's up .5 inch front and back, and reset them to the kw recommended stiffness settings, and they feel much better than before. The m3 parts are great. I cannot wait to put on my summer tires again, because these all season RFT's simply cannot grip enough. The back end is simply planted now. I got the car to oversteer coming out of the shop, which seemed impossible before.

If you are getting the rear sway done, please guys, do the bushings too. My car with the m3 sway, bushings, wishbones and guide rods is simply amazing, and I have noticed none of the noise and ride downsides that can often come with retrofitting stiffer parts. This xi is turning out to be a really fantastic and fun car.

[TheAcAvenger]

Glad you like it, stratplaya!

[Dereleek]

Originally Posted by stratplaya06

UPDATE: Hey guys, got the car back today. Feels amazing. I had them raise my v3's up .5 inch front and back, and reset them to the kw recommended stiffness settings, and they feel much better than before. The m3 parts are great. I cannot wait to put on my summer tires again, because these all season RFT's simply cannot grip enough. The back end is simply planted now. I got the car to oversteer coming out of the shop, which seemed impossible before.

If you are getting the rear sway done, please guys, do the bushings too. My car with the m3 sway, bushings, wishbones and guide rods is simply amazing, and I have noticed none of the noise and ride downsides that can often come with retrofitting stiffer parts. This xi is turning out to be a really fantastic and fun car.

What did that cost you in labor for all this work?

[stratplaya06]

Total labor was about 1000 dollars. My repair entailed a front wheel bearing replacement, rear subframe replacement, m3 bushing pressing-in, replacement of the guide rods and wishbones, right rear knuckle replacement, bleeding the brakes, replacing rear drive hub and brake rotor and replacement of the brake pad wear sensor (right rear), installation of the rear sway, adjustment of my coilovers (all 4 corners), and an AWD alignment. It was a big order, but they really did a fantastic job, and the way that the rear of this car stays planted is simply amazing. These rft contis are really not doing the car justice.

[jgalaxy]

Originally Posted by stratplaya06

Total labor was about 1000 dollars. My repair entailed a front wheel bearing replacement, rear subframe replacement, m3 bushing pressing-in, replacement of the guide rods and wishbones, right rear knuckle replacement, bleeding the brakes, replacing rear drive hub and brake rotor and replacement of the brake pad wear sensor (right rear), installation of the rear sway, adjustment of my coilovers (all 4 corners), and an AWD alignment. It was a big order, but they really did a fantastic job, and the way that the rear of this car stays planted is simply amazing. These rft contis are really not doing the car justice.

Labour at 1K sounds like a steal. Thats a load of garage time. Although fixing up the rear is useful, it's the front end that needs the work. Any plans to install any of the compatible M3 parts front end parts?

[JoeyBananaz18]

what parts did you put on? very interested.

[stratplaya06]

Originally Posted by jgalaxy

Labour at 1K sounds like a steal. Thats a load of garage time. Although fixing up the rear is useful, it's the front end that needs the work. Any plans to install any of the compatible M3 parts front end parts?

I was very happy with the price too. I paid 2800 out the door including a new subframe (around 750), new rear knuckle (around 400), new wheel bearings front and rear, a new rear drive hub, and a new rear brake rotor and wear sensor. Don't know of any front end parts that will work except for the strut brace and possibly the front sway. I am resistant to firm the suspension up any more because I am not looking to induce any understeer into the equation. I have always felt that the front end is surprisingly good when it came to hard cornering, as it always seemed that the back was what got really loose. The car is also riding quite stiff on the oem 17" rft's (I know not recommended with the bushings) so I will likely be softening up the shocks a few clicks and throwing on my summer wheels this weekend.

The parts that I ended up using were:
M3: guide rods, wishbones, rear sway bar, and subframe bushings. Total parts cost was around $1100 and I picked them up locally here at Tischer. Total time in the shop was about 4 days.

[blauner335]

Originally Posted by stratplaya06

I was very happy with the price too. I paid 2800 out the door including a new subframe (around 750), new rear knuckle (around 400), new wheel bearings front and rear, a new rear drive hub, and a new rear brake rotor and wear sensor. Don't know of any front end parts that will work except for the strut brace and possibly the front sway. I am resistant to firm the suspension up any more because I am not looking to induce any understeer into the equation. I have always felt that the front end is surprisingly good when it came to hard cornering, as it always seemed that the back was what got really loose. The car is also riding quite stiff on the oem 17" rft's (I know not recommended with the bushings) so I will likely be softening up the shocks a few clicks and throwing on my summer wheels this weekend.

The parts that I ended up using were:
M3: guide rods, wishbones, rear sway bar, and subframe bushings. Total parts cost was around $1100 and I picked them up locally here at Tischer. Total time in the shop was about 4 days.

What are your impressions since you put your summer tires back on and haev had it for a couple of months?

I am wondering because I feel like my ride has degraded some since I put my KW V1x's on a year ago and I think it is the bushings that are going. I already have the rear sub-frame bushings bought but never got them installed. I was going to call a good independent shop to get them put in, but was also thinking about putting in some other M3 parts since they would have the back end apart anyways and I was interested in your setup.

[danchee]

Anyone with recommendations on a reputable shop in NYC area to install KW V1s?