[voltron1011]

I had a non-sport suspension and added OEM sport springs (for about 8 months now) with no issues. My only problem is that shocks are too soft for the ride height, so the car is a bit 'squishy' feeling over bumps. The sport-shocks would definitly help in this scenario. My car rides fine and handles better than the original setup, however I really need to add some sport-shocks (OEM) to clean up the handling.

[Swoop]

Great Question and some good answers. I'm in the same position. i want to put Eibach Pro kits on a new e90 335 w/ sport suspension. Of course, no one is going to have the car long enough to have a great answer, but any comments are welcome. I got that itch, so hurry.

by the way, I had Pro kits on my 04 TSX for nearly 3 years and still looked great. I can only assume a BMW would be better.

[BoostedBMW]

^ Yes, it will last on the car for some time, but your car will definitely handle worse then stock.

[ElCapitan]

Originally Posted by BoostedBMW

^ Yes, it will last on the car for some time, but your car will definitely handle worse then stock.

That is why I started this thread. There is some conflicting information out there. Some say that the life of the other stock components will be shortened drastically and others are saying that the stock shocks will still last a few years with no handling issue whatsoever.

I am sure that springs with the mildest drop like the Eibach Prokit and H&R Sport are far less harmful on the stock schocks than the H&R Race.

Are Koni sport adjustable with H&R Sport and / or Eibach Prokit a good alternative to Coilovers?

[BoostedBMW]

Originally Posted by ElCapitan

That is why I started this thread. There is some conflicting information out there. Some say that the life of the other stock components will be shortened drastically and others are saying that the stock shocks will still last a few years with no handling issue whatsoever.

I am sure that springs with the mildest drop like the Eibach Prokit and H&R Sport are far less harmful on the stock schocks than the H&R Race.

Are Koni sport adjustable with H&R Sport and / or Eibach Prokit a good alternative to Coilovers?

Yes, I would think that they would be a better alternative to stock shocks with shorter springs, but I would prefer to have a system that was engineered together. By the time you factor in the price of springs and koni's (almost everyone uses koni yellows that are by no means cheap) you are in the price range of coilovers anyway.
If you are looking for long term info on stock shocks with aftermarket springs then look at the E46 for an example. Will it last a decent amount of time? Well, not really, seems like they last around a year or so at the sacrifice of your handling. Anyone who says they haven't had a decrease in performance with such as setup is either in denial or they can't drive their cars the way they were made to be driven. My point that i'm trying to make is that even if we saw that they lasted 30,000 miles, its not worth it. Just bite the bullet and get some coilovers.

is getting coilovers an easier solution for all this?

[ElCapitan]

Originally Posted by BoostedBMW

Yes, I would think that they would be a better alternative to stock shocks with shorter springs, but I would prefer to have a system that was engineered together. By the time you factor in the price of springs and koni's (almost everyone uses koni yellows that are by no means cheap) you are in the price range of coilovers anyway.
If you are looking for long term info on stock shocks with aftermarket springs then look at the E46 for an example. Will it last a decent amount of time? Well, not really, seems like they last around a year or so at the sacrifice of your handling. Anyone who says they haven't had a decrease in performance with such as setup is either in denial or they can't drive their cars the way they were made to be driven. My point that i'm trying to make is that even if we saw that they lasted 30,000 miles, its not worth it. Just bite the bullet and get some coilovers.

I found a source which would allow me to get four Koni shocks for my E46 330xi for $616.00 if you add a set of Eibach Prokit at roughly $245.00 it brings it at $861.00. That is considerably cheaper than a set of Coilovers.

[AW335TT]

I had H&R race springs on my E46 with stock shocks and after about a year and a half my car was realllyyy bouncy and the car got even lower. In the begining it used to be stiff and just started getting bouncier and bouncier (if thats even a word)

[BoostedBMW]

Originally Posted by ElCapitan

I found a source which would allow me to get four Koni shocks for my E46 330xi for $616.00 if you add a set of Eibach Prokit at roughly $245.00 it brings it at $861.00. That is considerably cheaper than a set of Coilovers.

Ok, are they koni yellows? They always run around 800 per set or so. If you feel that you must save money then I would rather see you go with a matched spring/shock setup that will actually work together, and that would be a much better way to do it then to just slap springs on your car.

[ElCapitan]

Originally Posted by BoostedBMW

Ok, are they koni yellows? They always run around 800 per set or so. If you feel that you must save money then I would rather see you go with a matched spring/shock setup that will actually work together, and that would be a much better way to do it then to just slap springs on your car.

Yes they are Koni yellow. ANy other parts I would require besides springs and schocks?

[psychoactive]

Trust me, as a few others said, putting springs on your oem shocks will decrease performance. It is not a wise thing to do, it will ruin your shocks. It would be better to keep the car stock until you can afford to get a set of shocks and springs / coilovers.

There are shops around here that sell the KW Variant 1 kit for like $1,200

Email someone at www.group5motorsport.com that's where I got the quote from.

[ElCapitan]

With which springs are the yellow Konis are compatible with Eibach, H&R sport or only stock springs?

[BoostedBMW]

Originally Posted by ElCapitan

Yes they are Koni yellow. ANy other parts I would require besides springs and schocks?

I haven't done a coilover swap on an E90/92 yet, but the only other thing that I can see that you would need would be to re-use the oem top hats, but that's not something that you have to buy. I guess now all you need is a spring compressor and some tools.

[obLu]

For what it's worth ... I did h&r sport springs on my sport package e46 and less than a 1k miles later went back and did bilstein sports. The ride on the stock shocks was okay until you hit a dip or crest at hwy speeds and then things got all bouncy ... the stock shock just couldn't keep up.

[montreal_bimmer]

im getting my Koni yellows tomorrow(i'm so excited), anyway ill be running them with H&R Race springs, ill let you know how it is, but that wont be for another month. im leaving for florida next week, and im gonna do it as soon as i get back.

[bzabodyn]

I wore out the shocks on my G35 with just springs after about 20k miles - after that, I installed a set of Koni's and it was like night and day...

However, I'd do it the same again - wear out the stock shocks, replace them when necessary...

BZ

[BoostedBMW]

^ I don't get why you would want to do the work twice, and when you sell your car you will have to buy oem shocks again and do the work for a 3rd time.