[HardBoiled]

TLDR; Ohlins fixes every single issue I have with this car. Haven’t read any reviews of the G42 application so here’s mine.

I bought this car as a 1 car solution to daily driving and spirited canyon stuff with maybe twice a year autocross and track. The infotainment, parking tech, and practicality make it great for daily use. I think the powertrain is just fantastic—smooth, great torque, great shifts, great fuel economy even.

The areas that let me down were the comfort and fun factor… the chassis tuning was boggling and truly is this car’s achilles heel. Stock, the ride is a mess. I found myself looking at other cars for sale pretty frequently.

I think there is a domino effect of problems that start with bmw’s decision to use runflat tires. Loud and harsh. Getting rid of those improved the ride by 15%. But to address those stiff-as-bricks tires, bmw uses springs that are incredibly soft. The car dives and squats with transmission shifts and even minimal brake application. Lots of subtle body motion. Then to address body roll that would result from the soft springs, there are giant bumpstops in the stock suspension. It actually works well to stop body roll, but if you hit larger bumps or speed bumps it rocks the whole car in a dramatic and inconsistent way. And finally, the EDC damping is just tuned wrong. Very busy ride despite the soft springs, noted by many—like in the throttle house review. I felt like I was always jiggling. This improves with the eco pro setting, but then I have to drive in eco pro.

The handling balance is set up to understeer big time. They designed this in a few ways: minimal front camber (non adjustable), significant toe in front, and skinny front tires relative to rear. The car produced decent times at an Autocross event I went to, but it is slow to transition in slaloms and understeers like a pig.

If any of that rings true for any of you, good news ahead. Instead of selling the car and throwing the baby (powertrain and tech) out with the bathwater, I decided to swap the suspension. Installed ohlins road and track coilovers (with EDC delete) with millway street camber plates. Both of these parts are built to a very high standard. Alignment set to -2 camber, 0 toe in front, and -1.5 camber and minimal toe in rear.

The biggest improvement by far comes with the handling changes. The benefit that really surprised me is the chassis response. The steering is really quick in our cars, but the stock suspension somehow absorbed and diminished the inputs. Now, turn in response lighting quick and crisp. The brakes, which were a bit too sensitive for my taste and hard to modulate without causing excessive nose dive at low speeds, now feel great. I can take advantage of the precise controls that were already there. Body control is amazing. It’s really a joy to drive now. The aforementioned understeer is nearly gone and there’s much better balance. I had a blast driving down the backroads to Rennsport last weekend. I drove a 992 C4S for comparison, and I honestly think that the body control and ride were marginally better on my car.

When in the street setting range (18 clicks out), the Ohlins feels about as firm as stock but rides better(!). The busy, jiggly ride is significantly smoothed out and consistent. The bigger bumps are damped in a firm but pleasing way. When in the winding road setting (13 clicks out), the car is like 50% firmer than stock (too stiff for me). The settings make a bigger difference than I expected. Track settings (0-5 clicks) are probably pretty damn rigid.

The downsides so far are that its difficult to reach the rebound adjustment dial (especially rear) while the car is on the ground. The stiffer settings triggered the dash and rear parcel shelf rattles others have noted. Usually people complain about noise with camber plates, but I used the millway street plates without a uniball joint on top. These have been dead quiet.

Overall, Ohlins are super worth it. Turns the 2 series into a real drivers car and a damn good road car overall, especially for the price.

[HardBoiled]

Dirty photo while on said drive to rennsport

[Rdurty2]

Great review. I’ve always wanted a set of ohlins on one of my cars but damn are they pricey.

[danallxt]

Thank you for the post, yup they are pricey but seem to have a well deserved reputation.
Replaced a stock suspension on a street bike with Ohlins, totally transformed it. But geesh....$1500 US for one rear shock. Front fork work was even more than that.

[HardBoiled]

Yeah, they were pricey. Close to $3500. Its funny though, i’m looking around for axle back exhausts and they seem to cost about that. To me, ohlins offers way more value at that price.

[Troy1972]

Nice read!
I am facing the same problems. Coming from an M4 and loving my M240i except the suspension. I can only use the full potential of the car on a straight line.

So I am thinking of Ohlins (indeed pricy) or Bilstein B12 with H&R stabilizor bars. Since I already have the Eibach pro kit I will only need the B8 shock absorbers and the H&R bars. Still will be half the price of the Ohlins.

I also have Eibach 12mm spacers which make the stabilizor bars more usefull I think.

[Fidiman]

Thanks for this review. It's very interesting! I think I will be in the game for a set of coilovers in a few months. I will just have to decide between Ohlins R&T and KW DDC!

I think you really did a good point buying camber plates too!

Don't hesitate to post some pics too

[SpecTaqlar]

Originally Posted by HardBoiled

TLDR; Ohlins fixes every single issue I have with this car. Haven’t read any reviews of the G42 application so here’s mine.

I bought this car as a 1 car solution to daily driving and spirited canyon stuff with maybe twice a year autocross and track. The infotainment, parking tech, and practicality make it great for daily use. I think the powertrain is just fantastic—smooth, great torque, great shifts, great fuel economy even.

The areas that let me down were the comfort and fun factor… the chassis tuning was boggling and truly is this car’s achilles heel. Stock, the ride is a mess. I found myself looking at other cars for sale pretty frequently.

I think there is a domino effect of problems that start with bmw’s decision to use runflat tires. Loud and harsh. Getting rid of those improved the ride by 15%. But to address those stiff-as-bricks tires, bmw uses springs that are incredibly soft. The car dives and squats with transmission shifts and even minimal brake application. Lots of subtle body motion. Then to address body roll that would result from the soft springs, there are giant bumpstops in the stock suspension. It actually works well to stop body roll, but if you hit larger bumps or speed bumps it rocks the whole car in a dramatic and inconsistent way. And finally, the EDC damping is just tuned wrong. Very busy ride despite the soft springs, noted by many—like in the throttle house review. I felt like I was always jiggling. This improves with the eco pro setting, but then I have to drive in eco pro.

The handling balance is set up to understeer big time. They designed this in a few ways: minimal front camber (non adjustable), significant toe in front, and skinny front tires relative to rear. The car produced decent times at an Autocross event I went to, but it is slow to transition in slaloms and understeers like a pig.

If any of that rings true for any of you, good news ahead. Instead of selling the car and throwing the baby (powertrain and tech) out with the bathwater, I decided to swap the suspension. Installed ohlins road and track coilovers (with EDC delete) with millway street camber plates. Both of these parts are built to a very high standard. Alignment set to -2 camber, 0 toe in front, and -1.5 camber and minimal toe in rear.

The biggest improvement by far comes with the handling changes. The benefit that really surprised me is the chassis response. The steering is really quick in our cars, but the stock suspension somehow absorbed and diminished the inputs. Now, turn in response lighting quick and crisp. The brakes, which were a bit too sensitive for my taste and hard to modulate without causing excessive nose dive at low speeds, now feel great. I can take advantage of the precise controls that were already there. Body control is amazing. It’s really a joy to drive now. The aforementioned understeer is nearly gone and there’s much better balance. I had a blast driving down the backroads to Rennsport last weekend. I drove a 992 C4S for comparison, and I honestly think that the body control and ride were marginally better on my car.

When in the street setting range (18 clicks out), the Ohlins feels about as firm as stock but rides better(!). The busy, jiggly ride is significantly smoothed out and consistent. The bigger bumps are damped in a firm but pleasing way. When in the winding road setting (13 clicks out), the car is like 50% firmer than stock (too stiff for me). The settings make a bigger difference than I expected. Track settings (0-5 clicks) are probably pretty damn rigid.

The downsides so far are that its difficult to reach the rebound adjustment dial (especially rear) while the car is on the ground. The stiffer settings triggered the dash and rear parcel shelf rattles others have noted. Usually people complain about noise with camber plates, but I used the millway street plates without a uniball joint on top. These have been dead quiet.

Overall, Ohlins are super worth it. Turns the 2 series into a real drivers car and a damn good road car overall, especially for the price.

Your review made me decide to go EDC delete and get the Ohlins . I was thinking of going Vorschlag - but have a single question : Wouldn't the increased front camber put some additional pressure on the front axle geometry / components ( lower arm bushings , front axle bearings ) - did you get any info or do some research on this ?

Just asking - the Ohlins have arrived and i'm still heavily debating on buying the camber plates and keeping the front axle as it is , or just installing it the Ohlins and in 2025 / 2026 going for a M2 xDrive arms and axles assembly.

Also - Thank you @Mike@x-ph.com ! For the best price, delivery speed and support.

[TJZ67201]

Thanks for the information. Were you ever effected by the stock rear suspension thump? Just wondering if going this route would have any effect on the thump