[mob17]

I fitted the Ohlins Road and Track coilovers to my E92 335D a few weeks ago. They amazed me straight away, but i wanted to test them fully until i wrote a review. I hope this review helps and i will try and answer any specific questions you may have. I don’t have the suspension knowledge to write a fully in-depth review but i’ll try my best.

I bought my car in January 2013 coming from an E90 320D SE with 17” NRF tyres. I thought the 19” with NRF tyres would be a bad ride. I was pleasantly surprised and loved the handling, thought it was awesome. And maybe it was compared to my previous car. About a month later i realised a lot could be improved, i just wasn’t sure where to start. Over rough roads the suspension could not handle the bumps and it would be uncomfortable, and when pushing the car, it did not feel planted, a lot of movement. So, I met up with a friend who had the Ohlins and all M3 bits install and immediately fell in love. So i made it my mission to get these, which i have now.

Before i start, i fitted new Michelin PSS tyres all round before i got the Ohlins. These tyres have a HUGE amount of grip. I also bought a CG Lock. This is really good and keeps you planted in your seat!

Ohlins Road and Track coilovers are high quality and have dual flow valves, which basically means there are 2 paths for oil flow, one for high speed and one for low speed. For example, if you hit a sudden bump, the bigger valve opens up and oil can flow immediately. However, if the damper is slowly compressing, i.e on a corner, there is only one valve and oil flow is more limited, so the damper will resist compression more compared to the pothole scenario. I think that’s how it works! There are around 28 damper settings for the front and rear. Very easy to adjust, in the front you just have to turn the steering wheel and reach underneath and twist a knob. On the rears i have adjuster coming through the boot trim.

Needless to say when i got the coilovers they looked amazing, oozing quality. It’s a shame i didn’t take any pics of them, but there is some pics on another thread, courtesy of oldgreysteve.

I got them fitted at my local motorsport outfit, who did a good job. No knocking or any weird sounds. They set the ride height to Ohlins recommendations. I don’t understand this as they only recommend one ride height for the E90 range, different car weights must have different ride heights if using the same settings? Who knows, i just thought it would be best to get it set to what Ohlins say and adjust later if necessary. I also had a full 4 wheel alignment done.

I have now tried the Ohlins on a variety of settings. I’ve tried 1.1 (full stiff front and rear), 2.3, 5.5, 10.10, 15.15, 20.20, 28.28 (full soft). I won’t bore you with explanations for each settings. 10.10 setting is Ohlins recommendation, and is probably a good setting for driving daily, and i’ll base most of my review on this.

The first time i drove it i was amazed that i could literally drive TWICE as fast as before on rough surfaces. It feels like you are just gliding over the bumps. Previously this would cause the whole car to jolt and you would feel it bang. Not with these. Another example, before i had to slow down to around 20mph on speed bumps (the small ones where there are 3 accross the road), if i didn’t slow down it would unsettle the whole car and be very uncomfortable. The rear would move and sometimes in certain conditions the DSC light would fliker! Now, believe me or not, i can do 50MPH over these same speed bumps and i don’t even feel much. I obviously feel the bump, but it’s much more comfortable and controlled. I suspect i can go even faster but not a good idea to go high speeds in these types of areas. When going around 30mph over the speed bumps, it feels so soft, like you’re on a pillow.

The next thing i noticed was when cornering hard on high speed corners, around 70mph. Body roll is vastly reduced (still some roll), and the first time i took a high speed corner i was very happy. As soon as you turn, you can immediately feel the resistance of the outer spring/damper. Previously the spring/damper used to compress a little and then stop, causing some roll, but now it’s immediate. I knew there was something there keeping me flat and on course. On low speed corners there is also less body roll and turn in has improved, but i think that may be because of the wheel alignment changes i made.

Next i tried stiffening things up and used 5.6 as the settings, and went for a 1 hour drive into the Northamptonshire countryside. Previously the car used to be VERY bumpy on country lanes and you couldn’t really go faster than 50mph. I was constantly looking for a piece of flat road. It didn’t used to inspire me with confidence. However this was one of the most enjoyable drives of my life. It had everything, long straights, hills, high and low speed corners. I felt in total control, never did the car cause me to lose confidence. It was not bumpy and was planted to the road. During hard cornering I could feel the whole car was sticking to the road and it felt like a totally different car, the rear felt a lot more planted than before. I was oozing confidence, until i decided it was best to head back home.

Being nervous or avoiding potholes or dips in the road is a thing of the past, they don’t unsettle the car anymore. I was surprised that by going 5.6 from stiff that it was still quite comfortable, and easily driveable as a daily driver.

Next i thought f**k it go all out and try 1.1. I assumed full stiff would be unbearable on our roads, but it still handled bumps and potholes quite well. However I immediately felt bumps in the road that i didn’t know were there before, even on roads which looked flat. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it’s something which after an hour worth of driving may annoy you. However, when pushing the car this setting was awesome. It basically stiffened the whole car up and felt more like a race car (yes i know its a diesel but bear with me).

I also tried full soft front and rear just to feel it. Needless to say, it was very comfortable. The ride felt like a 4x4. This setting would be very good for someone with a bad back, tired, or driving women.

I really love these coilovers. The car feels like a completely different car to the one i drove before. I like the fact i can change the damping settings and change the characteristics of the car whenever i want. I know some people say they never change them, but with these coilovers you can feel the difference on each of the settings, and they do make a big difference. I can’t wait to try them out on track and test them fully.

The E9X chassis has many problems, the springs and dampers aren’t the sole problem. There’s the RFT tyres, bushings, arms, no LSD etc. If you think you can buy a set of coilovers and have an amazing handling car then think again! I have bought one of the best available and my journey for better handling still hasn’t stopped. My next steps are:

Rear M3 bushings and rear 672lb/in swift springs
LSD!!!
M3 suspension arms
Anti roll bars

Here are some pics of my car. I didn’t note down the before and after ride height unfortunately, but from memory, the rear has raised a touch and the front has lowered a touch. Obviously i didn't buy these coilovers to go for the slammed look!

I know there is still enough space to lower the front and rear, but i'm not sure i will do that as i don't want it to affect the performance. I don't know, i will have to have a think.

























I hope this has been useful and look forward to reading any comments you have. If i have missed anything out then please ask!

[AWBimmer]

Great read Mo! I've been looking forward to this review in a while! You must take me for a spin in the car soon man! I bet you are absolutely thrilled to bits with the Ohlins! Congrats once again mate it's a great buy and a serious upgrade! Coming out to be a great car on this forum with some tasteful mods!

[Icekube]

Nice to see a proper ride height on here!! Good work

[makkan00]

You forgot the most important bit in your review. What was the cost of all this in including fitting and geo done?

[mob17]

Originally Posted by AWBimmer

Great read Mo! I've been looking forward to this review in a while! You must take me for a spin in the car soon man! I bet you are absolutely thrilled to bits with the Ohlins! Congrats once again mate it's a great buy and a serious upgrade! Coming out to be a great car on this forum with some tasteful mods!

Thanks mate. You know how long i wanted this for, even when looking at other options. I'm glad i got it. Will be very happy to give you a ride in the car.

Originally Posted by Icekube

Nice to see a proper ride height on here!! Good work

Thanks mate. There's plenty of adjstement on the ride height but i think i might leave it like it is.

Originally Posted by makkan00

You forgot the most important bit in your review. What was the cost of all this in including fitting and geo done?

Do you have to remind me?

Ohlins was £1765. Fitting was £530, including hunter 4 wheel alignment and corner weighting.

Something i forgot to add. The stiffer you go, the less squat you have under braking and acceleration. At full stiff you can't even feel any squat. So it just feels the car is pushing you "flatly", if that makes sense.

[makkan00]

Originally Posted by mob17

Ohlins was £1765. Fitting was £530, including hunter 4 wheel alignment and corner weighting.

Something i forgot to add. The stiffer you go, the less squat you have under braking and acceleration. At full stiff you can't even feel any squat. So it just feels the car is pushing you "flatly", if that makes sense.

Would love to have that but not at that price. Good luck with the car and I am sure it is better than what it was mate.

[mob17]

Originally Posted by makkan00

Would love to have that but not at that price. Good luck with the car and I am sure it is better than what it was mate.

Fair enough that's up to personal preferences. But yeah, its certainly expensive! But as everyone says you really do get what you pay for re suspension. I saved up for a long time!

[Rudz]

Ah Mob, missed this thread completely

Congratulations on the ohlins purchase mate, envious lol, what is this thing that I read about having to get it serviced every two years to maintain warranty ?

Enjoy the ride mate, ur 35d must be truly transformed, u can lay down the power when u want to now, I've got the birds kit, the ride is great but I still got to get rid of the roll, m3 parts and roll bars on order...

[SpaceGreyOnBlack]

Looking great man and sitting comfy! Glad to hear how good these are!

[old grey steve]

"Now with the ride & handling BMW should of built the car with" considering the cars pushing out over 300 bhp out of the box to allow the car to be fully appreciated you'd of hoped BMW would of gone a little deeper into allowing the cars chassis to be fully exploited with a suspension setup that was more focused than the one we 335 owners currently have..... Perhaps a decent diff and dropping the RFT's too on these cars should of been the direction BMW took when final production set up especially for the UK was being considered ..... or if adopted would of that been bad news for the halo product......the M3?

Awesome write up though Mo. I can relate to your pre mod issues re how the car handles and generally perform on the UK roads and your post work review speaks volumes.

It's not exactly a cheap option but Ohlins have always had the quality and your review backs that up.

[mob17]

Originally Posted by Rudz

Ah Mob, missed this thread completely

Congratulations on the ohlins purchase mate, envious lol, what is this thing that I read about having to get it serviced every two years to maintain warranty ?

Enjoy the ride mate, ur 35d must be truly transformed, u can lay down the power when u want to now, I've got the birds kit, the ride is great but I still got to get rid of the roll, m3 parts and roll bars on order...

Thanks Rudz!

Ohlins recommend servicing every 30k miles. But that is not servicing like you'd imagine. It's just a visual check.

Yep it's definitely transformed. I can now go blasting into the countryside Even at full stiff it takes bumps much better than M Sport, which has suprised me.

You're right it doesn't stop at coilovers/shocks. I also will be looking at similar mods you have stated in the future.

Originally Posted by SpaceGreyOnBlack

Looking great man and sitting comfy! Glad to hear how good these are!

Thanks mate. I thought i might get a few people saying it needs to be lowered more, but i think i like it.

Originally Posted by old grey steve

"Now with the ride & handling BMW should of built the car with" considering the cars pushing out over 300 bhp out of the box to allow the car to be fully appreciated you'd of hoped BMW would of gone a little deeper into allowing the cars chassis to be fully exploited with a suspension setup that was more focused than the one we 335 owners currently have..... Perhaps a decent diff and dropping the RFT's too on these cars should of been the direction BMW took when final production set up especially for the UK was being considered ..... or if adopted would of that been bad news for the halo product......the M3?

Awesome write up though Mo. I can relate to your pre mod issues re how the car handles and generally perform on the UK roads and your post work review speaks volumes.

It's not exactly a cheap option but Ohlins have always had the quality and your review backs that up.

You're spot on Steve. IMO its all to do with us being in the EU!

Next step will probably be rear M3 bushes and swift springs, unless M Factory can manufacture a cheap ish LSD for the UK 335D (which i think they will in a few months). May need to pop back round yours for future work.

[gangzoom]

The adjustability of the Ohlins kit sounds amazing, your almost tempting me to sell the Birds kit on my car and get a set of Ohlins....Till I saw price

Isn't it amazing just how bad the stock M sport suspension is compared to a decent set of dampers

I recommend you getting a LSD fitted next, if I had a chance to start over with mods on the car better suspension and the LSD are the only two I would bother with again

[jimborae]

looks geat and the ride height is perfect!

[AWBimmer]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

The adjustability of the Ohlins kit sounds amazing, your almost tempting me to sell the Birds kit on my car and get a set of Ohlins....Till I saw price

Isn't it amazing just how bad the stock M sport suspension is compared to a decent set of dampers

I recommend you getting a LSD fitted next, if I had a chance to start over with mods on the car better suspension and the LSD are the only two I would bother with again

Never too late.. sell the kidney??

[mob17]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

The adjustability of the Ohlins kit sounds amazing, your almost tempting me to sell the Birds kit on my car and get a set of Ohlins....Till I saw price

Isn't it amazing just how bad the stock M sport suspension is compared to a decent set of dampers

I recommend you getting a LSD fitted next, if I had a chance to start over with mods on the car better suspension and the LSD are the only two I would bother with again

You could probably get Ohlins fitted for around the £2k mark, which is a similar price to a Quaife LSD. So yes it is expensive, but read on for my man maths

M Factory are currently designing an LSD for our Euro 335D (2.81), which should be ready in a few months. Fitted cost should hopefully be near the £1k mark. So my man maths says i'll save £1k there

The stock suspension is ridiculous, i don't understand how some people like it. Maybe they don't drive their cars as hard, i don't know. The whole BMW philosophy has been comprimised by the EU and profit chasing.

I definitely need an LSD. Yes i can push the car even harder with the Ohlins now, but it is a shame i can't push it even more without an LSD. I think my next stages are:

1) LSD and ARBs
2) Rear M3 SF bushes and rear Swift springs
3) M3 control arms

Does anyone know if i would save labour by doing the rear SF bushes with the ARBs? If so then maybe i should do:

1) LSD
2) ARBs, rear springs, rear SF bushes

Originally Posted by jimborae

looks geat and the ride height is perfect!

Thanks mate. I think i might keep it like this. There's something i read about lowering mcpherson struts more than 1". Apparantly it fucks all the suspension up and you lose a lot of negative camber on turns. Here's the link: http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticl...-Your-Car.aspx

[mob17]

Small update:

Travelled to the Norfolk countryside the other day. Roads were windy and bumpy just like usual country lanes. But my god the car did not give a f**k and was just riding the bumps like they weren't there, not once did the car get unsettled. Before you could feel the car kind of lifting, it would sometimes feel very floaty when it got unsettled, but now it feels the opposite, feels like its heavy, in a good way. I have so much more confidence driving hard pretty much anywhere now. I won't say what speeds i was doing.

You can still feel the rear needs m3 bushes and maybe arms, but that will come in due course. Feel like doing LSD next.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by mob17

You can still feel the rear needs m3 bushes and maybe arms, but that will come in due course. Feel like doing LSD next.

You know there is no point in resisting .

M3 bushes to be quite honest I'm not convinced have done much to make the car more fun, if anything its made the rear end very firm and occasionally crashy. If your getting rear anti-roll bars done at the same time than you might as well, but a LSD is a definity must have mod in my book.....Though nothing can overcome the laws of physics, even with the LSD, on greasy B roads today the rear end was keen to step out even when accelerating from 3rd gear at less than 30% throttle....I'm sure AWD/FWD will be quicker in damp conditions, but theres nothing like a mobile rear end to keep the drive interesting

[ashmostro]

Beautiful ride.

I would do M3 arms and subframe bushes before sway bars... in fact I wouldn't bother with sways unless you do only a moderate increase in stiffness. LSD is a great mod if you can afford it, and it's obviously economically advantageous to do it at the same time as the SF bushes, but it's still not chump change.

As for ride height, I think it looks great. What you can do is get it corner balanced after you get the rear swift springs installed.

[mob17]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

You know there is no point in resisting .

M3 bushes to be quite honest I'm not convinced have done much to make the car more fun, if anything its made the rear end very firm and occasionally crashy. If your getting rear anti-roll bars done at the same time than you might as well, but a LSD is a definity must have mod in my book.....Though nothing can overcome the laws of physics, even with the LSD, on greasy B roads today the rear end was keen to step out even when accelerating from 3rd gear at less than 30% throttle....I'm sure AWD/FWD will be quicker in damp conditions, but theres nothing like a mobile rear end to keep the drive interesting

Haha very hard to resist! It's just a matter of deciding what to do first.

I'm suprised to hear the M3 bushes have made your car firm and crashy sometimes? How do you mean? Do you mean when you're just cruising over bumps? How is the rear around corners, is it quite predictable or is is still a bit twitchy like stock? My rear has definitely stiffened up and feels much more planted, but i can still feel it flexing a bit like stock, but this happens at a higher G force, if you know what i mean. Not sure how else to explain it!

I think rear arms, SF bushes and rear swift springs should do the trick. But i bet you when i do that there will be something else lol.

I've been reading up in the suspension section lately and some people have been upgrading the SF bushes with poly bushes....

And differential bushings??

Originally Posted by ashmostro

Beautiful ride.

I would do M3 arms and subframe bushes before sway bars... in fact I wouldn't bother with sways unless you do only a moderate increase in stiffness. LSD is a great mod if you can afford it, and it's obviously economically advantageous to do it at the same time as the SF bushes, but it's still not chump change.

As for ride height, I think it looks great. What you can do is get it corner balanced after you get the rear swift springs installed.

Thanks for the compliment I too like the ride height now think it looks right! But more importantly there's enough suspension travel!

If i do the LSD then i should do the SF bushes at the same time, and the rear springs, and the rear sway, which means front sway too. So quite a big hit so i'll need to save up a bit before i do this package, but still definitely on my list.

I think the above is too much for one stage, so my next stage may be SF bushes and rear swift springs and then just upgrade slowly as and when i need to. But then i think LSD

[gangzoom]

It's hard to describe the increased stiffness/firmness due to the M3 bushes....Basically ever so often, may be once a few days when going over a speed bump/sudden drop in road surface there will be a audible 'thud' which is felt, but isolated to the rear end.

It's no big deal, doesn't upset the car at all, it's just given the extra effort needed to install them, compared to other mods they aren't the best value for money....Though you can argue no mod is good value for money

[mob17]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

It's hard to describe the increased stiffness/firmness due to the M3 bushes....Basically ever so often, may be once a few days when going over a speed bump/sudden drop in road surface there will be a audible 'thud' which is felt, but isolated to the rear end.

It's no big deal, doesn't upset the car at all, it's just given the extra effort needed to install them, compared to other mods they aren't the best value for money....Though you can argue no mod is good value for money

Yeah none of these are good value for money. I know you have spent quite a bit on some juicy mods, but in my eyes they are worth it just to get that smile of satisfaction

Thanks for letting me know about the bushes, i think it should be managable from what you say. I was worried they affected the ride all the time, but if it's just on occasions i'm fine with that.

Looking to upgrade sway bars too. Too many things to do