[Silnismo]

Had raceland on my old E36 and they rode great for 3+ years before selling so I figure I give them a try on my daily E90.

Install: no issues, everything fit perfectly but I did need a 10 mm spacer for my wheels to clear the coilovers (18 x 8.5 fronts)

Driving impressions: 4 out of 5 stars. Great coilover for daily driving, definitely improved handling overall and comfortable enough to still be able to put my 3 year old to sleep. Reason I did not give it a better rating is I feel like the valving on it could be better but for 350$ honestly could not beat the value.

Will update periodically but so far loving them

[Soravia]

Nice review. But I prefer to keep my life and the value of my.car, thanks 😃

[streetpro]

Sorry but this is a typical review of someone who most likely has no other experience (no offence, just stating)... cause if you had, you could not have stated the above no matter what the price was... I also had multiple e36s with various set ups, incl. cut oem springs, cheap lowered Vogtland/deCarbon, low end coil-overs like this one, Koni Yellows w H&R springs, Eibach springs, Mtech set-up, M3 and Eibach swaybars, Bilstein B6, kw1, kw2... not talking about Ohlins or other deliberate systems...
A proper "wheel/tyre/shock/spring/bump-stop/sway-bar match" just glides over the bumps, holds grip during a turn, no matter how rough the road is, gives you a much precise feeling and self-confidence to throw the car around a corner...
To cut it short, just ask someone with a proper set-up for a ride...
You will feel immediately what I am writing (in my poor English) about...

[Silnismo]

Lol I love how people just assume cheapness automatically means trash.

End of the day, I wanted a decent ride without dropping 1000+ on "On Brand" coilovers and I got just that which is why I am satisfied with my purchase.

FYI - I had brand new Koni oranges as my previously setup with stock springs and they were already leaking after 10k miles and Koni is suppose to be "proven".

Rides close to stock and a tad stiffer, absolutely no noice or creeks after install.

[Silnismo]

Originally Posted by streetpro

Sorry but this is a typical review of someone who most likely has no other experience (no offence, just stating)... cause if you had, you could not have stated the above no matter what the price was... I also had multiple e36s with various set ups, incl. cut oem springs, cheap lowered Vogtland/deCarbon, low end coil-overs like this one, Koni Yellows w H&R springs, Eibach springs, Mtech set-up, M3 and Eibach swaybars, Bilstein B6, kw1, kw2... not talking about Ohlins or other deliberate systems...
A proper "wheel/tyre/shock/spring/bump-stop/sway-bar match" just glides over the bumps, holds grip during a turn, no matter how rough the road is, gives you a much precise feeling and self-confidence to throw the car around a corner...
To cut it short, just ask someone with a proper set-up for a ride...
You will feel immediately what I am writing (in my poor English) about...

Yes I have rode in KWs, Blisteins and are they a superior ride then raceland? Absolutely 100%, you can tell the difference for sure, no one is arguing that.

But Raceland is not that far off, the valving on it can be better but it takes bumps and potholes well without a bone jarring ride.

[thakid22]

Originally Posted by Silnismo

Yes I have rode in KWs, Blisteins and are they a superior ride then raceland? Absolutely 100%, you can tell the difference for sure, no one is arguing that.

But Raceland is not that far off, the valving on it can be better but it takes bumps and potholes well without a bone jarring ride.

You keep saying the valving is not ideal.
This statement doesn't tell us anything about what's wrong...

What's wrong about the shock calibration? What exactly is the car doing, or not, and when?
Bouncy? Too much roll, dive, squat??? Low speeds or high speeds? Is it the front or rear? Both?

Give us som details in your review.

On another note, your car looks great.

[streetpro]

As long as you are happy and satisfied it is all that matters... .-)

[Silnismo]

Originally Posted by thakid22

You keep saying the valving is not ideal.
This statement doesn't tell us anything about what's wrong...

What's wrong about the shock calibration? What exactly is the car doing, or not, and when?
Bouncy? Too much roll, dive, squat??? Low speeds or high speeds? Is it the front or rear? Both?

Give us som details in your review.

On another note, your car looks great.

Nothing is wrong, the coilovers are working as it should, handling overall is much improved.

My comment about the valving is that it could be better meaning the compression and rebound could be smoother over bumps and it can be bouncy at times but definitely not the majority of the time.

High speeds the steering feels more solid and planted and at low speeds it rides great as well.

[Soravia]

Just about anything is better than blown dampers. Even Monroe dampers will ride and handle better than blown OE dampers. They go out about 40-60k miles anyway.
How do I know? I just pulled 4 blown ones out of my 2011 with 60k

[Silnismo]

Originally Posted by Soravia

Just about anything is better than blown dampers. Even Monroe dampers will ride and handle better than blown OE dampers. They go out about 40-60k miles anyway.
How do I know? I just pulled 4 blown ones out of my 2011 with 60k

Another reason why I elected Raceland for their life time warranty, even on shock wear.

[Soravia]

The problem with Raceland and other brands like Godspeed is that I've seen the build quality and I've seen the damper rods, etc break off.
That's just scary. A safety liability.

[Silnismo]

Originally Posted by Soravia

The problem with Raceland and other brands like Godspeed is that I've seen the build quality and I've seen the damper rods, etc break off.
That's just scary. A safety liability.

And that's where the past experience comes in, I have raceland on my E36 for 3+ years under East cost road salt and they held up perfectly fine.

[Devildog0905]

Originally Posted by Silnismo

And that's where the past experience comes in, I have raceland on my E36 for 3+ years under East cost road salt and they held up perfectly fine.

I'm looking at these too. What other parts do I need to complete the install?

[Silnismo]

1 month update, put about 1200 miles on them and so far so good.

Great all around daily coilover, really a pleasure to drive around town without breaking the budget.

Next update will be in 3 months.

[DTOAST3]

I’m curious why you needed wheel spacers? I have the same wheels as you. Can you tell me how much you lowered the car?

[Silnismo]

Originally Posted by DTOAST3

I'm curious why you needed wheel spacers? I have the same wheels as you. Can you tell me how much you lowered the car?

I have square setup of 18 x 8.5 all around so that's why the fronts need a spacer to clear the wheel width. I'm about 1.5 inches lowered all around approximately.

2 months in and they are still riding great 👍

[Silnismo]

Put on new brakes, inspected the the front coilovers and everything looks good.

Dropped the fronts a quarter inch more while on the lift.

[Moenab]

Originally Posted by Silnismo

Put on new brakes, inspected the the front coilovers and everything looks good.

Dropped the fronts a quarter inch more while on the lift.

Hey, I've been thinking about racelands as well. Got an lci e90, debating on going with the ultimos because the classics and back ordered. They claim to drop 2-4". I dont want a huge drop in the rear, Maybe 1.5ish rear and 2.5 front. Do you think they'll drop it too low without having the ability to raise it up?

[Silnismo]

Originally Posted by Moenab

Hey, I've been thinking about racelands as well. Got an lci e90, debating on going with the ultimos because the classics and back ordered. They claim to drop 2-4". I dont want a huge drop in the rear, Maybe 1.5ish rear and 2.5 front. Do you think they'll drop it too low without having the ability to raise it up?

Yeah man go for it, the ultimatos were not available when I got mine but I heard they are stiffer over the classics.

Went on plenty of 3+ hour car rides through various roads and still love them, great handling without the harsh bouncy ride.

I just lowered the fronts quarter inch a couple days ago with out any issues, just make sure you grease the threading with anti seeze and you will be fine.

I do scrape a bit, will be rolling the fenders soon tho

[sterjo23]

i want to say that i had kw on my audi s5 and had raceland on my e92 there was not big differents between this 2 brands and im talking about normal daily driving so i will buy again raceland for my new to me e93 now.that was my experience with raceland + lifetime warranty.

[Silnismo]

Originally Posted by sterjo23

i want to say that i had kw on my audi s5 and had raceland on my e92 there was not big differents between this 2 brands and im talking about normal daily driving so i will buy again raceland for my new to me e93 now.that was my experience with raceland + lifetime warranty.

Exactly, for DD purposes these are a solid option.

Def pick up a set if your not tracking your car.

[kazbek1]

Originally Posted by Silnismo

Exactly, for DD purposes these are a solid option.

Def pick up a set if your not tracking your car.

Looking back at the installation process, was there anything you replaced that wasn't included in the Raceland kit or wish you had replaced? I'm about to pull the trigger on the Classic kit but not sure if I should replace other components like strut/shock mounts, gaskets, etc. Clean ride btw