[shane335i]

HI everyone - hoping to get some educated opinions here.

I am doing some mods on my car and have 19" wheels coming but also wanted to lower it a little. I am not going to do the full coilovers at this point so was thinking about the H&K Sport Springs (lowering 1.3 inches front and 1.2 rear).

The questions I have were:
1 - It seems they use the same spring on all the new 3 series (E90, E91, E92, and E93 3-Series). I have the Coupe with sport package. Am I right in thinking that the coupe was already lower than the sedan and then with the sport package it was even a little lower? Will these spring "truly" lower the car by the amounts they advertise or will I not see much difference?

2 - The wheels I am getting do not use any offsets so they bolt right up, will I run into clearance issues when turning? I will be using stock tire height of 35 front and 30 rear.

I guess that is all I am really concerned about. I would appreciate any and all info on this so I can make an educated decision.

Thanks guys!

-Shane

[BMW F22]

1. The springs are usually calculated base on the sport package so you should get the listed drop.

2. All wheels have an offset. Are you thinking of spacers instead? If they're 19" wheels, ET33 or so all-around would work perfectly.

[shane335i]

Sorry - you are correct, what I meant was I was able to bolt them right up with no spacers.

I was going through your site and your prices were great on the H&R Sport springs (not H&K, doh!). My only issue is I called to find out what installation costs and the are quoting me $700+!!!!! That is insane! Anyone else have experience with getting these installed and what they paid?

[BMW F22]

$700 for install is too much. Usually it's about $400-450 installed including parts (springs) and labor.

[kenneth]

Originally Posted by shane335i

Sorry - you are correct, what I meant was I was able to bolt them right up with no spacers.

I was going through your site and your prices were great on the H&R Sport springs (not H&K, doh!). My only issue is I called to find out what installation costs and the are quoting me $700+!!!!! That is insane! Anyone else have experience with getting these installed and what they paid?

It should not take more that 2.5-3 hours to install Springs and shocks. I would recommend you change the shocks if you are installing the H&Rs otherwise your stock shocks will wear out prematurely and not good match.

I am on Koni yellows, they are perfect for the H&Rs

[shane335i]

I cant do the new shocks as I had already said - simply dont have the cash after what I have already spent. I am not getting the Race springs but rather the Sport models so hopefully they will work well with the stock shock. I need to keep searching around to find a good place to put these springs on. If I can find one at a reasonable price I will pick up a set from you Kenny.

[BMW F22]

Where in CA are you located Shane? If you're in or around the Santa Clara area we can set you up with a local shop here for the install. We can have the springs delivered there too if you like. Let me know.

[joec500]

Originally Posted by shane335i

I cant do the new shocks as I had already said - simply dont have the cash after what I have already spent. I am not getting the Race springs but rather the Sport models so hopefully they will work well with the stock shock. I need to keep searching around to find a good place to put these springs on. If I can find one at a reasonable price I will pick up a set from you Kenny.

Also if you are in San Francisco, the guys at Mach iii will be able to get you setup with installs and great prices on springs and alignment. I also think Sonic in the South Bay has good rep and prices.

On a final note...DEF go Spring and shock or coilover the first time. I have money on that after about 3-4 months you will hate the unrefined ride characteristics of your spring ONLY mod and want to get a set of shocks or a matched coilover set and realize that having to pay 300-400 AGAIN to install those parts and could have been applied to your shocks the first time around.

If you can't afford the shocks now wait until you can, as paying for labor twice makes a proper suspension A LOT more expensive.

My philosophy is do mods right the FIRST time, it saves you cash and headache in the long run, especially with these cars. This is only my opinion of course.

Good luck with whatever route you go.

[shane335i]

Thanks guys. I am located in Woodside so really close to Santa Clara. I think you might be right about waiting and doing the upgrade right the first time joec500. I like the way the car handles now but dont want to sacrifice anything in terms of handling if I dont have to. I live in the mountains and really enjoy pushing it in the twisties so bad suspension could be a major issue for me!! I will check out the site again Kenny and see what its going to run me to get something a little more substantial. Any suggestions? I most likely will not be going to the track but really want to be able to get rid of some of that space between wheel and body, improved suspension would be a bonus really as I am not unhappy with the way it currently performs.

I really should know better! I used to race bike and my first upgrade was always Ohlins suspension but I am low on cash after the upgrades I just did and was looking for a "quick fix"

Thanks again for the input everyone!