[AlanYoro35i]

Came across this when fleebaying

Seems a good price but is this as good as the Alpina setup?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Perfor...item2c610d698c

[zltm089]

Is it only the springs? or is it a full suspension/ coilover set up? including dampers etc...

[HeavyRightFoot]

The ultra-stiff shock absorbers, suspension struts and anti-roll bars are all designed to deliver a pure sports-car ride...

^This.

[parapaul]

I was just about to post the same... for £755 I would hope it wasn't just a set of springs!

[Cozy]

To be honest the price is close to Koni yellow's matched with H&R's but that's a full kit front & rear, but minus an ARB & top mounts. I've seen Bilstein B14's & KW V1's recently for around the £800 mark this month, if coilovers are where you want to be at but again no top mounts or ARB.

It looks a bit of a rip (on second look) as I notice there are no springs, you'd have to use you OE ones which would be mismatched I would guess and with mileage on them. I reckon you could get a decent aftermarket setup consisting of F/R shocks & springs + ARB for around the £1000 mark.

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by Yoro35i

Came across this when fleebaying

Seems a good price but is this as good as the Alpina setup?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Perfor...item2c610d698c

No it isn't. (and the part number given is the front only)

Alpina set ups are designed and tuned for 1 model.

The BMWP damper kits are the same part number for EVERY single E9x car, so they can't really be that good IMO.

And the giveaway is they use car specific springs (dealer system needed to spec your springs) with the same damper!

So how can that be a 'tuned' setup?

[Dave_3]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=440910

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=484521

Fits. Covered with BMW warranty.

D.

[AlanYoro35i]

Ohh that very misleading as the main photo showed yellow springs.. No spring
And front dampers and anti roll bar for that price... I originally assumed it was a full piece of kit which is damper for both end, springs and anti roll bar...

[zltm089]

Originally Posted by Yoro35i

Ohh that very misleading as the main photo showed yellow springs.. No spring
And front dampers and anti roll bar for that price... I originally assumed it was a full piece of kit which is damper for both end, springs and anti roll bar...

I got confused aswell....so many different parts etc....and seems like we need to know which specific part we want to order i.e sway/ anti roll bars, springs, strut shocks....

and I reckon fitting would be bloody expensive!!!...

[doughboy]

My error, the kit is 4 dampers and 1 anti roll bar (front only) and the springs. The kit without springs is about £400. - Still check with the ebay seller though.

BUT the springs are separately ordered and are vehicle specific, so BMW need to be involved to spec them using the parts computer which is the only place to find spring variants based on vehicle type and options fitted.

A small plus point is that it will be warranteed by BMW for 2 years (as are all their parts), but even a car with 3rd party suspension will still have BMW warranty on everything but the suspension kit, admitted the BMW kit will satisfy BMW insured warranties as its an 'approved mod' - but you'll still have to declare it as a 'mod' on your insurance.

Its Ok, i'm sure, but still a broad brush one-damper-suits-all approach, which can never work properly over such a range of models and weights and spring combos. The Birds B3 or an Alpina setup are bespoke and tested for particular models (i.e. 335i for Birds B3), correct matching of springs and dampers proven by extensive road testing is what makes a good setup.

I had the birds B3 kit, far superior, but costs more, the warranty on the rest of the car is fine as its been in for several issues no problems. A front B3 damper did fail, but Birds / Bilstein picked up the tab for a new one / shipping, granted I could have gone to them for free fitment, but chose to pay and get it done locally to avoid time off work.

[Cozy]

God, how confusing.

£400 for BMW Performance shocks is actually a pretty good deal but I wonder how they'd take to Eibach or H&R springs. How does the price compare to replacement OE Sport shocks?

[acerboo]

the whole kit is superb oem top quality and does what it says on the box and its designed for the car a bargain you wont regret it

[Dino355]

Originally Posted by acerboo

the whole kit is superb oem top quality and does what it says on the box and its designed for the car a bargain you wont regret it

Do you say that from experience or just saying that because it's sold by BMW?

I've no doubt it's a 'quality' product in terms of build quality etc but I'm a little dubious as to how well it performs given that no one seems to be using it!

I am tempted to get a kit though as for what you get (springs, dampers and front arb) it is VERY good value. My local dealer quoted me a discounted price of £675 for the lot (and it also includes a bunch of other minor sundries as part of the kit) He also said that there are specific kits designed for particular models (whether that's just the springs that are different or indeed the dampers too I don't know)

The main thing that is holding me back is the fact it only comes with a front ARB. According to Birds it's the rear arb which needs stiffening up more so than the front so I don't understand BMWs logic in just supplying a front arb - surely that will still cause issue with understeer.

[acerboo]

speaking from experience, had it for a year now ride much improved over the m sport and it certainly doesnt understeer. im selling the car and will when funcs allow be fitting the perf to the new car.

[YvesD]

Originally Posted by Dino355

My local dealer quoted me a discounted price of £675 for the lot (and it also includes a bunch of other minor sundries as part of the kit)

Surely not?

[zltm089]

Originally Posted by Dino355

Do you say that from experience or just saying that because it's sold by BMW?

I've no doubt it's a 'quality' product in terms of build quality etc but I'm a little dubious as to how well it performs given that no one seems to be using it!

I am tempted to get a kit though as for what you get (springs, dampers and front arb) it is VERY good value. My local dealer quoted me a discounted price of £675 for the lot (and it also includes a bunch of other minor sundries as part of the kit) He also said that there are specific kits designed for particular models (whether that's just the springs that are different or indeed the dampers too I don't know)

The main thing that is holding me back is the fact it only comes with a front ARB. According to Birds it's the rear arb which needs stiffening up more so than the front so I don't understand BMWs logic in just supplying a front arb - surely that will still cause issue with understeer.

The bmw performance kit got good reviews on the US section.

£675 for the full kit? you sure mate?....springs, shocks/ struts/ dampers, sway/ strut/ arb etc? for £675 seems like that subaru sti wrx deal for £20k

[m1bjr]

Originally Posted by acerboo

speaking from experience, had it for a year now ride much improved over the m sport and it certainly doesnt understeer. im selling the car and will when funcs allow be fitting the perf to the new car.

ALL of the BMW cars understeer.

Try it in the wet.

A car will do EXACTLY in the wet what it will do in the dry, except at a lower speed.

Stiffening the front bar gives the illusion of a 'pointer' sharper turn in.
What it does is bias towards more understeer, which all 3'ers already have in spades.
Its a marketing ploy, and errs on the side of safety which is all OEM manufacturers aims.

Steve

[Dino355]

Originally Posted by YvesD

Surely not?

Originally Posted by zltm089

£675 for the full kit? you sure mate?....springs, shocks/ struts/ dampers, sway/ strut/ arb etc? for £675 seems like that subaru sti wrx deal for £20k

Sorry I made a mistake it's actually £637.50



My mistake - NO springs included!

Just gave them a call and got a price of £310 just for the springs or a TOTAL price of £905 for the lot.

Interestingly enough the BMW system shows SE, M Sport and BMWP as having the same size front ARB so seems odd that the BMWP kit comes supplied with a front one :S

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by Dino355

Sorry I made a mistake it's actually £637.50



He told me the kit comes with everything EXCEPT a rear anti roll bar so that' springs, dampers etc

There are no springs on that list bud.


There is ONE SINGLE KIT number for all E9x, part number ending 832 as above.

I remember in 2009 looking at this, then the kit was £400 plus VAT, and it had NO springs with it.

The 'Kit' shown is a standard single part number across the range, but the springs are vehicle specific (obviously) so they cannot be included in the single kit part number.

The springs must be bought separately IIRC, and they are (were) about £80 each.

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by m1bjr

ALL of the BMW cars understeer.

Try it in the wet.

A car will do EXACTLY in the wet what it will do in the dry, except at a lower speed.

Stiffening the front bar gives the illusion of a 'pointer' sharper turn in.
What it does is bias towards more understeer, which all 3'ers already have in spades.
Its a marketing ploy, and errs on the side of safety which is all OEM manufacturers aims.

Steve

Thanks for agreeing with me Steve,

You said it better though!

In other words this kit CAN ONLY make your car handle worse in terms of understeer, but I'm sure it feels better and a bit sharper with it.

This is just like Audi's (non RS) marketing philosophy, make the cars overly stiff and jiggly and people think its 'sporty'. Unfortuately put this to the test in an Audi and it all falls down at the first bend.

[Dino355]

Originally Posted by doughboy

There are no springs on that list bud.


There is ONE SINGLE KIT number for all E9x, part number ending 832 as above.

I remember in 2009 looking at this, then the kit was £400 plus VAT, and it had NO springs with it.

The 'Kit' shown is a standard single part number across the range, but the springs are vehicle specific (obviously) so they cannot be included in the single kit part number.

The springs must be bought separately IIRC, and they are (were) about £80 each.

Originally Posted by Dino355

My mistake - NO springs included!

Just gave them a call and got a price of £310 just for the springs or a TOTAL price of £905 for the lot.

Interestingly enough the BMW system shows SE, M Sport and BMWP as having the same size front ARB so seems odd that the BMWP kit comes supplied with a front one :S

Yes I know didn't you read my reply?!

[doughboy]

Hey - dont 'read the thread' me bud - you edited your post after I quoted it!


Anyway, at least we all agree - no springs included, so the OP's Ebay link probably doesn't include springs either, so its not such a good deal.