Why did you get springs / coilovers ?

[IN54NE]

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[Charles1]

Originally Posted by Endless

I was curious why someone would lower their car right off the bat? Those with springs, it will be nice for a few months until the struts blow. I have had three aftermarket setups (Ground-Control, then Springs / Struts, then K-Sports Coilovers) on my previous car and will never lower another car again. Within three months problems always developed and besides looking great being lowered the ride was horrible in no time. Yes, it looks awesome lowered and you get a little bit better handling. I was just wondering why everyone is doing this on such a great car that is already low to the ground and rides great?

It sounds like you over lowered your car and/or had improper shocks.

I am installing coilovers to improve the performance of my car. I believe most (80+%) suspensions upgrades are poorly done.
The issues are

Over lowering: Low suspension does not mean your car will handle better. Most likely you can only lower a car around 0-2in.

No or improper shocks: Stock shocks cannot cope with aftermarket springs. They will be under damped and to long causing them to blow.

Poor quality parts: 90% of the aftermarket parts are CRAP. Look to you local grassroots racing groups to what you should buy.
FYI, some of the most expensive coilovers are “cheap crap” but have great marketing departments.

To Stiff: Stiff suspension does not equal better performance.

Improper sway bars: a larger rear sway bar will not help your 135i by its self. Unfortunately commits like “a bigger front sway bar will make your car understeer ”are completely unfounded and carryover from other car makes and drive options.

Alignment: improper alignment will result in poor handling no matter how much you spend in suspension parts.

Tires: Please but a performance tire on your car after you change the suspension

Wheels: Big heavy wheels are bad.

In addition, racecar parts are not for the street. Most racing classes have rules that limit or require unique parts. This does not mean they are the best or what you should run.

Please forgive spelling errors... This was typed from a mobile device.

[BMWeber]

that's why you should spend the extra money and get something like a KW or Bilstein PSS9 kit. they are very well engineered kits and are adjustable so you can set it soft for the streets and stiffen them up to play. a lot of times they ride better, handle better, look awesome and last longer than the stock shocks especially bilstein.

[Charles1]

I have to plug TC Kline too. Very happy with them.

[BMW Dreamer]

I did this suspension mod thing b4 and will never do it again. I agree with you.

[Charles1]

Originally Posted by Jeff1962

I did this suspension mod thing b4 and will never do it again. I agree with you.

Automakers upgraded suspension on sport or performance models without issues commonly with aftermarket parts.

Maybe you did not purchase the correct parts or understand how to properly setup your suspension.

[BMW Dreamer]

YAH maybe, I just think the 135i is set-up to do a good overall job and it looks low enough from the factory. Some cars do look too high. Like the reg 128i.

[Charles1]

Agreed the 135i looks great. I find in funny most street cars are lower than our race cars.

I don't think I will be lowering my car much. just want stiffer spring rates.

Happy driving,

Charles

[roadburn]

Lowering your car radically also runs you afoul of "real world" stuff like speed bumps and inclined driveways.

Prior to my 135i, I had been driving a "competition" set-up for years, and I always would have to approach such things at an extreme angle or just park.

Now I love the freedom of driving a good-handling car that can make it uphill to the UPS Store without scraping expensive components.

[larryn]

Having had H&R Sport springs on my e90 for 3 years, and now on my 135i, I can say that the shocks/struts do not "blow out after a few months". I can also say that my my 332ti currently has a complete TC Kline/Koni coilover setup on it, and it can be adjusted from scraping the ground low, but soft - to higher than stock height, yet filling-loosening stiff (and anything inbetween).

There's far more benefit in coilovers for a serious performance modification, as you have that adjustability for varying conditions. 99% just set-it-and-forget-it though, and I think that coilovers are a total waste for those people.

My currently installed H&R's drop the car a little less than an inch from stock.. well within the stock damper's range of motion. The H&R Race springs do drop the car an additional inch, which is far too great of a reduction in travel (not to mention you'd be dragging off the ground) for the stock M Sport dampers. (please note that people with the non-sport suspended 1ers should get new shocks/struts with a spring purchase, as you're dropping the car close to 2")...

[cnd1er]

Any comments on the BMW Performance suspension kit? And what about BMW's carbon strut brace?

[WhiteOne]

If you can't get over a "sleeping cop" its not a real road car.....

[1erich]

You likely won't notice a difference from a strut brace with new cars designed to be as rigid as possible. Strut braces have basically become jewellery.

[larryn]

Originally Posted by 1erich

You likely won't notice a difference from a strut brace with new cars designed to be as rigid as possible. Strut braces have basically become jewellery.

True, plus our cars already have strut braces from the factory that go between teh firewall and the strut tower...

[NoBrakes]

Originally Posted by BMWeber

that's why you should spend the extra money and get something like a KW or Bilstein PSS9 kit. they are very well engineered kits and are adjustable so you can set it soft for the streets and stiffen them up to play. a lot of times they ride better, handle better, look awesome and last longer than the stock shocks especially bilstein.

+1 KW's for me. I've put KW on all of my cars and they all rode so much better than stock. GL!!!

[SV Concepts III]

I think you are overestimating the effect of springs on the stock shocks. While it does cause the shocks to wear out more quickly, the difference is really only about 20k miles less on the life of the shocks compared with stock springs. This is highly dependent on road conditions and your driving style but you can easily get about 50k miles out of the stock shocks with upgraded springs.

With that said, if you have the budget, coilovers are definitely a great option. You can dial in your own ride height and in same cases the dampening to achieve a setup suited specifically to your needs. IMO, coils are overkill for most street performance upgrades however. You are just as well off with a Spring/Shock combo that is not adjustable but still lowers the vehicle and offers a performance upgrade. Most don't take advantage of the adjustability of a coilover setup so it doesn't always make sense.

[r_seng]

I first got springs, Swift Sport Mach Spec R, those that know Swift, know they're the best. I left my shocks alone and learned how to drive on the set-up I had then 100%, until I blew my shocks. Then I went with Tokico D-spec shocks this was of course a big up in my suspension and with that, a whole new learning experience. I first started out slowly, testing out what the shocks were capable of, and playing around with the settings to suit my needs / driving style.

I've only ever done canyon runs, its not something to take seriously, it is just a public road after all. But what I do take serious is to better myself as a driver, learning new techniques, lines, etc. Its said, "don't blame the car, its the driver," this is true however when the driver has learned and has come to his end in his abilities, only then the car will take the driver to the next level. This was true with me, once I ran in the new shocks and learned the capabilities, I was again able to run my car at the limits, 100% with the shock/spring. I then turned to coilovers, because at that point I wanted to be able to control every aspect of my suspension and have it the way I want it. With coilovers theres an unlimited amount of adjustments that can be done to suit what ever roads and conditions, and this was what I need to take my driving to the next level.

Sorry about the long post, just my two cents.