[obLu]

Finally got all my toys installed and got it back from the shop today. This is friggen long, so get a drink or some popcorn.

Installed:
Koni FSD/Eibach combo
19x8.5f/9.5r (et40) BBS CH
235/35-19f 265/30-19r PS2

There are a lot of variables involved here so I'm not positive what's changing what but I'll just give my impressions and you can figure it out for yourself.

Quick and dirty pros and cons from my little 30min test drive.
Koni fsd pro - Soft, hits that were hard on the oem zsp/rft combo are butter soft. Almost unnaturally soft. Lowering with the 19s is visually 'just right' for me. But I have a toddler seat in back too, so super agressive low just won't work for me.
Koni fsd cons - the unnaturally soft feeling going over nasty bumps that used to shake the car apart. Feels weird. Steering gets a little numb too, but that may or may not be the tires.

Notes. I measured the fender height before and after, the front and rear of the car actually raised up 1/8" over oem. Extra height of the 19" wheels eventhough they're as close to oem size as you can get, there's still a little diff. Visually it looks lower, fender gap is definately reduced but I didn't make measurements.

PS2 pro - Quiet. Oh so quiet compared to my almost worn out potenza rfts. Soft. Not broken in by a long shot yet but they feel like they've got a ton of physical grip. Much more so than the potenzas ever did. Wasn't able to provoke any hint of understeer.
PS2 con - Soft sidewall. Some of the razor sharp steering response of the rfts is gone. How much of that is due to the suspension and how much is down to the tires? Dunno. There's a moments hesitation when you turn the wheel and then it feels like it takes a set and grips. Don't know what pressure the shop put in but I'll adjust tomorrow AM when they're stone cold. Might make some diff.

Notes. Eventhough, on my little bathroom scale, I lost over 5lbs per wheel up front and almost 5lb per in rear acceleration feels like a touch slower and braking a bit softer. Maybe my butt dyno is confused. But it feels like it revs up in gear just a notch slower. Like if stock is 10, with the 19s it's a 9.3. I'm used to more of that feeling with my other 19s that weren't lighter than oem wheels. Other weird thing is that the 1-2 shift is much easier ... that might be in my head since I haven't driven the car in 2 days, but it seems like getting the clutch matched to the revs is a lot easier. If that's the case either I'm carrying more rotational weight and it's having a flywheel effect, or I'm carrying less weight and the revs are dropping quicker. Or I'm just a spaz.

Conclusion:
I know my mods were all cosmetic, except for getting rid of the rfts, with the slim hope that I'd pick up some performance. Still need to get more time to really wring it out, but wanted to post some quick reflections while I still remember what oem felt like. For the money ($750) I've never experienced a nicer riding aftermarket suspension. The only thing I'm a bit bummed about is losing some of the sharpness and feedback from the steering. If that was a 10, it now feels more like a 8.5-8.9. It's definately softer.

Hopefully I get a little bit of that back by adjusting tire pressure, but from the net info I've gathered PS2s are just a bit soft to begin with.

Thanks for reading.

[DanHarman]

Thanks for the review.

Did you have the car aligned after installing the suspension?

[Viral]

pics????

Let's have 'em!!!

[obLu]

Alignment ... yup.

Pics will probably come tomorrow ... but they'll be crappy ones. It's just a 330 with CHs though, nothing you haven't already seen before.

[Fraggy]

I really wanna see because its the drop Im interested in. There are tons of pics of cars with H&R Sports, but not many with Eibach. So if Im hearing you correctly, 19" wheels with Eibach/Koni FSD = a smoother ride than ZSP and runflats!!!!

This is the greatest news ever.

I also think that some of the lost sharpness in the steering is from the tire pressure. I used to have PS2's on my E46 and loved them, but they had to be at just the right pressure. A pound too little and the steering was mushy, and pound too much and the ride jarred your bones. But in the middle, it was pure heaven.

[obLu]

Originally Posted by Fraggy

I really wanna see because its the drop Im interested in. There are tons of pics of cars with H&R Sports, but not many with Eibach. So if Im hearing you correctly, 19" wheels with Eibach/Koni FSD = a smoother ride than ZSP and runflats!!!!

This is the greatest news ever.

I also think that some of the lost sharpness in the steering is from the tire pressure. I used to have PS2's on my E46 and loved them, but they had to be at just the right pressure. A pound too little and the steering was mushy, and pound too much and the ride jarred your bones. But in the middle, it was pure heaven.

To my butt the new setup is definately smoother than zsp + rft. But it also feels very "snubbed". It's hard to explain. Bots dots, manhole covers, freeway expansion seams are all very smoothed out. You can feel them but very distantly. Whereas the same impacts before would cause sharp jarring impacts. Non-sharp bumps the car feels a tad more damped than before but not "stiff". Its a very weird feeling; something I'm not used to with aftermarket suspensions. I'm used to lower = stiffer.

I've experienced that tire pressure issue with other tires before, so I'll probably spend the next couple of days fiddling. Found out the shop set them to 32psi f, 36psi r. 32 is just awful low for a 35 series tire. I'm trying 34f 36r for tomorrow.

If the drop is what you're interested in, I'll make sure to take some shots tomorrow.

[brocken]

What shop did you go to and did you have a good experience?
I work in the Kirkland area and I'm thinking of doing that same combo, koni fsd/eibach.

I swapped out my RFT's for Kumho ecstas and immediately noticed a quieter and smoother ride. I didn't notice much difference in cornering, maybe a teeny bit less sharp.
I'm hoping to get rid of some of the body roll and smooth out the ride with that spring/shock combo.

[obLu]

Speedware Motorsports. Def not cheap though. But I've never had a bad experience there before, and everytime the car's come out of the shop perfect. Never had to take it back because something wasn't done right the first time.

I'm really really finnicky about alignment and balance and they're always perfect.

[ScBlacksunshine]

Take some hard corners and you'll see the difference with FSD/EiBach combo, defintely better and more compliant then stock ZSP. The numbness might be from the less stiffer sidewalls going with non-RFTs. RFTs have very stiff sidewalls with translate into better control but more jarring ride. Pair it with rear H&R swaybar and you'll notice more of a difference too

[Fraggy]

Yea, I have the sway bar and its transformed the car in many ways Im very pleased with it.

[Fraggy]

Originally Posted by obLu

If the drop is what you're interested in, I'll make sure to take some shots tomorrow.

Im interested in all of this, but Id really like to see the drop as well.

[obLu]

Pictures got taken ... sorry I don't have photo skillz like Nikki or Diesel ... and I'll get them off the camera as soon as I'm home from work. Pretty much looks just like the pics posted on the other koni fsd thread, except a tad lower. Not sure if it's the angle of the pics or not.

[Fraggy]

Cant wait man, thanks Too bad we're in the same time zone.

[brocken]

I've heard good things about Speedware in Redmond.
I'll have to check them out and see what the install would run me.
I've done suspension installs before but dont' relish the idea of getting under this car.

[ScBlacksunshine]

Originally Posted by brocken

I've heard good things about Speedware in Redmond.
I'll have to check them out and see what the install would run me.
I've done suspension installs before but dont' relish the idea of getting under this car.

They gave me a good price for my BBS RGR, ask for Adam

[obLu]

Crappy pics. Now that's how you properly do a wheel weight.

[Ghunger]

Looks really good, not super low but a nice height. Also glad to hear the review of Speedware. I've bought a couple things from them but no work on the car yet. I was going to take my Volks there for mounting, balancing and possibly a little more agressive alignment.

[obLu]

I had their "street sport" alignment (just another degree of negative camber where it can be adjusted and a ... I think ... just a teensy bit less toe in the rear?) done on my A4 when I had them corner balance it. Didn't really like it. Make sure to talk it over with them before you decide.

Just noticed that the pics make the et40 rears look really tucked, and I know a lot of people on the board bitch about trying to stuff 10" et20 wheels in. In real life, they don't look tucked to me at all. To my eyes they look just like they should, and feel et20 would look kind of weird ... to wide, too aggressive.

[Fraggy]

Thanks for the pics, they look great!

The drop is just what I am looking for combined with the handing/ride improvements.

BTW, how much do CHs cost?

[obLu]

I got them through jlevi for $1950 shipped.

[Fraggy]

Thanks. So have you played with the tire pressures?

[obLu]

34f 36r right now. Need to check to see if the scrub lines are near the triangles. Still waiting to make sure they're really cold when I touch them next.

But yeah, 34 up front made an appreciable difference. Still not as razor sharp as the rfts, but man I'm going scary fast around my usual corners.