Quote:
Originally Posted by thegrinchboy
Exactly! That's what I noticed as well. I was going to PM you to verify your experiences as you and I both have the same setup and installer :-)
One of the things I did try yesterday, per Ajsalida's recommendation was to review Koni's specification and install procedure. What I found was that the rear shocks actually have 2.5 full turn, not 1.5 full turn (per the installer's verification during the install). Assuming that is the case, 1/2 turn from what I thought was "full soft" is actually 1.5 turn for the "real full soft" baseline. Short of removing the rear and restarting, I firmed up the front end to match e.g. 1.5 turns from full soft. This seemed to have made the car better, but now makes me wonder if both rear shocks are set up identically. Next step is getting it checked out by an independent BMW shop, when I get new tires put on.
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This is getting interesting. One thing about the Konis is they are not linear in the adjustment range so if your rears are 1.5 turns off full soft they are effectively close to full stiff. The fact that both you guys have the same installer may mean he set them both up that way. I read an article somewhere where a "pro" was suggesting this.
However I am not ruling out the rear (subframe) bushings, enough people have complained about them, it is something I've read about and considered doing if I ever kick the power level up beyond where my car is now (Cobb stage 2+). It's just I drove my car a lot looking for what they were describing and I just could not feel it. And believe me I live in an area with some pretty rough roads.
One question for both you guys, or all you guys reporting this who have K/E. What kind of tires? RFT or not, and then independent of that, what wheel sizes and widths. Finally what pressures?
I also found 2.5 turns available and set them to 0.5 turns off full soft. Next time I have them off I want to try 1 full turn. I run 18" staggered with non RFT conti DWS, OEM sizes, set at 38 PSI F/R. The rear feels very planted esp on sharp transitions (like tucking back in after an aggressive pass), or getting on throttle coming out of a turn.
edit: last thing, I forgot to mention. When I first installed these and did an initial alignment (I do my own), I did notice a jiggling at the rear. Then I went back again after a few miles of settling and did a full alignment, and also released the binding on all the rear bushings. Meaning I fully loosened the main control arm and the two rear suspension adjuster bolt/nuts, and let the car visibly settle full weight, tightened it all back up again, then completed the alignment off that base. Two things happened. The rear dropped another 1/4 or so, and the jiggling went away. If you do not do this the bushings are twisting against load at rest.