[dangeris]

Originally Posted by everlast

Just so I'm 100%, you do this and the strut assembly, spring, top hat, etc, all come out in one piece, correct? Then you can use a compressor and remove the spring?

That's right. remove 2 of the three strut nuts up top but loosen the other one with an open end wrench. then remove the nut that holds the endlink. then loosen the pinch bolt. Then use one spring compressor and compress that SOB as much as you can. remove the last strut nut on top and twist and pull the strut out of the wheel assembly.

**NOTE** the strut has two nubs that protrude out that slides in a channel on the wheel assembly. There won't be a lot of movement back and forth when you're twisting it but it will come out eventually. Just make sure you spray some PB Blaster in it to free it up.

Also when you finally remove the strut out of the wheel assembly make sure you put on the other spring compressor. You DON"T want to to remove the perch nut with the spring compressed on one side... Stuff will go flying if you do and might cause bodily injury to you or worst..the car!!!

[everlast]

Got it, makes sense. I'll be doing my suspension in 8 days. Counting down lol.

[ricgear]

I know this is kind of an oldish thread but I'm in the middle of doing my Koni Sports and Eibach Pro-kit springs on my xi and everything is going pretty well but I'm not sure how far to seat the strut in the pinch assembly. One strut went in and protruded through the pinch clamp by a good couple inches, the other seemed to be seated at around flush with the bottom of the pinch clamp. Which is right (if either)? Does anyone have a photo of their koni sport xi install that would show this? I don't want to torque up the pinch bolt until I know for sure. Thanks.

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by ricgear

I know this is kind of an oldish thread but I'm in the middle of doing my Koni Sports and Eibach Pro-kit springs on my xi and everything is going pretty well but I'm not sure how far to seat the strut in the pinch assembly. One strut went in and protruded through the pinch clamp by a good couple inches, the other seemed to be seated at around flush with the bottom of the pinch clamp. Which is right (if either)? Does anyone have a photo of their koni sport xi install that would show this? I don't want to torque up the pinch bolt until I know for sure. Thanks.

Page 3 here

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...=725621&page=3

[ricgear]

A big thanks to AJSALIDA for pm'ing me with the perfect information. In case anybody is interested, this is the thread he pointed me to and it was exactly what I was looking for. Can't believe I didn't find this thread on my own.

Start at post 47

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...=725621&page=3

[ricgear]

By the way, I finished (with the exception of putting the trunk back together) and tomorrow will take it out for a spin.

[ricgear]

I set all 4 Koni's at 180 degrees from the softest setting as ajsalida recommended and after putting the trunk back together this morning, I took my car to run some in-town errands and then found a couple nice twisty roads to check out the new suspension. I was expecting a fairly substantial difference in before and after and I have to say this set up gave me exactly what I was looking for - a big improvement over stock, It is firm yet compliant and much flatter on the curves than when the car was new. It is quite nimble for a heavy car, though not as nimble as my wife's MINI. The harder you push it, the better it feels and it delivers precision on turn in. In a nearby neighborhood, there is a through road that has a series of 8 large speed bumps designed to slow traffic to 25 mph. Ever since the car was new, it bounced over those with a scrunching suspension noise. Now it is a very controlled rebound and completely silent, firm but not overly so.

I really wasn't as interested in the visual aspect of the lowering as I was in the handling properties that come with lowering. I didn't measure before and after but I can see that it is noticeably lower but not excessive.

It took about a day to do the install but that was with many interruptions, but I thought it was a lot harder than described in the DIY's. There is a learning curve though and now after the experience, I could do it much more quickly. But I have no desire to do this so often that I become efficient at it.

I would really recommend this combination of the Koni Sport and the Eibach Pro-kit springs. I'm even thinking of trying it on my wife's MINI, but only after time erases the PITA of this install.

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by ricgear

I set all 4 Koni's at 180 degrees from the softest setting as ajsalida recommended and after putting the trunk back together this morning, I took my car to run some in-town errands and then found a couple nice twisty roads to check out the new suspension. I was expecting a fairly substantial difference in before and after and I have to say this set up gave me exactly what I was looking for - a big improvement over stock, It is firm yet compliant and much flatter on the curves than when the car was new. It is quite nimble for a heavy car, though not as nimble as my wife's MINI. The harder you push it, the better it feels and it delivers precision on turn in. In a nearby neighborhood, there is a through road that has a series of 8 large speed bumps designed to slow traffic to 25 mph. Ever since the car was new, it bounced over those with a scrunching suspension noise. Now it is a very controlled rebound and completely silent, firm but not overly so.

I really wasn't as interested in the visual aspect of the lowering as I was in the handling properties that come with lowering. I didn't measure before and after but I can see that it is noticeably lower but not excessive.

It took about a day to do the install but that was with many interruptions, but I thought it was a lot harder than described in the DIY's. There is a learning curve though and now after the experience, I could do it much more quickly. But I have no desire to do this so often that I become efficient at it.

I would really recommend this combination of the Koni Sport and the Eibach Pro-kit springs. I'm even thinking of trying it on my wife's MINI, but only after time erases the PITA of this install.

Cool thanks for the review. Yeah the thing that blew me away was having a lot less suspension travel, plus firmer, but less bottoming and better overall ride. Just a measure I guess of how many compromises went into the stock suspension. Or how far BMW has gotten from placing handling first.

This susp felt better than I remember the non-xi e92 335i sport susp, which I drove several examples of before I bought an Xi. Gotta wonder how good this would be on the non Xi car.