[I335]

Took me forever to pull the trigger because I was so skeptical. I didn't think it would be possible to make a 335 w/sport pkg. corner flatter and ride better than stock at the same time, especially with a little bit of a drop. I always thought I'd have to make a sacrifice in ride to get better handling. My fears have been completed unfounded...

I didn't go "all out" with all kinds of M3 components because I don't plan to track my car - ever. I simply wanted a better ride and flatter cornering and I didn't want to lower my car very much at all given that I have to drive it all year long in New England. In fact, I don't even drive it very hard - I just wanted better behavior in every day driving situations to increase my enjoyment level of the car. As such, I went with a set of KW Street Comfort Coilovers and a set of H&R sway bars. I have the KW's set at 4 clicks from soft in the front and 6 clicks from soft at the rear. The lowering was kept to a minimum at about 1/2 inch in the rear and about 3/4 of an inch in the front.

These modifications made the exact improvements that I was looking for. The ride comfort is noticeably better than the stock sport suspension and it takes pot holes and bumps quite a bit better than it did stock - no more hard banging and no "looseness" whatsoever. In fact, I think the overall ride is a bit quieter than the stock setup and the car just feels so much more composed. This setup, combined with Active Steering and an M steering wheel is just awesome. I'm also riding on 19" M6 reps with Goodyear Eagle F1s - 265 in back, 235 in front non-RFT (**********s). I've seen allot of print on the board saying that I'd get inside rear wheel spin on corners with the H&R sways and without an LSD but I haven't even see the traction control light yet and I did take a few fairly hard corners just to test it out a bit. Perhaps this might be the case on the track, but certainly not on the streets unless you're driving stupid. Needless to say, I'm very happy, and even a bit surprised, with the results. This IS indeed the way the car should behave from the factory. The car just feels incredibly solid and planted now with no weird behavior and corners and highway ramps are really enjoyable. I don't know how much under-steer this setup dialed out, but I'm certainly not feeling any unwanted over-steer - feels very neutral overall.

I also wanted to say thanks to **********s. After doing some research, they lived up to their word and gave me the best price I could find on both the KWs and the sways. Roger was very communicative and helpful during the entire process and I received the parts sooner that I had expected. I've spent a few thousand dollars at **********s over the past few years and I've always been very pleased with their prices and business acumen. They've been perfect and I like to stick with what works well. They've certainly earned my business.

I had the parts installed at Bavarian Performance Group in Winchester, MA. I've been bringing my cars to these folks for the past several years now and they are just awesome. They're certified BMW mechanics and they're very much into racing (they've even got a couple of BMW race cars in their little showroom). The work they do is fast and the quality is top-notch - I've never had an issue with any of the work they've done and I appreciate them allowing me to get under the car with them so they can show me everything they did. Before I left the shop, John walked me through both the height and damping adjustments and showed me how everything was set. I thought I might want to tweak it a bit after I drove it for a while, but after 300 miles I don't think I need to touch a thing. I told John exactly what I was looking for and that's exactly what he delivered. Oh, although I only have 13K miles on the car, I also had them change the tranny and diff fluids just because I didn't want to go for very long with the original fluids. I think of it as cheap preventative insurance (and the car seems to shift a bit smoother now too - 6mt) as I always like to change the original fluids out of the car earlier than the maintenance schedule calls for.

I'll post pics sometime in the next few days or when I get a chance to do a wash and wax. It's been raining off & on lately and I just haven't been able to find the time. For now, I just wanted to share my experience with this set up with you guys.

[645Nm]

1335: Your experience is completely believable and the kind of performance you get without an LSD even more so. Well done on the purchase and the mods!!! The stock sport 335 version is very competent already but with the right mods it can be even better. You spent your money wisely on just the right tweaks. The cornering abilities with your new setup is certainly day and night - so is my experience; the car now inspires confidence almost to point of foolishness since the car just sit glued in the bends, corners and straights. Your tire choice of 265 back and 235 front on 19' is interesting but a good decision especially as non RFT and "higher" low profiles and certainly contributes to a more comfortable ride. I am still stuck with my harsher RFT's and super low profiles.

**********s:
I purchased quite a few items through **********s recently: Bilstein B16 ride control suspension; RPI intercooler; JB3 chip; BMS single and dual intakes. I am thoroughly impressed with their efficiency/service/shipping/quality/packaging and best of all the price. I don't know how they do it but whatever they do, they must keep it up during the hard economic times! All my items shipped within a week from ordering! All the way to Cape Town, South Africa. No hassles and with a mere paypal click. Stick with them is my advice. Hey, I hope they give us a coupon next time we checkout again, after this feedback.

Your intention is not to track but with your new set up, you are track ready - i say track it as often as you can.

[I335]

Thanks 645...

I thought about the Bilsteins too and I think they would make sense if I tracked my car, but since I don't, I didn't see a need to make adjustments on the fly. In fact, I really don't want to adjust anything more than once or twice if I don't have to. With the way the car is set up now, I think I'll probably be able to leave it as is. The only thing I may do is raise it a bit for winter driving which looks pretty easy to do - especially when I switch over to my winter wheels, but the damping seems just about perfect to me the way it is. That said, I wish it was easier to change the damping so that I could experiement a bit, but it's a bit of a project given that I have to take apart a good portion of my trunk lining to do it. But overall, I really love how the car behaves now.

And no, I'm not going to be tracking my $50K car - I don't have the money to keep up with the wear & tear that creates...

[Mike@ModBargains]

Thank you guys for the orders and for your positive feedback!

[modbargains]

Jay, I am glad to have helped you in finding and getting exactly what you were looking for. No matter the times, we will always continue to provide the best service that we can, with the best products and the best pricing.

I hope the weather clears up soon, lets see those pics!

[I335]

Originally Posted by **********s

Jay, I am glad to have helped you in finding and getting exactly what you were looking for. No matter the times, we will always continue to provide the best service that we can, with the best products and the best pricing.

I hope the weather clears up soon, lets see those pics!

Hey Mike - you guys are always great to work with! I can't even begin to tell you how valuable it is to me knowing that I'm dealing with a trustworthy company who I know will take care of me if there's ever an issue and that's the kind of business that will ensure your success! Oh, and please tell Roger "thanks again" for me. As I noted, he was very helpful and a pleasure to work with. I'll try to take a few pics soon!

Hey, wait a minute - I just noticed that this IS Roger who posted this note! Thanks again Roger!!!

[rcusick]

I have a similar setup and love it. Congrats. On settings, when you say 4 / 6 from soft (front / rear), do you mean 4 / 6 from softest setting or stiffest setting?

[E90RYANJB]

nice!I think I'll get the same set up too.

[I335]

Originally Posted by rcusick

I have a similar setup and love it. Congrats. On settings, when you say 4 / 6 from soft (front / rear), do you mean 4 / 6 from softest setting or stiffest setting?

Yes, I read all your posts regarding your setup which helped a lot in making my decision - thanks.

I meant from the softest setting. I told the tech that I wanted the car to ride better than stock but not too soft and these were the settings he chose for me based on his experience with this setup. So far it seems to be fine, but I do wish it was easier to play around with different settings to see what the differences would be. Maybe I'll take an afternoon this summer and do just that. Do you have any recommendations based on your experience?

[rcusick]

Autotalent recommended 6 from stiffest in front and 9 from stiffest in back (and that's how they set them at install). I played with front settings (both softer and stiffer) and ultimately came back to Autotalent's settings. I never adjusted rear settings as I have an e93, and its a pain to change. Overall, I'm really happy... The car is very balanced (especially post professional alignment and balancing).

Rationale for stiffer setting in front was to counterbalance heavier engine. Interestingly, balance is perfect with top up (raised). With top down, I might want a little stiffer setting in back. Tough call...

[TayF80]

SHOW US A PIC TO YOUR CAR
it sounds impressive

[modbargains]

Originally Posted by I335

Hey Mike - you guys are always great to work with! I can't even begin to tell you how valuable it is to me knowing that I'm dealing with a trustworthy company who I know will take care of me if there's ever an issue and that's the kind of business that will ensure your success! Oh, and please tell Roger "thanks again" for me. As I noted, he was very helpful and a pleasure to work with. I'll try to take a few pics soon!

Hey, wait a minute - I just noticed that this IS Roger who posted this note! Thanks again Roger!!!

No problem at all, Jay. Glad to have helped in any way that I can