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      07-14-2013, 12:57 PM   #1
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Another H&R spring concern

So I have been browsing through post after post and have gotten mixed answers to my questions, I'm new to the BMW scene in the sense of modding goes, I had a stock 325i before this one. However I'm looking to upgrade this one and would like to start with springs. I totally understand the benefit to coilovers, used them in the past and they are great. But for this project I'm trying to keep my cost down and do it in steps. So I have made up my mind to go with a set of H&R sport springs

Question is what else would be required once installed to have the alignment set as close to oem. I have seen some say rear camber arms were needed, then I have read that others were able to max out the oem parts Once I lower it I'm also needing new rubber so I'm not looking to be wearing through tires every few months.

Just so everyone is aware, I have searched, just gotten a lot of mixed reviews. Car won't be raced, or anything of that nature. Just a solid DD that I want to have fun in and look good while doing it. Thanks!!!!
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      07-14-2013, 02:48 PM   #2
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you dont need anything technically. Its HIGHLY recommended that you replace your stock shocks to compensate for the lowered ride height.

Let it settle for a few days and get an alignment asap.
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      07-14-2013, 04:12 PM   #3
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Yah like he said shocks are highly recommended you're gonna have a harsh ride especially since it's a DD and h&r springs are even worse. The stock shocks are being pushed down more than they are meant to give a worse ride and shortening their life span If the car has some milage they're probably soft and ready to bust (shocks) so just save up for springs and shocks or get a set of coilovers kw v1 are the most popular I just got them I'm installing them. For the price of shocks and springs you night as well get these they have $100 mail in rebate and the best price i found was tiago@vrsf he's also a great guy.
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      07-14-2013, 04:29 PM   #4
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Springs and shocks (H&R sport and Koni yellows) for me was $1050 installed ($450 for alignment and labor), there was a special local deal going on.

Ride height is 90% of what I wanted it to be, comfort is unbelievably good. I have had horrible experiences with expensive AND cheap coilovers in the past, collars seizing, funky noises and the cost to repair is expensive. Compared with my friend's KW V1 and KW V2 all at similar height, my ride has the best comfort but that is because my setup is softer than theirs even when I am at the stiffest settings.

If you need better handling, coilovers are the way to go. If you want to only lower the vehicle and not have a change in ride comfort, springs and shocks are the way to go.
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      07-16-2013, 07:48 AM   #5
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Honestly it really depends on the quality of your roads. If they're smooth, then you'll probably not notice it much. But if its bumpy or worse, the ride will be very 'bouncy'.

The BMW performance shocks are pretty cheap I think; I'd pair those up with the springs you want and you should be ok.
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      07-16-2013, 09:45 AM   #6
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When it comes to alignment, it depends on what H&R springs you plan on getting. If it's sports spring, you can get close to OEM specs. But if you'll get the race, that's a different story. Either way, like everyone stated, shocks is a must.
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      07-16-2013, 12:11 PM   #7
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Anyone have any opinions as to the best/cheapest place to get the Koni Shocks? I have the HR Sport springs.
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      07-16-2013, 12:18 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jbarber0020 View Post
Anyone have any opinions as to the best/cheapest place to get the Koni Shocks? I have the HR Sport springs.
Check bavauto.com or Autoanything.com, if you are a new customer, they typically have a 15% discount code.
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      07-16-2013, 12:33 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thegrinchboy
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbarber0020 View Post
Anyone have any opinions as to the best/cheapest place to get the Koni Shocks? I have the HR Sport springs.
Check bavauto.com or Autoanything.com, if you are a new customer, they typically have a 15% discount code.
I second bavauto.com for konis they have an unbeatable price on konis
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      07-17-2013, 01:26 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 330xtrai View Post
Yah like he said shocks are highly recommended you're gonna have a harsh ride especially since it's a DD and h&r springs are even worse. The stock shocks are being pushed down more than they are meant to give a worse ride and shortening their life span If the car has some milage they're probably soft and ready to bust (shocks) so just save up for springs and shocks or get a set of coilovers kw v1 are the most popular I just got them I'm installing them. For the price of shocks and springs you night as well get these they have $100 mail in rebate and the best price i found was tiago@vrsf he's also a great guy.
Sorry for Thread Jacking but this would be my first post and I can't create a new thread because of that.

How would I know if my shocks are shot? I have recently bought a 07 335i with H&R sports on stock shocks (off a member in this forum actually) I test drove it on Long Island roads (very smooth and long) and it seemed fine; when I drove it back to New York (some very bad roads) however it almost felt like I was riding on steel rods... For a while I thought it was how sports springs behave but after finding out the issues incorporating HR sports with stock shocks, I did a bit of research and found that he has been riding on these for 11k miles . The car feels like it does minimal damping and it doesn't bounce after bumps. Would Koni sports with my old HR Springs solve these issues? Should I look for frame/structural damage as well? (since he has been riding like this for 11k miles)
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      07-17-2013, 10:32 PM   #11
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I don't think any structure damage would happen but tell your installer to check your car out for any damage . to see if shocks are shot take a look between the fender and wheel which you probably can't you might need to jack it up look at shocks if they have oil and dirt sticking to them. change to koni sports and make sure you get e36 MP3 bump stops and z4m bump stops you can search on here or ask Evan @tischer BMW I spelt it wrong lol
you should be fine
check out bavauto.com for the konis they had the best price when I was looking .
I can't wait to get my coilovers installed tomorrow
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      07-17-2013, 11:21 PM   #12
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I'm actually riding on H&R Sport Springs coupled with stock/OEM shocks. This combination which seemed odd was actually recommended to me by the shop manager over at Turner Motorsports in Amesbury, MA. I had originally approached him with installing some Eibach Sportline's and Bilstein Sport Shocks I had, but was told that for my application which is an '06 325i was totally unnecessary and a bit of a risk, since he'd seen that combo fail so many times before. Well long story short, I went with the guy that had years of experience and after he told and showed me all the cars they had that they'd done the same too. I've been driving this setup now for 4-5 months and have nothing negative to say and we've got some shitty roads in Massachusetts. Of course I've learned which lanes and roads to avoid now that my car's lowered, but it's a nice comfy ride. Don't get me wrong, I really dig all the high speed tech a lot of folks are running, but is it more need or desire? and of course it depends on your style of driving and whether you track drive or just DD. OP says he wants to be a bit more frugal this time around because it's just a DD, this might be the ticket. Hell you never know, it might work out for you too.

Before the drop



...and after

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      07-18-2013, 03:32 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by techietaichi View Post
I'm actually riding on H&R Sport Springs coupled with stock/OEM shocks. This combination which seemed odd was actually recommended to me by the shop manager over at Turner Motorsports in Amesbury, MA. I had originally approached him with installing some Eibach Sportline's and Bilstein Sport Shocks I had, but was told that for my application which is an '06 325i was totally unnecessary and a bit of a risk, since he'd seen that combo fail so many times before. Well long story short, I went with the guy that had years of experience and after he told and showed me all the cars they had that they'd done the same too. I've been driving this setup now for 4-5 months and have nothing negative to say and we've got some shitty roads in Massachusetts. Of course I've learned which lanes and roads to avoid now that my car's lowered, but it's a nice comfy ride. Don't get me wrong, I really dig all the high speed tech a lot of folks are running, but is it more need or desire? and of course it depends on your style of driving and whether you track drive or just DD. OP says he wants to be a bit more frugal this time around because it's just a DD, this might be the ticket. Hell you never know, it might work out for you too.
Your car looks great!

OP, this is one story that you have here of someone who hasnt run into problems YET. I have countless friends that took the chance and paired h and r's with stock struts and needless to say they failed after a short while.

At that point, you will ultimately spend more with repairs and such than to have done it right the first time. Also, there is the issue of safety on the road in case something does happen.

There are plenty of people getting rid of lightly used suspension components for cheap on the boards. Since you dont NEED this drop right away I would try to look out for something and be patient about it.

If you really have your heart set on springs, might I recommend Tein s-tech springs? IMO the drop looks better than H and r and the spring rates are better suited to stock struts because they were designed to be paired with stock components.

Good luck!
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      07-22-2013, 05:54 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BoogeyMan'sBMW View Post
OP, this is one story that you have here of someone who hasnt run into problems YET.
So what potential problems can I anticipate in the future? See, here's the thing boogey, I found it hard to refute or argue with a guy that's been doing this kind of work for years, specific to BMW, from a well known and respected garage also specific to BMW since '93; Turner Motorsport, and of which they've done the same to their own vehicles. Of course not their top-end stuff, but to their own company cars/DD's. "what's good for the goose..." you know? Still though, I'd like to know what kind of negatives I could expect just in case, 'cause on the mere chance that I do, I'd like to ask Turner about it.
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      07-22-2013, 11:19 PM   #15
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Turner Motorsport's been around for a while, but take what they say with a grain of salt. I contacted them about putting 220s on my e90 lci, they said it's not possible. When I mentioned rolling fenders, they said it's too risky and I shouldn't do it. I can paste emails if you want. I'm rolling on 220s now, thanks to Dave.

If you want low, go with h&r sports. If you want comfortable ride, go with Eibach pro. Your shocks will wear out faster than normal, but it's not like you're gonna cut their life in half. Maybe you'll get 5k miles less on them. Once that happens, you can get some konis.
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      07-23-2013, 01:20 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by e90ixDriver
Turner Motorsport's been around for a while, but take what they say with a grain of salt. I contacted them about putting 220s on my e90 lci, they said it's not possible. When I mentioned rolling fenders, they said it's too risky and I shouldn't do it. I can paste emails if you want. I'm rolling on 220s now, thanks to Dave.

If you want low, go with h&r sports. If you want comfortable ride, go with Eibach pro. Your shocks will wear out faster than normal, but it's not like you're gonna cut their life in half. Maybe you'll get 5k miles less on them. Once that happens, you can get some konis.
Yah but if your car has some milage they probably gonna get bad soon anyway why pay for installation twice just my 2 cents
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      07-23-2013, 03:23 AM   #17
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tirerack had a special for the H&R Sport Cupkit at $599. Came with H&R struts and Sport springs. I`m happy with the low ride height. I also made sure to replace and install brand new top mount suspension bushings..
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      07-23-2013, 03:30 AM   #18
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Heres a photo..






.
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      07-23-2013, 08:11 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 330xtrai View Post
Yah but if your car has some milage they probably gonna get bad soon anyway why pay for installation twice just my 2 cents
Well, you get to experience how it is with stock shocks. And if you ride on stock shocks for 15k miles, that's a year or more you get to save up for shocks. You can get the springs installed for $100-$150.



ZSP.3R, anyway you can post a close up picture?
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      07-23-2013, 08:12 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by techietaichi View Post
So what potential problems can I anticipate in the future? See, here's the thing boogey, I found it hard to refute or argue with a guy that's been doing this kind of work for years, specific to BMW, from a well known and respected garage also specific to BMW since '93; Turner Motorsport, and of which they've done the same to their own vehicles. Of course not their top-end stuff, but to their own company cars/DD's. "what's good for the goose..." you know? Still though, I'd like to know what kind of negatives I could expect just in case, 'cause on the mere chance that I do, I'd like to ask Turner about it.
How many miles are you at on your car? Better question would be how many miles on the strut? The potential problems that you may lead to is a strut that wears out a lot sooner than its supposed to.

Like it was mentioned above, there is no way of telling when exactly it will stump it by. There are many factors. What's the condition of the strut? Where are you driving and what conditions are most common (i.e i'm in NYC and the roads are as shitty as it can get). What springs are you going with?

When you use the stock strut with h and r springs, the car sits lower and the strut has lower room to travel to do its job, thus putting a strain on it. This phenomena causes the harsh ride as well as the excessive wear.

This is how I look at it, if you are gna keep the springs on the car and plan on taking the hit with the struts or with coils down the line, I would might as well just do it now. You would save on the labor and he job will be done right the first time and you won't have to worry about it.
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