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Finally went low | Pre-wedding gift to myself
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04-11-2013, 10:41 AM | #1 |
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Finally went low | Pre-wedding gift to myself
Story goes something like this (disclaimer - all pics via iPhone 4S):
About a year back, I came upon an ad in a past issue of Roundel for a full E92 ZSP suspension (with only 5k miles) for an amazingly low price. The guy clearly had money and was just trying to firesale everything. After getting the price down a bit more, I decided to buy it, knowing that once it was in my possession, I had options: (not pictured: control arms, front and rear sway bars, which were also included in the deal) Option A: Use the suspension on my E90 (I did enough research where I know parts were interchangeable, but that spring rates would be off slightly) to get a stiffer ride, but minimal difference in ride height (roughly .6"). Option B: Sell suspension components individually and make money on my investment. A few months later, I found myself at Cigar Masters in Providence with a few of my buddies, one of whom had just purchased an airride kit for his '08 Civic Si sedan. He'd been on coilovers for the past two years and was a huge proponent of coils and actually talked me out of swapping in the ZSP suspension. His reasoning made sense...all the work it would have taken (including compressing springs) wasn't worth it for the minimal lowered look. Knowing I could make money on the ZSP suspension, he suggested I sell off the parts and use that money towards some coilovers. After a few weeks of going back and forth, I decided this was probably my best course of action. Living in New England, it would be nice to have the luxury of being able to raise the car in the winter and lower it in the summer, at will. Thus, the next decision was to pick which coilovers I was going to go with. Knowing I was getting married fairly soon, I had to stick to a realistic budget. Well, turns out, I had a buddy over on e46fanatics who had installed BC Racing coilovers on his e46 M3 a few years back. Talking to him, and doing a TON of research on e90post, bimmerforums and other various sites, I decided BC was probably my best bet. Good warranty, very competitive pricing, and positive reviews were the deciding factor. So, using the money I made from selling the ZSP parts (just springs and struts...I held onto the control arms and sway bars), I saved up for a few months and bought myself a nice pre-wedding gift. Ended up buying through Tristan at Circuit Motorsports (highly recommended...Tristan was super helpful) on a Wednesday and my package arrive at my house on Friday: Called up my buddy (with the aforementioned Civic) and he got in touch with his buddy Fuzzy, who actually lives in my town, and Fuzzy agreed to install the coilovers for me. Fuzzy is a VW guy and a suspension guru....specializing in coilover and airride installs, he also rolls fenders and does just about anything else you'd need. When you have a lift in your "home" garage, you're doing something right. Following are photos from the install: Removal of the trunk liner Instructions?! I don't need no stinkin' instructions Damping extenders...no need to remove trunk liner when I want to adjust damping...CLUTCH! And they look clean installed this way Rears installed Swapped in the ZSP front sway bar, which is a slight upgrade on the non-sport sway bar (rears are identical) looking like a hover car fronts nearly installed Straight off the lift, nicely tucked! Straight off the lift, could use some settling Love this angle/picture. Fresh off her first wash of the season...tell you what, Klasse is legit stuff...applied the AIO and the sealant right before the winter and you can totally tell Me thinks the front needs to come down just a bit more, though it definitely did settle some and looks much better So far, I'm loving my decision. I've probably driven between 500-600 miles (mix of city/highway) with the suspension installed and can attest that the ride is so much more firm and stable, with body roll just about eliminated. It obviously looks so much better (even my fiancee approves!) and enhances the otherwise unexciting style 159s (wheels are coming next year...wedding has taken all my money for the time being). Dampening was left, as is, right out of the box. Might play with it a bit to see the difference in ride quality, but so far, no complaints. Actually ended up hanging out with some fellow BMW enthusiasts later that day and got a few shots...here are our cars on Federal Hill: (Pictures were taken into the sun, so pardon the shitty quality) One of my buddies had his daughters unicorn in his trunk. Naturally, this had to be incorporated into photos. And for shits and giggles...I saw this on my drive home:
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04-11-2013, 11:01 AM | #3 |
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congrats on the stance and wedding. i'm tying the knot here in 5 months
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04-11-2013, 11:03 AM | #4 |
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Hell yeah!
Awesome man...congrats! And thanks...my wedding is next month.
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04-11-2013, 11:09 AM | #6 |
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Couldn't agree more. Funds are tapped for the time being. Hoping spacers come later this spring/summer...with wheels on tap for next year.
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04-11-2013, 11:10 AM | #7 |
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Weddings are expensive , congrats.
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Become like water my friend.
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04-11-2013, 11:14 AM | #8 | |
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04-11-2013, 11:15 AM | #9 |
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Yeah Fuzzy is the man...knows his shit, for sure.
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04-11-2013, 11:44 AM | #11 |
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tell me about it. i'm going to sell this car for a fiat500. can't afford this lifestyle anymore. lol
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04-11-2013, 12:33 PM | #12 |
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you need rear spacers, maybe a foot will do it.
car looks great at the height, just need wheels to come out some.
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04-11-2013, 01:59 PM | #14 | ||
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Quote:
We'll see...
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04-11-2013, 02:04 PM | #15 |
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spend it now while you dont have to ask her permission. good luck with the wedding!
i have those reps on my car in 18s finished in hyperblack.
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04-14-2013, 09:31 AM | #17 |
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I assumed you said this because you yourself were rocking 159's...and after checking out your threads, my suspicions were confirmed. Haha...appreciate the input, bud!
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04-14-2013, 09:32 AM | #18 | |
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They look SICK. I'm leaning towards 18s when I eventually upgrade, myself. Thinking ride quality vs 19s.
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04-14-2013, 10:06 AM | #19 |
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go to kauai and do the open door helicopter tour. also check out the wailua kayak tour.
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04-14-2013, 04:04 PM | #20 | |
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Can't wait!
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04-14-2013, 04:50 PM | #22 | |
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Rear is much lower than the front. |
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