[AWDBooSTIn90]

Originally Posted by avocet

Susp mods so far:
M3 front arms
Bilstein hd's
Hotchkis front, h&r rear sways
Front drop hats(on sport springs all around)
M3 sub bushings

I want a direct connection to my driveline so I also have megan trans mounts and a bmwp ssk. Sitting in a box with my dif bushings are some akg engine mounts. Will probably do those next month... I work in the field and have only been home a few weeks this year so far.

And yes! I think the sub frame bushings are a must have as a foundation for any susp mods. I think the diff bushes and engine mounts are going to be icing on the cake.

Quite frankly, combined with my engine and brake mods, my car is nearing(personal) perfection!

Yea you have my gradual build parts list basically 97% the same.

Your car must feel nice already! What brand and type camber arms do you have?

Only difference is i think im going to go with oem ///M sway bar and end links. I need to figure out which thickness i need.

Koni yellows or Bilstein B8 dampers with H&R springs or Eibach Pro-Kit springs.

LSD for sure!!! It's literally a necessity at this point (intake, dp's, e85, MHD)

[AWDBooSTIn90]

Originally Posted by avocet

Susp mods so far:
M3 front arms
Bilstein hd's
Hotchkis front, h&r rear sways
Front drop hats(on sport springs all around)
M3 sub bushings

I want a direct connection to my driveline so I also have megan trans mounts and a bmwp ssk. Sitting in a box with my dif bushings are some akg engine mounts. Will probably do those next month... I work in the field and have only been home a few weeks this year so far.

And yes! I think the sub frame bushings are a must have as a foundation for any susp mods. I think the diff bushes and engine mounts are going to be icing on the cake.

Quite frankly, combined with my engine and brake mods, my car is nearing(personal) perfection!

Nice man!! Thats a solid build with those parts. Hows it feel over stock? Probably a massive transformation right?

You have my planned out parts list over time basically exactly the same!

Only things differently i mightt do is Koni yellows. I feel like the Bilsteins will absolutely be bettter quality, be a better street damper, and last a lot longer for what I'm going to be using them for. Which is occasional DD use, weekend car aggressive street car on twistys, and when i get to the level you're at I'mlkkpp' going to start dojmg autox at the local club. ive talked to the guys in charge and i meet the requirements already, just basic stuff that a newer car like our e90's have. Make sure your battery hold down was re-installed properly, thats about the only thing someone might overlook.
But as far as the koni yellows, i kind of want that adjustability, just incase i don't like the stiffness of them on the street with the way it would be set out-of-the-box, and so ill be able to adjust it and hopefully make it a good amount softer and smoother for regular street cruising use then crank it up when i want that handling!

How do you like the Bilstein B8's? Did you have stock sport suspension before that? How does it compare in comfort, handling, noise of bottoming out, a lot fo bottoming out, what springs?

Also i might just go with oem used M3 sway bar and new bushings and end links. Save some $ and i cam choose what thickness to get.

Maybe a strut tower brace just for the hell of it. M3 strut brace maybe...

As far as engine/trains mounts. I have 335iS motor mounts and E46 trans mounts. Should fit your 328i im pretty sure. My engine doesnt move basically and theres no tradeoff like you get with AKG solid or poly mounts. Lots of vibration!!

Last but not least.. LSD. Its basically a necessity for me at this point (MHD, DP's, intake, E85)

What engine mods do you have? My bro has an '06 530Xi 255HP. Which has the same motor as the 330i/xi. Thing flys. Revs out a lot better than i was expecting. Its not a super fast, but its also Xdrive, in a heavy 5 series body, and its bone stock. In DS its like a different car than regular D drive mode. So i can definitely see the potential in these engines.

[bmw888]

m3 front arms combo + Subframe bushing the best combo IMO

[avocet]

Originally Posted by AWDBooSTIn90

Nice man!! Thats a solid build with those parts. Hows it feel over stock? Probably a massive transformation right?

Yes the handling makes for a different animal. A good friend has a bone stock 325i and back to back it feels like driving a cavalier! lol.

Maybe a strut tower brace just for the hell of it. M3 strut brace maybe...

I have a tower brace and will swear it made my front end feel more crisp. Athough maybe not.

Last but not least.. LSD. Its basically a necessity for me at this point (MHD, DP's, intake, E85)

An LSD is on my short list. I am not not making huge torque and, quite frankly, do not have the traction issues with my car. But then a supercharger is on my list and I think they will go quite nicely together. Damn exchange rate.

What engine mods do you have?

Makes for a sweet revving n52:
-aa tune
-3stage intake
-aa headers
-aa exhaust

And to keep this from a total thread hijack...

The trans mounts(which are roque engineering, not megan like I said earlier-my strut brace is megan) made a pretty big difference in shift feel and engine feel. In a good way!

[gunnerxq]

Originally Posted by AWDBooSTIn90

I personally wouldnt put softer bushings in the front and stiffer in the rear of the subframe. they should be the same stiffness. that being said, powerflex doesnt even list the powerflex yellows for the m3's. it is beleived that powerflex believed it wouldnt stiff enough to be worthy upgrade over stock m3-spec subframe bushings and they only offer purple and up (black-race).

i would just get purple for front AND rear for the subframe. its not a huge jump in stiffness really.

really the only thing keeping me from suggesting just going solid subframe bushings is that you have poly trailing arm bushings and im assuming spherical rod end camber arms, which will make the ride noiser than say if you had standard m3-spec stiffer than non-m rubber suspension arm bushings.

now do you already have the ecs tuning trailing arms w/ whiteline bushings & camber arms installed already? did you do them at the same time? the reason i ask is because ive been trying to find some reviews and before & afters with the new ecs tuning aluminum trailing arms versus the stock stamped steel stock trailing arms that look really flimsy honestly...

Did you install the camber arms because you're lowered enough where you needed them to get in-spec for alignment or you just wanted to upgrade with aftermarket? what brand? megan?

from what ive read the bilstein b8 shocks or koni yellows (very similar feel so i hear) are basically the best you can get argueably, without going to a coilover setup that is. And with that argument, i wouldn't go with coilovers unless i was prepared to spend at least $1500 on a set of good quality coilovers like KW V2's. Bilstein B8's with Eibach or H&R springs will outperform low end coilovers in my opinion. B8 shocks/struts are not made for stock ride height springs, for that you would go with B6 shock/struts....

I have the ecs tuning trailing arms with whitline bushings. Stock camber arms. With the rest being M3 parts. Got an alignment with -2° camber and I can tell you that it's a pretty sweet ride. It's very easy to control the back around a turn. If you want it to slide let it slide. If you want it to grip then it will grip.

I had bilstein HD with eibach pro-kit but am switching to the B8's. The front I already did which is a little stiff but it's manageable. I'm doing the rear in 2 weeks.

And I was wondering about the M3 subframe bushings from powerflex. Will they fit on a normal 3 series? Specifically a 325i e90?

[AWDBooSTIn90]

Originally Posted by gunnerxq

I have the ecs tuning trailing arms with whitline bushings. Stock camber arms. With the rest being M3 parts. Got an alignment with -2° camber and I can tell you that it's a pretty sweet ride. It's very easy to control the back around a turn. If you want it to slide let it slide. If you want it to grip then it will grip.

I had bilstein HD with eibach pro-kit but am switching to the B8's. The front I already did which is a little stiff but it's manageable. I'm doing the rear in 2 weeks.

And I was wondering about the M3 subframe bushings from powerflex. Will they fit on a normal 3 series? Specifically a 325i e90?

You went with -2* camber in the front? Also when you say basically the rear end is more controllable now. What mods would you say, made this change for the better, the most?

I have my m3 front control arms and new inner/outer tie rods waiting to go on the car, then alignment time. I can't wait!! I also might order an m3 front sway bar before the alignment... I just feel like I'm going to eventually get the m3 sway bar, i might as well have it all on, before the alignment gets done. Im having Camber Toe do the alignment for me. (Good suspension shop on Long Island, NY).

Then i have a few little things i want to do to tighten up the car in general. New shifter bushings. SS brake lines, better brake pads. Then I'm going to drop the rear subframe and do everything while its down and paint it and undercoat the body of the car directly above the subframe/diff area.

And yes. All rear subframe bushings on e90 are the same and will fit your car. You just need to decide what stiffness and style you want to go with..

[gunnerxq]

Originally Posted by AWDBooSTIn90

You went with -2* camber in the front? Also when you say basically the rear end is more controllable now. What mods would you say, made this change for the better, the most?

I have my m3 front control arms and new inner/outer tie rods waiting to go on the car, then alignment time. I can't wait!! I also might order an m3 front sway bar before the alignment... I just feel like I'm going to eventually get the m3 sway bar, i might as well have it all on, before the alignment gets done. Im having Camber Toe do the alignment for me. (Good suspension shop on Long Island, NY).

Then i have a few little things i want to do to tighten up the car in general. New shifter bushings. SS brake lines, better brake pads. Then I'm going to drop the rear subframe and do everything while its down and paint it and undercoat the body of the car directly above the subframe/diff area.

And yes. All rear subframe bushings on e90 are the same and will fit your car. You just need to decide what stiffness and style you want to go with..

No I pulled the pins myself then got an alignment done. Max was like -1.6° in the front. And -2 in the rear. Not really sure what made a difference in the rear since everything went on at once. I decided to go with the purple powerflex subframe bushings and the yellow upper rear shock mounts. The yellow seem quite a bit stiffer than the stock foam pieces. Also new bilstein B8's in the rear. Eibach pro-kit is staying.

And honestly when I did the front M parts with the bilstein B8's it is more than enough. I'm not even considering M3 sway bars anymore. I'm looking towards more power now. Maybe the supercharger.

Edit: sway bars not control arms.

[AWDBooSTIn90]

Originally Posted by gunnerxq

No I pulled the pins myself then got an alignment done. Max was like -1.6° in the front. And -2 in the rear. Not really sure what made a difference in the rear since everything went on at once. I decided to go with the purple powerflex subframe bushings and the yellow upper rear shock mounts. The yellow seem quite a bit stiffer than the stock foam pieces. Also new bilstein B8's in the rear. Eibach pro-kit is staying.

And honestly when I did the front M parts with the bilstein B8's it is more than enough. I'm not even considering M3 control arms anymore. I'm looking towards more power now. Maybe the supercharger.

Yea I'm going to pull the pins before i bring it in for the alignment... It looks like you can do it without removing the strut from the car. Its a small allen bolt, unless I'm looking at the totally wrong thing and theres a pin in-between the shock tower and the upper strut mount that you cant see when the struts installed...can u comment on that?

Also you say you did the front with M3 parts and bilstein B8 struts. And then you say, you're not planning on doing M3 control arms anytime soon.

This is a serious question. What mods do you have done in the front and what M3 parts do you have if you don't have the upper and lower M3 control arms?

Also i see you're running the eibach pro-kit springs. I plan on getting those as well. Did you first start out by putting the eibach springs on stock Sport shocks? Or did you do the Bilsteins at the same time?

I just reread what you wrote.. So you have Eibach springs all around, B8 struts up front, and stock sport shocks in the rear for now? Hows that like handling wise?

I like to do my mods sort of.. One thing at a time. That way i can feel exactly how that one part/parts has affected the car. And then i can build on that from there. Now obviously alot of people go with spring/struts at the same time bc of the labor involved. You'd basically be doing it twice. But i do know for sure that there are people running eibach springs on stock sport suspension. Im kinda curious how they handle with the stiffer and shorter spring.

My plan is eibachs and B8's at the same time. Going to buy the B12 kit since its easier and actually cheaper than buying it all separately, but im still curious about how oem parts work together with select aftermarket parts to try and come up with a good street combo.

Now saying that, i know the stock sport dampers are not the greatest and ive been in other E90's with Koni's and Bilstein's. The car rode a lot better honestly on the aftermarket dampers

[gunnerxq]

Originally Posted by AWDBooSTIn90

Yea I'm going to pull the pins before i bring it in for the alignment... It looks like you can do it without removing the strut from the car. Its a small allen bolt, unless I'm looking at the totally wrong thing and theres a pin in-between the shock tower and the upper strut mount that you cant see when the struts installed...can u comment on that?

Also you say you did the front with M3 parts and bilstein B8 struts. And then you say, you're not planning on doing M3 control arms anytime soon.

This is a serious question. What mods do you have done in the front and what M3 parts do you have if you don't have the upper and lower M3 control arms?

Also i see you're running the eibach pro-kit springs. I plan on getting those as well. Did you first start out by putting the eibach springs on stock Sport shocks? Or did you do the Bilsteins at the same time?

I just reread what you wrote.. So you have Eibach springs all around, B8 struts up front, and stock sport shocks in the rear for now? Hows that like handling wise?

I like to do my mods sort of.. One thing at a time. That way i can feel exactly how that one part/parts has affected the car. And then i can build on that from there. Now obviously alot of people go with spring/struts at the same time bc of the labor involved. You'd basically be doing it twice. But i do know for sure that there are people running eibach springs on stock sport suspension. Im kinda curious how they handle with the stiffer and shorter spring.

My plan is eibachs and B8's at the same time. Going to buy the B12 kit since its easier and actually cheaper than buying it all separately, but im still curious about how oem parts work together with select aftermarket parts to try and come up with a good street combo.

Now saying that, i know the stock sport dampers are not the greatest and ive been in other E90's with Koni's and Bilstein's. The car rode a lot better honestly on the aftermarket dampers

Ahh sorry about that I had a minor brain fart. I meant m3 sway bars not control arms.

Front
- I do have m3 control arms, upper and lower in the front.
-Meyle HD tie-rods. (Something wrong with the front right wheel, either tie-rack, tie-rods or wheel bearing, I'm having the pros sort this on out.) These have gone bad prematurely for some people.
-New oem rubber mounts for stock sway bar with HD end links.

I installed bilstein HD's front and back with eibach pro-kit kit. I bought the springs and shocks separately. Back I installed pretty well but I forgot the lower shock mount haha. The front strut mounts would bind up and knock at low speeds especially when heated up. Turned out to be improperly placed washers and over torquing. 2nd time I put them on correctly but I realized the B8's were pretty much gone. So on my third strut mounts and 2nd pair of struts (HD to B8's) I made sure I got it right. I used loctite just so it wouldn't loosen on me after awhile. 10k miles and so far so good.

-next week
-335is engine mounts are going in
-valeo clutch kit with solid flywheel (O.E. weight to reduce chatter)
-Either O.E. or m3 transmission mounts.( probably stick to O.E. for concerns over nvh)

Rear

Next week
-Still HD's Switching to B8's next week. Now I made sure to get the lower shock mount.

-purple powerflex subframe bushings and yellow upper shock mounts. Kinda excited for both. The yellows are definitely an upgrade over the flimsy foam ones.

Current rear
-eibach with obsolete HD's
-m3 upper links.
-ecs trailing arm with whiteline bushings.
-New O.E. rubner sway bar mounts with HD end links.

So the front feels perfect.
And the the rear feels good but the soft subrame bushings bother me a little. Hence the upgrade.

Sorry for the formatting, I wrote all of this on my phone.

[AWDBooSTIn90]

Originally Posted by gunnerxq

Ahh sorry about that I had a minor brain fart. I meant m3 sway bars not control arms.

Front
- I do have m3 control arms, upper and lower in the front.
-Meyle HD tie-rods. (Something wrong with the front right wheel, either tie-rack, tie-rods or wheel bearing, I'm having the pros sort this on out.) These have gone bad prematurely for some people.
-New oem rubber mounts for stock sway bar with HD end links.

I installed bilstein HD's front and back with eibach pro-kit kit. I bought the springs and shocks separately. Back I installed pretty well but I forgot the lower shock mount haha. The front strut mounts would bind up and knock at low speeds especially when heated up. Turned out to be improperly placed washers and over torquing. 2nd time I put them on correctly but I realized the B8's were pretty much gone. So on my third strut mounts and 2nd pair of struts (HD to B8's) I made sure I got it right. I used loctite just so it wouldn't loosen on me after awhile. 10k miles and so far so good.

-next week
-335is engine mounts are going in
-valeo clutch kit with solid flywheel (O.E. weight to reduce chatter)
-Either O.E. or m3 transmission mounts.( probably stick to O.E. for concerns over nvh)

Rear

Next week
-Still HD's Switching to B8's next week. Now I made sure to get the lower shock mount.

-purple powerflex subframe bushings and yellow upper shock mounts. Kinda excited for both. The yellows are definitely an upgrade over the flimsy foam ones.

Current rear
-eibach with obsolete HD's
-m3 upper links.
-ecs trailing arm with whiteline bushings.
-New O.E. rubner sway bar mounts with HD end links.

So the front feels perfect.
And the the rear feels good but the soft subrame bushings bother me a little. Hence the upgrade.

Sorry for the formatting, I wrote all of this on my phone.

I actually have 335is engine mounts and e46 m3 trans mounts. Has no more vibration than stock. Tightened up the drivetrain a lot!

What brand is the flywheel your getting? Never was able to find a regular weight single mass flywheel for sale.

I might do what you did and just replace the bushings on the stock sway bars and new end links as well. I can always upgrade if i feel i really want.

[gunnerxq]

Originally Posted by AWDBooSTIn90

I actually have 335is engine mounts and e46 m3 trans mounts. Has no more vibration than stock. Tightened up the drivetrain a lot!

What brand is the flywheel your getting? Never was able to find a regular weight single mass flywheel for sale.

I might do what you did and just replace the bushings on the stock sway bars and new end links as well. I can always upgrade if i feel i really want.

https://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E90-32...tch/ES2952233/

Still didn't install it. It's also going in next week. It's a lot cheaper than any dualmass clutch assembly.