[335dFan]

I guess this will be the final report on the JRZ RS1 dampers on my 2011 335d, unless sometime in the future I want to report on track results.

I have been riding at 12 of 24 all the way around with the JRZ RS1 settings. You can see how that was in my older post in the Suspension forum if interested.

So Saturday, with my wife in the car, I turned them all down to 6. Drove a little bit on city streets, including some brick, some usual crummy roads, but also US 50 and another smoother thoroughfare.

1. Still no wallowing at higher speeds. I got up to 80 or 85 and went over some bumps and depressions.
2. I took one of my favorite left-handers at a reasonably good clip, well, faster than everybody else. It is a bumpy turn with with some small holes that can upset your equilibrium in the turn. Anyway, I couldn't detect much in the way of increased body roll at all, and the usual bumps were not as noticeable.
3. OK, having said #1 and #2, let me say that it is smoother all around. There is less feel of every little nuance of the pavement surface, but not really in a bad way. I don't personally prefer it, but I know my wife did and your average passenger would also. I think I would set it down at 6 or so if I were driving interstates across country.
4. Doesn't seem to dive any more on hard braking, but honestly I didn't do much of that.
5. The turn-in didn't seem as crisp to me; the steering response is there, but there is not the instant response sense. Maybe it was psychological.

The next day I was alone in the car and I adjusted the dampers in the hard direction and all four corners are now set at 20.

1. Interestingly, I felt there was much less difference in going harder by 8 clicks than I had experienced above by going softer by 6 clicks.
2. It was noticeably firmer for sure, and part of that manifestation was in increase in the rattle I have in my dash already.
3. It wasn't objectionably worse over speed bumps or road imperfections. It just seemed to deal with them in a more "business-like" manner. Get it over with quickly and settle back down.
4. More stable on the highway at higher speeds, less body roll on the curves.
5. I'm guessing I would have to push it really hard, perhaps way beyond my skill level to really see the difference.
6. For me, I see no point in leaving them at 20, as the marginal improvement in handling for daily driving at least is not significant enough to need to endure the firmer ride. It was great at 12.
7. Another forum member who is interested in these dampers had said that another fellow had said his personal sweet spot was 13 in the front and 15 in the rear for daily driving, and as I remember 15 in the front and 17 in the back for the track. I'm sure the sweet spot is an individual thing based on driving habits and your local conditions, and it would certainly be true regarding track conditions also.

OK, that's all.

[FormerRotor]

DFan, every time you post, you remind me of my drive with you and make me want to spend money. Nicely written. I look forward to the eventual track comments!

[335dFan]

Rotor, thanks. Well, today I drove 25 miles or so on various road types with front at 13 and rear at 15, and I thought it felt perfect. Will be interesting to see after tomorrow when I get on the ARC-8 wheels and Michelin PSS. Look out Sebastien Vettel. Hah!

[335dFan]

Another comment on the settings for the RS1 dampers. Took a road trip from MD to Asheville NC, then to Pensacola, FL, then to Sumter, SC, and then back to MD. On long drives, whether on the interstate or state or county roads, the settings I was using for my daily driving here in MD (15r13f) proved to be a bit too harsh for all-day driving. I think when I do my next trip I will soften them up to somewhere between 6 and 10. And this is with Michelin PSS at about 38 psi all around.

[GreekboyD]

Someone was telling me that the psi setting for the rears should be different than that of the fronts. Anyone know if this is true?

[335dFan]

Originally Posted by GreekboyD

Someone was telling me that the psi setting for the rears should be different than that of the fronts. Anyone know if this is true?

The door panel on mine says 41 rear 33 front. For my HPDE the instructor suggested 36 all the way around to make it more neutral for the HPDE. It could be I should let some air out. I guess I could experiment a bit. I guess the door panel may assume RFTs, but don't know that for a fact.

[cvc 22349a]

Originally Posted by 335dFan

Rotor, thanks. Well, today I drove 25 miles or so on various road types with front at 13 and rear at 15, and I thought it felt perfect. Will be interesting to see after tomorrow when I get on the ARC-8 wheels and Michelin PSS. Look out Sebastien Vettel. Hah!

Interesting that you like the rear firmer than the front.. I know that to reduce pitch and balance handling with Koni's and KW's it's best to set the front firmer than the rear

[335dFan]

Originally Posted by cvc 22349a

Interesting that you like the rear firmer than the front.. I know that to reduce pitch and balance handling with Koni's and KW's it's best to set the front firmer than the rear

I guess that will be my next experiment.

One website gives this opinion about front and rear relationships with regard to damping:

Stiffer front damping (bump and rebound), increases grip at the rear of the car, increasing understeer characteristics.
Stiffer rear damping (bump and rebound), increases grip at the front of the car, increasing oversteer characteristics.

Damping Effect On Cornering:
Bump
Front Bump Increase= Understeer.
Front Bump Decrease= Oversteer.
Rear Bump Increase= Oversteer.
Rear Bump Decrease= Understeer.

Rebound
Front Rebound Increase= Understeer.
Front Rebound Decrease= Oversteer.
Rear Rebound Increase= Oversteer.
Rear Rebound Decrease= Understeer.

Other members may have different opinions or thoughts.

[335dFan]

CVC 22349a, on the basis of your curiousity, and a subsequent suggestion by another forum member, I have adjusted my RS1 settings to 14f10r. Will report on results later. This AM it was raining and usual AM traffic.

BTW, since I got the RS1, all of my adjustments have been via a delta from where I was told they were at the outset (12f12r). So I suppose it would be wise for me to actually the baseline the settings by going full stop to one direction or the other, and then cranking in the exact offset.