[dangeris]

Originally Posted by everlast

Just so I'm 100%, you do this and the strut assembly, spring, top hat, etc, all come out in one piece, correct? Then you can use a compressor and remove the spring?

That's right. remove 2 of the three strut nuts up top but loosen the other one with an open end wrench. then remove the nut that holds the endlink. then loosen the pinch bolt. Then use one spring compressor and compress that SOB as much as you can. remove the last strut nut on top and twist and pull the strut out of the wheel assembly.

**NOTE** the strut has two nubs that protrude out that slides in a channel on the wheel assembly. There won't be a lot of movement back and forth when you're twisting it but it will come out eventually. Just make sure you spray some PB Blaster in it to free it up.

Also when you finally remove the strut out of the wheel assembly make sure you put on the other spring compressor. You DON"T want to to remove the perch nut with the spring compressed on one side... Stuff will go flying if you do and might cause bodily injury to you or worst..the car!!!

[everlast]

Got it, makes sense. I'll be doing my suspension in 8 days. Counting down lol.

[ricgear]

I know this is kind of an oldish thread but I'm in the middle of doing my Koni Sports and Eibach Pro-kit springs on my xi and everything is going pretty well but I'm not sure how far to seat the strut in the pinch assembly. One strut went in and protruded through the pinch clamp by a good couple inches, the other seemed to be seated at around flush with the bottom of the pinch clamp. Which is right (if either)? Does anyone have a photo of their koni sport xi install that would show this? I don't want to torque up the pinch bolt until I know for sure. Thanks.

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by ricgear

I know this is kind of an oldish thread but I'm in the middle of doing my Koni Sports and Eibach Pro-kit springs on my xi and everything is going pretty well but I'm not sure how far to seat the strut in the pinch assembly. One strut went in and protruded through the pinch clamp by a good couple inches, the other seemed to be seated at around flush with the bottom of the pinch clamp. Which is right (if either)? Does anyone have a photo of their koni sport xi install that would show this? I don't want to torque up the pinch bolt until I know for sure. Thanks.

Page 3 here

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...=725621&page=3

[ricgear]

A big thanks to AJSALIDA for pm'ing me with the perfect information. In case anybody is interested, this is the thread he pointed me to and it was exactly what I was looking for. Can't believe I didn't find this thread on my own.

Start at post 47

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...=725621&page=3

[ricgear]

By the way, I finished (with the exception of putting the trunk back together) and tomorrow will take it out for a spin.

[ricgear]

I set all 4 Koni's at 180 degrees from the softest setting as ajsalida recommended and after putting the trunk back together this morning, I took my car to run some in-town errands and then found a couple nice twisty roads to check out the new suspension. I was expecting a fairly substantial difference in before and after and I have to say this set up gave me exactly what I was looking for - a big improvement over stock, It is firm yet compliant and much flatter on the curves than when the car was new. It is quite nimble for a heavy car, though not as nimble as my wife's MINI. The harder you push it, the better it feels and it delivers precision on turn in. In a nearby neighborhood, there is a through road that has a series of 8 large speed bumps designed to slow traffic to 25 mph. Ever since the car was new, it bounced over those with a scrunching suspension noise. Now it is a very controlled rebound and completely silent, firm but not overly so.

I really wasn't as interested in the visual aspect of the lowering as I was in the handling properties that come with lowering. I didn't measure before and after but I can see that it is noticeably lower but not excessive.

It took about a day to do the install but that was with many interruptions, but I thought it was a lot harder than described in the DIY's. There is a learning curve though and now after the experience, I could do it much more quickly. But I have no desire to do this so often that I become efficient at it.

I would really recommend this combination of the Koni Sport and the Eibach Pro-kit springs. I'm even thinking of trying it on my wife's MINI, but only after time erases the PITA of this install.

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by ricgear

I set all 4 Koni's at 180 degrees from the softest setting as ajsalida recommended and after putting the trunk back together this morning, I took my car to run some in-town errands and then found a couple nice twisty roads to check out the new suspension. I was expecting a fairly substantial difference in before and after and I have to say this set up gave me exactly what I was looking for - a big improvement over stock, It is firm yet compliant and much flatter on the curves than when the car was new. It is quite nimble for a heavy car, though not as nimble as my wife's MINI. The harder you push it, the better it feels and it delivers precision on turn in. In a nearby neighborhood, there is a through road that has a series of 8 large speed bumps designed to slow traffic to 25 mph. Ever since the car was new, it bounced over those with a scrunching suspension noise. Now it is a very controlled rebound and completely silent, firm but not overly so.

I really wasn't as interested in the visual aspect of the lowering as I was in the handling properties that come with lowering. I didn't measure before and after but I can see that it is noticeably lower but not excessive.

It took about a day to do the install but that was with many interruptions, but I thought it was a lot harder than described in the DIY's. There is a learning curve though and now after the experience, I could do it much more quickly. But I have no desire to do this so often that I become efficient at it.

I would really recommend this combination of the Koni Sport and the Eibach Pro-kit springs. I'm even thinking of trying it on my wife's MINI, but only after time erases the PITA of this install.

Cool thanks for the review. Yeah the thing that blew me away was having a lot less suspension travel, plus firmer, but less bottoming and better overall ride. Just a measure I guess of how many compromises went into the stock suspension. Or how far BMW has gotten from placing handling first.

This susp felt better than I remember the non-xi e92 335i sport susp, which I drove several examples of before I bought an Xi. Gotta wonder how good this would be on the non Xi car.

[youngdour32]

2008 335xi sedan
Hey guys. Just had my front rotors replaced and inspection had weird noise coming from front end, got it back from the mechanic he said it's the front right strut, it's leaking and needs to be replaced, said to replace you have to do both front left and right (I'm not good with cars), wondering what my options are, as far as parts go, he said could be like 8-850$ 3-350 of that being labor idk if that's a good price. But if it's not much more money am I better off putting better springs and stuff on? Love to drive fast and hard but cost is also a factor, sorry for the kinda confusing question, any replies much appreciated

[pits200]

Front suspension is cake but you need the rights rools. You loosen pinch bolt, loosen 2 18mm bolts on thrust arm and control arm, remove 3 strut tower bolts and compress the spring. I can remove each side in about 20 minutes.

800 seems ridiculously high. If you want to go stock buy the b4s or kyb for a few hundred.

Edit.. i forgot, im an xi too, not sure if the options i recommended have an xi version.

[jwebb335xi]

Originally Posted by youngdour32

2008 335xi sedan
Hey guys. Just had my front rotors replaced and inspection had weird noise coming from front end, got it back from the mechanic he said it's the front right strut, it's leaking and needs to be replaced, said to replace you have to do both front left and right (I'm not good with cars), wondering what my options are, as far as parts go, he said could be like 8-850$ 3-350 of that being labor idk if that's a good price. But if it's not much more money am I better off putting better springs and stuff on? Love to drive fast and hard but cost is also a factor, sorry for the kinda confusing question, any replies much appreciated

I just DIY'd this work on my 08 335xi. I did not replace the springs. As others mentioned, unless they're broken, they'll probably be good for a few more years.

I used Bilstein HDs with new stock strut mounts and gaskets up front. Bilstein HDs in the rear with new lower (stock) mounts and Dinan upper mounts. My cost was about $900 (hardware delivered to my door), but then I also had an alignment done for another $75. Total cost roughly $1K.

It seems that either Koni or Bilstein are on sale at any one point in time, and after doing my install I saw Koni on sale for 40% off. Had that been available when I ordered I would have purchased them instead simply to save a few bucks. Both brands seem well regarded. I've had both and prefer the Bilstein feel for street driving, but my Koni's were also coupled with HR lowering springs, which are pretty stiff by comparison. Those were great on my e36 for auto-x, but not so great on streets in and around Chicago (again, my preference).

For what it's worth, I view the Bilsteins as firmer than stock. You can feel the small stuff a bit more (call it "communication" to the driver, or more bumpy) and the big stuff a lot less. My car is much more compose when driving over really crapy streets, railroad tracks, etc. and it is much flatter in corners than with blown stock struts and shocks. The noises in my front end are GONE and I should have done this 20K miles ago..

[PrematureApex]

Originally Posted by jwebb335xi

I just DIY'd this work on my 08 335xi. I did not replace the springs. As others mentioned, unless they're broken, they'll probably be good for a few more years.

I used Bilstein HDs with new stock strut mounts and gaskets up front. Bilstein HDs in the rear with new lower (stock) mounts and Dinan upper mounts. My cost was about $900 (hardware delivered to my door), but then I also had an alignment done for another $75. Total cost roughly $1K.

It seems that either Koni or Bilstein are on sale at any one point in time, and after doing my install I saw Koni on sale for 40% off. Had that been available when I ordered I would have purchased them instead simply to save a few bucks. Both brands seem well regarded. I've had both and prefer the Bilstein feel for street driving, but my Koni's were also coupled with HR lowering springs, which are pretty stiff by comparison. Those were great on my e36 for auto-x, but not so great on streets in and around Chicago (again, my preference).

For what it's worth, I view the Bilsteins as firmer than stock. You can feel the small stuff a bit more (call it "communication" to the driver, or more bumpy) and the big stuff a lot less. My car is much more compose when driving over really crapy streets, railroad tracks, etc. and it is much flatter in corners than with blown stock struts and shocks. The noises in my front end are GONE and I should have done this 20K miles ago..

Awesome and glad you like the Billies. Lots of road feel, but you can hit anything and the car feels like a tank. Enjoy!

[miker2013]

Originally Posted by jwebb335xi

I just DIY'd this work on my 08 335xi. I did not replace the springs. As others mentioned, unless they're broken, they'll probably be good for a few more years.

I used Bilstein HDs with new stock strut mounts and gaskets up front. Bilstein HDs in the rear with new lower (stock) mounts and Dinan upper mounts. My cost was about $900 (hardware delivered to my door), but then I also had an alignment done for another $75. Total cost roughly $1K.

It seems that either Koni or Bilstein are on sale at any one point in time, and after doing my install I saw Koni on sale for 40% off. Had that been available when I ordered I would have purchased them instead simply to save a few bucks. Both brands seem well regarded. I've had both and prefer the Bilstein feel for street driving, but my Koni's were also coupled with HR lowering springs, which are pretty stiff by comparison. Those were great on my e36 for auto-x, but not so great on streets in and around Chicago (again, my preference).

For what it's worth, I view the Bilsteins as firmer than stock. You can feel the small stuff a bit more (call it "communication" to the driver, or more bumpy) and the big stuff a lot less. My car is much more compose when driving over really crapy streets, railroad tracks, etc. and it is much flatter in corners than with blown stock struts and shocks. The noises in my front end are GONE and I should have done this 20K miles ago..

assume that your stock suspension was not blown, do u see the hd's as having less floaty feeling as well? what about body roll and lean? versus stock

[jwebb335xi]

Originally Posted by miker2013

assume that your stock suspension was not blown, do u see the hd's as having less floaty feeling as well? what about body roll and lean? versus stock

Good observation and question miker2013. I've got more "road feel" compared to stock, which is fine with me;and, the car is substantially less likely to get tossed around on the bad stuff. So, as to straight line driving over bumps, it's just plain better.

I've also noticed - to your question - that the car leans less in turns and it's a bit easier to put onto an arc when turning. It used to feel like it took the suspension a good portion of a turn to consistently compress and stay planted when turning (whether newer low mile stock or old worn out stock struts). Now, those actions happen quickly and smoothly (not wobbly). As to total "lean" or "body roll," it feels like there's less - almost as though my springs are a bit stiffer than original or like the HDs are adding to spring rates jus a hair. I feel that in turns and when stopping or accelerating. All that said, this is not a track or auto cross car, so I won't get a good before and after measure when the car is really being pushed hard. I have, however, hit a few of my favorite turns rather aggressively (still on snow tires) and I can feel a pretty big change!

Overall, I'm happy with the purchase and install (though I absolutely HATE spring compressors). I wouldn't be surprised if my opinions were similar had I used Koni Sports.

[Maniac0908]

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