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What suspension upgrades should I do first
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03-15-2018, 12:32 AM | #1 |
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What suspension upgrades should I do first
I finally feel that my car is powerful enough, and I want to work on the handling aspect of my e92 335is. I currently have stock suspension, and I dislike the way it handles. Car feels "floaty" and feels like it's catching air around corners and on the freeway if I hit a dip "over 100 mph".
The other day I went for a ride in a s2000 and miata in the canyons and was shocked about how much speed they carry through the corners and how nimble the car feels.I want my car to handle better and I'm not sure which route to go with f. Some things I have written down is Coilovers "not sure what brand yet", Control arms (either m3 or monoball), and Solid subframe bushings. I do quite a lot of canyon driving, and a little bit of drag racing. And I havent started yet, however I would like to start going to track days, to learn my car and improve as a driver. Could you guys give me any advice, thoughts,opinions, brands, and order of which I should conduct suspension mods? Thanks!
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03-15-2018, 11:21 AM | #2 |
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i have an 08 sedan so take it for what it's worth... first thing I did was M3 front control arms, made a huge difference. Steerling felt (a good kind of) heavy. Did this around 70k miles. Then at 90k, I replaced the shock struts with Bilstein B4s. I have the m-sport suspension so it's already low enough. I also replaced all of the strut/shock mounts and hardware at the same time. The car feels perfectly planted (at speed) but not roughly so. I had an e46 on H&R springs and it was a PITA to drive but handled great. I live in pittsburgh so I have to balance performance and potholes.
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03-15-2018, 11:36 AM | #3 | |
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03-15-2018, 04:37 PM | #5 |
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If you are in the canyons and want your car to feel more agile and stable, you need Koni Yellows or Bilstein B8s.
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03-16-2018, 03:32 PM | #7 | |
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M3 control arms - front New surrounding hardware (strut bearings, upper/ upper & upper/ lower shock mounts, lower shock mounts) etc. New tie rods M3 subframe bushings M3 differential bushings New sway bar bushings New swaybar links You could do more depending on how many miles are on your car, but that's for starters. |
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03-16-2018, 03:39 PM | #8 | |
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Going to be hard to feel like an S2k or a Miata, those are light weight cars with great suspension geometry and made to handle! So would you rather go coilovers? Or Spring Shocks Combos? Do you have a budget? |
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03-19-2018, 10:52 AM | #9 |
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ST XTA coilovers are the best mod I’ve done to my 335i hands down. Finally handles decently. A couple low budget items I think were well worth the money and effort are stiffer rear shock mounts ($10) and rear subframe inserts ($50), and rear toe arms. Got rid of the dog walk thing that these cars get from loading up the rear on launches or trail braking. If you’re willing to pull the whole subframe and go full solid mounts, even better. Tires also play a large role, both the compound and size. I run 255 front 285 rear, both an inch taller total than stock, and I’m essentially only lowered 1/4 all around from sport suspension rideheight, with under a finger width of wheel gap (if you care about being low). This ride height and tire size corners, launches, and brakes significantly better than other setups I’ve tried. But seriously, I had all these mods on Eibach springs and b4 struts, and it still did not handle well, coilovers totally transformed the car, and the ride is BETTER than oem, minus rapid undulations, where the stiffer spring rate hurts it a bit
Last edited by YoungBlood; 03-19-2018 at 10:59 AM.. |
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05-18-2018, 12:33 PM | #10 | |
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05-19-2018, 02:43 PM | #11 | |
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05-19-2018, 11:05 PM | #12 | ||
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05-21-2018, 06:47 PM | #14 |
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Aren't all of the Bilstein products on a major back order? With no real ETA?
Besides that, the E9x will never feel like an S2k or Miata. Not unless it goes on one serious, race prepped, diet. |
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05-29-2018, 12:14 AM | #15 |
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06-04-2018, 10:17 PM | #17 |
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If it were me, my first upgrade would be a nice spring/shock combo. That's going to make a more significant difference than will front control arms, etc. unless your discontent with its handling is coming from a specific area. Then after the biggest change has been made, start looking into the other bits if you find them necessary still. I did like the M3 control arms and noticed a fairly noticeable improvement over stock control arms but it wasn't so night-and-day that I could never go back. Good luck!
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06-22-2018, 12:34 AM | #19 |
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06-25-2018, 08:20 AM | #20 | |
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Keep in mind the e90 M3 posted legendary times on Nuremburg with those same rubber bushings. True, it has 400 plus HP and an LSD. If the OP intends to track the car a little more than 10% of the time and can deal with the harsher ride while driving it to work and running errands etc., then poly and other harder type bushings would be appropriate. This is how is was explained to me by both the folks at ECS tuning & FCP Euro prior to me changing up my suspension. Different companies same Advise. Sure they would make more money by selling me poly bushings for example, but they didn't do that. They informed me. At any rate, that advice worked for me... Take it for what it's worth..... |
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06-26-2018, 08:27 PM | #21 | |
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06-26-2018, 08:40 PM | #22 | |
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I would agree with the above some m3 parts are not huge upgrades. Like the subframe bushings or diff for example. |
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