[jezzy]

I just installed my bilstein sports and eibach pro from a 335 vert 2099-140? On my 325xi wagon. Sadly I was unable to install the rears. Bolts impossible to remove! Even with my impact gun. At least fronts are in. I used I top hats with I springs and supreme lowering perches and removed the reinforcing plate. Front isn't tucked which is good. I'll let it settle and get my rears installed then align in a few weeks.

Ride? Fantastic! In some ways better than my xi suspension with 178km on them!

[Nonecure]

Originally Posted by jor2cool4u

not to bump an old thread, but I just installed Bilstein and Eibach springs on my 09 335XI and I got the reverse rake effect, the drop in the back is perfect but there is a noticable gap in the front. My thinking is that putting new tophats in the front has an effect on the height so hopefully after a while when the springs and tophats settle the gap will be less noticable. I bet if I left the old tophats in, I would get the look of AWD Addict and SaviorXi no? If anyone else has experienced this please let me know!

New tophats will make a car sit higher for many months before they settle.

[deeLow]

Originally Posted by jezzy

I just installed my bilstein sports and eibach pro from a 335 vert 2099-140? On my 325xi wagon. Sadly I was unable to install the rears. Bolts impossible to remove! Even with my impact gun. At least fronts are in. I used I top hats with I springs and supreme lowering perches and removed the reinforcing plate. Front isn't tucked which is good. I'll let it settle and get my rears installed then align in a few weeks.

Ride? Fantastic! In some ways better than my xi suspension with 178km on them!

What do you mean reinforcing plate?

[jezzy]

Above your OEM strut hat is an OEM reinforcing plate a good 1/4 thick.

[jezzy]

Well..
Here's my review of my bilstein sport and eibach pros after 3 days of driving. Mind you I only have the fronts installed at the moment. The stance is great. I'll take pictures once I wash the car. But yes..indeed much firmer. You do feel every crack in the road. A good jarring ride with bad roads here in Montreal. I've had coilovers before (white line g4's) and ground control with tokico adjustables etc.. This is indeed the firmest I've run. Perphaps next step would be Koni adjustable. We'll see. I think the drop is perfect. I wouldn't want lower. Hence coilovers are out of the question. . and I want something durable!

Can I live with it now? Hmm.. I cringe at every bad spot on the road. Not sure that's what I want at 38 years of age with 2 boys in the back. Maybe I'll just run stock shocks and lowering springs!

My car : 2006 325 xi wagon
Bilstein sports
Eibach pro for e93 2099-140 1.8" front and 0.6" rear
I top hats
I supreme lowering perches
18" staggered Fast wheels. Nothing special but doesFalcob.
Falken azenis 235 / 40 / 18 front and 265 / 35 / 18 rear
Running 50psi

[jezzy]

Top it all off.. My alignment is out of wack.. I've got a 4x4 awd disabled error now appearing. Ran codes and my right rear angle sensor is out.. Getting alignment tomorrow. Still not enjoying the ride. May go back to OEM. The crash on bad roads sucks.

[deeLow]

Originally Posted by jezzy

Top it all off.. My alignment is out of wack.. I've got a 4x4 awd disabled error now appearing. Ran codes and my right rear angle sensor is out.. Getting alignment tomorrow. Still not enjoying the ride. May go back to OEM. The crash on bad roads sucks.

Post some pics. You might be too low in the front. Also I wonder if the reinforcement plates could help. It sounds like you have no suspension travel up front.

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by jezzy

Well..
Here's my review of my bilstein sport and eibach pros after 3 days of driving. Mind you I only have the fronts installed at the moment. The stance is great. I'll take pictures once I wash the car. But yes..indeed much firmer. You do feel every crack in the road. A good jarring ride with bad roads here in Montreal. I've had coilovers before (white line g4's) and ground control with tokico adjustables etc.. This is indeed the firmest I've run. Perphaps next step would be Koni adjustable. We'll see. I think the drop is perfect. I wouldn't want lower. Hence coilovers are out of the question. . and I want something durable!

Can I live with it now? Hmm.. I cringe at every bad spot on the road. Not sure that's what I want at 38 years of age with 2 boys in the back. Maybe I'll just run stock shocks and lowering springs!

My car : 2006 325 xi wagon
Bilstein sports
Eibach pro for e93 2099-140 1.8" front and 0.6" rear
I top hats
I supreme lowering perches
18" staggered Fast wheels. Nothing special but doesFalcob.
Falken azenis 235 / 40 / 18 front and 265 / 35 / 18 rear
Running 50psi

50PSI? Is that a typo? Also just to be clear you have only front Bilsteins installed but both front and rear Eibachs? What rear shocks are you running now?

Bilsteins tend to take a little time to break in. And the SP perches on lowered XI can cause a problem, even using I tophats. Just not enough travel left up there.

I would lower the tire pressures right away, see if that helps, then remove the SP perches, install the rear shocks, get an alignment and then evaluate after everything breaks in.

[Nonecure]

Originally Posted by jezzy

Can I live with it now? Hmm.. I cringe at every bad spot on the road. Not sure that's what I want at 38 years of age with 2 boys in the back. Maybe I'll just run stock shocks and lowering springs!

I have the same problem, its the lowering perches that are causing that. I think the Eibach springs are great, but the Bilstein struts are not the best. Since the Bilstein's have built in bump stops, the lowering perches have you hitting them constantly.

I have been considering going with custom Koni's and ditching the lowering perches.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=957789

[jezzy]

Originally Posted by ajsalida

50PSI? Is that a typo? Also just to be clear you have only front Bilsteins installed but both front and rear Eibachs? What rear shocks are you running now?

Bilsteins tend to take a little time to break in. And the SP perches on lowered XI can cause a problem, even using I tophats. Just not enough travel left up there.

I would lower the tire pressures right away, see if that helps, then remove the SP perches, install the rear shocks, get an alignment and then evaluate after everything breaks in.

I believe my tires said max pressure 50. So I'm between 40-50.. I'll check once the car is back from the dealer tomorrow. Awd fail message appeared yesterday and my water pump and thermo. same day. Figures!!!!

Dealer is putting in my rear bilstein and eibach. As of now it was stock rear and upgraded front. Only for a few days.. They lent me a 2015 x1.. Like it but not my thing

[jezzy]

Originally Posted by Nonecure

I have the same problem, its the lowering perches that are causing that. I think the Eibach springs are great, but the Bilstein struts are not the best. Since the Bilstein's have built in bump stops, the lowering perches have you hitting them constantly.

I have been considering going with custom Koni's and ditching the lowering perches.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=957789

Tnx. Good to hear someone is having same issues. . I'm getting my alignment tomorrow and will give u feedback k once my car is healthy again! I may opt for koni coils kcline next time around!

[jezzy]

Originally Posted by deeLow

Post some pics. You might be too low in the front. Also I wonder if the reinforcement plates could help. It sounds like you have no suspension travel up front.

Odd.. Doesn't look too low. No tucked that's for sure! I'll post a pic tonight..

[jezzy]

Look

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by jezzy

I believe my tires said max pressure 50. So I'm between 40-50.. I'll check once the car is back from the dealer tomorrow. Awd fail message appeared yesterday and my water pump and thermo. same day. Figures!!!!

Dealer is putting in my rear bilstein and eibach. As of now it was stock rear and upgraded front. Only for a few days.. They lent me a 2015 x1.. Like it but not my thing

So you had stock springs in back just prior? That would cause a lot of problems. Stock springs are far stiffer than the eibachs, and taller, so keeping rear stock would shift a lot of the weight onto the now lower fronts.

Check tire pressures, recommended is not same as max. Should be in the 36 to 40 lb range cold, look on the door jamb sticker.

Good luck with the rest of the issues.

[jezzy]

[jezzy]

Originally Posted by ajsalida

So you had stock springs in back just prior? That would cause a lot of problems. Stock springs are far stiffer than the eibachs, and taller, so keeping rear stock would shift a lot of the weight onto the now lower fronts.

Check tire pressures, recommended is not same as max. Should be in the 36 to 40 lb range cold, look on the door jamb sticker.

Good luck with the rest of the issues.

Tnx! Very helpful. And I agree.. Thought that the front was taking the impact and weight transfer from the rear. Will report back soon!

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by jezzy

Tnx! Very helpful.

You're welcome but be advised many people find rear sits too low with the Eibachs, even though they are supposed to be model-specific. It may be if you keep the SP perches and can live with the restricted travel it looks OK.

[jezzy]

I got the e93 springs on purpose which give a 0.6" drop in the rear max as I don't want it slammed.

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by jezzy

I got the e93 springs on purpose which give a 0.6" drop in the rear max as I don't want it slammed.

Well let us know how it works out, finding the right set of eibachs to avoid the droopy rear look has been challenging to many folks, myself included. I ended up swapping in some rear ZSP springs.

[jezzy]

Will do!

[jezzy]

Just an update. Alignment really helped the ride quality.. but I agree that I'm sure it'd ride better without the supreme lowering perches.

Sadly.. i traded in my car and removed everything and parts now for sale. Look up my threads !

[only1harry]

What is the "I" tophats? I know the top hats are in the shock mount but what is I? Is that the name of the company that makes them? Are they polyurethane? If yes, then that could be 1 of the reasons your ride is harsher than it should be. If they are rubber, and better than OEM, please post the link where you got them from.

FYI, I installed polyurethane tophats in the shock mounts of my Integra and the ride got a little harsher. But then I installed the Ground Control taller shock mounts that allowed for more suspension travel in the Koni Sports, and the ride got better.

BTW, your drop (and rake) looks really good!

Harry

PS. Did you mean tophats for the springs, or for the front struts as in upper strut mount?
Tophat usually refers to the rubber that separates the springs from metal, and it could be upper or both upper and lower.