[RagingKileak]

Originally Posted by E92Fan

If you hate waiting for things, then get the PBMW kit and be prepared to be very pissed off with it. I do have an opinion on it as I have driven both a 1er and 3er with the kit installed... I'll just say that it works much better on the 1er than the 3er, and is not all that much cop in the UK as again the suspension is really designed for the smoother tarmac in Europe.

Put it another way - I think you're better off staying with the regular MSport suspension than going and wasting your money on the PBMW.

Well, why didn't you just say!!!!!!




Matt

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by RagingKileak

Well, why didn't you just say!!!!!!




Matt

'cos I have before ??

[Ant Man]

Originally Posted by E92Fan

Ahem... you might well be right there, but it isn't Bilstein exactly who's developing or releasing the kits
















There aren't too many details as yet, but the following can be known...

1) Who's responsible? Um.....

2) The new kit is being developed privately by us, with consultation from one of the world's preeminent suspension gurus, specifically for the UK market, and the project will be using the services of Bilstein and Eibach to manufacture customised dampers and springs for E9x and E8x applications.

3) There will most likely be two suspension kits - one a fixed-rate damper/spring combination, and the other an adjustable coilover-style setup

4) Why a UK-specific suspension setup, and why only now when the E9x is almost 5 years old?

The answer is fairly simple - whilst Bilstein, Koni, KW et al make 'decent' suspension systems for our cars, they are all tested and setup in Germany. The roads in Europe are far far different to those over here in the UK - not only are the roads in Europe smoother, the type of tarmac is vastly different and there is much less use of concrete roads unlike here in the UK. Further more, the roads in the UK are predominantly rut-filled, off-cambered, pothole-ridden monstrosities fit for horses and not much more. Having a suspension system setup for European roads, even one tested on the Nurburgring, is not as suitable for UK roads.

Hence why we have been wanting for the last ten months to develop a totally bespoke suspension setup, with dampers that have the qualities needed to soothe the ride on the poor roads here, whilst delivering the body control and response required in high-performance driving on road or track. The systems being developed are road-biased as that is where the majority of cars are used. The PSS10 EDC system that I have on my car was a good system on which to judge the relative effectiveness of a respected German coilover setup on our domestic roads. Similarly the existing fixed-rate Hartge/Bilstein system on the Birds demo car gave another reference point from which to start our development.

Now that the E9x and E8x are five years into their life cycle and perhaps out of warranty, owners can look towards aftermarket products to replace and enhance their cars without fear of BMW attempting to void certain parts of warranty. Also as cars start getting close to 100,000 miles the OEM dampers will be coming to the end of their useful life, and a new lease of life in the running gear will be required.

5) When will the kits be available? Don't know - end of October perhaps? All depends on how everything goes.... Cost? No idea yet either... don't know if it's even commercially viable... depends on how much the development will cost!! (And Mike/Doughboy - cheap ??!! You pay the development costs then....!!!! )
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6) Why can't I say more? Because I'm selfish and secretive and... it's because it's not official official yet, just unofficial official... maybe...

I'd love to see some more details on this? All the spring rates for various makes are on the US section apart from H&R (which I now have) and I'd be very interested to know the ratings for these new springs.

If Birds are going to sell these, they will for sure be very expensive

[RagingKileak]

Originally Posted by E92Fan

'cos I have before ??

You never!!!!

Matt

[doughboy]

I'm looking into one of the Bilstein kits too...

The B14 looks good as I would prefer to have variable ride height available (to set at minimum drop, not too low).

The B12 drops the front by a fixed 40mm which seems a lot to me.

B14 can be set at 30mm drop all round as a minimum (30mm from standard, so 15mm from M sport I reckon?)

I also think the B14 is available with PSS manual damping adjustment.... not too clear from their website however...

[Yahoo]

I thought the B14 coilover system is just ride height adjustable. PSS9 and PSS10 is where the rebound (PSS9/10) and compression (PSS10) adustment is available.

[doughboy]

Yeah, I think you're right after looking into it.

I've seen B14PSS kits and B16PSS9/10 kits also, don't know what that means..

Even on the bilstein website its not clear. Do you choose a B16PSS9 or a B16PSS10 or is the single kit called B16PSS9/10??

confused.

[Yahoo]

I have only got as far as determining that PSS9 has 9 rebound/compression settings and PSS10 has 10 settings. Many sites list them as the same product - a bit ambigious imo. I think they are different products - PSS9 is rebound adjustable and PSS10 is rebound and compression. Also PSS10 is the one that can be mated with ride control - I think.

There was a PSS10 ride control system available from www.shox.com earlier in the week for £1275 delivered - but I bottled it due to import duties etc.

[E92Fan]

The basic Bilstein coilover kit is the B14 - it is height adjustable only, with a 20mm adjustable range. It's standard lowering is 30mm below stock, and can lower up to 50mm lower.

The next step is the B16 adjustable coilover. There are two variants of the B16 - the PSS9 and the PSS10. The PSS9 is the older version of the B16, and is still in production for some cars. Other newer applications are using the PSS10. The difference is that the PSS10 is 10-way adjustable for rebound and compression, whilst the PSS9 is only nine-way adjustable. The finish of the PSS10 is also longer lasting in terms of durability (it uses the triple-C coating system that Bilstein developed).

For the BMW, the PSS10 is the latest B16 system available. Unlike other coilover systems (like KW) the PSS10 adjusts rebound and compression together to preset damping curves (10 settings). KWs and others allow you to adjust rebound and compression independently of each other - whilst this is advantageous for more intricate setups, there are very few people who really know how to setup the suspension correctly as there are so many permutations. Bilstein make it easier to find an acceptable setup.

The most advanced Bilstein coilover setup is the B16 Ride Control, which is a two-stage electronic damper control using PSS10 dampers.

[cdgatti]

Resurrecting this old thread... Did anything ever come about with this suspension for UK roads???

[phil200tdi]

Its the Birds B3-3.5 Sport Suspension kit.

http://www.birdsauto.com/sites/www.birdsauto.com/files/pdfs/E9231928335.pdf

[Suntzu]

Did this uk spec B12 system ever eventuate??

Edit: my bad i see it is the birds!