[thegrinchboy]

Originally Posted by steve1980

Yes looking forward to a review as well would be much appreciated. Now onto my next two questions. First is there anything I can purchase besides springs that can help reduce the body roll as well as the bouncing up and down? And how do I post pics here? Thanks..

1. Suspension: What previous poster noted above, along with various components to tighten up the suspension ranging from bushings, dampers, coilovers, etc. depending on your personal requirement and budget.

2. Posting Pic: When posting/replying, scroll down to [Manage Attachments]

[krazysk8er]

Originally Posted by thegrinchboy

I really liked the Eibachs, but they were too low for me since I drive north to ski country regularly during ski season. Therefore I just swap out to OEM sport springs. This gave me back about 1" of clearance from ground, but the ride seems bouncier and not as planted. I will do a little writeup later on.

yah, please do, I too drive to ski trips a lot in winter, and safe ground clearance is definitely needed. what was your experience like driving on snow with eibach pro springs drop? about the bouncing feeling, i just had the 2013 F30 328xi as a loaner through the weekend, and it is definitely bouncier than my 2010 E90, and I really hate it.

need to look for a nice drop, but yet be practical for winter season.

[ajsalida]

Not understanding the whole winter ski concern here. The eibachs drop the car approx 1.5". If that amount of drop is of concern you probably should not be driving it at stock height in winter. Look around at the Audi RS4's and so forth they are not much higher. Car is fine for plowed hard pack. Some types of snow/ice mix fill up the wheel wells a bit faster, but that happens at stock height too.

I drive my car up to the ski area all the time, except in massive dumps where no car should be driving, or I think a lot of fresh unplowed snow will be around. Then I take my Tacoma. I am more concerned about douchebags dinging it with their skis/boards than ground clearance.

FWIW my house gets 20 ft/yr, local ski area 40 ft. of snow on average. I cannot get out of my driveway until the roads are plowed, which is often. Car has Koni/eibach and conti DWS's on year-round. Have the same set up on e36 m3 which I also drive during winter on hard pack plowed roads, no issues even lowered and RWD. Do not take it up to the ski area very often but a few times on sunny days sure.

edit: mostly I run up solo or one other person + gear, so the car is not loaded much. Also running 12/15mm spacers F/R now which I may need to take off for winter, as I notice some slight rubbing rears on certain big bumps, which I imagine would be worse with snow packed in there. Very infrequent.

[thegrinchboy]

Originally Posted by ajsalida

Not understanding the whole winter ski concern here. The eibachs drop the car approx 1.5". If that amount of drop is of concern you probably should not be driving it at stock height in winter. Look around at the Audi RS4's and so forth they are not much higher. Car is fine for plowed hard pack. Some types of snow/ice mix fill up the wheel wells a bit faster, but that happens at stock height too.

I drive my car up to the ski area all the time, except in massive dumps where no car should be driving, or I think a lot of fresh unplowed snow will be around. Then I take my Tacoma. I am more concerned about douchebags dinging it with their skis/boards than ground clearance.

FWIW my house gets 20 ft/yr, local ski area 40 ft. of snow on average. I cannot get out of my driveway until the roads are plowed, which is often. Car has Koni/eibach and conti DWS's on year-round. Have the same set up on e36 m3 which I also drive during winter on hard pack plowed roads, no issues even lowered and RWD. Do not take it up to the ski area very often but a few times on sunny days sure.

edit: mostly I run up solo or one other person + gear, so the car is not loaded much. Also running 12/15mm spacers F/R now which I may need to take off for winter, as I notice some slight rubbing rears on certain big bumps, which I imagine would be worse with snow packed in there. Very infrequent.

On my E90 it turned out to be about 2"~2-1/8" overall. Anyhow, beyond the undercarriage clearance, there is also the space between the tire and wheelwell as you noted above. Just trying to get this right now verses later.

BTW, the D6/D5 F/R + Koni Yellows combo is working out fairly well thus far. Not as squat as Eibach, but close and allows me to dial down the Koni without feeling as harsh. I will write something up after about 1K miles.

[thegrinchboy]

Originally Posted by krazysk8er

yah, please do, I too drive to ski trips a lot in winter, and safe ground clearance is definitely needed. what was your experience like driving on snow with eibach pro springs drop? about the bouncing feeling, i just had the 2013 F30 328xi as a loaner through the weekend, and it is definitely bouncier than my 2010 E90, and I really hate it.

need to look for a nice drop, but yet be practical for winter season.

I didn't ever drive in snow with the Eibach. These were installed in May and removed at the end of June. After they (the springs) finally settled, I had about 2" drop on my E90, which was borderline too low for me with the winter consideration in NE. Didn't help the fact that I scraped on some speed bumps without any passengers or load in the car...

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by thegrinchboy

BTW, the D6/D5 F/R + Koni Yellows combo is working out fairly well thus far. Not as squat as Eibach, but close and allows me to dial down the Koni without feeling as harsh. I will write something up after about 1K miles.

Some pics would be great when you get a chance.

[v1nc86]

I just received the Eibach Pro Kit "i" springs from thegrinchboy. I've also bought the Bilstein Sport shocks and bump stops. I will post pics once installed

Here are all the part numbers:

- Eibach Pro Kit "i" springs: 2092.140
- Bilstein Sport shocks: Front Left: 35-142478, Front Right: 35-142485, Rears (same): 24-120425
- Bump stops: front E36 M3: 3133 2225 377, rear E86 Z4M: 3353 6770 350

[thegrinchboy]

Originally Posted by v1nc86

I just received the Eibach Pro Kit "i" springs from thegrinchboy. I've also bought the Bilstein Sport shocks and bump stops. I will post pics once installed

Here are all the part numbers:

- Eibach Pro Kit "i" springs: 2092.140
- Bilstein Sport shocks: Front Left: 35-142478, Front Right: 35-142485, Rears (same): 24-120425
- Bump stops: front E36 M3: 3133 2225 377, rear E86 Z4M: 3353 6770 350

Glad to hear that they arrived. Post pics

[thegrinchboy]

Originally Posted by ajsalida

Some pics would be great when you get a chance.

Here are a couple of quick pics.

The first being Eibach Pro.The second is ZSP D6/D5 (F/R)

Difficult to tell from the pictures, but as measured, the overall difference is about 1" clearance/height gained from Eibach Pro to ZSP.

[ajsalida]

That looks pretty good. 1" I don't see but I see some. No rake either. Hope it cures the scraping and so forth. Is this good to go for winter for you now you think?

[thegrinchboy]

Originally Posted by ajsalida

That looks pretty good. 1" I don't see but I see some. No rake either. Hope it cures the scraping and so forth. Is this good to go for winter for you now you think?

The 1" was measured from jack points to ground. This clearance should work must better. Will test out on speedbumps and my neighbor's driveway

As previously noted, what I was pleasantly surprised by, thus far, is the fact, that the although not as squat as compared to Koni/Eibach combo, the ride (Koni/ZSP combo) seems better even with the Koni tightened up more than before, e.g. front turned to 1.5 instead of 1.25 from full soft

BTW. I will be sending back the blown Koni rear for diagnosis this week.

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by thegrinchboy

The 1" was measured from jack points to ground. This clearance should work must better. Will test out on speedbumps and my neighbor's driveway

As previously noted, what I was pleasantly surprised by thus far is the fact, that the although not as squat as compared to Koni/Eibach combo, the ride (Koni/ZSP combo) seems better even with the Koni tightened up more than before, e.g. front turned to 1.5 instead of 1.25 from full soft

BTW. I will be sending back the blown Koni rear for diagnosis this week.

Sounds good!

Couple of things. Shocks have oil with a given viscosity. When it is very cold it is thicker as you would expect. So more damping at a given setting. Super cold in winter + shocks full stiff = unpleasant. Not to mention bushings tires etc are all harder. Summer with hot temps, thinner oil, softer rubber softer susp for same setting.

Other thing is it possible that installer broke the shock? Guts of these things are fragile, you crank all the way firm or soft and turn a little too much they will break. Looking forward to the post mortem.

[krazysk8er]

thegrinchboy i like the drop better in the 2nd pic, and nice m193 rims. definitely wanna hear your feedbacks when you fix your blown koni.

what you guys think about replacing with ZSP springs with stock xi shocks? too bouncy? also will 335xi coupe sports springs give 328xi a drop too?

[krazysk8er]

ajsalida, nice detailed reviews on your experience as well, thats what i m looking for, not just yes and no answer lol.

so you pretty much no problem driving up to the resorts with the koni/eibach combo you saying? I live in NYC, so most likely the snow would be plowed over night, the only thing i m worried is when fresh snow cover up the roads when I drive up to Vermont. I do remember the snow gets pretty heavy couple of times out all these years. almost got my C300 4matic in an accident due to slippery roads , even with fresh tires on (all season). It won't be too low if load up with people and luggage with eibach spring drop?

Just got my car back from the dealer today, and again i feel i m sitting pretty high in my e90 xi, i guess a decent drop will really help.

[thegrinchboy]

Originally Posted by krazysk8er

thegrinchboy i like the drop better in the 2nd pic, and nice m193 rims. definitely wanna hear your feedbacks when you fix your blown koni.

what you guys think about replacing with ZSP springs with stock xi shocks? too bouncy? also will 335xi coupe sports springs give 328xi a drop too?

Thanks. The 193M was part of the MSport package. I am considering swapping them out and going square instead. Anyhow, the advanced replacement was quick but Koni sent me a shock from 2010 lot build (judging from the label). Got to wonder if that was a rebuilt shock...

I would advise against swapping just the spring as the overall damper travel would be too great in comparison to the shorten springs, and you would be more susceptible to hitting the bumpstops on large bumps or road unevenness, e.g. the dreaded explosion.

Unfortunately, there is no actual OEM 335xi coupe "sport" springs. All xDrive uses the same suspension components as non-sport RWD vehicles. To swap to ZSP springs, you can match the D# (sport) with the C# (xDrive/non-sport) as a direct replacement, as some people have suggested, or full on research... You need to figure what options and transmission was part of the donor car configuration and how it compares to yours. Right off the bat, I would say that 335 springs are probably too stiff for the 328 as there is a weigh difference, therefore you may not see a drop, especially in the front.

[ajsalida]

Pretty much agree with Grinchboy's comments. One thing to add is the Eibachs are a different part # for the 335i than the 328i. So no one really knows what the drop would be either on the Eibachs vs on the corresponding i sport springs for a 328xi. I think GB has done a real service here unearthing the right combo of i springs for his car that do not bring the rake back but give about 1/2 the drop of the eibachs. Key as he says is do the research on your car's i version and pick the OEM ZSP spring codes for that.

I generally advise against swapping only springs onto stock shocks. Though eibachs rear at least are same rate as stock supposedly. Mainly stock shocks suck, and wear out fast regardless, and it is so labor/cost intensive to swap them might as well get some quality pieces in there same time. If you have the tools and experience and low miles on your shocks def try the stock ZSP on your shocks. I do not think you'd need to trim bump stops on ZSP but I could be wrong. You MUST trim/replace bumps with the eibachs.

As for dropping too much that is a matter of taste. Others have complained that eibachs drop xi too much for fully loaded (4+ people) and gear. Since I have never loaded my coupe that much I don't know. As for ground clearance unloaded, since I live 25 miles from the ski area, I can decide which car to take based on conditions and not get into trouble. If you are going on a trip from NYC up to NH or VT, maybe you ought to err on the side of caution. Pretty easy to get high sided way off somewhere unfamiliar in a blizzard. Me I would just call my neighbors, friends, or take the Tacoma in the first place.

edit: one other thing, I have a e92, e90 LCI vs non-LCI there are some differences.

edit2: grinch, what about the tucked looked you were concerned about? Time for some spacers or is that not an issue?

[v1nc86]

Originally Posted by ajsalida

edit: one other thing, I have a e92, e90 LCI vs non-LCI there are some differences.

Could you tell me what are the E90 LCI vs non-LCI differences you are talking about? I mean, a combo Bilstein Sport/Eibach (or Koni/Eibach) will be different on E90 LCI va non-LCI...? (Same shocks/springs combo on both cars)

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by v1nc86

Could you tell me what are the E90 LCI vs non-LCI differences you are talking about? I mean, a combo Bilstein Sport/Eibach (or Koni/Eibach) will be different on E90 LCI va non-LCI...? (Same shocks/springs combo on both cars)

Rear track width. Mainly affects lowered cars and clearances with rear tires using wheels from pre-LCI cars. Suspensions are not different as far as I know. Read more here:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...&highlight=LCI

edit: the reason this is an issue is with the eibachs rear wheels tend to look too tucked in. I went with spacers to make the wheels look more flush with fenders, 12/15mm F/R. That may be too aggressive and cause rubbing with LCI cars I do not know. Over very big floaty bumps while loaded up once I noticed slight rubbing couple of times in the rear. Has implications for winter when snow is filling up the fender wells.

[v1nc86]

Ok thanks

[thegrinchboy]

Originally Posted by ajsalida

edit2: grinch, what about the tucked looked you were concerned about? Time for some spacers or is that not an issue?

I was less concerned about the tucked look, but more about the actual clearance. The change from Eibach to ZSP was targeting overall practicality/usability as opposed to appearance. Having said that, I may try out spacers, once I go square

[lingnoi]

I have an E92 335xi here with front springs marked "13" without any letter such as C.

How do I convert this spring to an M-i-spring starting with D?

Thanks.

Regards,
L

[thegrinchboy]

Originally Posted by lingnoi

I have an E92 335xi here with front springs marked "13" without any letter such as C.

How do I convert this spring to an M-i-spring starting with D?

Thanks.

Regards,
L

On the 335 xDrive i3 is the front. The rear will have a C marking. You need to do some research to figure out what works for you by referencing the RWD equivalent to your car eg year, model, transmission, options, etc. From there you then decide to move up or down on stiffnees for drop.