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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > All-Wheel-Drive (Xi / xDrive) Talk > Best Suspension for Daily Driver 335xi (E90)



View Poll Results: What suspension should I install?
Eibach Pro Springs with Koni Yellow's 95 31.46%
KW V1 134 44.37%
TC Kline Coilovers 34 11.26%
KW V3 39 12.91%
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      09-25-2012, 10:07 AM   #89
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I wanted to follow up now that I have been running the Eibach Pro/ Bilstein XI set up for almost a year now.

I have to say they are a vast improvement over stock, but that being said, I am still not satisfied. The drop, the handling are both great, but what I can't stand are the big drops. Any uneven road and my teeth are cracking. I Just don't have the appetite for this anymore. I don't track the car, but I do want a car that handles well. I just don't want to feel like my wheels are going to crack in half when I hit a small bump in the road. Why can't I buy shocks that will actually handle a bump, every freaking BMW I have ever ridden in including an M3 could do it, so why is this set up so freaking hard?.

Ok why the sudden change in heart... First the roads are getting worse. The economy sucks and roads are just not getting repaired anymore and second. My wife is starting to drive my car more often and she hates it.

There has to be a better set up then this...

Last edited by HellsBells; 09-25-2012 at 10:09 AM.. Reason: Can't spell
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      09-26-2012, 08:28 AM   #90
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^ What size wheels / tires are you running, and are they runflat?

Easiset solution is to dial down the wheel diameter, and get more rubber sidewall between you and the road. The difference between my summers and winters (19" / 18") is incredibly dramatic on the really bad dips & potholes.

18" or even 17" would be much more appropriate for the wife. She's not going to care about the better sidewall performance, or even recognize it.
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      09-26-2012, 12:09 PM   #91
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I prefer to get Koni and Eibach, the ride is awesome...Love them every minute I drive!
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      09-26-2012, 12:22 PM   #92
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HellsBells View Post
I wanted to follow up now that I have been running the Eibach Pro/ Bilstein XI set up for almost a year now.

I have to say they are a vast improvement over stock, but that being said, I am still not satisfied. The drop, the handling are both great, but what I can't stand are the big drops. Any uneven road and my teeth are cracking. I Just don't have the appetite for this anymore. I don't track the car, but I do want a car that handles well. I just don't want to feel like my wheels are going to crack in half when I hit a small bump in the road. Why can't I buy shocks that will actually handle a bump, every freaking BMW I have ever ridden in including an M3 could do it, so why is this set up so freaking hard?.

Ok why the sudden change in heart... First the roads are getting worse. The economy sucks and roads are just not getting repaired anymore and second. My wife is starting to drive my car more often and she hates it.

There has to be a better set up then this...
How far are you willing to go to find the perfect shock? You would end up spending more money trying out different combos till you find one you like.

I have Koni Yellows and one of the biggest advantages they have is that the rebound is fully adjustable. These might help with the jumping issue. Word is they are less harsh than the Blisteins.
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      09-26-2012, 07:52 PM   #93
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AWD Addict View Post
^ What size wheels / tires are you running, and are they runflat?

Easiset solution is to dial down the wheel diameter, and get more rubber sidewall between you and the road. The difference between my summers and winters (19" / 18") is incredibly dramatic on the really bad dips & potholes.

18" or even 17" would be much more appropriate for the wife. She's not going to care about the better sidewall performance, or even recognize it.
I'm running 18" staggered setup. I most likely will go back to 17" and go back to the original suspension.
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      10-01-2012, 06:23 AM   #94
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This is on a 2009 335xi coupe, automatic. Installed a set of Konis & Eibach Pro-kit springs over the weekend. Had been running stock 18" staggered wheels (189) with Conti DWS. New suspension completely transforms the car. I can hardly believe BMW let what I now realize is such a brilliant handling machine out of the factory with such a poorly designed suspension. I think a lot of compromises were made for the run flats and AWD. Maybe by goons in accounting or lawyers who knows.

Anyway the Koni/Eibach combo just blows me away. Car is tossable now and vastly more responsive to steering inputs. Hard to describe, it is firmer but more supple, lower but soaks up bumps better. Roll dive squat etc all much better controlled and tight. Set the Konis on 1/2 turn from full soft. Not harsh at all and the roads here suck. I live on gravel.

Drop was mild but tires fill up the wheel wells now without looking slammed. 4x4 look is gone, nice subtle rake like the non xi coupe but a bit lower overall than that. Slammed would be bad where I live, we get close to 20 ft of snow a year in town and twice that up high.

Going to let it settle a bit an align it.

FWIW I have an e36 M3 with same Koni Eibach set up, the feeling of the 335xi is remarkable close to that car now. It is not as low or as light obviously. However what pushed me finally to get the Koni/Eibach for the 335xi was the fact that the M3 with K/E was able to handle bumps and bad roads BETTER than the 335xi with stock suspension. Not at all harsh ether, unlike the Bilstein H&R sport I had on it previously which were terrible.

Anyway, well done Koni & EIbach, the car should come from the factory with this suspension it is so good. The stock susp very effectively hides some brilliant chassis engineering.

Finally I was able to get the Konis for $651 total shipped from FastGuys.com, great people and very fast shipping. The springs I first tried Autoanything.com and they sucked, said they were in stock before I ordered and then a week after I ordered tell me uhh, maybe by Nov 12. Cancel. Went with a place called Sparktec. Good price (214), and they showed up 3 days later at my door. Also got a set of Eibach sway bars for the M3 from them, shipping total for both was 34.

Last edited by ajsalida; 10-01-2012 at 06:33 AM..
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      10-01-2012, 08:57 AM   #95
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Oh yeah, forgot to mention. Trimmed rear bump stops 1" as recommended by Eibach (from the bottom and reused stock dust boots). On the fronts went with new OEM e36 M3 bump stops, used stock dust boots here too. No bottoming so far and clearly not riding on the stops.
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      04-24-2013, 11:33 AM   #96
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hey fellas!

I know this post is old. I am also tired of my Xdrive suspension. Potholes are a nightmare and I have plenty where i live.

Can I just ask all the members who got their suspensions upgraded to comment on how things have been holding up? Have you changed the setup since the first setup? Would you have done anything different? Any advice would go a long way for us newbies.

Thanks guys!
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      04-24-2013, 02:47 PM   #97
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I'm running the Dinan Stage 2 suspension on my 335i X with 18" Enkei racing wheels with Bridgestone P04 Pole Position tires in 255/35-R18. It does everything just great!
Winter I run Hangkook snow tires on 18" wheels and have gone over both Stevens and Snoqualmie passes in the dead of winter with absolutely no problems.
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      04-24-2013, 03:23 PM   #98
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Newbie here. I have a 2011 335 xi sedan sports package running stock wheels and suspension.

What I am looking at: Either 18 or 19" wheels non run flats 235/35/19 front and 265/30/19 rear.

So after reading this whole thread about the stock suspension should I wait to get new wheels until I get new suspension???

Honestly I still don't know that much about the offsets when buying wheels. Will this change with suspension?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to figure out what is what. Thanks!
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      04-25-2013, 01:02 PM   #99
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vapore0n View Post
How far are you willing to go to find the perfect shock? You would end up spending more money trying out different combos till you find one you like.

I have Koni Yellows and one of the biggest advantages they have is that the rebound is fully adjustable. These might help with the jumping issue. Word is they are less harsh than the Blisteins.
I am going to try the route of changing out to Koni's and let everyone know how it turns out. It looks like that changing out the bumpstops from stock could be an issue as well (I did not do this). It seems that the recommendation is to go with stock M3 bumpstops when lowered...

Going to be out of town for business next week, but then will make the switch the following weekend.
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      04-26-2013, 01:11 PM   #100
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Martin View Post
I'm running the Dinan Stage 2 suspension on my 335i X with 18" Enkei racing wheels with Bridgestone P04 Pole Position tires in 255/35-R18. It does everything just great!
Winter I run Hangkook snow tires on 18" wheels and have gone over both Stevens and Snoqualmie passes in the dead of winter with absolutely no problems.
Hey Tom - I have been seriously looking into Dinan's. But was wondering if they are worth it or if I should just go for Koni FSDs for the time being.

How's your ride been? Would you consider it better or worse in terms of in-cabin jar at highway speeds when you hit pot holes or bad patch worked areas? I've heard good things about the handling improvement. I just want my car to end up feeling more like a BMW and less like a tin car!

Thanks for the info!

Cheers!
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      04-26-2013, 01:12 PM   #101
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bimmerdreamz View Post
hey fellas!

I know this post is old. I am also tired of my Xdrive suspension. Potholes are a nightmare and I have plenty where i live.

Can I just ask all the members who got their suspensions upgraded to comment on how things have been holding up? Have you changed the setup since the first setup? Would you have done anything different? Any advice would go a long way for us newbies.

Thanks guys!
bump...
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      04-26-2013, 03:00 PM   #102
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I'm interested in this also. If I end up getting an E90 3XXxi I'd like to get it as close to or maybe a little better than my E46 330i with sport suspension. I really wouldn't want it to be any lower than my e46 but would love to have it ride and handle as well if not better. It would be a pretty small drop from what I can tell in pictures, maybe no more than an inch. Would this be possible with only replacing the springs? Tire rack doesn't have any listed for a 335xi sedan that I can see
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      04-26-2013, 03:40 PM   #103
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I'm interested in this too... this will be my spring project
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      04-29-2013, 07:34 AM   #104
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bimmerdreamz View Post
bump...
Still riding on Koni Yellows and Eibach.
Ive had the Koni's set up to pretty harsh (50% back, 75% front) the whole time and I wouldnt go back.
I finally changed over to non run flats (Michelin) and ride is so much quieter and smoother.
Hitting bumps or pot holes on the road is much more controlled, less harsh. Riding through Boston is so much better now. I bet if I had the Koni's set to full soft the car would be much more comfortable.

I'm still running on 17s though. Car looks great as it is so I may not change over to 18s as I had planned.
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      04-29-2013, 08:10 AM   #105
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Same here as far as Koni/Eibach's. Very pleased so far and would never go back to stock. Did my first winter with them, only thing that was an issue was the fender wells fill up snow faster but that would happen with any lower susp.

Set presently at 1/2 from full soft, I may firm that up a bit for spring time. For winter in the mountains it is ideal. Now that I'm used to the car (and the shocks have maybe broken in a little) I'd like to try a firmer setting for more aggressive driving. Currently running Conti DWS 18" staggered OEM 189's, all year round.

Have set of 12/15mm BMS spacers on order will see what that does first then maybe crank up the shocks.
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      04-29-2013, 05:48 PM   #106
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vapore0n View Post
Still riding on Koni Yellows and Eibach.
Ive had the Koni's set up to pretty harsh (50% back, 75% front) the whole time and I wouldnt go back.
I finally changed over to non run flats (Michelin) and ride is so much quieter and smoother.
Hitting bumps or pot holes on the road is much more controlled, less harsh. Riding through Boston is so much better now. I bet if I had the Koni's set to full soft the car would be much more comfortable.

I'm still running on 17s though. Car looks great as it is so I may not change over to 18s as I had planned.
Awesome! Thanks a lot for the update vapor0n. Cheers! believe Dinan uses Koni yellows + Eibach springs on their setup too. I was so sold on Dinan until I read that Koni FSDs were offered on Lambos. That's where they got me!
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      04-29-2013, 05:49 PM   #107
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ajsalida View Post
Same here as far as Koni/Eibach's. Very pleased so far and would never go back to stock. Did my first winter with them, only thing that was an issue was the fender wells fill up snow faster but that would happen with any lower susp.

Set presently at 1/2 from full soft, I may firm that up a bit for spring time. For winter in the mountains it is ideal. Now that I'm used to the car (and the shocks have maybe broken in a little) I'd like to try a firmer setting for more aggressive driving. Currently running Conti DWS 18" staggered OEM 189's, all year round.

Have set of 12/15mm BMS spacers on order will see what that does first then maybe crank up the shocks.
Thanks for the update man! Appreciate your input. And thanks for the info on the spacers and staggered setup. I was looking into that as well.
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      04-29-2013, 06:47 PM   #108
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bimmerdreamz View Post
Thanks for the update man! Appreciate your input. And thanks for the info on the spacers and staggered setup. I was looking into that as well.
The spacers I got to thinking about more from an appearance standpoint. With the drop the wheels/tires look a little too far tucked into the fenders. There may be some handling effects with spacers so we'll have to see if it is a big deal or not. But IMHO lowered cars look a lot better with the wheels pushed out just a bit.

Now the lever arms are marginally increased so you are going to lower the spring rate and damping by that amount. We'll see how it feels with a bit wider stance and no other changes.
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      05-22-2013, 01:04 PM   #109
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Just read throught this whole thread.... Pretty good stuff in here guys. I'm with you BimmerDreamz, gotta get a good set-up for Boston roads.

I think I will be going to the Koni Yellow + Eibach route, but just to be clear are people choosing Eichach Sports springs ? or Pro Springs. I assume Pro but want to make sure.
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      05-22-2013, 02:51 PM   #110
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrida335 View Post
Just read throught this whole thread.... Pretty good stuff in here guys. I'm with you BimmerDreamz, gotta get a good set-up for Boston roads.

I think I will be going to the Koni Yellow + Eibach route, but just to be clear are people choosing Eichach Sports springs ? or Pro Springs. I assume Pro but want to make sure.
I am in S. NH/MA. Read through all these threads as well and just installed the Koni/Eibach Pro about 2 weeks ago. Depending on your requirements/planned usage (DD, etc.), the Pro may be choice for these roads here. You will enjoy the handling/ride better than stock. Not harsh and dramatically improved control. The drop is substantial (IMO) once the car settles, e.g. 1" gap in the front and .5" in the rear for my E90.

Given the drop, I may change out to KW V1 for adjustable height. Need the extra height as I travel up north to ski country every wknd during the winter time...

Last edited by thegrinchboy; 05-22-2013 at 03:01 PM..
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