[jose_sonictuning]

Originally Posted by eldogo

Hey, does anyone know how to reduce "bounce" on these coil overs? I think they need to have a specific ratio of dampen and height for the front and the back.
Thanks

We have recommended damping for the front and rear for comfort.

PM us your order number and we can go ahead and email you the guidelines.

[E90 335xi]

Jose I PM'd you a couple days ago about the bounce as well. My order # was 100000715. Thanks!

[jose_sonictuning]

Originally Posted by E90 335xi

Jose I PM'd you a couple days ago about the bounce as well. My order # was 100000715. Thanks!

You have PM

[E90 335xi]

I have to say, the support from Ray at Sonic Tuning is exceptional! Always there to answer phone calls and patiently discuss solutions despite not being there in person to see the setup/install/etc.

We're still in the process of trying to eliminate the bounciness, a task best left to my mechanic. Ray's already offered to speak directly with him, even do Facetime for video feed in order to see the installation. How great is that?

Now the issue I'm still trying to fix: front-end bounciness

Just wanted to reach out to this forum before my appointment and see if anyone has had front-end bounciness and if so what have you done to get rid of it? The rear feels fine.

I know for sure my end links are correct. Measurements were taken with the car loaded and adjustable ones from Turner were ordered and installed (it fixed a clunking noise I had).

For preload, the spring was at 5 1/2" length (with the car jacked up - suspension uncompressed). I loosened the collars until I could move the spring, tightened the top one again until the spring got hard move by hand, and gave it another 1/8 turn with the wrench. Then used the bottom collar to lock it against the top collar. Total spring length now is 5 5/8" (so 1/8" less preload than before)... but despite that, it made no difference.

I've also tried to drive over the same bumps over and over again both on full-soft and full-hard damping settings. I'd say softer feels a bit better but the bounciness is still there.

My fender-to-ground measurements are 24 3/4 front, 24 5/8 rear. This is about 3/4" lower all-around than what Ray has recommended as ideal (25 1/2 front, 25 1/4 rear). So one of the next things we'll try is to raise the car to the recommended heights.

Could I have been riding on my bumpstops this whole time, causing the bounciness on long/deep bumps? It's certainly worse when the shock travels slowly. When the shock has to travel fast (sharp little bumps), all is well. I don't believe my bumpstops were modified in any way.

So that's my story so far. Any ideas/tips/recommendations you have are welcome - my appointment is in a couple days.

Lastly, just want to say that this suspension feels great 95% of the time with stock-like ride quality and I don't want to sway people against getting it. Once I dial-out this bumpiness issue I have, I think it will be great 100% of the time.

[Rickey330xi]

Originally Posted by E90 335xi

I have to say, the support from Ray at Sonic Tuning is exceptional! Always there to answer phone calls and patiently discuss solutions despite not being there in person to see the setup/install/etc.

We're still in the process of trying to eliminate the bounciness, a task best left to my mechanic. Ray's already offered to speak directly with him, even do Facetime for video feed in order to see the installation. How great is that?

Now the issue I'm still trying to fix: front-end bounciness

Just wanted to reach out to this forum before my appointment and see if anyone has had front-end bounciness and if so what have you done to get rid of it? The rear feels fine.

I know for sure my end links are correct. Measurements were taken with the car loaded and adjustable ones from Turner were ordered and installed (it fixed a clunking noise I had).

For preload, the spring was at 5 1/2" length (with the car jacked up - suspension uncompressed). I loosened the collars until I could move the spring, tightened the top one again until the spring got hard move by hand, and gave it another 1/8 turn with the wrench. Then used the bottom collar to lock it against the top collar. Total spring length now is 5 5/8" (so 1/8" less preload than before)... but despite that, it made no difference.

I've also tried to drive over the same bumps over and over again both on full-soft and full-hard damping settings. I'd say softer feels a bit better but the bounciness is still there.

My fender-to-ground measurements are 24 3/4 front, 24 5/8 rear. This is about 3/4" lower all-around than what Ray has recommended as ideal (25 1/2 front, 25 1/4 rear). So one of the next things we'll try is to raise the car to the recommended heights.

Could I have been riding on my bumpstops this whole time, causing the bounciness on long/deep bumps? It's certainly worse when the shock travels slowly. When the shock has to travel fast (sharp little bumps), all is well. I don't believe my bumpstops were modified in any way.

So that's my story so far. Any ideas/tips/recommendations you have are welcome - my appointment is in a couple days.

Lastly, just want to say that this suspension feels great 95% of the time with stock-like ride quality and I don't want to sway people against getting it. Once I dial-out this bumpiness issue I have, I think it will be great 100% of the time.

Did you ever get the bounciness issue resolved. I'm having the same issue on my 330xi

[Rickey330xi]

Hi everyone I think I messed up my preload Front and rear. Does anyone have the measurement of The coil/Springs preload from the factory I would like to get it back. Also have anyone have them bottom-out on them. New York roads are pretty bad it happened to me twice, maybe Just wrong adjustment I have the S3 any help input would be appreciated.

[E90 335xi]

Originally Posted by Rickey330xi

Hi everyone I think I messed up my preload Front and rear. Does anyone have the measurement of The coil/Springs preload from the factory I would like to get it back. Also have anyone have them bottom-out on them. New York roads are pretty bad it happened to me twice, maybe Just wrong adjustment I have the S3 any help input would be appreciated.

I believe the front spring length is 5 5/8". Not sure on rears... call Sonic Tuning, they should be able to give you a hand.

And nope, my bounciness issue's not resolved yet but hopefully will be today. Will post an update when I have some news.

[jose_sonictuning]

Originally Posted by E90 335xi

I have to say, the support from Ray at Sonic Tuning is exceptional! Always there to answer phone calls and patiently discuss solutions despite not being there in person to see the setup/install/etc.

We're still in the process of trying to eliminate the bounciness, a task best left to my mechanic. Ray's already offered to speak directly with him, even do Facetime for video feed in order to see the installation. How great is that?

Now the issue I'm still trying to fix: front-end bounciness

Just wanted to reach out to this forum before my appointment and see if anyone has had front-end bounciness and if so what have you done to get rid of it? The rear feels fine.

I know for sure my end links are correct. Measurements were taken with the car loaded and adjustable ones from Turner were ordered and installed (it fixed a clunking noise I had).

For preload, the spring was at 5 1/2" length (with the car jacked up - suspension uncompressed). I loosened the collars until I could move the spring, tightened the top one again until the spring got hard move by hand, and gave it another 1/8 turn with the wrench. Then used the bottom collar to lock it against the top collar. Total spring length now is 5 5/8" (so 1/8" less preload than before)... but despite that, it made no difference.

I've also tried to drive over the same bumps over and over again both on full-soft and full-hard damping settings. I'd say softer feels a bit better but the bounciness is still there.

My fender-to-ground measurements are 24 3/4 front, 24 5/8 rear. This is about 3/4" lower all-around than what Ray has recommended as ideal (25 1/2 front, 25 1/4 rear). So one of the next things we'll try is to raise the car to the recommended heights.

Could I have been riding on my bumpstops this whole time, causing the bounciness on long/deep bumps? It's certainly worse when the shock travels slowly. When the shock has to travel fast (sharp little bumps), all is well. I don't believe my bumpstops were modified in any way.

So that's my story so far. Any ideas/tips/recommendations you have are welcome - my appointment is in a couple days.

Lastly, just want to say that this suspension feels great 95% of the time with stock-like ride quality and I don't want to sway people against getting it. Once I dial-out this bumpiness issue I have, I think it will be great 100% of the time.

Originally Posted by Rickey330xi

Did you ever get the bounciness issue resolved. I'm having the same issue on my 330xi

We seen two similar case in the past week.

Customer drove down to our shop, our tech removed the strut.

reload the springs with compression.

re-installed the factory endlinks, tighten all of the bolt and check for defects on factory bushing.

set the damping to 5 front and 9 rear from soft.

both customers really satisfied with the comfort and ride quality.

[fructus]

I have clunking noise intermittently as well. However, I can't decisively determine whether it's coming from the front or the rear. Is it safe to say, that it's most likely the front and that the adjustable Turner endlinks referenced by E90335xi would fix the issue?
I have 2011 E90 335 Xdrive as well. My current fender-to-ground measurements are at 25" for both front and rear.

[jose_sonictuning]

Originally Posted by fructus

I have clunking noise intermittently as well. However, I can't decisively determine whether it's coming from the front or the rear. Is it safe to say, that it's most likely the front and that the adjustable Turner endlinks referenced by E90335xi would fix the issue?
I have 2011 E90 335 Xdrive as well. My current fender-to-ground measurements are at 25" for both front and rear.

Pinpoint where the sound is coming from and give us a call.

[E90 335xi]

My installation's been checked over for the fourth time now... everything is bang on and at the recommended ride height... and still have the front end bounciness.

I pray to find a solution to it but I'm starting to have a feeling that this is just how this suspension rides.

I honestly wish I bought an Audi S4. Performance diff from the factory, performance suspension (you can even get H&R OE springs which work great with the factory Bilstein shocks), and just as easy to make fast in a straight line - actually way faster in the 1/4 with DSG and similar power levels.

[jose_sonictuning]

Originally Posted by E90 335xi

My installation's been checked over for the fourth time now... everything is bang on and at the recommended ride height... and still have the front end bounciness.

I pray to find a solution to it but I'm starting to have a feeling that this is just how this suspension rides.

I honestly wish I bought an Audi S4. Performance diff from the factory, performance suspension (you can even get H&R OE springs which work great with the factory Bilstein shocks), and just as easy to make fast in a straight line - actually way faster in the 1/4 with DSG and similar power levels.

Originally Posted by eldogo

I agree. I think the S3's aren't great shock absorbers. I guess we just have to live with it or Sonic Tuning can give us discounts on some KW's.

We have plenty of folks went from the KW to the S3.

While we do value your feedback, but we wouldn't support a product for the past 7 years if it had this type of flaw to it.

If its a on going problem, if you are willing to come by we can offer our service at no cost.

[dsjr2006]

Originally Posted by eldogo

Ok. The main issue I have with them is how they react to bumps and pot holes. The whole car tends to bounce than just the wheel.
Do you have recommendations on damper settings and height ride so that there is enough travel?
Thanks.

Basically the only way to get a decent ride out of them is to raise them to stock height and play with the damper settings. I gave up after trying to tinker with the height and dampening. There just isn't enough travel with the XI coils.

[newbmwguy99]

Alright guys Jose asked me to post up my experience in this thread I'm not quite sure why since mine is a RWD BUT here's my story, I ordered my kit waited the extra month and a half after the original ETA, No big deal. Finally go pick them up get handed a XI box and I turn around and say i've got a RWD are you sure these are correct it says XI on the box I was told "yes yes yes same" So start the install with no directions but sure lets have it. get the rear done start on the front and realize that they just can't be right. and i got NO endlinks in my box. call patrick and explain whats going on tells me not much he can do that day but he will talk to Rey and get me some resolution. Come to find out the shock bodies are different and RWD should have adjustable endlinks. So 4 days later patrick brings them to me (mind you i'm paying a shop since my car had to be left on the lift) get it together and then the adjusters were hitting my stock strut bar. Lowered the car as low as it would go and it was an inch lower than stock and rode like complete shit. Call up and tell them they need to take a look at my car and see what the heck is wrong. I take it up there and they take apart my car and don't know what they did but afterward take it for a quick ride it feels a bit better but really couldn't get it to speed or drive it over some real bumps. Fast forward to about 3 weeks later I tried to give it some time but this thing rides terrible. As you guy have stated the bumps are TERRIBLE it unsettles the car in turns and bumps. Sure the car is dropped but this is not what i expected for the wait and the price. I'm really confused if these are even the correct parts of my car and how a shop let someone leave with a car that rides like this. I have ridden in e92 RWD with many other suspension setups and all are better, I personally own 4 cars all on different suspension and this one is by car the worst. I have competed in lots of different automotive styles from drag racing to drifting to mini trucks on air suspension. I've ridden in civics with ebay coils that are comparable to the way this car is now. Sonic tuning had great customer service was really hoping for a better product but I don't anticipate them helping me any more or correcting this issue in anyway. I have tried dampening stiff to soft and nothing has helped. sonic had to add spacers to my strut bar that were not supplied (read STACK OF WASHERS). I'm not really convinced I have a complete RWD front setup on my car at this point too many things seem wrong and I have the exact same ride you all describe. Before any one says anything about the height i'm at I have cars that are a few inches off the ground that ride very well. If I wanted a coil over suspension that needed to be stock height to ride well I would have just kept stock.

Please read my below response as their are further developments.

[newbmwguy99]

Alright guys you know when you are heated about something or just have a chip on your shoulder about something else and you take it out in the wrong place, well that's what I think I did, after my post sonic tuning called and spoke to me about the issues I was having. Let my say I've been in the automotive business for a very long time and I really appreciated the dialog that took place. Now I'm not saying my car is fixed yet but I do have it setup to where I can go and ride in a car with these coil overs setup with an appropriate ride height and be the judge. I am still not intimately familiar with the e92 platform and perhaps I made some mistakes in a final ride height. Let me say this even with all the hiccups and mistakes made, Sonic really has done their best to rectify the situation.

The first time I brought them the car they went out of the way to fix some issues and I left much happier then when I came in. Now before I finalize my judgement I will ensure that im not completely at fault. At this point sonic has made some mistakes and it looks like I have as well. But they are willing to stand behind their product and THAT is important to me. I will update you guys with my experience and also start my own thread on this topic to clear things up.

Let me say this, at no time did anyone ASK me to make this post. Sonic tuning was more concerned with me being dissatisfied with the product and coming up with a solution that suited me.

Once this whole situation wraps up look for a full In depth review and maybe my review/thread will help others from making some of the same mistakes.

[fructus]

Originally Posted by E90 335xi

Part # TSU9912110
320.00mm - 335.00mm
12.59" - 13.19"

Given that we have the same model, 2011 E90 335i Xdrive, would the same endlinks work for me, namely Part # TSU9912110, or are there other elements in play?

[E90 335xi]

Originally Posted by fructus

Given that we have the same model, 2011 E90 335i Xdrive, would the same endlinks work for me, namely Part # TSU9912110, or are there other elements in play?

Probably, but as I mentioned before, it's best to measure with the suspension loaded (car sitting on its wheels) to be sure. The length will vary slightly depending on how low you are in the front.

[fructus]

Understood. Thanks. Will stop by at the mechanic to take the measurement prior to order.

[jose_sonictuning]

Originally Posted by eldogo

I feel your pain. So basically your issue wasn't resolved. I hate the fact that I have long debates on choosing to either drive my girls Hyundai rather than my bouncy Bmw. It's hard to believe that a stock Hyundai suspension system is better than the S3's.

When the customer's car came in, few of the parts weren't installed correctly.

After working on it for 5 hours we were able dial in everything. (we offered complimentary service for this particular case)

Now since the car is extremely low 24 3/8 from fender to ground; suspension travel is limited.

Give us a call and we will be more than glad to go over it with you.

[xDABSx]

I have a feeling there is a lot of improper installation going on with these coilovers.I am saying this because I installed mine a few thousand miles ago and I am not experiencing any of the problems that I am seeing in this thread.I ordered my S3 coilovers on Black Friday and installed them in the spring.Since then I have put a few thousand miles on my car and have had 0 problems.I am still running all of my stock links and I have no clunking noises or any other weird stuff happening.I will be changing my front swaybar links soon then the front of the car will feel correct and I already have all the rear links I need to install to get rid of the toe and camber issues then I feel the rear will be correct.To the people saying these have a bumpy ride I would just have to tell you guys that these are coilovers and you are trying to go low with them of coarse the ride is going to be bumpy lol.My front is set to max low with no spring tension and my rear is set about 2 inches from max low.All 4 corners are set to full soft.I feel my car is comfortable enough to drive around in and it feels good for being how low it is.I feel that these coilovers are a good budget coilover for what you are receiving and I am very satisfied with my purchase.My only complaint is that 1 of the 2 coilover spanner wrenches does not fit and it would have been nicer if they were both like the shorter one lol.

[eldogo]

Originally Posted by xDABSx

I have a feeling there is a lot of improper installation going on with these coilovers.I am saying this because I installed mine a few thousand miles ago and I am not experiencing any of the problems that I am seeing in this thread.I ordered my S3 coilovers on Black Friday and installed them in the spring.Since then I have put a few thousand miles on my car and have had 0 problems.I am still running all of my stock links and I have no clunking noises or any other weird stuff happening.I will be changing my front swaybar links soon then the front of the car will feel correct and I already have all the rear links I need to install to get rid of the toe and camber issues then I feel the rear will be correct.To the people saying these have a bumpy ride I would just have to tell you guys that these are coilovers and you are trying to go low with them of coarse the ride is going to be bumpy lol.My front is set to max low with no spring tension and my rear is set about 2 inches from max low.All 4 corners are set to full soft.I feel my car is comfortable enough to drive around in and it feels good for being how low it is.I feel that these coilovers are a good budget coilover for what you are receiving and I am very satisfied with my purchase.My only complaint is that 1 of the 2 coilover spanner wrenches does not fit and it would have been nicer if they were both like the shorter one lol.

Thanks for your feedback. So you have the damper setting to the softest all around? I have mine to the recommended settings from sonic tuning which is 8 and 5 from softest.

[xDABSx]

Correct I just have mine turned all the way soft for daily driving.