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      04-04-2013, 06:59 PM   #2
335dFan
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Drives: 2021 X3 M40i
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: California (east of Sacramento)

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Quote:
Originally Posted by SF Space Grey
Hi all,

Bought an e90 335i sedan a few months ago and love it. I feel like it can do pretty much anything I ask it to do.

BUT... until recently I didn't really enjoy driving it around the city. With the sport suspension, handling was great, but the ride was very stiff. It wasn't necessarily the lack of comfort that bothered me--it was the feeling that I was abusing the car whenever I drove down a bumpy road. As someone who hates hearing rattles from my car, I was cringing every day thinking I was shaking my car to pieces because the suspension wasn't doing its job.

Time for an upgrade. After researching here (thanks to those who answered my questions and posted earlier reviews), I pulled the trigger and had my dampers replaced with the FSDs. Ride height remained unchanged, as I wanted, and when I first got into the car after the change, I thought at first that the switch hadn't made much of a difference. The ride was still very firm, and the steering was responsive as ever. If anything, I felt like I was expericing more "jostling" from side to side movement on uneven roads, as if the suspension had gotten stiffer. But over the next half hour or so, I noticed the difference. Actually, it wasn't what I noticed, but what I didn't notice. Gone were the harsh impacts that made me feel like I was hurting my car. Gone were the shudders that made me cringe over bumpy roads. The car is anything but floaty--it doesn't glide over bumps and lull you to sleep. But the jarring bumps that made me wince before just aren't there anymore, or are greatly reduced. My dampers are actually damping now. Handling is as lively as before I think.

Overall, I give the FSDs a 9/10 for delivering on their promise. If the improvement were any greater I'd assume witchcraft was involved. Highly recommended if you think your sport suspension makes your car feel brittle.

Paid $640 for the dampers plus $250 for labor.
Don't you love it when you get your money's worth and you don't have buyers remorse?! Good news.
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2021 X3 M40i: M Sport Differential, Adaptive M Suspension.
Previous BMWs: 1971 BMW 2002, 1973 BMW R75/5, and 2011 BMW 335d
Previous Other Vehicles: '67 Cougar, '70 911e, '86 Jetta Diesel, '05 and '12 Foresters, et al.
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