Quote:
Originally Posted by cssnms
Wow, there's a lot to cover here....
Because you don't track your car, most of what you are asking/looking for someone else to tell you boils down to personal preference i.e. stance, how low you want to go etc, one shoe does not fit all when it comes to springs, shocks and coilovers. If it were that simple there would only be one offering of each (springs/coilovers). For those that purchased EPK springs that were not happy with the drop, well, that's their prerogative, it's nothing against EPK springs; they just wanted a lower ride height and or a stiffer spring set-up. I for one would not go any lower -- it just would not be practical for a daily driver as I would be scraping everywhere I go.
As to your quality comment, coilovers are not the benchmark of quality. There are a lot of folks (kool-aid drinkers) on here that believe just because they bought coilovers their system is "better" or if you did not buy coilovers you're buying shit -- Well that just isn't the case. If it were, the suspension gurus at BMW, Porsche etc would be putting coilovers in their cars. That being said, there are good coilovers, great coilovers and bad coilovers. KW's are not the pinnacle of suspension systems. The benefits of coilover as described previously are they are a match shock and spring and they offer various degrees of adjustability (ride height and rebound/dampening control). The aforementioned comes in handy if you track your car and when making adjustments to rebound and or dampening you really need to know what you are doing. If you buy a good quality spring and shock set-up the cost will exceed or come close o many of the coilover offerings out there. The added cost for a good quality coilover is not only derived from the materials namely in the tubing and other internal bits to include all of the valving etc and everything that goes into making them adjustable -- they are just more costly to produce. You will also find that most coilovers will run stiff even on their softest setting. And FWIW, to adjust coilovers it's not as simple as just pushing a button. Anyway I think you get the point...
All that being said, Eibach is a large reputable manufacturer of suspension systems. In my experience they make a great product. Eibach also designs and tests all of their suspension systems in-house for a specific application. H&R also a good reputation in the industry. They both offer quality product and at the end of the day it just boils down what you are looking to get out of the set-up. H&R lower and stiffer ride than EPK. EPK a more modest drop that will offer a more stock-like zsp ride. Both shocks should be paired with a shock designed for a lower ride height and the spring rate of that particular spring. EPK offers a package (shock and spring) or you could go with the Koni FSD and EPK. The Koni FSD's will not be the best match with the H&R's though.
As to the various offerings in the links you posted, first you need to figure out what you are looking to get out of your set-up, budget and all of that good stuff. Focus on the reputable name brand companies e.g. Eibach, KW, Sachs, Bilstein , Koni, AST, Swift etc, then do your research and just when you think you've done enough research, do some more. Look for common complaints for those products that are of interest to "you" e.g. google "KW coilover noise." You may want to check out some of Harold's offerings at HP Autowerks http://hpashop.com/BMW_c108.htm
Regarding your car, call your dealer and give them the VIN#, they should be able to tell you what options your car has such as ZSP (sports package).
That's all I got, it's your call at the end of the day. Good luck! |
Best advice I've had ! Top man -- thank you!
I think I'm pretty much decided. Seeing your car's stance and with OEM Shocks, I think EPK is also going to be my choice... final confirmation to be posted in a day or two's time!
Thanks once again dude.
Sam.