[nailer335]

I would have to agree 100%. IIRC reading through Shiv's post, his single turbo build won't work for an xi though. I hope I'm wrong about that though and I hope to see you post about having a single turbo 335xi as soon as possible what do you already have done to your car?

[Doyle]

Originally Posted by akotten

I should be putting them on the 3rd or 4th of March. Just waiting for spring break.

I think a new single turbo would complement these nicely too.

Jeez, man. Let me come shake your money tree! Coilovers, downpipes, and now single turbo talk? Baller.

[akotten]

Originally Posted by Doyle

Jeez, man. Let me come shake your money tree! Coilovers, downpipes, and now single turbo talk? Baller.

Shit, I'm just dreaming about the single turbo. If I bought that, I'd set aside enough for when my transfer case says no more. But yeah, I sold my bike so I could play racecar.

Edit: I will be installing the coilovers this weekend, ahead of schedule. Hopefully everything goes well.

[wdlfbio]

Trying to decide between a tune first, then suspension or the other way around. My situation is very simialr to Doyle's use for his Xdrive, but I have the Duramax when the snow really gets bad. I imagine this is good for 2012 too? If the price is too good to pass up, then I'd be in for a Group Buy.

Any ideas on ease of a DIY and then taking into the shop for the alignment or is this a strictly let the shop do it for most folks?

Also, I plan on putting my summer wheels on as soon as the temps allow here (maybe late March to be safe), so any suspension mods would need to fit.
19" ET38 235/35/19 front 265/30/19 rear

[akotten]

Originally Posted by wdlfbio

Trying to decide between a tune first, then suspension or the other way around. My situation is very simialr to Doyle's use for his Xdrive, but I have the Duramax when the snow really gets bad. I imagine this is good for 2012 too? If the price is too good to pass up, then I'd be in for a Group Buy.

Any ideas on ease of a DIY and then taking into the shop for the alignment or is this a strictly let the shop do it for most folks?

Also, I plan on putting my summer wheels on as soon as the temps allow here (maybe late March to be safe), so any suspension mods would need to fit.
19" ET38 235/35/19 front 265/30/19 rear

Its really not that hard IMO. Rear, just drop the lower A-arm and the springs will fall out, then swap out the shock. The fronts, just compress the spring, unbolt on top of strut, loosen lower "clamp", and swap out with assembled strut in reverse. (This is simplified from memory, there are a few other minor steps) Do you have the Bentley Service manual? Deciding between a tune and suspension can be tough. It just depends on how you use the car I guess. I had the tune with a few days of buying to car lol. It's definitely an easier install procedure comparing to full suspension.

[akotten]

Originally Posted by nailer335

I would have to agree 100%. IIRC reading through Shiv's post, his single turbo build won't work for an xi though. I hope I'm wrong about that though and I hope to see you post about having a single turbo 335xi as soon as possible what do you already have done to your car?

He has plans for us, I believe.

Originally Posted by shiv@vishnu

Thanks again for all the kind words guys. Again, this was a joint effort with FFTEC. Without the hardware doing what it was supposed to do, I would not have been able to tune anything. I'm just happy we are off to a quick and painless start (besides that whole CAS/steering column lock fiasco).

To answer some questions:

We aren't quite sure how the 6AT will hold up to the extra high RPM torque. I have some ideas to reduce torque during the shift. We'll see how that pans out soon enough.

I don't see why we could adapt this kit to work in an XI. When we are ready to do installs in customer cars, it would be nice to work on an XI for this reason alone.

By then, we should be able to finalize pricing. But please realize that this isn't a bare bones turbo kit. It's a full system with a TON of R&D put into it. It will work beautifully and I don't think anyone will be disappointed. I think the worst thing we could do is to start penny pinching bits to make it easier to manufacturer. From what I've seen with upgraded twins, it doesn't matter how much the turbo kit is when just one unexpected re-work involves 10 hours of uninstall/install labor. Get it right the first time.

Shiv

[Ph0zenstone]

Just thought id share that kw V1's are currently $1360 shipped on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KW-Variant-1...-/170783397274

[SilverEmu]

Thanks for doing this, nailer335! If not too late, can I please be added to the list!

[nailer335]

Originally Posted by SilverEmu

Thanks for doing this, nailer335! If not too late, can I please be added to the list!

Of course. I happy to add anyone and everyone willing and able to spend their money. Added

[nailer335]

Originally Posted by akotten

He has plans for us, I believe.

[Bakeneko]

Very interested...but having solid figures would help tremendously.
Any headway on this materializing and getting an actual quote?

[nailer335]

To update:

I called Eric at TC Kline yesterday and he explained very thoroughly and technically why their Coilovers are better. The reasons are exactly as Doyle posted, reference his post.

In my somewhat unknowledgeable opinion based on light research on the forums here, some modifications seem to have a less significant and noticeable variance in quality, longevity and benefit than others (dependent on conditions, driving styles, goals, and tons of other factors...). Others seem (based on the light research and lack of experience) to be more of the "you get what you pay for" type, with quality following price more closely. Coilovers are that. Lots of places are offering KW V1s for a well-reduced price. eBay and **********s both seem to have them for around 1350 IIRC. But, and I apologize for not paying attention as well as I should have to retain more of his explanation, it's sufficient to say that given the drastic difference in quality and functionality between H&R/KW and TC Kline... I'd prefer to put just a little bit more money towards a far superior product. That's why I am trying this.

After asking Erik about the product, I explained to him that contingent upon their discounting their product some, I could bring them large sales volume of around 10 customers, all with money in hand and ready to purchase. He seemed maybe a bit taken off guard and said that he had to speak with the owner, Mr. TC Kline, about my proposition. He said he would call me back yesterday but I havent heard from him yet, nbd. I didnt want to undermine him by asking to speak with Mr. Kline, but I'll do that for us all last resort. A part of me believes that he didn't take me very seriously when I said that I have 10 people money in hand depending on their willingness to drop the price. I hope I didn't lie to him (guys on the list)

I'll post an update when I have more information on this.

Let's have a few more people join the group!

[nailer335]

Originally Posted by Cltch

Very interested...but having solid figures would help tremendously.
Any headway on this materializing and getting an actual quote?

Solid figures should be in the works and available this week I presume. The more people to commit, the better our price will be.

I hope everyone here understands that we aren't going to see a top quality $1800 set be (literally) given to us for $12-1300 or anything like that.

[Doyle]

I think Erik was probably more than a little suprised. When I contacted him initially about making these, he agreed that there is a market. That was probably ~9 months ago. I talked to him a few weeks ago and asked if he had sold any more, and he replied with "not as much as I expected". So going from a couple to "at least 10 buyers right now" was a huge 180 in sales volume!

They probably need to sit down and run the numbers to see what they can do. Give it some time. Erik was always good about getting back to me.

[nailer335]

Originally Posted by Doyle

I think Erik was probably more than a little suprised. When I contacted him initially about making these, he agreed that there is a market. That was probably ~9 months ago. I talked to him a few weeks ago and asked if he had sold any more, and he replied with "not as much as I expected". So going from a couple to "at least 10 buyers right now" was a huge 180 in sales volume!

They probably need to sit down and run the numbers to see what they can do. Give it some time. Erik was always good about getting back to me.

This is what I had assumed as well. I figured this group order might double if not triple their sales at once, which is probably a big deal. I wasn't at all surprised or discouraged to not hear back from him today and know that a company that is interested in making money won't ignore someone who presents a record sales order for one of their products

[nailer335]

Originally Posted by Cltch

Very interested...but having solid figures would help tremendously.
Any headway on this materializing and getting an actual quote?

Would you like me to add you to the list?

[nailer335]

To those who were planning on participating,

I spoke with Erik at TC Kline and gained some knowledge and closure.

So, their hands are tied. In their industry, dealer licensing and agreements place strict limitations on what they charge (or how much they are able to discount) for other companies' products. (ie Koni yellows)

His best offer was as follows: $1775 and free shipping for 5 or more participants. I thanked him for the offer and explained that I would let everyone know. Truth be told, $25 off and free shipping probably doesn't have an effect on the consumer for an $1800 product. If 5 of you wish to do this, organize yourselves and contact him. He is a great guy and very knowledgable.

While on the phone he did mention that starting March 3rd, they will have a significant sale (he couldn't remember exactly but said in the ballpark of 20-30% off) on all Koni products. He also explained that they have a few new products in development, including their own camber plates and an EDC system that can be utilized with OEM shocks to adjust ride height without having the "H&R on stock shocks" effect. Good things from TC Kline on the horizon for the 335xi.

Anyone feel free to correct my train of thought: we learn that dealers don't have the flexibility that the producers have to effectively create consumer driven group buys. So, in theory, we should still be able to do consumer driven group buys for products that:

- have decent enough margins
- are new to the market
- are niche market (BMW 335xi specific modifications)
- do not have the dealer licensing/agreement limitations

This is where we come together as a community in identifying other products that we want for our cars that meet the aforementioned criteria, as well as any other criteria we understand/discover to be significant in this market. Coilovers might not be the best product for this- the H&Rs are already the cheapest and the KW V1s are already marked down very low from where they were (was this price drop time sensitive does anyone know). There may be other options that I am not aware of, and we may also be able to get KW or H&R to drop their prices even further if enough demand is created and margins allow.

What do we want in common guys? I hate that my car doesn't have an oil cooler and am sad to see my good weather/conditions for high boost months coming to a close. With at least 7 months of 100+ temperatures around the corner, I am interested in a solution for colder oil and a bigger intercooler. CP-e makes the FMIC with the oil cooler unit that is located above the FMIC in a great location for airflow. If enough people have the same needs as I do (cooler IATs AND oil temps) we could possibly stir something up for the CP-e FMIC/OC. Or... If more people already have FMICs but still don't have oil coolers, we might be able to organize enough demand to get AR Design or STETT to do a "special" group buy for us...

That's a lot to read for some people, but I am trying to apply simple business principles to the progression of the 335xi community and more selfishly, to get what I want for less if it is possible. I would presume these ideas to be far from unique among us....

[Doyle]

I just talked to Harold @ HP Autowerks and he said that he's looking into potentially helping us out with this group buy, but is not making any promises.

There is hope, still!

[SS e93]

I am very interested in that sale on Koni products. If I can buy the shocks/struts for XI at a discounted price compared to HPA then I would finally consider upgrading my stock suspension. It is my dd and I am happy with the comfort the car offers now but wouldn't mind it to be a little stiffer.

[CT335xi]

I'm also thinking about doing the tc kline coilovers, heard nothing but good stuff about them. I have a couple of friends that own a BMW performance shop and they also race scca . Well I usually have them get me any parts I need because they always seem to get them cheaper, so I contacted them about the tc kline coilovers since they know the people over there. Well long story short the best price he could get me was list at about $1800.00 and there wasn't much to negociate. He also asked them about the March 1st sale and they said those would not be discounted as they already are. The list price on their site is about $2500 for the suspension. I wish everybody luck if Harold can come thru with some kind of deal.

[Doyle]

Ok, here is what Harold was able to work out:

"I can offer xi coil over using the koni yellow fronts and rears at $1523.20 using Swift springs starting in March. With the optional external adjustable rears you are looking at $1715.20. This is not a GB price, but rather an intro. price."

These will be the stock valved Koni's, not the TC Klines. However, they still blow KW's out of the water. Harold will start a thread in the vendor section, so be sure to hit him up with any questions.

This is a great deal, and I think many of you will be very happy with this set up.

Nailer, great job drumming up interest in this!

[CT335xi]

Originally Posted by Doyle

Ok, here is what Harold was able to work out:

"I can offer xi coil over using the koni yellow fronts and rears at $1523.20 using Swift springs starting in March. With the optional external adjustable rears you are looking at $1715.20. This is not a GB price, but rather an intro. price."

These will be the stock valved Koni's, not the TC Klines. However, they still blow KW's out of the water. Harold will start a thread in the vendor section, so be sure to hit him up with any questions.

This is a great deal, and I think many of you will be very happy with this set up.

Nailer, great job drumming up interest in this!

How does the valving compare from the stock Koni's and TC Kline? I just ordered the TC Kline true match coilovers from one of my friends for about $1800.00 shipped. This deal from Harold does sound great though.