[idrift4wd]

Originally Posted by BenõrTheBMW

Why wouldn't you recommend these?

Was there any handling improvements from these?

maybe I used the wrong words, but these coils were good for me. They havent blown, so thats good. They ride decent at the height i have them. They handle alot better with less body roll, could use slightly more dampening. I wouldnt say they ride close to stock either. more rough but totally daily drivable. These will never see a track, but i wouldnt be afraid to run them at the track (road course)

For any e9x user that just gets springs, i would totally recommend these coils over a spring only set-up. Some people even have good things to say about spring only set-up. I just dont think putting lowering springs on high mileage shocks is a good idea. I hope people who to try these, have the same experience or better. They lasted me pretty long so far. Spring+shock combo would be better and maybe last longer but have no adjustability and is expensive (600+) the next reasonably priced coilovers would be ST coils then BC. Thats 800-1000 bucks. For the price, looks, and feel of coilovers 350 bucks is a steal. One of my favorite modifications for the car for looks. Wheel gap really hurts the eyes. Most people love to spend $$$ on mods because its a BMW. Its a car to me. Its a nice car, but it worth less then a Honda fit (in my case)...I sound really repetitive lol


EDIT- I plan on tracking my car (light track day, 1st road course experience!) Will update how they handle it

[Supra2k6]

Good stuff and thanks for trying them on a giving your experience. Looks like a good options for someone that wants to lower their car on a budget.

[msnyder944]

Originally Posted by WesleyC

Where are you reading that these coilovers are German? Maybe I missed it, but I can almost 100% guarantee that they are made in Taiwan.

There is a HUGE difference between quality coilovers and cheap coilovers. Companies like AST, JRZ, Ohlins use world class designers with years of engineering and racing experience to create the best possible coilovers. The R&D that goes into quality coilovers is probably well into the millions of dollars. The materials alone probably cost more than what cheap coilovers sell for. Quality coilovers are built by high-skilled laborers.

Quality design. Quality materials. Quality construction. Why do you think all serious racing teams are sponsored by these companies?

Cheap Taiwanese coilovers are just that - cheap. Think about it. They are made from inferior materials with poor workmanship. What do you end up with? Coilovers that ride worse than the OEM suspension and are almost guaranteed to break. I can link you to numerous threads regarding cheap coilovers completely failing. Have quality coilovers ever failed? Yes, but it's nowhere nearly close to the number of failed coilvers from no-name companies.

If your goal is strictly to go as low as possible and you're on a budget, by all means, buy the cheapest coilovers that you can find, but don't expect them to last you. It's a shame to drive a luxury car and use parts of such inferior quality.

I'm not trying to knock anybody down. I'm just giving my honest, humble opinion.

Not to restart the thread, but after reading all 13 pages, I never saw someone address the comment WesleyC made about being made in taiwan and not germany. FYI, they ARE made in Germany:

"JOM manufacture their coilovers in-house in Germany using quality steel, zinc plated to prevent corrosion and all kits are German TUV quality approved. A high quality German product, not a cheap imported re-branded unit!"

retrieved from
http://www.jomcoilovers.co.uk/jom-history.php

Matt

[e92_boost]

Wow boring night at work and found this thread, read all comments and I'm impressed OP! When you planning on going to the track. I may be interested in ordering a set of these for my e92 sports pack if they have them.

[Cdubb]

Originally Posted by ///M3NACE

This had been done before... There is a thread on here somewhere. So your 20k+ car you would put 350 dollar coilovers on? Its okay you probably put 87 octane too.


This is not an e36. Shit even an e36 coilover setup is more expensive.

Lets just say you get what you pay for.

and theres also the saying "theres a sucker born every minute", dont always assume that spending more means better quality. however this is a new level of cheap, they probably aren't that good lol

[gabimmer]

I have never read a thread with more snobbery and rudeness. Let the boy put his coilovers on a report back his findings. They may ride like shit, they might be awesome, but they also might be a very serviceable kit with an acceptable ride for the money. Get off your high horse.

OEM BMW struts and shocks are shit, this fellow will be much better off with this setup rather than putting $350 lowering coils on beat factory shocks and struts with 75k on them...talk about a guaranteed shitty ride.

It is true that generally you get what you pay for or less, that I know. But spending a fortune doesn't always mean the best either...case in point, a BMW... far from the best vehicle on the road, I know because we own 3 of them...and wouldn't own one if I didnt service them myself. I base my opinion on the fact I was a mechanic for 10-12 years if my life.

We all know a Toyota Tacoma is a better truck than a Ford ranger...but Ford sold a shitload of them and people drive them, some because they are diehard Ford fans, some because its the best they can afford...doesn't mean they are total junk. I personally would never buy a Ford, but that's just me.

At the end of the day its up to the OP what he puts on his car...his choice, much like it was your choice to buy a BMW.

Wonder if the snobs in this tread when they need a giant axle nut socket if they go to AutoZone or if they order a $100 socket from Snap-On...I mean, Snap-On is the best...safety first, wouldn't want that giant socket failing when you are cranking a wheel nut down to 150 ft lbs.

[chris82]

Originally Posted by gabimmer

I have never read a thread with more snobbery and rudeness. Let the boy put his coilovers on a report back his findings. They may ride like shit, they might be awesome, but they also might be a very serviceable kit with an acceptable ride for the money. Get off your high horse.

OEM BMW struts and shocks are shit, this fellow will be much better off with this setup rather than putting $350 lowering coils on beat factory shocks and struts with 75k on them...talk about a guaranteed shitty ride.

It is true that generally you get what you pay for or less, that I know. But spending a fortune doesn't always mean the best either...case in point, a BMW... far from the best vehicle on the road, I know because we own 3 of them...and wouldn't own one if I didnt service them myself. I base my opinion on the fact I was a mechanic for 10-12 years if my life.

We all know a Toyota Tacoma is a better truck than a Ford ranger...but Ford sold a shitload of them and people drive them, some because they are diehard Ford fans, some because its the best they can afford...doesn't mean they are total junk. I personally would never buy a Ford, but that's just me.

At the end of the day its up to the OP what he puts on his car...his choice, much like it was your choice to buy a BMW.

Wonder if the snobs in this tread when they need a giant axle nut socket if they go to AutoZone or if they order a $100 socket from Snap-On...I mean, Snap-On is the best...safety first, wouldn't want that giant socket failing when you are cranking a wheel nut down to 150 ft lbs.

$350 for the most important part of the suspension, that's cheap!

[gabimmer]

Originally Posted by chris82

$350 for the most important part of the suspension, that's cheap!

If your $50 lower ball joint fails on your BMW with $5000 coilovers you crash. I can go on...lots of what if's...a meteor could hit earth and we could all die.

[gabimmer]

Btw, I put on my flame suit...flame away for defending a young person that likely works hard for what he has, and if he doesn't it seems like he is considerate enough to care about someone else's money, hence being frugal.

I'm sure there are thousands of these installed passing you by everyday with no problems, meanwhile people coming at you have bald tires, worn out wiper blades and not enough sense god give a dog to turn their lights on when its dark or raining.

Ecs wouldn't sell them if they were total shit...obviously they work for many people, they are nearly always on backorder.

[Cloud9blue]

You would be surprised how simple a run of the mill low pressure twin tube shocks are. Just like a lot of things in the aftermarket market, most entry and mid range level coilovers are seriously overpriced.

That said, I personally wouldn't use a steel body coilover. Doesn't matter they are coated or painted, they will rust if you DD the car, which makes it pain in the ass later or even impossible if you want to adjust the height again.

[chris82]

Originally Posted by Cloud9blue

You would be surprised how simple a run of the mill low pressure twin tube shocks are. Just like a lot of things in the aftermarket market, most entry and mid range level coilovers are seriously overpriced.

That said, I personally wouldn't use a steel body coilover. Doesn't matter they are coated or painted, they will rust if you DD the car, which makes it pain in the ass later or even impossible if you want to adjust the height again.

Yea, I mean stock BMW dampers are low pressure twin tube Bilsteins and look how they run

[Corrupted]

Originally Posted by idrift4wd

But i did raise my fronts last year and i doubt that i can move the collars to turn them back down. Im pretty sure a shop could get them to move. Its not rusted from what i can see. The included wrench sucks.

A couple times throughout this thread I've noticed you mentioning the wrench being an issue. I'm not sure if you know this, but you're not supposed to make adjustments with the car on the ground, that's not what the wrench is for. The suspension should be in a relaxed state whenever making adjustments, the wrench is only there to make it easier to make precise adjustments.

[idrift4wd]

Originally Posted by Corrupted

A couple times throughout this thread I've noticed you mentioning the wrench being an issue. I'm not sure if you know this, but you're not supposed to make adjustments with the car on the ground, that's not what the wrench is for. The suspension should be in a relaxed state whenever making adjustments, the wrench is only there to make it easier to make precise adjustments.

Just saying...how would i adjust the coils with the car on the ground. i cant even fit two fingers. I always lift the front/rear for adjustments (when it was possible lol)

SO update. one rear shock where the bottom nut screws on, broke off. the shock it self was fine, no leaks. I was pretty sad. So technically it did "fail" but im still alive. Nothing life threatening like alot of people said it would be. i heard a few clunks driving down the road and checked it out. easy find, easy fix. Front coils are still good no noises, no leaks.....just seized so no more adjustments for me. Its my fault, i should have applied anti-seize or some coating to help.

What did I learn? These coils arent bad. Worth $350. I would recommend them. I would buy them again, but I do want coils with dampening adjustments. I would also advise anyone buying these to apply antiseize on collar threads. As you can tell, im not a brand whore and i understand that YES its a BMW...an old bmw. 8 Year old bmw that can be bought for less than 10k. So yeah idk if spending 2k on coilovers (which is a wear and tear item) is a good idea. KW/ ohlins/ bilstein are probably better and offer a better ride, but im ok with the ride on these as they are not bad. Again better then spring only set-up in my opinion.

[shadow191]

How would you adjust the suspension while it's on the ground and loaded? As OP mentioned, you can't get in there at all. But even if it was possible to get a wrench in there, there's no way the collar will move with the weight of the car on it.

The wrench isn't there to make it easier for precise adjustments, it's there so you can make adjustments period. How do you plan on adjusting height without the wrench? Even without load on them, you need some leverage to get the adjusters to turn. Threads get tight or dirt gets in them.

Originally Posted by Corrupted

A couple times throughout this thread I've noticed you mentioning the wrench being an issue. I'm not sure if you know this, but you're not supposed to make adjustments with the car on the ground, that's not what the wrench is for. The suspension should be in a relaxed state whenever making adjustments, the wrench is only there to make it easier to make precise adjustments.

[Keith_H1]

I'm waiting for my ST's to arrive tomorrow, but almost bought the FK's. I did quite a bit of research on them and really couldn't find anything any more or less negative than any other brand. Many in the VW community seem to swear by FK but, in the end, I went with ST. I bought mine 1) for looks and 2) better handling when I hit the occasional twisty back road. The only reason I went with ST was the 5 year warranty "just in case". I got out of the "if it costs more, it must be better" club almost 20 years ago when it came to Harley parts. I found that many of the exact same parts were half, or less, when packaged in a plain white box. And......many products cost more because of advertising overhead OR when an established company can charge more because of brand identy.......or both. Many smaller companies put the bulk of their operating capital in r&d, manufacturing and distribution while relying on less advertising and more word-of-mouth. I'm not saying all of this is absolute across the board, and sometimes you really do get what you pay for........but sometimes you also pay for more than you get. When it comes to suspension components, I'm inclined to think a little more thoughtful planning and consideration go into safety than other consumer grade products. I doubt anyone is going to market and sell a product that hasn't been thoroughly tested for safety and reasonable longevity. As far as the galvanized steel construction of the ST's, I'm not worried about corrosion. As much as I have the car on a lift, I'll just try to keep them clean followed by a light coat of marine grease on the threads.

[f82_spooly]

It’s been 3 years, let’s bring this thread back to life has anyone ran the eBay coilovers since then? They’ve dropped in price to around $250. Thoughts?

[outione]

Same thoughts. I own 12 years old 325i Coupe and thinking of dropping it a little bit. Car market price is about 8k EUR now here in EU, so not planning to invest anything big, but would like to prolong car's life while enhancing it's look. So any reviews of these coilovers?