[hellokitty]

Hey guys,

I recently upgraded my E93 335iS suspension and wanted to share my experience with some of the folks here.

I came in to this project with two things in mind: No modification is too minor and stay within $3,000 for parts only. I did the bulk of my shopping over Black Friday (2018) and saved a few bucks that way.

I decided to upload my review to Google Sheets and pictures to Google Drive since I can keep this data up-to-date.

Overall impressions

I am EXTREMELY satisfied with the parts list that I chose. Even though I picked budget coilovers, I had enough funds within my budget to upgrade everything else that I thought mattered.

I am proud to say that my E93 is within the realm of handling similar to my F80 M3 in terms of dynamics. If I picked more aggressive dampers, I think I can get myself right up there with the F80. The ST suspension feels extremely comfortable and I don't have any desire to upgrade to anything more "track" focused.

While the F80 M3 does handle better (as it should), it is MUCH less comfortable than my E93 even with all of these upgraded modifications to the E93. The extra 400 lbs is noticeable, but these upgrades made my E93 more agile and MUCH more rigid, which makes the car "feel" lighter on its feet.

Happy Modding!! Do it all at once to save time and money in the long run!!

[Torgus]

Amazing how fast suspension components add up. Thanks for documenting. Glad you like it!

[The Nightman]

Thanks for sharing. I'm impressed the M3 strut brace made such a big difference

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by freedomfries

Thanks for sharing. I'm impressed the M3 strut brace made such a big difference

Here are some pics of before and after.

- Stock brace only mounts to one strut bolt on both sides of the strut tower whereas the M3 brace uses a large solid fully aluminum brace which mounts over the entire strut tower using all 3 bolts.

- The M3 brace has a solid aluminum mount that attaches to the firewall. This allows the brace to reduce both compression and expansion of the chassis whereas the stock brace will only reduce against compression (see the stock brace and how the end link is open ended and free to move in an expansion scenario.

- The M3 brace eliminates steering wheel slop that exists even with M3 arms and Eibach front sway bar already installed. I was frustrated before installing the M3 brace because the steering didn't feel as accurate as my F80. You turn in and expect to be able to make accurate adjustments in steering input but it felt like these inputs were not being transmitted to the road. The steering still felt floaty before I added the M3 brace. Now the front end is rock solid.

[mlee4984]

Thanks for documenting everything, I'll be doing this to my wagon soon. Awesome stuff!

Mike

**Edit**

The set of ST Coilovers I purchased already came with ST Camber plates which may have saved you a few bucks.

[JeanCa]

I Have the same brace on my e92 n55, and you can really feel the difference with in the front end after the install. Love it!

Heres my brace

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by mlee4984

Thanks for documenting everything, I'll be doing this to my wagon soon. Awesome stuff!

Mike

**Edit**

The set of ST Coilovers I purchased already came with ST Camber plates which may have saved you a few bucks.

Unfortunately the XTA set was not on sale for BF. Although In retrospect, I needed a plate that adjusts for caster since my caster was tweaked from a prior accident. As a result, Vorshlags fit the bill for me.

[NoGuru]

Thanks for sharing. I maybe doing an upgrade/refresh this year.

[hellokitty]

Vorshlag camber plates are in and aligned. Feels awesome!!!

[Torgus]

And now I need an m3 strut brace. Glad to hear it made a large difference!

[weehe126]

Originally Posted by Torgus

And now I need an m3 strut brace. Glad to hear it made a large difference!

Seriously. The steering feel/response is one of the things I thought could never be fixed. Will be looking into this.

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by weehe126

Seriously. The steering feel/response is one of the things I thought could never be fixed. Will be looking into this.

I was SO disappointed after installing everything but before upgrading to the m3 strut brace. The steering still felt floaty and rubbery... I honestly didn't know if the m3 brace would fix the problem but ordered it blindly since there were so many mixed reviews. To be honest, the m3 strut brace is up there with solid subframe bushings, coilovers and anti roll bars. It's a big impact upgrade regardless of what other people have posted.

[hellokitty]

Installed a new battery today from the dealership. OEM is 60 lbs lead acid. This one is 30 lbs, 50Ah AGM. This is the same battery used in the i3/i8. Also registered it using BimmerGeeks Protool.

She fires right up. I'm happy

[Nastymateo]

Here is how I spent my $3k. I love how my car handles. I'm doing a review on my purchase soon.

[XtBeemer]

I thought for the e93 it had or needed a much higher battery than a 50Ah?

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by XtBeemer

I thought for the e93 it had or needed a much higher battery than a 50Ah?

Correct, stock is a 90Ah battery. This is my daily driver so I felt comfortable running a lighter battery.

Also, the largest Voltphreaks battery, which many E92 M3s run, is 45Ah so 50Ah should be sufficient for my needs.

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

Correct, stock is a 90Ah battery. This is my daily driver so I felt comfortable running a lighter battery.

Also, the largest Voltphreaks battery, which many E92 M3s run, is 45Ah so 50Ah should be sufficient for my needs.

It likely has more to do with providing extra current for the top mechanism, not a daily driver vs. non daily driver thing.

So if you don’t use the convertibe top it probably wouldn’t matter. If you like to use the top then in my opinion you should have the correct battery.

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

It likely has more to do with providing extra current for the top mechanism, not a daily driver non daily driver thing.

So if you don't use the convertibe top it probably wouldn't matter.

I'll keep an eye out for it but I did open and close the top multiple times this weekend due to greasing up the seals before spring kicks in with no issues.

[XtBeemer]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

I'll keep an eye out for it but I did open and close the top multiple times this weekend due to greasing up the seals before spring kicks in with no issues.

Well..I only put top up or down, while the engine is running because when I was about 6 or 7 , i played with my uncles rag top convertible and not realizing i was draining the battery, it got slanted and then jammed and well, i took off heading for the hills, cuz i didnt want to be there when he came out from his friends. I wrecked the ragtop, needless to say he wasnt happy.

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by XtBeemer

Well..I only put top up or down, while the engine is running because when I was about 6 or 7 , i played with my uncles rag top convertible and not realizing i was draining the battery, it got slanted and then jammed and well, i took off heading for the hills, cuz i didnt want to be there when he came out from his friends. I wrecked the ragtop, needless to say he wasnt happy.

Same here... top down only when engine is on

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

Vorshlag camber plates are in and aligned. Feels awesome!!!

Do you have the M3 control arms in front ?

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

Do you have the M3 control arms in front ?

Yes m3 stuff all around.