[Tallgeese179]

After a lot of consideration, I decided to buy the H&R Street Performance coilover setup for my my 335xi. The deciding factor was that I didn’t want to spend over $1500 (coilovers, mounts, bushings, etc.) on a coilover setup and I wanted to buy a product that was a recognizable brand name. Since I live in Pittsburgh, corrosion was one of my main concerns. After narrowing it down to either KW V1s or H&Rs, I decided to get the H&Rs and accepted that I would simply have to take better care of them (corrosion protection).

Reading through the review AlpineSwift made and after talking to a forum member rosica that I saw recently sold a set of H&Rs, I was convinced that the firmer ride wouldn’t be too excessive. He also mentioned that he lived in Philly and didn’t have corrosion issues after taking them off after 2 years of use.

Shopping around online, I found that Jeff@TopGearSolutions had the best deal on the H&Rs. He was very helpful in answering my questions. The shipping was free and insanely quick. I ordered the parts on Monday morning and had them waiting on my doorstep Tuesday.

I plan on using this post as a partial installation write-up so that I can hopefully answer any questions others may have, since this particular set of coilovers has very little info available.

Parts Ordered:
OEM Unless Otherwise Specified

• H&R Street Performance Coilovers e92 Xi (PN: 50495-2)
  
  
  Front Suspension
• Front Upper Spring Pad (PN: 31336767500)
• Strut Carrier Gasket (PN: 31306772226)
• Front Upper Strut Mount (PN: 31336775097)
• Washer (PN: 31306763966)
• Upper Spring Plate (PN: 31336759452)
• Dust Protection Collar (PN: 31331110196)
  
  Rear Suspension
• Monroe Strut-Mate Kit {replaces upper shock mount upper/lower} (PN: 907984)
• Rear Bump Stop (PN: 33536783482)
• Rein Rear Lower Shock Mount (PN: 33526768544)
• Shock Mount Sealing Grommet (PN: 33506767010)

Included in H&R Street Performance Coilover Package

• 2X Front Strut
• 2X Front Progressive Springs
• 2X Rear Struts
• 2X Rear Spring Assembly (top spring retainer, tender spring, spring retainer, main spring, and friction reduction ring)
• 2X Rear Axle Height Adjuster
• 2X Coilover Wrench
• 1X Small Bottle T-9 Boeshield
• Technical Info Bag (no explicit installation instructions)

Mistakes/Problems/Concerns

• Couldn’t tighten the top strut nut to the ECS tuning video specified torque.
  The 6mm hex slot in the sturt literally started stripping before the torque wrench clicked. Might have be because we did this with the strut not installed, though I don’t think this would help stop the shaft from rotating (please correct me if wrong). Regardless, it’s on there tight and I haven’t heard any noises.
• Snapped the 6mm hex on top of the OEM rear strut.
  Apply penetrating oil to all bolts before starting. If this happens to you, an impact wrench with a wobble adapter will take it right off
• Bought the wrong strut nut socket from ECS (18mm)
  The front strut nut on the H&Rs is 19mm and the rear strut nut is 17mm.
• The rear spring perch protrudes below the rear “roll-over strut” (PN: 33326772899)
  Not too big of a concern. The manual (attached) says that a distance of 30-60mm of protrusion is within the design...I decided to ignore that. At the highest setting, the rear wheels tuck. I ended up adjusting it to 15mm instead to have around a finger of gap (like on the front).
• Front strut top lip sits above the top of the housing that the strut is secured into
  There’s about 2mm spacing between the two. While mildly concerning, I’m pretty sure this lip isn’t designed to transfer the force through the strut to the body. Instead, the large contact area where the housing grips (like a hand gripping a bottle) should carry the majority of this force through large contact area, friction, and large normal force from the squeeze of the housing.
• Front struts didn’t come with alignment pins that sit in the strut mounting slit (top of the carrier)
  Using the OEM shocks as reference, I marked where the alignment pins should be and used this during install. This should be accurate enough since this primarily affects the sway bar end link location. The endlinks have ball joints that can compensate for the potential minor misalignment.

FAQ

1. What material are the struts made of?
   They are almost certainly galvanized steel. A magnet stuck to the front/rear strut bodies with force. There is a distinct texture that might be the product of CNC turning. It’s best described as a very fine “ribbed’ texture.
   
2. Is a lower spring pad required on the front strut?
   No. I called the H&R office in the US and the tech said that the spring is supposed to sit directly on the friction reduction ring.
   
3. What is the order of the rear main/tender spring?
   Tender spring goes on top. Refer to the attached “Installation Note TS053” for more detail.
   
4. Where does the rear adjustable spring perch go?
   Bottom of the rear spring assembly. It replaces the rear spring pad. Refer to attached “Installation Note TS053” for more detail
   
5. Did you install the front bump stops?
   No. Based on AlipneSwift’s post and after talking to rosica, the H&R kit allegedly uses Bilstein’s “Inverted Tube Technology” that has in internal bumpstop. Looking around, it seems like other platforms (e.x. Chevy SS) have had this same question and have figured out the shocks are by Bilstein. I came to the same conclusion, since the shaft diameter on the front is massive and doesn’t leave much of a lip for a bump stop to sit on the shock body.
   
6. Do you need a rear spring lower rubber pad (like OEM)?
   No. The height adjustable perch goes down on the bottom.
   
7. How do you adjust the rear height?
   Take weight off the wheel. Insert 10mm hex from bottom of car into the threaded perch shaft and rotate CCW to lift, CW to lower. Don’t have to take the wheel off.
   
8. How does it ride?
   Well my eval isn’t really fair to the OEM suspension since my shocks/struts were pretty much shot, but I’ll try my best.
   
   The suspension is stiff. Not like riding on bricks, but like a very tight rubber band. You will feel everything on the road, as in you are very aware of the road surface without it being excessively intrusive. There is not much detectable dive/squat during braking/acceleration. The right speed/bumps will definitely toss you around a bit in the car. This is true for all suspension.
   
   In comparison to OEM, it’s in a different league. There’s no crashing over bumps or floaty feeling. You are stuck to the road. Also, the horrendous rake is gone. Overall I’d give it 8/10. If I knew it would be this good I would have skipped the 3+ days of researching other coilover brands.

FINAL SETUP / PICTURES
Front Measurements
-Thread length below bottom locking ring: 2mm
-Fender to bottom wheel lip: 57 cm
Rear Measurements
-Retaining clip to bottom of locking ring: 1.5cm
-Fender to bottom of wheel lip: 57 cm

Additional pictures here: http://www.e90post.com/forums/album.php?albumid=13598

**UPDATE 1/22/17**

As I posted below, this weekend was very warm so I took the time to lift the car up and clean the wheel wells and coilovers. To my disappointment, I found lots of flakey white residue on the portion of the threads that is covered by the rubber boot. I had to use a brass wire brush to get it off and found small spots of rust. Since the supplied Boeshield had not worked as well as I hoped, I cleaned up the threads and applied FluidFilm (sheep's wool oil based protectant) to the threads. Note, only the threads were like this, the shock bodies still have their light blue spray paint and are in great condition. The rears also looked good.

The other thing I discovered was that the front had settled significantly since installation. As you can read above, the front measurement was at 2mm of thread left below the bottom locking ring. This resulted in all 4 corners sitting at 57cm. In order to get everything level, I had to increase the front height from 2mm to 15mm. This means that the front settled by around 13mm. The only reason I really noticed was because the ride had become very harsh, to the point where I was bottoming out weekly and getting bump steer frequently. After adjustment, the front is ~1-2mm higher than the rear, so it's not noticeable visually.

Test driving it afterwards, the front feels better and I'm not scraping on everything. The links below show the original measurement and the new measurements (note the yellow stuff on the threads is FluidFilm):

Original Front Shock Measurement (2mm): http://www.e90post.com/forums/album....ictureid=61743
Updated Front Shock Measurement (15mm): http://www.e90post.com/forums/album....ictureid=63602

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Amazing review. Enjoy!

[matteblue3er]

The H&Rs are stainless steel. I've had mine installed since 2010 and they've been fine. I don't have any issues with corrosion.

[Tallgeese179]

Originally Posted by matteblue3er

The H&Rs are stainless steel. I've had mine installed since 2010 and they've been fine. I don't have any issues with corrosion.

I really hope they are, though I cannot find any solid documentation saying that they are SS.

When I called H&R US, they said they were steel. They said they were galvanized after I asked if they were. He didn't seem very sure in his response however.

Regardless, I decided to clean them and spray paint the bodies with sea breeze blue paint. I also coated the paint/springs/rear perches in Jet Seal and covered the threaded portions with the Boeshield provided. I'll update after this upcoming winter.

[matthewjmoser]

Originally Posted by matteblue3er

The H&Rs are stainless steel. I've had mine installed since 2010 and they've been fine. I don't have any issues with corrosion.

same! but not as long as you. how many miles on yours?

[Camman]

Depending on how long you've had the coilovers installed, they will soften up some once they break in. What are the spring rates?

[matteblue3er]

Originally Posted by matthewjmoser

same! but not as long as you. how many miles on yours?

Put them on at 82k. I just went over 130k. Struts and shocks are still great

[Tallgeese179]

Originally Posted by matteblue3er

The H&Rs are stainless steel. I've had mine installed since 2010 and they've been fine. I don't have any issues with corrosion.

I found out today that they are definitely not stainless steel. They are just zinc plated steel that can corrode. Especially in a place like Pittsburgh.

It was warm outside today so I took the opportunity to clean the coilovers up and re-apply Boeshield to the threads. Sliding the rubber boot up off of the top threaded portion, I found a bunch of white flakey stuff all over the threads. I had to use a brass wire brush to get it off. Underneath I cold see a spot or two of rust starting to form.

I ended up cleaning both front struts and covering the threads in FluidFilm. Hopefully it protects the threads better than Boeshield did. I also ended up raising the front end by ~1.3cm, since apparently it settled since the install.

[matteblue3er]

Originally Posted by Tallgeese179

I found out today that they are definitely not stainless steel. They are just zinc plated steel that can corrode. Especially in a place like Pittsburgh.

It was warm outside today so I took the opportunity to clean the coilovers up and re-apply Boeshield to the threads. Sliding the rubber boot up off of the top threaded portion, I found a bunch of white flakey stuff all over the threads. I had to use a brass wire brush to get it off. Underneath I cold see a spot or two of rust starting to form.

I ended up cleaning both front struts and covering the threads in FluidFilm. Hopefully it protects the threads better than Boeshield did. I also ended up raising the front end by ~1.3cm, since apparently it settled since the install.

I did a bit more digging and you're right about xi. RWD are either aluminum or SS. Mine are actually aluminum so that explains why they don't have any issues.

[JoeyH335i]

sud'd

[Tallgeese179]

The winter is finally over and it's almost summer. I've had a chance to look over the front struts to check for the corrosion that I found originally after using the Boeshiled.

The FluidFilm appears to have worked much better than the Boeshield. Everything still looked kind of greasy/yellow, but that's just how the FluidFilm looks. The threads were missing the distinctive white chalky corrosion they had previously. There's some road grime/sand that's stuck to the bodies, but I'll be cleaning that off in one of the coming weekends.

In regards to the ride quality: raising the fronts after they had settled really worked wonders. The suspension is still definitely more on the stiff side, but it's not crashing hard over every road imperfection. The ride height I have now is a nice balance between looks and function.

I've also been able to take the car to autocross twice so far. I'm still very much a beginner to performance driving, but I'd say the coilovers are doing their job. It stays planted on the course with reduced dive/roll characteristics.

Finally, I got a third set of wheels that are dedicated for the summer. They really complete the look of the car. Overall I'm very satisfied with what I've built

[2011335xi6MTMsportE90]

Dead thread bump. I'm installing these as we speak and I'm really confused by the rear set up. Does the rear spring perch just sit in the rear control arm uncentered? I can't seem to get it sitting in the middle of the control arm and I really don't want to take it all apart again. It was a major pain just to get it all assembled and put in there. Will it settle out later after driving? Just seems weird theres no way to solidly put the perch in the middle of the control arm. It just goes where it goes? Thanks

[Tallgeese179]

Originally Posted by 2011335xi6MTMsportE90

Dead thread bump. I'm installing these as we speak and I'm really confused by the rear set up. Does the rear spring perch just sit in the rear control arm uncentered? I can't seem to get it sitting in the middle of the control arm and I really don't want to take it all apart again. It was a major pain just to get it all assembled and put in there. Will it settle out later after driving? Just seems weird theres no way to solidly put the perch in the middle of the control arm. It just goes where it goes? Thanks

Looking back through my install pictures, it appears that the control arm hole that the bottom of the lower perch sandwiches around has a taper to it. It also seems like the two piece bottom perch has a matching taper, so it should be a self aligning assembly. I did this install quite a while ago at this point, but I don't remember having issues with it moving around much in there.

Spring perch assembly for reference:

View post on imgur.com

Lower sprint perch assembly partially installed:

View post on imgur.com

[2011335xi6MTMsportE90]

I stumbled upon your additional pictures and it was a huge help! Thank you so much. I originally had it installed wrong. Was a pain to redo, but at least I figured it out before I put the car on the road. My only issue now is the strut alignment in the spindle in relation to the end link. I tried to replicate the position to the stock strut as much as possible. I checked and I only have abiut 5mm of clearance between the strut and the front half shaft now. I'm not sure if that's ok, or if on tight turns I could risk hitting the axle. I plan to get adjustable end links which should help this clearance issue but in the mean time do you recommend I readjust the strut position to allow more clearance between the end link and the half shaft? Or as long as there is clearance will I be good? Thanks again!