[Phyrexia]

Got the PS installed yesterday afternoon, much to my delight. I've logged many hours working on my cars but this was actually the first suspension install I've ever done.
The installation was pretty straightforward. The forum was helpful, as always, and the BavAuto videos are nice resources.

I was coming from the standard suspension and I've never driven an E90 with the sport suspension.

The car feels much more planted. Side to side roll has been greatly decreased as expected. The car doesn't pitch forward as much under braking.
I've found a couple of real SOB bumps on the 405 and on PCH and where I thought I was about to bounce off into space, I feel very firmly attached to the road.

It reminds me of my E46 M3 right when I bought it, with a little more comfort. Compared to the E92 M3 with the adjustable suspension I once drove,
the Performance Suspension is more comfortable, less bumpy.

I wasn't sure exactly what to expect - I wanted to keep some of the comfort, but my driving style does not mesh well with the standard suspension and I knew I would sacrifice some of that.
While I can feel the road more (still on RFTs for a few more weeks) I don't feel like the car is too bumpy. Once I switch to some Indy 500s I may find myself even more pleased.

So far, so good. I'm noticing at first glance there's more wheel gap up front than in the rear. I thought the front would be a smidge lower. I suppose the strut bearings will settle down a touch.
I've got about 30 miles on the suspension so far.

I'll take some more pictures later this afternoon when the lighting is the same.

[feuer]

Did you loosen up the control arms and torqued them back down at the current ride height?

[Phyrexia]

Originally Posted by feuer

Did you loosen up the control arms and torqued them back down at the current ride height?

Yes, as best I could. I was able to torque down the "radius rod" bolt (the forward arm) with the car completely on the ground, though now that I think about it, I didn't roll the car at all to get the suspension to fully settle.

For the "wishbone", I jacked up the knuckle until right before it lifted the car off the jack stands, put a wrench and impact on the nut and bolt, tightened them down. For that matter...can those control arm bolts be torqued down too hard? I got them pretty good with an 18v impact.

Do you think it would be worth it to buy a set of ramps, pull up on them, loosen the fasteners, and tighten them back down? I'd considered doing that last night. And have been meaning to get a set of ramps for my girlfriend's car's oil changes.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by Phyrexia

Yes, as best I could. I was able to torque down the "radius rod" bolt (the forward arm) with the car completely on the ground, though now that I think about it, I didn't roll the car at all to get the suspension to fully settle.

For the "wishbone", I jacked up the knuckle until right before it lifted the car off the jack stands, put a wrench and impact on the nut and bolt, tightened them down. For that matter...can those control arm bolts be torqued down too hard? I got them pretty good with a battery impact.

Do you think it would be worth it to buy a set of ramps, pull up on them, loosen the fasteners, and tighten them back down? I'd considered doing that last night. And have been meaning to get a set of ramps for my girlfriend's car's oil changes.

I think you should do it considering that your are doing this yourself and you care about how the car rides and how the suspension will perform. I don't have the exact torque values but battery impact should be sufficient. You need to do it on both front arms and all five in the rear for best results and longevity on the bushings. Is a lot of work. Something that most people that are DIY this and shops a like, won't do.

[Phyrexia]

I certainly want it to be correct. I just wondered if my process was good enough. I'll give the ramps a shot and see how it goes.

[david in germany]

Also give it a few weeks to settle. I love my PS on my 335i!

[feuer]

Originally Posted by david in germany

Also give it a few weeks to settle. I love my PS on my 335i!

I only have the PS springs on my 335i matched with Yellow Koni's. It has been 4 years since I installed them. Drastically better than the OEM Sport springs.

[david in germany]

Originally Posted by feuer

I only have the PS springs on my 335i matched with Yellow Koni's. It has been 4 years since I installed them. Drastically better than the OEM Sport springs.

Good mix as well. On my e87 I am running the PS springs with Bilstein B8's a lot of off ramps I rarely slow down for anymore.

[Phyrexia]

Originally Posted by david in germany

Good mix as well. On my e87 I am running the PS springs with Bilstein B8's a lot of off ramps I rarely slow down for anymore.

Do you or does anyone know who is manufacturing these dampers for BMW? Are they Sachs? My kit didn't have any part numbers for replacement dampers included.

I think the car may have settled already since I took the first pictures. I'm going to report back in a few days/hundo miles. Still going to rejigger the bolts, feuer.

[feuer]

Sachs make the dampers.

[AWSB328iM]

My 2011 E92 M-Sport has 71k Miles. Thinking about going with the full Performance Suspension, new strut mounts, Monroe rear mounts, and M3 control arms around 80k Miles. My Pilot Super Sports are almost worn out and I plan to swap them for PS4S this summer/fall.

[Phyrexia]

We're in the same boat. My car has 73500 mi on it. I'm not sure if I'm going to get M3 arms. And I need new tires. I bought Lemforder rear mounts though. I've read negative things about Monroe here.

[Zaíne92]

Originally Posted by feuer

I only have the PS springs on my 335i matched with Yellow Koni's. It has been 4 years since I installed them. Drastically better than the OEM Sport springs.

I'm thinking going the ps spring route pairing them with bilstein b4 is it good combo?

[feuer]

Originally Posted by Zaíne92

I'm thinking going the ps spring route pairing them with bilstein b4 is it good combo?

I would not know. Sorry. In the past 12 years I have had 3 vehicles and used Koni yellows exclusively.

[Jklad]

I think I would be all for this kit except for the fact that your forced to buy the sway bar. Feedback from another user who bought this kit was that The sway bar that comes with it essentially sucks and that he got a large noticeable improvement simply from swapping out the sway bar for a 28in e93 m3 bar.

[Phyrexia]

Originally Posted by Jklad

I think I would be all for this kit except for the fact that your forced to buy the sway bar. Feedback from another user who bought this kit was that The sway bar that comes with it essentially sucks and that he got a large noticeable improvement simply from swapping out the sway bar for a 28in e93 m3 bar.

Maybe it's unimpressive coming from the Sport package, but I can tell a giant improvement in body roll coming from the standard suspension. I'm not sure what I'd gain with a 28mm bar. The PS bar is 26.5 I think?

I forgot to mention that the skinnier sway bar bushings that come preinstalled with the included swaybar were the correct ones for my car. My car had the skinnier brackets already. So huzzah for that.

[Phyrexia]

Originally Posted by feuer

I think you should do it

And I am glad I followed your advice instead of just trying to let the car settle. My ramps came in and I:

• Pulled the car upon the ramps,
• Unbolted enough of the undershield for access,
• Loosened the four front control arm fasteners,
• Zip tied the undershield,
• Backed off the ramps,
• Moved the car a couple feet backwards and forwards while turning the steering wheel to settle the suspension,
• Pulled back up on the ramps,
• Removed zip tie,
• Tightened the four front arm fasteners,
• Replaced the undershield,
• Backed off the ramp

and now the front end of the car is immediately and noticeably lower. This is more along the lines of what I was expecting. Going to wash the car and post more pics tonight.

[Phyrexia]

Also, because I am a nerd, I determined that doing this with ramps is no problem - my ramps lift the wheels 6.25", so the struts are at an 86.7 degree angle with respect to the ground, so (assuming perfect initial caster) the front suspension is receiving 99.8% of the weight it would if you were to do this on a totally flat surface (like with a pit, or a fancy drive-on lift).

[AWSB328iM]

Originally Posted by Phyrexia

And I am glad I followed your advice instead of just trying to let the car settle. My ramps came in and I:

• Pulled the car upon the ramps,
• Unbolted enough of the undershield for access,
• Loosened the four front control arm fasteners,
• Zip tied the undershield,
• Backed off the ramps,
• Moved the car a couple feet backwards and forwards while turning the steering wheel to settle the suspension,
• Pulled back up on the ramps,
• Removed zip tie,
• Tightened the four front arm fasteners,
• Replaced the undershield,
• Backed off the ramp

and now the front end of the car is immediately and noticeably lower. This is more along the lines of what I was expecting. Going to wash the car and post more pics tonight.

Waiting for pictures!

[AWSB328iM]

Originally Posted by Phyrexia

We're in the same boat. My car has 73500 mi on it. I'm not sure if I'm going to get M3 arms. And I need new tires. I bought Lemforder rear mounts though. I've read negative things about Monroe here.

What did you read negative about the rubber Monroe mounts? I haven't looked in about a year, but they were the rage then compared to the $100+ Dinan mounts.

[Phyrexia]

Originally Posted by AWSB328iM

Waiting for pictures!

Some clouds moved in and by the time they moved away my house was blocking the sun for The Perfect Shot. I did wash it though, I had almost forgotten why they call this color Titanium Silver

I'll see if I can find my source for Monroe negativity. Take it as apocryphal until then. Edit, I found the thread I was thinking of, and my wires are crossed. They say the Monroes transmit more NVH but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It was not what I was going for.

[Phyrexia]

Here we are. I'm happy. Drives great. I still need an alignment but I still need tires too so I'm waiting a few weeks.