[Nat.E90]

Hey guys so I need some help I have been looking through the forum for a few days now and still stuck lol , I see mixed reviews about the BC Racing BR series coilovers , some people end up loving them and some say they are "bouncy" and make noise in the front so I just wanted to hear from more people who run them so I can decide what set up I'm going to use , the reason I was considering the BC's is because of the adjustability and they come with camber plates which I will need to fit my wheel set up ( Not going super low btw ) , OR I was wondering if I should just bite the bullet and go with AST 5100 series coilovers with top mounts , buy once cry once I guess lol but I haven't seen many people running those at all so if you guys can let me know your thoughts and suggestions that would be greatly appreciated.

[Bimmer_Bro]

Originally Posted by Nat.E90

Hey guys so I need some help I have been looking through the forum for a few days now and still stuck lol , I see mixed reviews about the BC Racing BR series coilovers , some people end up loving them and some say they are "bouncy" and make noise in the front so I just wanted to hear from more people who run them so I can decide what set up I'm going to use , the reason I was considering the BC's is because of the adjustability and they come with camber plates which I will need to fit my wheel set up ( Not going super low btw ) , OR I was wondering if I should just bite the bullet and go with AST 5100 series coilovers with top mounts , buy once cry once I guess lol but I haven't seen many people running those at all so if you guys can let me know your thoughts and suggestions that would be greatly appreciated.

I personally would not go BC. Yes mixed reviews and made in China. I like to stay German for major components on a German car ( my ocd i guess lol).
I have have ST on my x drive for 5+ years and they have been great. They are the same company as KW.
Bilstein has some nice options also.
KW are top notch but expensive depending which ones you go for. The KW v1 are the same internals as my ST ones but with a galvanized body.

[Nat.E90]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Bro

I personally would not go BC. Yes mixed reviews and made in China. I like to stay German for major components on a German car ( my ocd i guess lol).
I have have ST on my x drive for 5+ years and they have been great. They are the same company as KW.
Bilstein has some nice options also.
KW are top notch but expensive depending which ones you go for. The KW v1 are the same internals as my ST ones but with a galvanized body.

Yea I was considering ST but since I'm in NY and they are made of galvanized steel I hear they would rust up pretty easily lol

[Bimmer_Bro]

Originally Posted by Nat.E90

Yea I was considering ST but since I'm in NY and they are made of galvanized steel I hear they would rust up pretty easily lol

I live in Canada close to the mountains and drive them year round. They put terrible salt down here. Had them on 6 Canadian winters and they are still fine. I do understand living on the coast can cause things to rust faster tho.
I think for the kw V1 might be 500 or so more.

[Nat.E90]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Bro

I live in Canada close to the mountains and drive them year round. They put terrible salt down here. Had them on 6 Canadian winters and they are still fine. I do understand living on the coast can cause things to rust faster tho.
I think for the kw V1 might be 500 or so more.

Oh wow that's good to hear , I'm going to start looking into them more , I heard some people spray them with some kind of clear to protect from all the salt , any chance you did that to yours ?

[Bimmer_Bro]

Originally Posted by Nat.E90

Oh wow that's good to hear , I'm going to start looking into them more , I heard some people spray them with some kind of clear to protect from all the salt , any chance you did that to yours ?

I mean mine are not perfect or anything they do have some light rust on them but it's not going to effect anything. The only place rust really matters is on the threads if you plan on adjusting them often.... which you are probably not seeing is how you will need an alignment if you make any ride height changes.
For me I set them once and haven't changes it since so the rust doesn't matter.
If I had to adjust them I'm sure they would just need a scrub and some wd40.

I think they are great for the price.
My only negative is when it gets to -20, they are rock hard making the ride bouncy.

[whyzee125]

BC's are kind of a mixed bag, but if you are considering AST's, I don't think you'd be happy with BC's out of the box. The hard parts are pretty well made and they can be customized and revalved to be fantastic but by the time you do this, you could just buy something already set up a bit better.

AST's are some of the best out there from what I've heard. I would also consider Fortune Auto and YCW, similar to BC in features but more customizable and pretty well priced. Good luck!

[Phil325i]

Ohlins Road and Track are worth considering. Don't be put off by the word 'track' in the title. They are an excellent road set up. Good corrosion resistance too.

[Nat.E90]

Thanks fellas , I've decided to go with the Ohlins Road & Track with Vorshlag camber plates and SPL endlinks since I am able to get that set up for much cheaper than the AST 5100's and everyone I've talked to recommended those over the AST for a street car

[mfran615]

Originally Posted by Nat.E90

Thanks fellas , I've decided to go with the Ohlins Road & Track with Vorshlag camber plates and SPL endlinks since I am able to get that set up for much cheaper than the AST 5100's and everyone I've talked to recommended those over the AST for a street car

Look at TC Kline's setup! I'm installing mine this week. Fantastic suspension and TC will be happy to help answer any questions you have before, during and after install.

[mcp]

Originally Posted by Nat.E90

Yea I was considering ST but since I'm in NY and they are made of galvanized steel I hear they would rust up pretty easily lol

i know you already decided but if you buy ST's in a rust area you can always just give them a massive coat of 2k clear and keep the boots in good condition and you'll be fine.

[BoostHaus]

I would recommend a nice spring a strut combo like KYB or Bilstein with eibach's as a cost effective and more enjoyable overall solution than BC coilovers. There's also YCW / Mfactory as others mentioned here that would be a reasonable price for coilovers. You can look for used ones or spend a bit more and get something nice like KW, AST, Ohlins, or JRZ. TBH all the cars I've ridden in and/or installed lower end coilovers like BC, Fortune Auto, and Godspeed kinda make me wish I hadn't.

[Torgus]

Originally Posted by Nat.E90

Thanks fellas , I've decided to go with the Ohlins Road & Track with Vorshlag camber plates and SPL endlinks since I am able to get that set up for much cheaper than the AST 5100's and everyone I've talked to recommended those over the AST for a street car

Have you bought them yet?

Back in the day the ohlins came with the wrong spring rates. They fit fine, but they are not 'right' for the chassis aka the lb/in was off Front: 400 lb/in (70N/mm) Rear: 343 lb/in (60N/mm) which is low for the rear. I run 2x that for a rear spring. You also likely will want them revalved to the springs you are going to use. I think they fixed that and now give you 70/140 springs standard but I would double check. Many people still upgrade to sprint springs over the Ohlins stock springs. People who track their cars often run even higher rates like 500/1000 for instance.


Some reading:
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=604381
https://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=956039

FWIW I like my Ohlins a lot. I think you will be happy.