[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by RagingKileak

Glad this is finally done and sounding good, shame it is two years too late for me lol!!

Any plans for a 1 series version? Although that would be too late too, I see a market there considering the strong sales of BMWP kits!!

Matt

1 series version is already available also

[doughboy]

I had the B3 kit fitted as one of the first batch Kevin released for sale.

I haven't done a review yet, but it is safe to say that it's pretty remarkable.

All my issues with the OE setup are gone, it now feels planted and stable and feelsome whilst being more comfortable & compliant over sharp bumps.

The delicious single 'thwump' you get over a nasty ridge without any shudder or upset of the car, the way the rears keep driving over broken tarmac withouth the little yellow flash.

The way you turn in to a corner with amazing precision now and find yourself inch perfect even when passing overbanding or catseyes or road repairs, the way the car moves across lanes so quick without any swaying or excessive momentum. Steering from the rear is now second nature where possible.

It feels like a quality setup, just perfect for the car and UK driving.

Most telling of all, the wife has NOT noticed the change at all.

And out of town on nice sweeping (nut bumpy) A roads we can now be moving at least 10-20mph faster before she looks up and says 'mike - watch your speed'.

Believe me that's impressive.

All I can say to you is read the BMW mag article at post#1 again, in detail, they are right, it is that good

[Logic108]

I've been shopping for a new suspension kit to replace the SE suspension on my 320D. My car is remapped at 197bhp and 411nm and most of the time I feel I have enough power for the conditions over here in Finland. But I know I can get more out of the car. And it usually comes down to the suspension when thinking of how to get more from the car.
So I've got just a few questions:
1. Is the suspension kit suitable for a remapped 320D?
2. Can the suspension kit be easily installed by a third-party garage?
3. Can I pay using my credit card?
Many thanks....

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by Logic108

I've been shopping for a new suspension kit to replace the SE suspension on my 320D. My car is remapped at 197bhp and 411nm and most of the time I feel I have enough power for the conditions over here in Finland. But I know I can get more out of the car. And it usually comes down to the suspension when thinking of how to get more from the car.
So I've got just a few questions:
1. Is the suspension kit suitable for a remapped 320D?
2. Can the suspension kit be easily installed by a third-party garage?
3. Can I pay using my credit card?
Many thanks....

1. Yes - the suspension is suitable for a remapped 320D. Is yours an E90 ??
2. Yes - it's easily installed by a competent garage. It's just regular suspension components as you would expect
3. For international transactions the payment would normally be done by telegraphic bank transfer (denominated in pound sterling) - on receipt of funds the kit is then sent out directly to you.

[Logic108]

O.k this is clear. Thanks E92 fan.

[Logic108]

O.k I've decided to go the coilover route and get myself the Bilstein B16/pss10 set-up. I wanted to be able to change the suspension to suit the extreme conditions we have over here - plus to do some track in the summer.

For my car, which is a 320D would it be worthwhile getting M3 struts and wishbones? Is this considered essential when upgrading suspension. Also what camber plates do Birds stock. I wondering about getting camber plates to go along with the coilover installation. Dinan?

Would the bushings and sway bars that Birds sell be compatible with the Bilstein B16's? I mean would they work well together?

I'm definitely getting the Quaife after finally finding a local garage over here that are expert enough to fit it (they are getting specialist training on LSD installation).

So far I have the B16's as definite and the Quaife as definte - I'm wondering if this will be enough for my car or are there other essential parts that will add to the performance of the suspension.

If this is the wrong thread to post this in please let me know and I'll delete and repost.

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by Logic108

O.k I've decided to go the coilover route and get myself the Bilstein B16/pss10 set-up. I wanted to be able to change the suspension to suit the extreme conditions we have over here - plus to do some track in the summer.

For my car, which is a 320D would it be worthwhile getting M3 struts and wishbones? Is this considered essential when upgrading suspension. Also what camber plates do Birds stock. I wondering about getting camber plates to go along with the coilover installation. Dinan?

Would the bushings and sway bars that Birds sell be compatible with the Bilstein B16's? I mean would they work well together?

I'm definitely getting the Quaife after finally finding a local garage over here that are expert enough to fit it (they are getting specialist training on LSD installation).

So far I have the B16's as definite and the Quaife as definte - I'm wondering if this will be enough for my car or are there other essential parts that will add to the performance of the suspension.

If this is the wrong thread to post this in please let me know and I'll delete and repost.

The M3 parts are not considered essential, but would be a worthwhile upgrade with the rest of the suspension.



Birds don't stock camber plates - they are made to order. You have a choice of Ground Control, Vorschlag, or TC Kline. I use Ground Control plates modified to suit my Ohlins race setup. The GC plates were previously used with a Bilstein B16 system, which uses standard sized upper spring perches (102mm).

However, it took Ground Control forever to make the correct spring perches, so I would suggest you contact TC Kline (www.tcklineracing.com) and ask if they have a set of camber plates suitable for the Bilstein B16 - it's a 14mm centre shaft with 102mm spring perch



The bushings and sway bars work perfectly well with the B16 - I had the exact same combination on my car prior to the suspension development.

When you are installing the Quaife, take the opportunity to replace the rear subframe bushings with the M3 items - makes a significant difference to rear-end stability.


Are you sure you want the Bilstein kit? Because being completely honest, the new Birds kit is spectacular on really crap roads, as well as being very capable on track. The demo car handled the Nurburgring very well, and although it's not designed for serious track use, it is an exceptional setup for road use with occasional track use.

[Logic108]

E92 fan I bow to your encyclopedic knowledge of suspension set-ups. Just fantastic information. The reason for the coilovers is that there are 4 types of driving surface here in Finland - we have sand roads in the forest and they become snow / ice roads in the winter and then we have the usual crappy roads and then some track. So I just wanted to be able to adjust for changes or to learn more about how the changes effect the car - but if it doesn't work out then I can easily sell the Bilsteins and get the shocks from Birds.
The M3 wishbone adds negative camber right? I wonder if this will do until I can get the camber plates sorted. Probably will I think.
Just as an aside - for the driving conditions here the 320D is perfect - it's light and responsive and the remap gives me lots of torque - still get the traction control light flashing. I test drove the 330D (I'm a diesel fan) and unmapped it felt sluggish and heavy with the power delivery coming too late. You wouldn't believe the prices for cars here in Finland - 80,000 euros for a well-specced 335D anyone? So the 320D is giving me more fun than anything at a reasonable price. Sorting out the suspension will just be a blast and I can't wait for the rear diff.
Many thanks!

[jester77]

Anyone know if this set up was designed to work with a particular brand of tyre?

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by jester77

Anyone know if this set up was designed to work with a particular brand of tyre?

No it works with any brand of tyre. It even works with runflats, but the full benefit comes with using non runflats. Birds recommend Continental Tyres generally

[Pwalo]

Hello Kevin, I e-mailed you a couple of weeks back and received your response the next day. E91 SE 325D. The car has 17's fitted with non run flats (Potenzas at the front and Toyo Proxes 4s on the rears (not least because they actually double up as great snow tyres) didn't get stuck once during the last month despite living in Guisborough North Yorkshire - where we had minus 16 and 18 inches of snow. Anyway to the point. I can see that the Birds package works on a car with 18 inch wheels. And brings the car down by 30mm if you have an SE like mine. Due to the practicalities of towing (motorcycle trailer and also on regular occasion a caravan) lowering the car isn't an option as I already partially ground out when leaving my driveway when towing either so dropping the rear by 25mm is not going to help. What would be the effect of using the revalved Bilsteins with the standard SE springs? Would I see an improvement in the cars ability to handle camber changes/bumps and swift direction changes. The springs feel soft for what is a reasonably heavy car but I wonder whether the standard dampers are the culprit. How can I make this car handle fast road stuff better without compromising its useability with ground clearance issues? Is there a standard height option spring? Also does the rate of the Birds springs fall somewhere between the M-Sport and the SE springs? Its obvious from the information above that you and your team have spent some time learning about the spring rates and damping rates of the 3 Series and the effects of changing these however Iam struggling to improve one aspect of the car handling without having a negative effect on ground clearance? Really looking forward to your response here. Would fitting 18" wheels partially resolve the issue of are the 17's adequate? Best regards Paul

[G_M_S]

Just acquired an E91 330d SE Dec '05 yesterday to replace my E46 330i - sounds like Birds package is the solution for me. Although I may have to buy it one stage at a time - so would be interested in advice as to what order the upgrades should be completed in to get maximum benefit from day 1 (would probably leave the Quaiff until last).

Will be keeping the standard 17" Runflats for a while as I aquired a 2nd set of wheels with brand new tyres for a very good price off Ebay with the intention of putting Winter Tyres onto the original rims before next winter.