[AlpineSwift]

Thought I would share my experience with the H&R Coilover Kit on my E92 335Xi.

...Well there really isn't much to say other than they are AWESOME! No more crazy rolling about like a canoe in the pacific ocean. It just plants and turns flat. Bump absorption is firm but comfortable and controlled. I guess if there's more to elaborate on people will ask but having experienced KW V1's first hand in the drivers seat, I definitely don't regret going with H&R. Just feels so much more solid. It isn't as cushy in ride quality as KW and I like that. I feel like the V1's are too soft in the dampening.

Install was a bit interesting because of the way the rear springs and adjusters are designed. The adjusting collars have to be separated and put back together with the lower collar on the bottom of the lower control arm and spun into the upper perch/collar mounted on top of the LCA. The stock rubber boots for the stock springs that sit on top of the LCA's are not reused. The tops of the springs on the H&R rears have a metal cover that sits inside of the stock body cup. I know this sounds confusing but when you have everything apart, you'll see what I mean. It's a smart idea but the only worry I have is the threads of the lower perch extend below the LCA and are exposed to the elements and possible snagging on road hazards. It's unlikely they would ever hit or catch anything but it's still possible. For those that don't know, V1's have their adjusters on top of the springs pushed up against the body so nothing is exposed below the LCA. I guess the advantage of the H&R kit rears will be easier to adjust since there is no need to remove the wheels. Just get under the car with the included spanner and a 10mm allen key to go up or down since you cant access the top collar with the other spanner. The struts are very straight forward and reuse a lot of the factory components like the boots and bumpstops. Putting them in is easy, tightening them down inside the trunk behind the felt trunk liner is a total pain in the ass. If you don't have a wide array of metric wrenches and sockets, DO NOT try to attempt this install yourself.

On the fronts, I did not reuse the factory bumpstops for 2 reasons. #1) They will NOT fit in between the factory spring mount and the strut. #2) The instructions did not specify that the factory bumpstops had to be shaved or cut down to fit. They do detail the M3, and older 3 series need to have shaved/cut bump stops to fit properly, but with all the added information that they included for Xi and no mention of the bumpstops led me to believe the need to reuse them was unnecessary. The struts come with new boots as well so no need to reuse the factory boots either. I've hit some good bumps already and haven't noticed or heard anything scary from the front end so I'm not worried, especially since I'm not planning on going any lower than where it's sitting now. I'm going to have ar design check everything soon just to be safe.

There literally are NO instructions for the whole assembly from start to finish on this kit and as far as I can tell, no one has made a good DIY write up for this kit either. I used a combination of the ECS install video, a tech write up on a 135i that was posted on 1addicts for H&R coilovers, and a lot of my prior knowledge working on my old Trans Am and the F-16's I work on in the Air Force (if I can work on suspension for a multimiliion dollar fighter jet, I know I can handle a sports car. ). There was a lot of trial and error, blood, sweat, tears, frustration, and soreness installing everything but from what I can tell, I easily dropped not only the car (obviously) but a good 20-30 pounds of weight off the car from the stock suspension (and that's being conservative with my numbers). The weight difference between the new parts and the stock stuff in the box was insane!

I highly recommend these coilovers to anyone looking for a good alternative to the KW V1's. If you don't have any experience working on suspension, leave it to someone that does. Otherwise you're putting your life at risk if you don't have something tightened down properly or installed correctly, and in the end, that's not worth saving a couple hundred bucks to have someone install it for you.

Before:


After:



Wheels are Renn Motorsport RS-51's in Satin Graphite available through Sonic Tuning. Dimensions are 19x8.5 ET35 235/35 front and 19x9.5 ET35 265/30 rear on Continental ExtremeContact DW rubber.

[JaysBlueE92]

nice review..car looks great. H&Rs help bring the front down a little lower than v1s can on xi.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Good write up and good tips! Looks good!

[Exxxtacy]

Good write up. Glad to see someone's opinion on these. I plan on going with the h&r's.

Idk if I missed it in the write up but how much further can you go down if you can at all?

[AlpineSwift]

Originally Posted by Exxxtacy

Good write up. Glad to see someone's opinion on these. I plan on going with the h&r's.

Idk if I missed it in the write up but how much further can you go down if you can at all?

Are you talking about front or rear over the V1's? The front adjustment is 190-220mm from the spring seat to the center of the mounting bolt. The rear is 5-30mm from the circlip to the bottom of the lock ring. So that's 30mm of play in the front and 25mm in the rear which translates to just over an inch in the front and an inch in the rear for adjustment range. The tallest setting on the Coilovers is still something like a full inch lower than stock if not more.

Take that information as you will but my whole goal was to be as close to fender level with the tire tread as possible. I think I nailed that perfectly with this kit. The alignment today at my dealership confirmed the rear needs to come up about 5-10mm and the front down by 5mm. I'd say that's pretty good considering I eye balled the entire install with a crappy wooden ruler.

[e90Mark]

Car looks great. Can we get a side profile pic after you're all set up?

[AlpineSwift]

Originally Posted by e90Mark

Car looks great. Can we get a side profile pic after you're all set up?

Absolutely. I'll even try to find a relatively flat surface lol.

[Exxxtacy]

Originally Posted by AlpineSwift

Are you talking about front or rear over the V1's? The front adjustment is 190-220mm from the spring seat to the center of the mounting bolt. The rear is 5-30mm from the circlip to the bottom of the lock ring. So that's 30mm of play in the front and 25mm in the rear which translates to just over an inch in the front and an inch in the rear for adjustment range. The tallest setting on the Coilovers is still something like a full inch lower than stock if not more.

Take that information as you will but my whole goal was to be as close to fender level with the tire tread as possible. I think I nailed that perfectly with this kit. The alignment today at my dealership confirmed the rear needs to come up about 5-10mm and the front down by 5mm. I'd say that's pretty good considering I eye balled the entire install with a crappy wooden ruler.

Actually I just meant with the settings you had set. Like how much lower could you go lol I should've worded my question better

[AlpineSwift]

Oh.

If I had to guess without taking a look (midnight here) I would say maybe another 3/4" in the front and roughly a 1/2" or more in the rear. I'll be getting the ride height perfected tomorrow so I can get more accurate measurements then for you.

I will say the rears are about dead even with the fender right now and the fronts have maybe a finger gap in between the fender and the tire (if that) and there's still plenty of room to go lower. I don't plan on going lower so rolling or pulling my fenders isn't necessary. At the current height after the alignment, there is zero rubbing in the rear even over pretty substantial bumps in the road. Any lower than this and I would say you need to roll the fenders AT LEAST to avoid any clearance issues.

[Exxxtacy]

Originally Posted by AlpineSwift

Oh.

If I had to guess without taking a look (midnight here) I would say maybe another 3/4" in the front and roughly a 1/2" or more in the rear. I'll be getting the ride height perfected tomorrow so I can get more accurate measurements then for you.

I will say the rears are about dead even with the fender right now and the fronts have maybe a finger gap in between the fender and the tire (if that) and there's still plenty of room to go lower. I don't plan on going lower so rolling or pulling my fenders isn't necessary. At the current height after the alignment, there is zero rubbing in the rear even over pretty substantial bumps in the road. Any lower than this and I would say you need to roll the fenders AT LEAST to avoid any clearance issues.

very nice

exactly what i wanted to hear

[AlpineSwift]

Lowered the fronts a bit today and left the rears alone. I'll get pics after it settles. I put a level under both sides today and there is a slight front bias over "dead level". Might still need to come down a turn or 2 but it's pretty much where it needs to be.

[ridge_racer]

Thx for the review. I'm new to the E90 335xi and was interested in upgrading the suspension as well. Correct me if I'm wrong but Koni and Eibach don't have any options for us 4wd guys for 2011 model year? Love my Koni Sports with Rallitek springs on my 2005 Subaru Legacy Gt and Koni has a lifetime warranty. Do these H&R coilovers offer the same warranty?

[330xtrai]

great write up! Another good option for us xi guys

[335xs2dinan]

OP - car looks great, congrats.

Can anyone please comment on ride quality bw KW V1s, KW Street Comfort, and H and R coilovers?

I want to get a coilover kit (to lower slightly but primarily for precise and better handling) but am worried about returning to the jarring ride quality days of when I still had run flat tires and going over bumps/railroad tracks etc used to feel like mini accidents. Car is 08 E92 335xi.

Thanks in advance

[LI_Goalie]

Where did you get them?

[AlpineSwift]

The KW's are cushier than the H&R's but the H&R's are more controllable and very comfortable despite the stiffness. Read more on my original post because I covered this already.

I bought this kit from Turner Motorsport. It shipped directly from H&R.

[335xs2dinan]

Thank you for that. Did you consider KW street comforts at all? I think H&R is out for me with a baby on the way. Anyone else that can comment on this - I would appreciate it also.

Originally Posted by AlpineSwift

The KW's are cushier than the H&R's but the H&R's are more controllable and very comfortable despite the stiffness. Read more on my original post because I covered this already.

I bought this kit from Turner Motorsport. It shipped directly from H&R.

[AlpineSwift]

Originally Posted by 335xs2dinan

Thank you for that. Did you consider KW street comforts at all? I think H&R is out for me with a baby on the way. Anyone else that can comment on this - I would appreciate it also.

Nope. Never considered them because I wanted good street performance with the ability for light track use.

If you just want a little low and a better ride, so springs and shocks. Don't bother with coil overs.

[335xs2dinan]

haha, i guess im in a bind. i dont care much about what it looks like. want them for precise handling but not so bad that i cant have the baby in my car when needed.

Originally Posted by AlpineSwift

Nope. Never considered them because I wanted good street performance with the ability for light track use.

If you just want a little low and a better ride, so springs and shocks. Don't bother with coil overs.

[AlpineSwift]

Originally Posted by 335xs2dinan

haha, i guess im in a bind. i dont care much about what it looks like. want them for precise handling but not so bad that i cant have the baby in my car when needed.

If you want suspension for precision handling yet the ability to turn it into a soft comfortable luxury vehicle, you're better off saving your money for KW V3's. The H&R's do not have adjustable dampening so you either love the ride or hate it.

I knew based on my experience in the past with H&R that I wasn't going to be disappointed. I was right and love it. Makes the stock suspension feel completely ridiculous and unacceptable by comparison.

[ridge_racer]

AlpineSwift....are you still liking the H&R coilovers? Any new updates? I'm also considering getting a set myself next month. Hopefully they ride decent on NYC streets..

[spisanko]

is that as low as the coils go down??