[Yotaismygame]

I've only had these on my car for a few hundred miles and I just got the car aligned on Wednesday so keep that in mind. I will be updating this down the road.

First off after doing some research I was able to confirm Solo Werks is owned by KW. Originally two KW engineers left and started Solo Werks only to be bought out by KW a few years ago. I can post evidence of this if needed.

Now for the review part

At $600 for the set minus $75 off for a rebate deal they had going on in December $525 was too hard to pass up. I ended up selling my old sport suspension for $100. $425 coilovers ill take a gamble why not.

They came in a plain cardboard box. No decals or anything like that. Instructions were included but I used the ECS ST-X install guide on youtube to simplify things. BTW these are identical looking to the ST-X coilover.

With a 19x9 ET35 and a 234 or 245 you'll need a thin spacer if wanting to go super low. Otherwise the wheel and tire hit the collars and spring. Without a spacer though I was barely able to set them where I wanted.

The ride quality is great. I would describe them as OEM sport plus. Maybe just slightly stiffer than OEM sport suspension. Pretty hard to tell the difference between the two but I bet if I went back to stock I would notice. Without a doubt GF/Wife friendly. No funky noises or anything weird.

Overall I'm happy with the purchase. I don't track the car and really don't drive it all that much. More of a weekend/nice weather type of deal. Plenty of adjustment. The first pic is where I have it sitting now after the alignment. I'm about slightly lower than half way down on the adjustments(ignor the pic that shows them near the bottom). I would really like to compare these to the ST-X coilovers. Can anyone tell me how those feel?

BTW my wheel/tire setup. 19x9 et35 245/35/19 & 19x10 et38 275/30/19

[filhotran]

Looks great, I was planning on getting Solo Werks in the future, too!

[Yotaismygame]

I made a pretty large purchase when I bought these. Originally I had planned on the ST-X but when the time came my wallet wouldn't open up. No regrets.

Really isn't any info on these for BMW's but plenty run them on VW's and Audi's.

[filhotran]

Yeah I just recently bought a new set of wheels and tires which took a big hit on the wallet. I've seen you around the forums while I was doing some research for my current wheel setup

Did you DIY the coilover install?

[fgpalmer71]

Thanks for this. I've been curious about this....the cost seems to good to be true!

Side note.....Did you decide to leave your trim chrome or are you blacking it out?

[Yotaismygame]

Shoot I'm still trying to figure out what wheel specs I want next.

I did install them myself. Not too bad. A few specialty tools would have been nice but I managed without. I also have a lift though so I'm sure that made it easier.

[andrewbr]

PO installed these on my E92 328, I... am not a huge fan of them. But the car is sitting super low. Could you give me some ride height measurements? I suspect my car is just riding the bumpstops.

I also have a "thunk" from the right rear when going over bumps, any ideas what that could be before I tear into the suspension?

[Yotaismygame]

Originally Posted by fgpalmer71

Thanks for this. I've been curious about this....the cost seems to good to be true!

Side note.....Did you decide to leave your trim chrome or are you blacking it out?

I'm going to black it out. It's cheap enough I'll give it a shot. I think the car looks good as is now but for some reason the appearance doesn't excite me. I already have a carbon Aero lip with the center section paint matched, Msport rear bumper with carbon quad exhaust diffuser, and carbon tips to finish it off. Just ordered a carbon rear spoiler too. Hoping this helps how I feel about it. After that ill try the black trim.

[Yotaismygame]

Originally Posted by andrewbr

PO installed these on my E92 328, I... am not a huge fan of them. But the car is sitting super low. Could you give me some ride height measurements? I suspect my car is just riding the bumpstops.

I also have a "thunk" from the right rear when going over bumps, any ideas what that could be before I tear into the suspension?

yes in the front I'm at 25.5" and the rear 25.25". Originally when I had 235/265 tires the car was even lower since those tires aren't as tall and stretched. Like i said in the first post I really can't go any lower unless I add a spacer. Which right now the front is low enough for me.

Thunking.....check your shock is tight top and bottom, your coil spring is seated properly in the lower rubber mount. Other than that could be a bushing in one of the arms.

[Yotaismygame]

I will add that my rear camber at this ride height is at 2 degrees. Couldn't adjust it any less. I'm going to order adjustable arms to fix this.

[Yotaismygame]

In the pics where the beamer is parked next to my truck is before I dropped it even lower all around.

[andrewbr]

Originally Posted by Yotaismygame

yes in the front I'm at 25.5" and the rear 25.25". Originally when I had 235/265 tires the car was even lower since those tires aren't as tall and stretched. Like i said in the first post I really can't go any lower unless I add a spacer. Which right now the front is low enough for me.

Thunking.....check your shock is tight top and bottom, your coil spring is seated properly in the lower rubber mount. Other than that could be a bushing in one of the arms.

Thanks. Is that from the ground? I'm on 18s but will have to double check my ride height.

Did you have any issue adjusting the height in the rear? I tried to bring mine up a bit when swapping to winter wheels but they were pretty tight and the whole thing seemed to spin. I'm going to try disconnecting the sway bar to see if I can get a little more droop with the car off the ground.

[Yotaismygame]

Originally Posted by andrewbr

Thanks. Is that from the ground? I'm on 18s but will have to double check my ride height.

Did you have any issue adjusting the height in the rear? I tried to bring mine up a bit when swapping to winter wheels but they were pretty tight and the whole thing seemed to spin. I'm going to try disconnecting the sway bar to see if I can get a little more droop with the car off the ground.

That’s from the ground. Sidewall height will affect this measurement between cars.

Spinning perch in the rear is an issue with all coilovers. I have another thread where I show how to use ratcheting straps to pull the coil down so the perch can float and easily be adjusted. I also read using a oil filter wrench to hold it works too. I wish they would just weld a nut to the bottom or make it so the supplied spanned wrench would hold the top.

[ichibanset]

Hi there,

just curious if you reused or replaced these parts for the rear? Are those oem M3 wheels? I'm also planning to tackle and install my Solowerks on my E90. Also, if you have any other tips in the installation that you came across would be appreciated!

[Yotaismygame]

Originally Posted by ichibanset

Hi there,

just curious if you reused or replaced these parts for the rear? Are those oem M3 wheels? I'm also planning to tackle and install my Solowerks on my E90. Also, if you have any other tips in the installation that you came across would be appreciated!

I did not replace them. Not sure where the second pic is even at.
The first one if it’s what I’m thinking it is you don’t even use. The new perch will replace it. Check out the ECS how to video. Very informative.

M3 rep wheels. Real m3 wheels have much more aggressive offsets

[Yotaismygame]

Few more. Plenty of adjustment left up or down

[Yotaismygame]

Plenty of adjustment

[filhotran]

Give us an update in a few weeks/months after the suspension has settled

So far, is the ride bouncy like how stock is? Was there noticeable improvement as far as handling and feeling more planted?

[Yotaismygame]

Originally Posted by filhotran

Give us an update in a few weeks/months after the suspension has settled

So far, is the ride bouncy like how stock is? Was there noticeable improvement as far as handling and feeling more planted?

I've got about 400 miles on them so far. Do modern day coil springs settle? My ride height hasn't changed at all.

Bouncy like stock...hmmm I never felt like stock was bouncy and I don't feel like these are bouncy. The car does feel more planted, and stable through turns. But like I said before it's a small change from the stock sport suspension.

[aphael]

The second picture comes from the lower mounts of the rear shock. Those usually do not need to be replaced anyways. Would be interesting to see how these compare against st and kw v1.

[Bizzlesmit]

Thanks for the info and it looks good...

[ichibanset]

Hi there,

I had question about the blue plastic inside the top shock nut. Am I suppose to take that out in order for the nut to tighten down and go all the way through? Also, did you use a 21mm strut nut socket? Let me know, via text at 1(818)312-5368. Really appreciate it! Thanks!


Regards,
James Taruc