Quote:
Originally Posted by strobe89
I noticed that shockware was on sale right now for that $164. I got excited until I read that it moves the existing sport mode into comfort. I just finished my ACS spring install less than a week ago and was looking into this flash. Not so excited anymore.
ACS springs didn't seem to add any "additional" float to comfort, and still rides rock hard in sport. I don't mind the minor float of comfort since it takes the road texture away for a smooth ride. I do wish it would get rid of the wallow on huge bumps where it feels like it's going to throw you out of the seat. Stock sport mode I feel like every pebble is transferred to my butt and even minor bumps cause rattles in my car.
If the flash truly is moving stock sport programming to the comfort mode, then I definitely don't want it. I just want my comfort mode with a little bit more body control, not the added texture and harshness of sport mode. I'd rarely ever touch the new fancy dinan mode for sport. In comfort mode with my ACS springs, I'd say this F30 xDrive and adaptive suspension is the best riding car I've had. It easily rivals my family's bigger 5 series BMW, and E class sedans. Just wish it had a little bit more body control. Guess you can't always have your cake and eat it too.
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I've got a '17 RWD 340i with the Shockware installed, so not sure if this is a direct comparison, but I don't feel that the stock sport suspension mode was moved down to comfort. More like something in between. I drive in NJ, on some pretty bad roads. I've got the 19's from the track package with the RFT performance tires on the car and I don't get any excessive rattling or harshness from even pretty large bumps in the new Shockware-modified "comfort" mode. Most of the float has been removed, and the car does feel "stiffer" overall, but it is still nicely compliant. Frankly, my F30 now feels more like my beloved '08 E90 RWD sport package car, though slightly more comfortable. My F30's comfort mode now feels like a perfect sporty daily driver to me. I've had the Shockware for about 9 months now and I don't think there has been a single occasion where I've wished that the car was "softer."
Now the new "sport" mode is definitely stiffer than the stock sport. Sport is definitely too firm to be used as a daily driver, unless you have nice smooth roads where you live. I use it on all of my country/windy road drives, but to be honest the new "comfort" mode is so good that only when I'm really pushing the car hard (or want to get the flaps on my MPPSK exhaust to open up) do I put the car in sport or sport+ mode.
My advice, get the Shockware. Just make sure that your installer of choice will remove it for free if you dislike it for some reason. My dealer was willing to make that promise. All I would have had to pay for was the 30 minutes of labor ($75) from the initial install. The only caveat here is that you put the ACS springs on already, which are certainly NOT matched to the damping characteristics of the Dinan-modified dampers. Shockware is technically designed to work with Dinan springs. Shockware also seems to work very well with the stock springs (at least on Sport/MSport cars). Unless the spring rates are similar (perhaps you can find that information), I don't know if I'd pair Shockware with another spring brand.