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      04-19-2014, 10:22 AM   #1
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Question Best aftermarket suspension

Hi , I'm looking for an Aftermarket suspension upgrade to my M-sport(Passive) suspension.
I've looked into spring upgrades but I'm not sure if it's a proper way to reduce body-roll or just a cheap option.
I don't mind a harsh ride if it handles very well while driving it hard and on Track.

tbh I haven't got it into a track yet due to the fact that our country doesn't care about us(Youth) and have no willingness to build one, Most Enthusiast travel to Bahrain , Dubai or Abu-Dhabi to track theirs ,
but i drive it how it supposed to be driven
looking forward to your experience guys, any tip from past experience is welcomed!.
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      04-20-2014, 05:21 PM   #2
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I plan on installing Motion Control coilovers this week; they are a spin off from Moton. This is the same suspension Bimmerworld is using on their 2104 race cars but dialed down for a more compliant ride. TC Kline is another good choice. There are other nice ones but they are more street oriented.

Edit: install is delayed.
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Last edited by JMK007; 04-27-2014 at 05:15 PM..
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      05-11-2014, 05:16 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JMK007 View Post
I plan on installing Motion Control coilovers this week; they are a spin off from Moton. This is the same suspension Bimmerworld is using on their 2104 race cars but dialed down for a more compliant ride. TC Kline is another good choice. There are other nice ones but they are more street oriented.

Edit: install is delayed.
any updates?
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      05-12-2014, 09:14 PM   #4
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I hope to have the coilovers on within the next two weeks.
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      05-23-2014, 06:46 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M-terkait View Post
Hi , I'm looking for an Aftermarket suspension upgrade to my M-sport(Passive) suspension.
I've looked into spring upgrades but I'm not sure if it's a proper way to reduce body-roll or just a cheap option.
I don't mind a harsh ride if it handles very well while driving it hard and on Track.

tbh I haven't got it into a track yet due to the fact that our country doesn't care about us(Youth) and have no willingness to build one, Most Enthusiast travel to Bahrain , Dubai or Abu-Dhabi to track theirs ,
but i drive it how it supposed to be driven
looking forward to your experience guys, any tip from past experience is welcomed!.
I'm ordering the M performance suspension from BMW parts. $1550 or something like that. Turn In Concepts in Cinci is installing for $450 WITH alignment. Woohoo
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      05-23-2014, 11:26 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by munch520 View Post
I'm ordering the M performance suspension from BMW parts. $1550 or something like that. Turn In Concepts in Cinci is installing for $450 WITH alignment. Woohoo
Trust me its the best 2K you'll spend on the car. Worth every penny.
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      05-27-2014, 07:18 AM   #7
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Trust me its the best 2K you'll spend on the car. Worth every penny.
Good to hear! It'll go on the car the second day I have it
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      06-11-2014, 04:11 PM   #8
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How is the m performance suspension compared to let's say ohlins or kw?
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      06-11-2014, 04:12 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davey111483 View Post
How is the m performance suspension compared to let's say ohlins or kw?
Ohlins isn't available for F30 yet.
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      06-11-2014, 10:18 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M-terkait View Post
Ohlins isn't available for F30 yet.
How about to a kw?
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      06-13-2014, 09:52 PM   #11
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Based on the research I've done, seems like the two best options are Motion Control and JRZ. If you're going coil-overs, go with something really good...
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      07-04-2014, 03:42 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JMK007 View Post
I hope to have the coilovers on within the next two weeks.
got them installed yet?
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      07-07-2014, 08:24 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davey111483 View Post
How about to a kw?
I'm interested in hearing how the M Performance suspension compares to KW V3 and Bilstein PSS10.
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      08-17-2014, 09:53 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M-terkait View Post
got them installed yet?
This has been a nightmare. I've had the coilovers for months but have been having great difficulty with camber plates.
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      08-18-2014, 05:34 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by Polo08816 View Post
I'm interested in hearing how the M Performance suspension compares to KW V3 and Bilstein PSS10.
+1
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      08-18-2014, 09:30 AM   #16
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I had the KW V#s and just took them off. It wasn't because I didn't like them. I just wanted a plain old car again.

They are very nice quality and I feel give a great balance of ride, lowering, and handling, with handling being the smallest improvement. I wouldn't use any other - except a very high end solution - for street use but for track use they have a lot to be desired.

The so so handling and softness of the V3s is due to light springs and valving designed for them. I would love to have tried them with aftermarket swaybars on the track. This may be a killer setup for dual duty folks.

As JMK007 stated, camber plates are a pain.
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      08-18-2014, 01:11 PM   #17
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I'm starting to think sway bars are what we really need... I've been calling H&R to pester them to get the F30 bars "approved" for US sale; couldn't hurt if other do the same ; )

H&R - 888 827-8881
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      08-18-2014, 02:20 PM   #18
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Agree that upgraded sway bars will make a huge difference for you guys.

Here's a nice post on the subject of coilovers from the S4 board which I figured you guys might appreciate here.

Quote:
I've been through the stock ADS suspension, STaSIS/Ohlins setup on the B8 and a full on race setup on the racecar all within the span of about a year. Each one has it's advantages and disadvantages and I thought it might be useful to run through those to help people sort out what's best for them.

A street car and a track car can look pretty similar but they serve very different functions. One is built with comfort in mind when you're sitting in traffic or driving on a leisurely weekend getaway. The other is purpose built to live right on edge of the laws of physics and secretly wants to kill you pretty much all of the time. If you want those two worlds to meet, there is going be big time compromises. When thinking about changing out the suspension on a car that sees mostly street time, you're going to realize the full effect of that change 100% of the time whether you're on the track or not. For me, the line in the sand was at 10-ish track days a year. That's the point where it makes sense to really start to think about a more track focused suspension setup.

The stock setup isn't terrible and if you're starting out with HPDEs and just getting your feet wet it'll be a few times before you start to even get comfortable enough with the environment to start thinking about lap times. The added bonus is that you can keep the ride quality on the street, which is one of those things that you don't realize how important it is until you're forced to feel every single seam and crack on the interstate. The other positive is that the stock suspension is built to be relatively maintenance free. Replace at the regular 60-80k intervals type situation while still being able to handle itself around a corner.

Now if you're getting more serious about performance, despite what you may have heard, and while the stock setup can indeed get you around corners, it is by no means built for that kind of work. Center of gravity is too high, spring rates are wrong and the dampers just aren't built for that type of abuse. Stepping up to a more track focused suspension is the obvious next step. You're going to want to move right into a proper coilover setup which is most likely going to be height adjustable but offer no variability, which depending on your level of knowledge, is a good thing. You will also get a decrease in ride quality...it is simply unavoidable when you increase the spring rate, decrease the travel in bump and droop or both. The change in ride quality can, at times, be very annoying and is one of the major drawbacks along with a potentially increased level of maintenance. For a basic setup, you will be looking at rebuilds every couple years or 4000 track/40,000 street miles as well. Figure the car will be down for at least a week while you wait for the manufacturer to re-valve and test the dampers.

Next stop is full on race setup. This involves 3, or more way adjustability, knife edge responsiveness and yearly (at least) rebuilds. It is also the most expensive and not shockingly is most likely intolerable on the street. The benefit is that you get to choose your ride height, fast compression, slow compression and rebound...all with 12-24 "clicks" of variability. This style of setup requires a pretty intimate knowledge of not only suspension dynamics but also a lot of seat time. You have to know what too much or too little rebound feels like and whether or not a corner requires a few more "clicks" of compression on either side to prevent understeer or oversteer. Worst of all, this is all pretty much impossible to really fine tune without a serious telemetry system which will set you back easily a couple grand. Next you have to deal with rebuilds every 1500 to 2000 track/15-20,000 street miles, which is pretty much every year. Rebuilds for these types of dampers can run anywhere from $1000 to $2000 bucks per rebuild. Not cheap.

My point here is that it is possible to over equip, and it looks like we're pretty close with the Ohlins that were showcased at the beginning of this thread. There is the real possibility that the benefits won't outweigh the costs. Are you going to get a better handling ride? Yes...is it worth it for a street car that sees track time? Probably not.
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      08-18-2014, 03:40 PM   #19
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I'm afraid in here it will cost alot of rebuilds so i guess I'll try KW anti-sway bar
and see if i need more i'll go with Mperf Suspension atleast i will not need any rebuilds
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      08-18-2014, 03:49 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M-terkait View Post
I'm afraid in here it will cost alot of rebuilds so i guess I'll try KW anti-sway bar
and see if i need more i'll go with Mperf Suspension atleast i will not need any rebuilds
Every damper will eventually wear out Don't let the above scare you about getting an adjustable set of coilovers, just be aware of the potential added maintenance. Probably good to contact vendors for specific kits and potential rebuild frequency. Besides, coilovers will give you height adjustability which is very cool...and corner balancing. I don't know much about macpherson front setups, but there's got to be a coilover setup with adjustable camber plates. I believe I've seen it on some e46 M3's.

That said, OEM parts are always gonna be the most reliable and maintenance free. The trade off of course will be in the performance/$$$ spent. I personally would get PSS10's if I hadn't optioned the factory electronic dampers. Made springs the sensible choice for a better look (my car looked awful from the factory...5 fingers of gap ) and slightly lower COG.
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