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      05-05-2010, 02:05 PM   #1
tgxmike
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Full BMW Performance Suspension upgrade for 128i non-sport

Alright, here is a teaser and details so far for my suspension upgrade.

lets start with the before.....

Car is a...
2009 (10/2008) 128i non-sport coupe, Jet Black w/6MT.

Took some before measurements of the height. All measurements are from the roundel center, because this car has 17in wheels which are just slightly taller than the 18in wheels on the 135i.

Pic#1

Front Left 14 1/2" Front Right 14 1/2"
Rear Left 14 1/4" Rear Right 14 1/16"



Progress so far.

Dealer quoted me....
Parts $1278
Labor $110/hr @8hr
Align $200
Total $2358 +tax


Dropped the car off this morning, around 7:30am and picked up a 328xi loaner. There is also a gas tank vent valve causing a check engine light they are going to replace.

Let start with loaner problems... (funny). In a rush to get to work I ran right through the EZ Pass lane... My tag was in my car at the shop. (It's an $85 fee). I call ezpass and they said they can just add the car and I will probably be fine. One minute later the CSR says, someone has already registered that plate, I can not remove the plate number from there account. So some else did the same thing and now will have my toll on their bill.... LOL!!!! (only $0.29)

Dealer calls me at 10am. Problem, They open the box and it has Shocks, Struts, 2 sway bars and nothing else. So the call BMW NA who says the springs are separate and extra (grumble) and that mounting hardware for the rear bar is not include and also extra. THE KIT IS NON-SPORT SPECIFIC, INCLUDE THE DAMN HARDWARE. Some grumbling and price talk went on. Offered me the springs at cost $450.... + Hardware ~$100. Finally I said If you can do it for $2500 before tax and get it back to me before Saturday just do it. so for and extra $144..... they ordered the ~$600 worth of parts and next day aired them in for tomorrow.

I'm happy, then came down a lot in the "extra" price to help me out there. And I didn't have to argue or talk with a manager, they just said $2500 is fair to keep a customer. (I've sent 3 friends there who have all bought cars, so they like me)

I will update the rest of the thread Fri/Sat with impressions and pictures.

PS installed..... (07May2010)

Items installed
4 springs
4 shock/struts
replaced front sway bar
new rear sway bar (none previously)


Install went fine with my dealer, as everything always does. Car looks a little better too.

Dropped to ~13 1/2" at all corners. so about 3/4" drop all around. (I'll post some pics of the after when I get a chance.) I like the drop, because it is subtle.

First impressions are pretty simple. The car should come with this suspension from the factory. Why? The ride on the road is much nicer, less bumps and jarring, more balanced and that dancing feel at high speeds is gone too. The car is much flatter around corners. I no longer feel like the car is going to roll me out the window. more like catapult me through the door. I do feel like it is much easier to get into an understeer situation, however I was def able to take the corner much faster. So the performance is there and then some.

It feels like under hard acceleration during cornering the rear sway is preventing some of the power from getting to the ground. I almost want to say no rear sway may have been better. I will have to drive some more before I can really conclude on this.

UPDATE: After some more driving, the car really does handle great. The understeer I mentioned above is really only present when on an upward incline around corners. (Maybe stiffer rear springs would have helped.) Adjusting the tire pressue made a nice difference.

I can also say that I will need wider tires.

So the big questions…

Was it worth it? YES!

128i w/o sport suspension initially….. totally worth every penny,
track worthy… not for a junkie, but totally for a weekender.
Attached Images
 

Last edited by tgxmike; 05-17-2010 at 09:31 AM.. Reason: Update
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      05-07-2010, 03:12 PM   #2
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update.... ttt

note pics are pre-PS install
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      05-07-2010, 03:20 PM   #3
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so you paid close to $900 just for labour......
isn't that too much?
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      05-08-2010, 09:56 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by e90sexion View Post
so you paid close to $900 just for labour......
isn't that too much?
took them over 10 hours to get everything in. Rear sway bar was a pain. and the gave me ~$450 off the price they would normally have charged. So it wasn't so bad. Total it was $2500+tax.

With all the confusion with the springs and sway bar install parts, they definitely did the right thing to get me all the parts fast and still give me a decent price. IMO I would rather pay a little more to have someone I trust and know will do the right thing.
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      05-08-2010, 10:02 AM   #5
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wouldn't you be better off with a decent coilover set ? Price you paid is almost around that. Say KW V2s ?
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      05-08-2010, 10:06 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Evice View Post
wouldn't you be better off with a decent coilover set ? Price you paid is almost around that. Say KW V2s ?
Yeah, but he also got front and rear sways with that price, and probably a better ride quality than coilovers offer. Plus he got to stay OEM, which is important to some people, not least of all due to warranty issues.

Besides, IMO coilovers are overkill for most people. At the end of the day you need to decide if you'd rather have a DD or a racecar.
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      05-08-2010, 01:07 PM   #7
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KW V2's would have been near that price without installation. Installation is not a small job, plus you would need corner-balancing in addition to alignment...

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      05-08-2010, 02:24 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob View Post
Yeah, but he also got front and rear sways with that price, and probably a better ride quality than coilovers offer. Plus he got to stay OEM, which is important to some people, not least of all due to warranty issues.

Besides, IMO coilovers are overkill for most people. At the end of the day you need to decide if you'd rather have a DD or a racecar.
Exactly, warranty was a big factor and so was ride quality. Plus the kit included everything. I could not do coils and sways for that price, so the PS was a better option than aftermarket springs/shocks Also I won't spend a lot of time on the track.

I just drove over 150 mi today, and the ride is so much nicer. Handles bumps better and also helps that boat like steering that I used to have on the highway. Some of the big dips on the highway cause the car to bounce a bit more, but I would perfer this over the terrible stock ride. I'm very happy so far. Now I just need some dry days to test the handling.
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      05-08-2010, 04:12 PM   #9
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Are you sitting any lower?

My biggest peeve about the stock suspension is the pogo feeling you get when you hit uneven pavement at speed - like there's a harsh bump, which I don't really mind, and then the car sort of gently bounces up and down for a second or two. Makes the car seem unsettled. I feel like the car should recover faster. You feel any more planted?

Ideally, I'd like to do the PS and some of the M3 bits. I wonder how much the subframe bushings help...?
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      05-08-2010, 04:32 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob View Post
Are you sitting any lower?

My biggest peeve about the stock suspension is the pogo feeling you get when you hit uneven pavement at speed - like there's a harsh bump, which I don't really mind, and then the car sort of gently bounces up and down for a second or two. Makes the car seem unsettled. I feel like the car should recover faster. You feel any more planted?

Ideally, I'd like to do the PS and some of the M3 bits. I wonder how much the subframe bushings help...?
I got my car back from the PS install this past Wednesday and IMO the car is finally worthy of the BMW badge. It's a good DD set-up and the neat trick about it is that it feels firmer, but less harsh. I'm sure there are those who would want to take things further, and the rear sub-frame bushings probably would still help--the front end seems better sorted out than the rear, but I'm leaving well enough alone for now. I cannot see any drop at all, and that's fine with me because most of my driving is on rough city streets. Dan@United oversaw the install and told me that it will settle some over the next month.

My driving so far has been limited to the city, but the car is much more satisfying to drive. I plan to take a 600+ mile trip tomorrow and then I'll see how it feels at speed. Just around town I'd say that 98% of that pogo stuff is gone.
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      05-08-2010, 05:01 PM   #11
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I don't feel this pogo stick movement at all, is the sport suspension that different than the stock ? or may be I should ask, how does stock vs. sport vs PS suspensions compare ?
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      05-10-2010, 08:23 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob View Post
Are you sitting any lower?

My biggest peeve about the stock suspension is the pogo feeling you get when you hit uneven pavement at speed - like there's a harsh bump, which I don't really mind, and then the car sort of gently bounces up and down for a second or two. Makes the car seem unsettled. I feel like the car should recover faster. You feel any more planted?

Ideally, I'd like to do the PS and some of the M3 bits. I wonder how much the subframe bushings help...?
I drove over 300mi this weekend so I can def say I like the new feel of the car on the road.

The ride is def totally different. The pot holes and small cracks that used to send the wheels bouncing like maniacs, has settled to almost nothing. Which is nice for the rough roads around here. But you do need to scarafice some harshness on the big dips and undulations in the road. You kinda feel like you are getting thrown up out of your seat a little bit more now. I think this is perfectly fine though, and prefer this feeling.


As for the performance, I have not had a lot of time to really push the car, but can make a few observations. (Keep in mind I'm running 205/50/17 hankook V12 all around). The limits of the car are much better, along with the reduced roll. However!!! the car used to be balanced beyond the limit, now it just goes into understeer. I will def have to ger wider tires next time around.

And the drop was 3/4" all around right after I picked the car up from the dealer. This looks so much better IMO.

If your thinking about getting the PS... DO IT!!! especially in place of the non-sport suspension
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      05-17-2010, 09:33 AM   #13
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Slight updates to orginal post...... ttt

After more than 1000mi, I can't imagine ever going back to the stock suspension. If you are still considering this suspension, stop reading and call your dealer.
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      05-24-2010, 04:56 PM   #14
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I also get the pogo stick handling with my 128i it really doesn't feel safe cornering at high speed. My car has the sport pkg suspension with the staggered 18" wheels setup. It's only noticeable while driving 60+ mph though, below that speed it's perfectly fine. I wonder if the PS suspension would fix it.
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      07-05-2010, 05:33 PM   #15
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Has anyone test driven and compared a 128i with the factory Sport package and staggered 17" wheels (not 18") to a non-sport 128i with a BMW Performance Suspension installed?

Is there a noticeable difference between the two?

In part I'm also trying to confirm whether staggered 18" wheels make a significant performance difference for a daily driver equipped with either suspension (Sport, Performance); e.g. whether 18" tires are worth the extra cost when it eventually comes time to replace them a few years down the road.

Thanks.
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      04-02-2013, 08:03 PM   #16
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Asked my dealer about getting this done too, got quoted $2,000 just for labor. I wouldn't mind paying $900, anyone have any experience doing this in socaL?
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      04-03-2013, 02:26 AM   #17
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so your rear sway comes from which car? I dont get it there is no rear sway in BMW PE suspension.
Which wheels are those, specs?
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      04-03-2013, 08:59 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RimasRS View Post
so your rear sway comes from which car? I dont get it there is no rear sway in BMW PE suspension.
Which wheels are those, specs?
The Performance Suspension comes with a rear sway if you are upgrading from a non-sport pack car. Thus, on these cars, installation is slightly longer.
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      04-03-2013, 11:12 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vantagesc View Post
The Performance Suspension comes with a rear sway if you are upgrading from a non-sport pack car. Thus, on these cars, installation is slightly longer.
a ok got your point. I think you will enjoy your PE though you could do at the same subframe m3 bushings. But ok
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