Best suspension for Daily Driver / Backroads Dancer 135i

[Gangplank]

Originally Posted by asbrr

Lol just when you thought you'd narrowed it down! It does sound like you're leaning strongly towards an OEM+ type of upgrade rather than full aftermarket. I was in the same boat but after going round and round I figured the B12 is not that far beyond an OEM+ kit and went for it. It may be a bit lower than you want, that's the only thing.

Short term you're going to like whatever you land on because it will be an improvement, just think longer term based on what your preferences generally are. Are you going to doubt the B6 + BMWPS setup long term for any reason? Meaning wanting more spring rate, or lower or something else? The money side doesn't seem to be the end all be all for you as you've quoted coilovers as well as basic spring/shock combos, so think of what long term will be more important based on your biases and what you want to do with the car, then just do it!

Great post & advice. My ongoing debate is maintaining some level of daily driver comfort (on Las Vegas' terrible roads) while improving handling. I plan on taking my car to track days eventually but starting out so its not driving the decision. That said, thanks for the long term reminder...

[swagon]

Get the B12. If it lowers the car too much, swap the Eibachs for the PS springs. I'm sure someone will buy them from you. Might do the same on the E91.

[CRYA]

Here's the response from Dinan on the discontinuance of their springs:
Couple reasons:

1. Konis are considered a replacement part.

2. Konis are also purchased piece meal and not ordered in bulk—as long as Koni has them in stock we have them in stock.

3. The springs need to be purchased in bulk to maintain a decent price point (50-100 sets). Given how the demand has fallen off that amount of inventory would be supply us for over a decade. Instead of tying up inventory dollars in a depreciating product the decision was made to not re-up the stock and eliminate it from the catalog unfortunately.


dinan logo-Long

Nathan Fette
E: nathan.fette@dinancars.com
URL: www.dinancars.com

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by CRYA

Here's the response from Dinan on the discontinuance of their springs:
Couple reasons:

1. Konis are considered a replacement part.

2. Konis are also purchased piece meal and not ordered in bulk—as long as Koni has them in stock we have them in stock.

3. The springs need to be purchased in bulk to maintain a decent price point (50-100 sets). Given how the demand has fallen off that amount of inventory would be supply us for over a decade. Instead of tying up inventory dollars in a depreciating product the decision was made to not re-up the stock and eliminate it from the catalog unfortunately.


dinan logo-Long

Nathan Fette
E: nathan.fette@dinancars.com
URL: www.dinancars.com

Thanks for the update.
Those guys still never called me back...

[MightyMouseTech]

Well, that made my decision simple for my daily driver that will see the track only a couple times.

Was considering the Dinan springs.

Will now be Koni yellow and Swift.

[HyeWarrior]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Well, that made my decision simple for my daily driver that will see the track only a couple times.

Was considering the Dinan springs.

Will now be Koni yellow and Swift.

Now you got me considering to do the same.

When and where are you going to get the parts?

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by HyeWarrior

Now you got me considering to do the same.

When and where are you going to get the parts?

Not sure when. Might do an LSD first.

[titium]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Well, that made my decision simple for my daily driver that will see the track only a couple times.

Was considering the Dinan springs.

Will now be Koni yellow and Swift.

+1

having had mine installed for a few weeks I couldn't be happier. perfect daily setup.

make sure you go for the tckline externally adjustable rear shocks well worth the extra $$. Helps in being able to find the right setting initially.

I installed the dinan rear shock mounts not sure how much of a difference they made.

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by titium

+1

having had mine installed for a few weeks I couldn't be happier. perfect daily setup.

make sure you go for the tckline externally adjustable rear shocks well worth the extra $$. Helps in being able to find the right setting initially.

I installed the dinan rear shock mounts not sure how much of a difference they made.

That sounds really nice.
You +1'd the Swift - did you go with the off-the-shelf Spec-R set, or get custom height/rate Swift springs to complement the TCK Koni valving? If custom, what diameter, heights and rates did you select?

[titium]

standard swift spec r.

No doubt there are better coilover choices for track use but after 4 months of research this is about the best you're going to get for a daily with occasional track use.


most coilovers run twice the spring rate up front and based on my experience with the spec r's i dunno if i could live with double the rate up front as a daily. the spec r's are noticeably firmer then stock but with quality dampers set closer to the middle or soft side they give good body control and are very comfortable.

quality dampers >high rate springs

make sure to do the rsfb first though

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by titium

...snip...

quality dampers >high rate springs

This exactly....good choice, I was *this* >---< close to going in exactly the same direction as you guys, but decided to stick with a package deal in the B12, takes away the ability to fiddle with damping which for me, means not thinking about it and moving on otherwise I'd probably drive myself crazy fiddling lol.

[Gangplank]

Originally Posted by swagon

Get the B12. If it lowers the car too much, swap the Eibachs for the PS springs. I'm sure someone will buy them from you. Might do the same on the E91.

Originally Posted by asbrr

This exactly....good choice, I was *this* >---< close to going in exactly the same direction as you guys, but decided to stick with a package deal in the B12, takes away the ability to fiddle with damping which for me, means not thinking about it and moving on otherwise I'd probably drive myself crazy fiddling lol.

Still considering the B12. Some of the pictures posted make it look like the B12 sort of flattens out the car and gives it a squatted look in the rear. Some say it does, others that it doesn't
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=981118

Two pics

Originally Posted by titium

+1

having had mine installed for a few weeks I couldn't be happier. perfect daily setup.

make sure you go for the tckline externally adjustable rear shocks well worth the extra $$. Helps in being able to find the right setting initially.

I installed the dinan rear shock mounts not sure how much of a difference they made.

Sounds like a good set up and people like it. Any idea how far from full soft or full stiff you landed on as a setting? Might be helpful for folks as a starting point. Have a pics?

Here is one I found on the forum
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=873692


and
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showp...9&postcount=39

[titium]

rears i settled at around 25% from full soft (don't forget these are the custom valved tck shocks not the standard yellows). fronts at the moment are set in the middle.

still playing with it. how it is at the moment it's very comfortable. I'm thinking of going around a third from full soft all round and trying that out for a while. Need to get the m3 strut bar taking off the standard one to adjust the fronts is starting to get annoying.

but yer I'm close to my ideal Street setup. yet to try it out on the track.

will post pics when i get home mine sits slightly higher up front then the other pics just posted thanks to the dinan camber plates.

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by titium

standard swift spec r.

No doubt there are better coilover choices for track use but after 4 months of research this is about the best you're going to get for a daily with occasional track use.


most coilovers run twice the spring rate up front and based on my experience with the spec r's i dunno if i could live with double the rate up front as a daily. the spec r's are noticeably firmer then stock but with quality dampers set closer to the middle or soft side they give good body control and are very comfortable.

quality dampers >high rate springs

make sure to do the rsfb first though

Originally Posted by titium

rears i settled at around 25% from full soft (don't forget these are the custom valved tck shocks not the standard yellows). fronts at the moment are set in the middle.

still playing with it. how it is at the moment it's very comfortable. I'm thinking of going around a third from full soft all round and trying that out for a while. Need to get the m3 strut bar taking off the standard one to adjust the fronts is starting to get annoying.

but yer I'm close to my ideal Street setup. yet to try it out on the track.

will post pics when i get home mine sits slightly higher up front then the other pics just posted thanks to the dinan camber plates.

Thanks!

You're helping me get much closer.
I keep waffling on the Ohlins R&T's. I'm confident they'll be awesome, but I am also sure I'll never approach their full potential - so why expend the extra cash when I can put it elsewhere?

Now I just need to figure out if I can DIY the RSFB's.
People say the Powerflex Yellow / Whiteline Inserts are an improvement but perhaps not enough. I found PF Race Black Inserts at ECS. Thinking those just might do the trick for me.
Wondering if I should order the black inserts and yellow (or purple?) bushings, and return the ones I wind up not using???

[lowbudgethero]

Any one on performance springs with 255 tires up front?

[tjswarbrick]

Turns out Spec-R's are not recommended for E88 - rear would be a bit low. Then with camber plates, front would be high. Don't want that negative rake! So it looks like, not just from a ride comfort standpoint but for proper handling stance I need a set of coilovers. Which is what I thought I wanted until I started trying to save money.

Seeing what else I need to determine if Ohlins R&T is worth $400 more than TCKR S/A.
Getting closer...

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by titium

rears i settled at around 25% from full soft (don't forget these are the custom valved tck shocks not the standard yellows). fronts at the moment are set in the middle.

still playing with it. how it is at the moment it's very comfortable. I'm thinking of going around a third from full soft all round and trying that out for a while. Need to get the m3 strut bar taking off the standard one to adjust the fronts is starting to get annoying.

but yer I'm close to my ideal Street setup. yet to try it out on the track.

will post pics when i get home mine sits slightly higher up front then the other pics just posted thanks to the dinan camber plates.

Get the 1M strut bar. Same function as the M3 for 1/3 the price.

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Get the 1M strut bar. Same function as the M3 for 1/3 the price.

Wasn't addressed to me - but, the convertible has the short left and right braces to the firewall.
Will a 1M or M3 bar fit?
Will it offer additional benefit?
I haven't seen anybody running one, so was not planning to do so.

[Gangplank]

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

Turns out Spec-R's are not recommended for E88 - rear would be a bit low. Then with camber plates, front would be high. Don't want that negative rake! So it looks like, not just from a ride comfort standpoint but for proper handling stance I need a set of coilovers. Which is what I thought I wanted until I started trying to save money.

Seeing what else I need to determine if Ohlins R&T is worth $400 more than TCKR S/A.
Getting closer...

Have you checked the HPS site? They have Koni coilover conversion kits and various other options that might help. Also Harold probably knows the answer to some of your questions. Just a thought.

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by Gangplank

Have you checked the HPS site? They have Koni coilover conversion kits and various other options that might help. Also Harold probably knows the answer to some of your questions. Just a thought.

But of course! Plus I've been PM'ng him.
Leaning heavily toward the R&T set.

[chris82]

I had JRZ RS for 18k miles but took them off because I started driving 70-80 miles a day for work on roads that weren't so good. Now I am having them rebuilt and do not know what to do or if I want to spend money but I hate the non-lowered look. I am back on the stock non-sport suspension and to be honest, I don't think it's all that bad in terms of handling, but for the performance it delivers it is entirely too harsh (rougher than the JRZ on 600lb front spring sometimes). I think it is entirely unacceptable for a stock non-sport BMW. I am leaning towards a set of TCK single adjustables at this point. I need something comfortable, durable & long lasting, height adjustable, a few track day capable, and cheap lol. Looks like I'll be going through this thread page by page. So far it has been helpful. The koni yellow + swift spring sounds like a great combo too

[tjswarbrick]

I wonder if you could get some lighter springs for your JRZ's. 350f/600r seems to be a good street-car compromise with both the TCK S/A's and Ohlins'.
Let us know what you decide.