Quote:
Originally Posted by hunginator
My preference was to always keep an OEM ride... maybe OEM+ at best.
So, after taking years to make a decision, I decided to go with Bilstein. I picked the B4 Sports. To me, the B6/B8 were not OEM and were more of an aftermarket upgrade and at the end of the day, would provide a much stiffer and/or jarring ride (compared to OEM). I was always quite happy with the way OEM suspension handled as my 1'er is my daily driver. I also think this decision to go with the B4's would be contrary to many beliefs on this forum. It doesn't seem like the B4's are very popular here.
When it comes to traditional strut & shock setup, it really seems like the most common manufacturers were Bilstein and Koni. To me, Koni wasn't the best option even though I know many members here love their Koni's. For me, having adjustability isn't an advantage as again, this is my daily driver and I want a "install & forget it" experience. So, knowing that I could adjust my shocks with the Koni Sports/Yellows, was more of a nuisance. I'm probably going to get flamed for this but this is my honest opinion based on what I know.
Anyway, I've only been riding the B4's for a day now and immediately, I love them. They have essentially restored my OEM ride which is what I expected. It might be a little bit stiffer (maybe like ~5-10%), but not too noticeable. My car feels great to drive again!!!
Ride height seems to be a tiny bit higher now. Before, I could barely have a finger gap between wheel well and tire. Now, I think I can fit an entire finger, maybe a tiny bit more. I suspect that it'll drop a little over time since it was just freshly installed. It could also be that all my mounts before were old and sagging. If it stays at this ride height, I am still happy. If it drops a little bit, back to what it was before, then even better.
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Now that I've been driving on this setup for about a week now, I am extremely pleased that I decided with the Bilstein B4 sports and quite happy that I took a long time to figure this out. Initially, I was going to get either B6 or B8 but I think those dampers would've been WAY too hard for a daily driver.
The B4 is essentially a great OEM replacement. I forgot how well my 135i drove when it was brand new...
For a lot of you who are higher mileage and haven't refreshed your suspension bits, I'd highly recommend considering the B4 Sports for your 128i or "regular" B4 for 135i.
Regular B4 for 135i because there is only one version of the B4 part number for 135i in Bilsteins catalogue. This is already the "sport" even though there's only one part number as ALL 135i's came with M-Sport suspension. LMK if you want more clarity here. Perhaps, my explanation is no good as I typed this up in a storm.