Best suspension for Daily Driver / Backroads Dancer 135i

[titium]

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

Mine rubbed lightly for a couple weeks, and pretty hard for a day.
Removed the spacers and trouble is gone - but I need to get under there and make sure no damage was done.
(It did give the underside of my fenders a little roll.)

removing the spacers would probably make it more likely to rub on the fuel filler neck as this is on the inside of the wheel well.

this has only really shown up as an issue with some hard driving hitting big dips with a fully loaded car at high speed.. I've had a look and it appears it's only a problem because the filler pokes out slightly. the rest of the guard and liner appear to be fine.

I've run this setup for over a year and had no problems. take the wheel off and itll be immediately obvious if it's rubbing or not.

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by titium

removing the spacers would probably make it more likely to rub on the fuel filler neck as this is on the inside of the wheel well.

this has only really shown up as an issue with some hard driving hitting big dips with a fully loaded car at high speed.. I've had a look and it appears it's only a problem because the filler pokes out slightly. the rest of the guard and liner appear to be fine.

I've run this setup for over a year and had no problems. take the wheel off and itll be immediately obvious if it's rubbing or not.

Thanks for that.
I thought it was toward on the inner side of the wheel well, but without peering under couldn't be sure. No more rubbing since removing the spacers. I have stock wheels and only 245's out back, so I figure I'm safe.

How much weight did you have in the back to get it to do that?

[titium]

I'd estimate 40kg and a passenger. I think it was more hitting big dips at high speed that was the issue. the rear spring rates are quite high and the ride height barely changes loaded vs unloaded.

I've had 4 people in the car on normal roads doing normal speeds and had no rubbing.

[tjswarbrick]

About 6 months later - several thousand miles, lots of different roads and conditions, with passengers, by myself:

Loving the E92 M3 ARB, RSFB's, and MPSS's.
Dampers do their job well.
Swift Spec-R springs seem to be just a little stiffer than needed for the road. But I can live with that.
At least on the E88 135i, they are too low. I wanted just about 1/2" lower than stock M-Sport. My tires are sucked up into the wheel wells, front and rear. Smooth roads, sweeping curves, they are absolutely brilliant. But when things get messy (probably 30-40% of the time) it can get a little crashy. Speed bumps and curvy driveway entrances scrape. And it looks a little juvenile. I wasn't going for "stanced" - just appropriate. Not sure if the different (shortened M3 Front, Z4 Rear) bump stops had any effect. If it didn't involve removing the front struts again, I'd happily swap out for BMW PS springs at this point.
Gonna keep it, and still really happy most of the time, but just a heads-up for anyone following this and looking to duplicate my setup.
If I were in Germany, in a state with better roads, or got to do more track time I'd likely feel differently.

[135ivert]

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

About 6 months later - several thousand miles, lots of different roads and conditions, with passengers, by myself:

Loving the E92 M3 ARB, RSFB's, and MPSS's.
Dampers do their job well.
Swift Spec-R springs seem to be just a little stiffer than needed for the road. But I can live with that.
At least on the E88 135i, they are too low. I wanted just about 1/2" lower than stock M-Sport. My tires are sucked up into the wheel wells, front and rear. Smooth roads, sweeping curves, they are absolutely brilliant. But when things get messy (probably 30-40% of the time) it can get a little crashy. Speed bumps and curvy driveway entrances scrape. And it looks a little juvenile. I wasn't going for "stanced" - just appropriate. Not sure if the different (shortened M3 Front, Z4 Rear) bump stops had any effect. If it didn't involve removing the front struts again, I'd happily swap out for BMW PS springs at this point.
Gonna keep it, and still really happy most of the time, but just a heads-up for anyone following this and looking to duplicate my setup.
If I were in Germany, in a state with better roads, or got to do more track time I'd likely feel differently.

What rate & length springs did you go with? Would going with a 10mm longer spring be the answer?

[titium]

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

About 6 months later - several thousand miles, lots of different roads and conditions, with passengers, by myself:

Loving the E92 M3 ARB, RSFB's, and MPSS's.
Dampers do their job well.
Swift Spec-R springs seem to be just a little stiffer than needed for the road. But I can live with that.
At least on the E88 135i, they are too low. I wanted just about 1/2" lower than stock M-Sport. My tires are sucked up into the wheel wells, front and rear. Smooth roads, sweeping curves, they are absolutely brilliant. But when things get messy (probably 30-40% of the time) it can get a little crashy. Speed bumps and curvy driveway entrances scrape. And it looks a little juvenile. I wasn't going for "stanced" - just appropriate. Not sure if the different (shortened M3 Front, Z4 Rear) bump stops had any effect. If it didn't involve removing the front struts again, I'd happily swap out for BMW PS springs at this point.
Gonna keep it, and still really happy most of the time, but just a heads-up for anyone following this and looking to duplicate my setup.
If I were in Germany, in a state with better roads, or got to do more track time I'd likely feel differently.

have to say I agree. so glad I'm running dinan plates up front otherwise it'd be a nightmare.

The front springs are too short, was under the car the other day and I noticed that the coils of the spring have touched each other under full compression. in saying that however it appears that this is common with alot of aftermarket suspension on the e8x/9x.

I'm also dealing with an issue with the rears where they have Sagged and I've lost an additional 20mm of ride height. I'm currently getting them warrantied by swift.

[tjswarbrick]

I too have the Dinan plates. Need to add those to my list of favorite things!

Mine haven't appreciably sagged since installation (thank goodness). I think for the first couple months I was super careful driving around bumps and holes, but now that I've gotten "used" to the suspension I try to drive it like a normal sportscar. Or something.

135ivert - I went with the standard Spec-R springs for 135i. 201 lbs/in F and 503 lbs/in R. They list a 1" Drop from standard '08-'13 E82 ride height. Whatever that means. I couldn't get a good handle on if that is from M-Sport, Sport, or if there was ever a non Sport-suspension 135. Regardless, it looks to me like (with new bump stops) it's about 1.5" lower than my M-Sport E88 was. Not that there was much wheel-well gap to begin with.

I didn't get a chance to measure them when new. I bought pre-assembled from the vendor a couple pages back to save me some install time (and spring-compression dangers.) Would be curious to see how they compare to stock or PS, but with different rate comes different preload so it wouldn't be apples-to-apples anyway.

Regardless, I'm still having a ball with the car. Just need to stay vigilant watching for road imperfections. And never try to park at my folks house again. (I thought of getting them one of those Bridjit ramps for their driveway. But my Dad doesn't drive anymore, and I'm only up a few times a year. Mother doesn't seem to notice. Lots of $$$ for little benefit. But I digress.)

[titium]

ahh right the added weight of the vert probably wouldn't help the situation.

I also could not a get a true answer on how much it lowers the car prior to purchase.

I think my front height is OK stock bump stops + dinan plates I think an additional 10mm would be perfect.

my rear is crazy low I had to put in the BMW rough road kit and it's still too low compared measurements from after install I found a sag of 20mm so I put in a claim for warranty which is slowly progressing.

[titium]

Small update.

Not to happy with the swift spec rs after a few years of use. Fronts are too short and don't allow enough suspension travel, rear has sagged as previously mentioned.

Decided to do the full coilover conversion for my konis and choose my own rates and spring lengths to meet my own goals for the car.

[tjswarbrick]

When the road is decent and I'm by myself, I love, love, love the Spec-R's.
However:

Ride height is a little too low. On a coupe with lots of camber, beefy rubber, and some deep-offset wheels I think they would look amazing. On my convertible with stock (261) rims, 225/245 Super Sports, -1.5deg camber, and only 12mm front spacers the look is a little juvenile.

I scrape on the occasional driveway and speed bump when delivering my kids to their playdates.

More senior passengers get startled as they are jostled by expansion joints and other full-width road imperfections.

So, I'm thinking that, unfortunately, my life is not as hardcore as I would like to believe and I'd likely be better served by a set of BMW PS Coil Springs with the Konis, FSB, and MPSS.

Trouble is figuring out which ones.
I don't see any references to putting PS springs on an E88.
RealOEM seems to have removed all references to individual coil springs for our cars.
ECS, Turner and Tischer have reference to 31336788891, 8892, 8893 & 8894 Front and 33536788898, 8899 & 8900 Rear springs for various E82's.
Is there any way to know the differences between the various spring choices before trying to order a set? Do they differ significantly in spring rate, length, or preload such that one set will work particularly well for my car and another might not work at all?

For the most part, the aftermarket sets (Cobb, Dinan, H&R, Eibach, Swift) list one P/N for the E82, and they happen to fit on the E88.

Which F/R BMW PS Coil Springs do I want for my DD / Backroads Dancer Ultimate Driving/Tanning Machine?

[Zombie1]

If you want a nice smooth no fuss ride go with koni yellows and swift springs. I can't say enough good things about them nice smooth ride but firmer then stock.

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by Zombie1

If you want a nice smooth no fuss ride go with koni yellows and swift springs. I can't say enough good things about them nice smooth ride but firmer then stock.

Thanks for that.
That's what I thought, so that's the setup I have.
But I need to restore a bit of ride quality and travel, but don't want to give too much away in handling and response.
Just not sure which BMWP springs will work best for me. Or should I go back to M-Sport springs with Koni yellows?

[Gangplank]

Aren't the Konis adjustable? You can call ECS or your local dealer and they will run your VIN and tell you which PS springs are good for you.

[tjswarbrick]

Konis are rebound adjustable. I've got em fairly soft, and frankly, the damping feels great.

I've actually found 5 suppliers for the PS springs. None list em for the convertible, but yeah, I should make the time to call a couple and see what they recommend.
Thanks!

[HyeWarrior]

Originally Posted by Zombie1

If you want a nice smooth no fuss ride go with koni yellows and swift springs. I can't say enough good things about them nice smooth ride but firmer then stock.

What size tires are you running? Curious if this setup would be too aggressive for 225/40's and 255/35's

[Zombie1]

Originally Posted by HyeWarrior

What size tires are you running? Curious if this setup would be too aggressive for 225/40's and 255/35's

Fronts a little tight but works that's what I had before switching to coilovers.

[Zombie1]

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

Thanks for that.
That's what I thought, so that's the setup I have.
But I need to restore a bit of ride quality and travel, but don't want to give too much away in handling and response.
Just not sure which BMWP springs will work best for me. Or should I go back to M-Sport springs with Koni yellows?

The swift sprigs blow the bmw performance springs out of the water really is no comparison. The performance springs are minor upgrades over stock m sport springs. I'm sure they ride nice but it will be minimal improvement over stock. If you go coil overs TC Kline S/A ones are an awesome entry level coilover that you can hit the track with or have for street use. You get what you pay for, buy cheap 1000 coilovers be prepared for a harsh ride with plenty of body roll. You want to drastically improve the cars ride and get rid of the floaty feeling the 135i suffer from look into bmw m3 rear subframe bushings will change the car drastically for the better.

[HawkeyeGeoff]

I've always been a huge Bilstein fan...so I will probably be looking to do Bilstein B8 w/ Swift springs...or something similar unless I can find some used high end coils (Ohlins, PSS10, etc).

I currently have BMW Performance suspension. It's very OK. Better than stock, but not really good enough to make me blow my load (it came on the car like this).

I assume I can just carry over my suspension mounting components when I switch dampers/springs? I have some dinan camber plates, dinan rear shock mounts, some stuff to give more travel, etc. I don't want to give up my -3 camber fronts.... lol

My car is a weekend warrior / open track day car. It only gets used on the weekends so I'm fine with a rough ride, but it better perform. Just bought a MFactory LSD....so this will have to wait a bit unless I find something too legit to not buy it.

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by HawkeyeGeoff

...snip...

I assume I can just carry over my suspension mounting components when I switch dampers/springs? I have some dinan camber plates, dinan rear shock mounts, some stuff to give more travel, etc. I don't want to give up my -3 camber fronts.... lol

...snip...

Yep, you can reuse the plates and rear shock mounts. Just replace all the rubber factory stuff as it is cheap (spring pads front and rear, and rear lower shock mounts).

[135ivert]

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

Konis are rebound adjustable. I've got em fairly soft, and frankly, the damping feels great.

I've actually found 5 suppliers for the PS springs. None list em for the convertible, but yeah, I should make the time to call a couple and see what they recommend.
Thanks!

ST Suspensions lists a different P/N for the E88. I wonder what their differences in spring rates are between the E88 and E82.

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by asbrr

Yep, you can reuse the plates and rear shock mounts. Just replace all the rubber factory stuff as it is cheap (spring pads front and rear, and rear lower shock mounts).

This.

I just got the Cup Kit from ECS, and used that to install the new springs, struts and dampers. Also Dinan plates at the same time.

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by Zombie1

The swift sprigs blow the bmw performance springs out of the water really is no comparison. The performance springs are minor upgrades over stock m sport springs. I'm sure they ride nice but it will be minimal improvement over stock. If you go coil overs TC Kline S/A ones are an awesome entry level coilover that you can hit the track with or have for street use. You get what you pay for, buy cheap 1000 coilovers be prepared for a harsh ride with plenty of body roll. You want to drastically improve the cars ride and get rid of the floaty feeling the 135i suffer from look into bmw m3 rear subframe bushings will change the car drastically for the better.

I have the Black / Race Powerflex RSFB Inserts. With those, E92 M3 FSB, Koni Yellows, and Swift Spec-R's, the floaty feeling is all gone.
Frankly, the only problems I have with the suspension as it stands now is it's a bit too low (tires are swallowed up inside fenders by about 1/2 inch) and it really hits hard over sharp bumps that impact the full width of the vehicle. Not sure if the suspension is bottoming out, but that's what it feels like.
I did get Z4 rear and "shortened M3" (E36, I think) front bump-stops.