suspension upgrade

[saisowhat]

Alright, I have spent a ton of time researching suspension setups, and yet I am unable to make a decision. Money not being a barrier I know what id go with, but you know how it goes. Already having to buy wheels, tires, brakes, RSFB, etc.
Took the car to a HPDE at streets of willow and the car's stock suspension is not nearly adequate enough. The car will see maybe 8-12 events a year, so track is not its main purpose, but a large part. with that said, I have been looking at strut/spring options instead of coilovers. many seem to focus more on drop than performance. from my research, my best option will be swift spec-R (which still seem too soft) with either bilstein b8 or koni yellow. Only problem is i run GC camber plates which already drop the car, so i am concerned that the car will sit too low without the ability to adjust ride hight that coilovers give. Does anyone know of a company that makes track oriented non coilover setups? or any stiffer springs that i could still run with my GC camber plates and non-coilover struts? I could also ignore all of the other things i need to address on the car and just drop the 3k on coilovers but that doesn't seem wise. any input is appreciated, even if your advice is that i just need to spend the money on quality coilovers. ps. I know that there are 1k range coilovers but none seem like they'd handle track days well as far as i know. Thanks for any advice in adveance.

[tsk94]

I had Swift Spec R's on Koni Yellows with GC camber plates and it was lowww up front.

I'd strongly recommend a coilover for the sake of ride height adjustability. Something like the B14 kit from Bilstein would probably be a good option. For something that gives you damping adjustability as well, look into BC BR's or ST XTA. The BC's are under 1k and the ST's come in at 1350. You could sell off your camber plates as both come with camber plates to make up for the price increase over other options.

Both the ST's and the BC's will work great on track and are great bang for buck.

[saisowhat]

Originally Posted by tsk94

I had Swift Spec R's on Koni Yellows with GC camber plates and it was lowww up front.

I'd strongly recommend a coilover for the sake of ride height adjustability. Something like the B14 kit from Bilstein would probably be a good option. For something that gives you damping adjustability as well, look into BC BR's or ST XTA. The BC's are under 1k and the ST's come in at 1350. You could sell off your camber plates as both come with camber plates to make up for the price increase over other options.

Both the ST's and the BC's will work great on track and are great bang for buck.

Thanks for confirming my worries with the swift springs. I'm a little weary of budget brands such as bc racing and even st, although to a lesser extent since they use kw dampers. I was not aware those bilesteins were an option. A secondary con for me will be, from what I've read, that coil overs reduce the already limited space for tires. I'm already barely squeezing in 245's upfront with a 5 mil spacer. Guess I'll just have to run even more camber and pull my fenders since there's really no way around coilovers.

Edit: upon reading further into the xta's I've decided those are exactly what I need! Likely read into st x before and just missed the xta. They're exactly what I need. Plus I can upgrade to swift springs down the line. Thanks a bunch.

[tsk94]

Originally Posted by saisowhat

Thanks for confirming my worries with the swift springs. I'm a little weary of budget brands such as bc racing and even st, although to a lesser extent since they use kw dampers. I was not aware those bilesteins were an option. A secondary con for me will be, from what I've read, that coil overs reduce the already limited space for tires. I'm already barely squeezing in 245's upfront with a 5 mil spacer. Guess I'll just have to run even more camber and pull my fenders since there's really no way around coilovers.

I wouldn't worry AT ALL about the ST's quality. They are a KW damper in a slightly cheaper shock body to keep the cost down. The XTA's are one of the best bang for buck coilovers available for track use - single adjustable, camber plate, good quality construction and a high-quality damper. The one downside to the XTA's is a progressive rear spring (fronts are linear)

The BC's use cheaper quality parts, but in terms of damping they are pretty good, especially for the price and for track use. They come with linear springs, a camber plate, single adjustable, and you can adjust ride height separately from preload - which is nice. A friend of mine uses BC's on an STI race car and they work well - not the best but very hard to beat for the money. The BC's also use a short cone style front spring (which they claim is linear) so tire clearance is much better then with the XTA's which have a main spring + a helper spring.

No idea on the Bilstein's, I just saw them and thought to mention them. Front tire clearance is a PITA on these cars so I definitely understand the concern.

With the Koni's and the Swifts on my 135i I was able to fit 255's up front on an 8.5in wheel. I think that was with a 10mm spacer, maybe 5? You could always consider the Koni's + BMW performance springs so the drop wouldn't be so low. You could also get the Swift's with the Koni's and add a spacer to raise the height slightly. Lot's of options honestly, just got to look into it and see what will work best for your goals and your budget.

[saisowhat]

Originally Posted by tsk94

I wouldn't worry AT ALL about the ST's quality. They are a KW damper in a slightly cheaper shock body to keep the cost down. The XTA's are one of the best bang for buck coilovers available for track use - single adjustable, camber plate, good quality construction and a high-quality damper. The one downside to the XTA's is a progressive rear spring (fronts are linear)

The BC's use cheaper quality parts, but in terms of damping they are pretty good, especially for the price and for track use. They come with linear springs, a camber plate, single adjustable, and you can adjust ride height separately from preload - which is nice. A friend of mine uses BC's on an STI race car and they work well - not the best but very hard to beat for the money. The BC's also use a short cone style front spring (which they claim is linear) so tire clearance is much better then with the XTA's which have a main spring + a helper spring.

No idea on the Bilstein's, I just saw them and thought to mention them. Front tire clearance is a PITA on these cars so I definitely understand the concern.

With the Koni's and the Swifts on my 135i I was able to fit 255's up front on an 8.5in wheel. I think that was with a 10mm spacer, maybe 5? You could always consider the Koni's + BMW performance springs so the drop wouldn't be so low. You could also get the Swift's with the Koni's and add a spacer to raise the height slightly. Lot's of options honestly, just got to look into it and see what will work best for your goals and your budget.

Awesome, that's some great info. Thanks for pointing me in right direction. I have found it a little hard to find track related advice with low to mid tier parts. There's a lot of people using cheaper parts for street and people using high end parts for track but I'm in it for the fun factor so don't need to squeeze out seconds but at the same time want parts that are quality. ST seems right up my alley for suspension. Thanks again.

[Driven5]

Have you checked out the offerings from YCW? They're specifically the brand luring me away from piecing together my own conventional spring/shock combo...Well, that and some of the stupid crap BMW did that I'd have to reverse engineer to build it out to my satisfaction. As I math out a rather custom setup, they've been immensely helpful, knowledgeable, and respectful of my barrage of oddball technical questions. In addition to being highly customizable for the customer who knows what they want, they also have what I believe to be one of the best valving philosophies of any brand out there, and all at a VERY reasonable price.

[tracer bullet]

There's a user here, Fe1rx I believe is the screen name, who's done a lot of work detailing his thoughts and progress on his track car. I'd do a search on that name and get some input. I think you'll also find others commenting that have track cars as well. Might dive down those paths and research what they do.

I think it'd probably give some additional background to help make decisions with. You don't have to copy anyone of course, but it might save a revision or two to learn from their pasts.

[xrockoutx]

I've got the BC Racing BR coilovers and have done a whole season of autox and some attempts at a drift day (hello e-lsd)...they've been super good for the dollar amount. I've had them on 2 separate chassis (128i and 135i) and can't complain really...next season I might run stiffer springs/do a revalve ��

[Suprgnat]

FWIW, Spec-Rs and Konis, but a 128i so not as much weight up front. (old pic)

Originally Posted by saisowhat

Thanks for confirming my worries with the swift springs. I'm a little weary of budget brands such as bc racing and even st, although to a lesser extent since they use kw dampers. I was not aware those bilesteins were an option. A secondary con for me will be, from what I've read, that coil overs reduce the already limited space for tires. I'm already barely squeezing in 245's upfront with a 5 mil spacer. Guess I'll just have to run even more camber and pull my fenders since there's really no way around coilovers.

Edit: upon reading further into the xta's I've decided those are exactly what I need! Likely read into st x before and just missed the xta. They're exactly what I need. Plus I can upgrade to swift springs down the line. Thanks a bunch.

[lakefront]

Great stance.....what size tires?

[Suprgnat]

Originally Posted by lakefront

Great stance.....what size tires?

225/45R-17 changing to 245/40R-17 when they wear out.

[saisowhat]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

There's a user here, Fe1rx I believe is the screen name, who's done a lot of work detailing his thoughts and progress on his track car. I'd do a search on that name and get some input. I think you'll also find others commenting that have track cars as well. Might dive down those paths and research what they do.

I think it'd probably give some additional background to help make decisions with. You don't have to copy anyone of course, but it might save a revision or two to learn from their pasts.

Oh what an incredible guy he is. EVery thread by him is loaded with gold. Thanks for the rec.

[saisowhat]

Originally Posted by Suprgnat

FWIW, Spec-Rs and Konis, but a 128i so not as much weight up front. (old pic)

great stance! Car looks awesome, love the wheels with the blue car and yellow calipers. pretty low but not terribly so. unfortunately, I would also be running camber plates with them which drops the car even more. I decided to just pull the trigger on some st xta's.

[wantmymoneyincash]

I'm sort of in the same scenario but don't see nearly as many track events as you. I was originally looking at the same Koni/swift/camber plate set up but I'd rather fork over extra dollars on a coilover set up that includes it all. I am deciding between YCW and ST XTA.

[Ginger_Extract]

If front ride height is an issue, here is the fix I used from the BMW parts bin to correct it on my 135i when I swapped to soft front springs on my TC Kline coilovers, which don't have independent height and spring preload adjustment: