First Hand Impressions Needed: TC Kline S/A vs Ohlins R&T vs ST XTA

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Have white line inserts, though I'll be doing the two piece bushings as soon as I figure out a surefire way to remove them.

We have installed those in the past as customer supplied parts. No issues.

[Zombie1]

Just got my camber plates delivered, works crazy right now will look to tackle the install next weekend! I'll be sure to give my review after some miles.

[ShocknAwe]

Putting these on this weekend if schedule holds as planned. Assembled the coils this afternoon, everything looks great.

[houtan]

That's funny. I'm planning on installing mine as well. Fingers are crossed nothing comes up.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by houtan

That's funny. I'm planning on installing mine as well. Fingers are crossed nothing comes up.

Swert!

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Putting these on this weekend if schedule holds as planned. Assembled the coils this afternoon, everything looks great.

Is there a photo there that I cannot see? Which set did you go with?
Supplied Springs or customized for your setup?

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

Is there a photo there that I cannot see? Which set did you go with?
Supplied Springs or customized for your setup?

No photos. I'll be sure to take some as I go along. Went with TCK S/A with 350/600 rates.

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

No photos. I'll be sure to take some as I go along. Went with TCK S/A with 350/600 rates.

Awesome. Thanks.

I'm looking at Swift springs.
They don't have 350/600.

It's my DD, and a convertible. Will 280/560 be too soft? Should I stick with 336/560? I think 672 rear is more than I'm going to need.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

Awesome. Thanks.

I'm looking at Swift springs.
They don't have 350/600.

It's my DD, and a convertible. Will 280/560 be too soft? Should I stick with 336/560? I think 672 rear is more than I'm going to need.

I think 336/672 is what most folks do with the swift coil springs. But why do you need them? Coil bind is reportedly well controlled with the TCK springs, so it's just a weight difference. I'd love to see exactly what that is though. Maybe Harold can weigh in.

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

I think 336/672 is what most folks do with the swift coil springs. But why do you need them? Coil bind is reportedly well controlled with the TCK springs, so it's just a weight difference. I'd love to see exactly what that is though. Maybe Harold can weigh in.

Honestly, I'm leaning toward Ohlins R&T's, but am a bit dismayed that they come with 350/400 Eibach springs. Harold told me that for DD comfort and sport they're probably just fine. I have also seen him post where most won't notice a difference if spring rate differential is under 100lbs/in.

Most conflicting thing for me is many people say our cars ideally need 2X as much rear rate as front, but TCKR is as close as any off-the-shelf product gets and they go 1.72X. And Swift's Spec-R set is 2.5x as stiff in the rear as the front, but I think that's due to crap stock front dampers.

I'm looking for the best balance. Between daily comfort and spirited handling. Between grocery getter and pocket rocket. Between response, progressiveness, and ultimate grip. Whatever offers ultimate driving enjoyment the vast majority of the time, regardless of road, track, speed or conditions. While leaving very little on the table with regard to any of it. You know, like BMW is (was?) known for.

I probably owe Harold another phone call...
Thanks again!

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

Honestly, I'm leaning toward Ohlins R&T's, but am a bit dismayed that they come with 350/400 Eibach springs. Harold told me that for DD comfort and sport they're probably just fine. I have also seen him post where most won't notice a difference if spring rate differential is under 100lbs/in.

Most conflicting thing for me is many people say our cars ideally need 2X as much rear rate as front, but TCKR is as close as any off-the-shelf product gets and they go 1.72X. And Swift's Spec-R set is 2.5x as stiff in the rear as the front, but I think that's due to crap stock front dampers.

I'm looking for the best balance. Between daily comfort and spirited handling. Between grocery getter and pocket rocket. Between response, progressiveness, and ultimate grip. Whatever offers ultimate driving enjoyment the vast majority of the time, regardless of road, track, speed or conditions. While leaving very little on the table with regard to any of it. You know, like BMW is (was?) known for.

I probably owe Harold another phone call...
Thanks again!

400 would be way too soft on the rear IMO. Front spring on the ohlins is a beehive as well.

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

400 would be way too soft on the rear IMO. Front spring on the ohlins is a beehive as well.

I agree on the rear.

As far as the front, it's supposed to be an ERS linear spring, and every shot I can find of the set for an E82 or E90 (including Harold's where he shows with stock and Swift springs, and the guy on N54 tech who replaced the weak rears with short, stiff Swift) the included yellow front springs look cylindrical to me.
Can you point me to your reference info so I can continue my research?

Thanks again!

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

I agree on the rear.

As far as the front, it's supposed to be an ERS linear spring, and every shot I can find of the set for an E82 or E90 (including Harold's where he shows with stock and Swift springs, and the guy on N54 tech who replaced the weak rears with short, stiff Swift) the included yellow front springs look cylindrical to me.
Can you point me to your reference info so I can continue my research?

Thanks again!

Gah sorry, misinformation. ST/KW has the beehive. Ohlins dampers are bigger. You are correct, ohlins springs are cylindrical.

[FLblue135]

ShocknAwe/houtan--any updates on the install? I am about to get the TCK SAs and am curious to hear you initial impressions

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by FLblue135

ShocknAwe/houtan--any updates on the install? I am about to get the TCK SAs and am curious to hear you initial impressions

Very good setup. Well composed and controlled. Handle my garbage roads here very well too. If you go with the oem top hat you'll probably need a 3mm spacer.

[houtan]

Originally Posted by FLblue135

ShocknAwe/houtan--any updates on the install? I am about to get the TCK SAs and am curious to hear you initial impressions

I have a slightly different set up than Shock (listed in my garage), but the result is the same. The ride is the same if not better than stock, but my car is so much more composed. It is really really good and I am 100% happy.

I completed a track day at button willow raceway and the performance on track was great. I played with the compression on the rear a little bit as well and you could easily tell the difference when i made the compression more firm.

I took a few pics to share lessons learned and info on the TC's that i could not find or wish i knew about before the install, but i haven't had the time. i will get to it a some point though!

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

400 would be way too soft on the rear IMO. Front spring on the ohlins is a beehive as well.

Actually, that is incorrect. E8x/E9x none M R&T uses a true coilover type front spring at 7kg. You can easily upgrade this without having to add camber plates.

The 1M/M3 R&T use the beehive profile front springs.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by HP Autosport

Actually, that is incorrect. E8x/E9x none M R&T uses a true coilover type front spring at 7kg. You can easily upgrade this without having to add camber plates.

The 1M/M3 R&T use the beehive profile front springs.

Yeah we covered that probably in the next post down.

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Yeah we covered that probably in the next post down.

[tkong]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Very good setup. Well composed and controlled. Handle my garbage roads here very well too. If you go with the oem top hat you'll probably need a 3mm spacer.

Hey shock, were you able to get the single adjustables installed? I'm sitting on a set right now but I'm having second thoughts on getting them installed. I currently have the koni yellow/swift springs. My major qualm with my current set up is the low ride height and it doesn't handle big dips on the freeway well.

I was wondering if you could describe how much improvement you felt over the previous set up? If it isn't substantial or significant, I might just swap to dinan or yellow Bmw performance springs for like 300 bucks or add spring pads to the rear.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by tkong

Hey shock, were you able to get the single adjustables installed? I'm sitting on a set right now but I'm having second thoughts on getting them installed. I currently have the koni yellow/swift springs. My major qualm with my current set up is the low ride height and it doesn't handle big dips on the freeway well.

I was wondering if you could describe how much improvement you felt over the previous set up? If it isn't substantial or significant, I might just swap to dinan or yellow Bmw performance springs for like 300 bucks or add spring pads to the rear.

I have mine set to approximately the same ride height I had with my Swift/Billie setup. Much better and handles dips nearly perfectly. Have an issue with rubbing up front if I hit a huge depression/sinkhole due to a spacer, but that should be dialed out as soon as I can add some more negative camber.

[tkong]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

I have mine set to approximately the same ride height I had with my Swift/Billie setup. Much better and handles dips nearly perfectly. Have an issue with rubbing up front if I hit a huge depression/sinkhole due to a spacer, but that should be dialed out as soon as I can add some more negative camber.

So it's a noticeable/significant improvement? What percentage increase like 30%? My biggest worry is that the difference isn't big enough to warrant the $2,000 upgrade versus the koni/swift springs or its going to be super underwhelming (compared to the difference between like stock boost and map 5 e40 boost on the jb4). Haha Sorry for all the questions, I'm just getting cold feet with the install/committing LOL.