E85 M- views please on suspension

bigwinn said:
In terms of setting them up Simon- I’m confident installing but what would you recommend to get them adjusted and properly fettled?
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Fit them, geo set up, corner weight, geo set up again, corner weight again drive it and see if you love it or hate it then adjust to suit you

You have to do the 2 or 3 things over and over as they all interact with each other

Or just put a set of B12's on Remember my car is fully black poly bushed except the sub frame at the rear and on Vibro tech engine mounts

With coil overs you can gain a bit of rake to the set up I did this by adding a packer under the spring you could get a longer spring for the rear to. achieve this
 
PDJ said:
Fit them, geo set up, corner weight, geo set up again, corner weight again drive it and see if you love it or hate it then adjust to suit you
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Blimey, bit overkill for the regular punter no? Maybe if your doing *lots* of track work but unnecessary expenditure if not IMO.

I had mine Geo'd once and corner weighted once when I had B16's fitted, handled a treat. Had it checked a couple of years later and the corner weighting was same just a few tweaks needed on the geo to bring it back to spec which you'd expect after a few years. Take it to someone who knows what they're doing it'll be fine (emphasis on knows what they're doing not just any old jolly with a Hunter!).

Honestly wouldn't overthink it. Bilstein / KW's / BC's, all be better than old standard shocks on the road. Don't forget bushes as well, well worth putting fresh stuff on if it's looking tired and done a few miles, deffo a 'while your there' job for me.

The plus for me with B16's personally was one easily accessible knob to adjust soft / firm for track purposes. Don't think I'd have bothered with adjustable at all tbh if it was just for the road, I only use one setting on the road.
 
AndyBeech said:
Blimey, bit overkill for the regular punter no?
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Maybe, maybe not it all depends on how much is changed as they interact with each other

If you are going to the trouble of getting the best you can afford and want the best from it why not
 
I'd love to hear from someone who has experience with different aftermarket options. Are KWs the consensus choice because they're expensive and German? Or can someone who's compared them versus BCs and B16s describe the difference?
 
PDJ said:
Maybe, maybe not it all depends on how much is changed as they interact with each other

If you are going to the trouble of getting the best you can afford and want the best from it why not
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Yes and no, my point was if all you’re doing is driving on the roads, mostly UK roads presumably, then is it worth it / necessary? Your method won't be cheap unless you’re doing it yourself. It’s always easy to spend other people’s money ;)
Corner weighting is nice, but in my own experience not necessary. The geo is a different matter obviously.
Each to their own of course. :thumbsup:

I'd be valuing comfort over outright speed personally. As someone else alluded to, how fast we actually driving on the roads over here?!
 
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AndyBeech said:
unless you’re doing it yourself
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Yes I do most of the work on the car myself so as to avoid paying others for what I can do better

I was in Williams BMW in Manchester and asked what the hourly rate was it is £220.oo per hour
 
Whatever you do, if you go with coilovers, go with a brand where you can get them rebuilt and serviced with min down time — whether that means sending to manuf directly or authorized reseller. Nothing worse than having your car on stands or back on the tired worn suspension for months without any line of sight. That’s a major reason I sold my AST’s and moved to a Koni-based on my first E86 (even though AST’s were objectively better).
 
plenty said:
I'd love to hear from someone who has experience with different aftermarket options. Are KWs the consensus choice because they're expensive and German? Or can someone who's compared them versus BCs and B16s describe the difference?
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For what it's worth, my car came with KWs, but if I were to buy again I'd seriously consider the B16 PSS10s because i) reportedly softer spring rates, ii) cheaper, iii) easier to adjust, iv) less likely to need a front spacer and v) lack of direct comparisons with the V3s to challenge any of the previous points. 😁
 
Bombardino said:
First site I looked on, can’t comment on price.

All Products for BMW Z4M 3.2 2006

www.demon-tweeks.com www.demon-tweeks.com
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This is worth a read

AndyBeech

Thread 'Bilstein PSS10 + Suspension refresh review'

Meant to do this for a while and as I've got some time and done a fair few miles plus track days, I thought I'd post my thoughts on the work I've had done this year which might be useful to others considering the same route. It's on a 90k miler Z4M Roadster.

Firstly, everything that was replaced....

Suspension

- Bilstein B16 PSS10 suspension package
- Powerflex (All purple) - Control Arm rear bushes (lollipops), Front and Rear Anti Roll Bar bushes, Adjustable rear camber arms, Rear shock top mounts
- Lemforder Front control arms (OEM)
- Lemforder RTABs (OEM) used with existing...
 
PDJ said:
Yes I do most of the work on the car myself so as to avoid paying others for what I can do better

I was in Williams BMW in Manchester and asked what the hourly rate was it is £220.oo per hour
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I know you do mate, I've seen many of your threads with interest. :) I don't think anyone's using BMW for service anymore, with good reason!
Missing the point though regards setup, which I won't labour anymore.

bigwinn said:
Where are people finding b16s for sale?

I’m all googled out and no joy
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Demon Tweeks

Evolve

Larkspeed

A few to start, probably worth checking with regards stock though. I got mine from Demon Tweeks for reference, no issues.

The SKU is:

48-141635​

If you want to do your own googling or PSS10 Z4M also works.

Avoid any of the bilstein-suspension type websites that aren't actually Bilstein, go with known sellers in the industry if I was you.

Just to add, when I did my research from memory, I believe KW's were better for the road and B16's better for the track albeit probably marginal differences. B16's are monotube (inverted) in theory better for smooth tracks, KW's have a twin tube which should help on bumpy roads. I'm no expert though so own research is recommended.
 
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Bombardino said:
This is worth a read

AndyBeech

Thread 'Bilstein PSS10 + Suspension refresh review'

Meant to do this for a while and as I've got some time and done a fair few miles plus track days, I thought I'd post my thoughts on the work I've had done this year which might be useful to others considering the same route. It's on a 90k miler Z4M Roadster.

Firstly, everything that was replaced....

Suspension

- Bilstein B16 PSS10 suspension package
- Powerflex (All purple) - Control Arm rear bushes (lollipops), Front and Rear Anti Roll Bar bushes, Adjustable rear camber arms, Rear shock top mounts
- Lemforder Front control arms (OEM)
- Lemforder RTABs (OEM) used with existing...
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Apologies in advance for going OT but in your thread, was that 1551kg weight with or without driver?
 
3002 tii said:
Are KW V3 on the same level as JRZ Pros? No but you’re kidding yourself if you think you need double adjustable coilovers for backroad twisties. In fact the majority of people who buy coilovers don’t know how to set compression & rebound, let alone spend the time or money to get them corner balanced. And yes, the CS are more track oriented but not everyone wants to spend $5,000 on coilovers (including many competent drivers I know who run v3 on track).

Saying there is a huge difference between OE vs KW V3 doesn’t mean much. I could say the same about OE vs Bilstein HD with stock springs. Similarly, I could say the same for OE vs MCS 3-way remotes, but will OP know the difference between KW V2 and V3, or a Koni-based SA kit vs KW V3? For his defined use case I doubt it.

I stand by my comment, $4000 KW V3 is overkill for a non-tracked car. Can one benefit from them on the street? Of course, but I can think of other options that get you there for much less.
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Fair point, everyone has a different opinion.

I was purely pointing out that they are a great road setup that will last for years and many trouble free miles, basically OEM quality.

I've had V2s in the past, H&R, Koni, Nitrons, 3 ways etc. V3s are great for the money.
 
bigwinn said:
To be fair this is where my head is right now

However my impatient ‘wanting to do something to improve the car’ means I think I should do the suspension for all the reasons stated

I just don’t want to do that and make it a backward step
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It literally takes 10 minutes to check if your dampers are worn out. The rears typically go first, so unbolt the lower rear damper bolt and push the damper up by hand. If it does not rebound, the damper is worn out and it should be replaced.
 
I have Eibach's on my Z4M. I knew that the springs go, just like they did on the Z3.

I bought them second hand with very low mileage from a lovely bloke on this forum. It took 2 years for my original ones to go but they did and I've had them on for 10 years I'm guessing. They are very slightly lower and very similar to the originals in terms of harshness.
 
early stages of researching options for my new to my z4mc on original bits and 40k miles
car is booked into center gravity for early jan (long standing customer since chris started the business) to get it set up but im wondering if the original dampers can be refurbished or if anyone has done a full factory refresh with genuine bmw parts instead of billys, kw etc
 
RC1 said:
early stages of researching options for my new to my z4mc on original bits and 40k miles
car is booked into center gravity for early jan (long standing customer since chris started the business) to get it set up but im wondering if the original dampers can be refurbished or if anyone has done a full factory refresh with genuine bmw parts instead of billys, kw etc
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Most of us use 'man maths' to justify the upgrade to better suspension, as you'll probably pay more for genuine/compromised BMW parts than for premium KW/Bilstein kits (e.g. 2x front struts and springs are c.£1000, 2x rear struts & springs are c.£700 from a BMW dealer).
 
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