Anyone used ST XA coilovers e86 3.0si?

I’ve got XTA coils. So adjustable front top mounts as well as the one way adjustable coilovers. They’re linear spring rate and camber + castor adjustable at the front. I’m running only a bit below sport suspension height to keep good ground clearance for B roads. Is about perfect height I think so no grounding but arch gap is good. I run the stock SE from arb and a sport rear arb to balance it out a bit. I’m running 2 degrees camber up front and about 2.2 rear. Castor I’ve increased from stock 5 degrees to 7 degrees. This latter change makes a big and positive difference to the steering. Much more positive, less twitching and easier to hold and line and place on a bumpy road

In terms of shock performance I’m very impressed. It is firm but I wouldn’t say any more so really than my b6 dampers on stock springs I had before. But with the much higher spring rates on the coils it resists roll and pitch/dove so much better. It feels very tight now, but well controlled. Deals with big bumps effectively and uses its travel well. It is firm though and you bounce around a bit on rough roads. I run dampers a couple of clicks softer than the recommended settings when on the road. Have done a couple of track days and firmed the dampers up and that works well. Changing the balance of damping front and rear definitely had a noticeable impact on corner entry balance.

Overall I’m very impressed and have had no problems. It’s garaged so no corrosion issues but it’s been out in the wet and no sign of any rusting still.
 
DaveD said:
I’ve got XTA coils. So adjustable front top mounts as well as the one way adjustable coilovers. They’re linear spring rate and camber + castor adjustable at the front. I’m running only a bit below sport suspension height to keep good ground clearance for B roads. Is about perfect height I think so no grounding but arch gap is good. I run the stock SE from arb and a sport rear arb to balance it out a bit. I’m running 2 degrees camber up front and about 2.2 rear. Castor I’ve increased from stock 5 degrees to 7 degrees. This latter change makes a big and positive difference to the steering. Much more positive, less twitching and easier to hold and line and place on a bumpy road

In terms of shock performance I’m very impressed. It is firm but I wouldn’t say any more so really than my b6 dampers on stock springs I had before. But with the much higher spring rates on the coils it resists roll and pitch/dove so much better. It feels very tight now, but well controlled. Deals with big bumps effectively and uses its travel well. It is firm though and you bounce around a bit on rough roads. I run dampers a couple of clicks softer than the recommended settings when on the road. Have done a couple of track days and firmed the dampers up and that works well. Changing the balance of damping front and rear definitely had a noticeable impact on corner entry balance.

Overall I’m very impressed and have had no problems. It’s garaged so no corrosion issues but it’s been out in the wet and no sign of any rusting still.
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Awesome review mate. Exactly what i was after. I find the front end very fidgety on SE dampers and Eibach springs. More caster would definitely help. How is the NHV with the top mounts?
 
img_4643-jpeg.284828

JB21 said:
Awesome review mate. Exactly what i was after. I find the front end very fidgety on SE dampers and Eibach springs. More caster would definitely help. How is the NHV with the top mounts?
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NVH maybe slightly more but very marginal tbf. All bushings were replaced when I changed the dampers with OEM bushes. Other than putting ball joints top and bottom on the rear hub carrier. Front control arm bushes are standard. If you poly bushed it then may be harder or more noticeable
 
JB21 said:
Anyone used these for road and light track work?

www.kamracing.co.uk

ST XA Coilovers - BMW Z4 (Z85) roadster, coupe (02/03-)

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www.kamracing.co.uk www.kamracing.co.uk
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If it helps, the XA dampers are the same ones used in the XTA's and they both use the same valving etc as the KW V2's (just with worse outer protection). Even the spring rates are the same, so the only difference is the front top mounts.
 
Sorry for the thread resurrection, eyeing up suspension option for my E85. 2003 3.0 The ST series might be a route I’m looking at.

A question for those using ST, do the front struts work with OEM wheels without needing to use spacers? I’m using Style 224M (summer) and Style 103 (winter) wheels.

A bit of Googling hasn’t given me any answers unfortunately.
 
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Did you get any answers to this @Bolle ?
I wouldnt expect any spacing will be needed on stock wheels, it's only normally needed on much wider wheels/rubber.
 
@Meds yes, on some FB Z4 groups. It seems that with OEM wheels it should be fine. People running Style 135 and 107 have reported that it clears. These are size 8J ET47 on the front.

I’m running the following, so should be ok. The 224 with the lower ET should even clear more as they are pushed further outwards.

Style 224 8J ET42 (summer)
Style 103 8J ET47 (winter)

zalis_kola_ET___002.en_.wheel_offset_ET-1536x864.jpg

A further interesting observation, two users both reported that the ST rear springs are a bit too stiff for comfortable road use, and that when the dampers are set to a bit softer rebound they don’t control the spring that well. They recommend to fit a conventional lowering spring (should be easy as rear damper and spring are separated). I have a set of Eibach Pro-Kit lying around (couldn’t resist a local marketplace sale), so can use the rear springs of those.

After some deliberating, I think I’m going forward with the ST setup. For the rears you can fit the 8 mm KW extensions to adjust the dampers from the boot.

KW_Verlängerung.jpg
 
damocell said:
If it helps, the XA dampers are the same ones used in the XTA's and they both use the same valving etc as the KW V2's (just with worse outer protection). Even the spring rates are the same, so the only difference is the front top mounts.
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Don't the XTA also have helper springs as well as the main spring to give a slightly better ride?
 
Although I do see on Driftworks website:

Wheelspacers might be necessary if you are running original wheels and tyres
 
Meds said:
Although I do see on Driftworks website:

Wheelspacers might be necessary if you are running original wheels and tyres
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Yes, I read that too on various sites which led me to look into this a bit further. And going by the information I could find sofar, OEM wheels should clear...
 
4play said:
Don't the XTA also have helper springs as well as the main spring to give a slightly better ride?
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Helper springs don't affect the ride; they should be coil-bound when the weight of the car is on them. They just make sure the spring doesn't rattle around or come loose on full droop
 
Some further pondering on which way to go...

Bolle said:
So, I’m still investigating the way to go.

I’m either going for Eibach/B4 with thicker spring pads as the ‘cheapest’ decent option. Or ST XTA coilovers as a more ‘high-end’ oprion - these are adjustable in height and hardness, so hopefully able to get a controlled but somewhat comfortable ride. Feedback from users also lead me to probably use the EIbach Pro-Kit springs in the rear, as these might be better for road use than the ST ones. And as springs are seperated from shocks in the rear, not too hard to do.

While figuring all this out, I added it all up in costs. As the coilovers (especially front) have a lot of parts already on them, although they are more expensive, that offsets some of the cost.

In my little spreadsheet in the Eibach/B4 scenario you can of course save a bit by re-using some stuff coming off the car, but I think most of the more expensive items (top mounts, drop links) need to be replaced anyways so savings would be limited. And I priced this out using an online BMW parts dealer, you could easily save some 150 eur or so using more stuff from Autodoc etc.

Taking that into account I think you can get an Eibach/B4 setup for approx 1.050 eur, and a ST XTA setup for around 1.550 eur. But I need to buy a mcpherson spring compressor for around 100 eur to assemble the B4’s (the ST’s come assembled), so you end up at around 400 eur difference.

Of course you could go for cheaper coilovers, say the ST X series at around 800 eur but then you need more mounting hardware (top mounts etc), so the savings are less than they appear, and you loose the hardness adjustability which might make them too hard for daily street use.

Some thoughts to ponder over!


View attachment 294330
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Updated my comparison Excel
  • Added droplinks to the ST options as according to the website it looks they are not included.
  • Added ST X and ST XA into the overview, and hopefully added/removed the correct generic parts needed to fit them.
Of course, you can get the generic hardware for better price on Autodoc etc, but these savings will transfer over most of the options, so the difference will remain the same.

Looking at this, my thoughts are:
  • Either go with the Eibach/Bilstein B4 or ST X option as the more ‘affordable’ option, as price difference isn't that massive. The ST X might be a better quality solution, but maybe a bit too hard for daily use.
  • Or go for the ST XTA with the adjustable top mounts, the ST XA after adding the the extra parts needed doesn’t seem that much of a saving.
And apologies for bothering you with all these contemplations, it helps me organise my thoughts. And maybe it helps some others!
1778841925244.png
 
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Love a good spreadsheet.
I think you can remove the Eibach Pro kit 70.00 from the ST columns.?
 
Meds said:
Love a good spreadsheet.
I think you can remove the Eibach Pro kit 70.00 from the ST columns.?
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Haha, thanks!

Yeas, you could leave them off for the ST options indeed. I left them on, as I’m thinking on using the Eibachs on the rear as some users have reported the ST rear springs being a bit too stiff for road use. Also note the Eibach price it not the price you get them new for, but what I paid for a virtually new set on a marketplace.

I’ve also updated the sheet with if you try to source the more expensive generic items from Autodoc and such instead of BMW.

1778969345919.png
 
Bolle said:
Haha, thanks!

Yeas, you could leave them off for the ST options indeed. I left them on, as I’m thinking on using the Eibachs on the rear as some users have reported the ST rear springs being a bit too stiff for road use. Also note the Eibach price it not the price you get them new for, but what I paid for a virtually new set on a marketplace.

I’ve also updated the sheet with if you try to source the more expensive generic items from Autodoc and such instead of BMW.

View attachment 294448
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Are your rear subtotals correct in the middle-right-hand table? Perhaps the rear top mounts have not been included in the calculation?
 
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