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- Thread starter erol_h
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Given your non-track application and based on everything I've read on various forums, including this one, you made a good choice in selecting the H&Rs. Everyone says they're a great street setup and an improvement over M OEM. I'll personally know for sure in about a week as I have an appointment with Vivid Racing in Gilbert AZ next Thursday to have my own set of H&R coil-overs installed on my 07 Z4MC. 
When I first swapped the OEM suspension on my Z3MC, I opted for KWV2, which had rebound and height adjustability only; the bump/compression was fixed. Although the handling improved over OEM the ride was absolutely dreadful and this gave me a sore neck. I spent a lot of time trying to find the correct rebound settings on the dampers but there were none which would improve the ride. However, when I swapped back to the rear OEM dampers, only, keeping the rest of the KWV2 kit on the car, the ride and handling were perfect! Clearly, the fixed bump/compression of the KWV2's rear dampers was incorrect. I took this up with KW in Germany and they took the kit back from me and supplied me with KWV3. The KWV3 had identical springs to KWV2, but with adjustability on the dampers for both rebound and bump/compression. The KWV3 has been superb, and I would recommend that kit for the Z3MC to anybody.
Therefore, as I see it, buying aftermarket suspension which is non-adjustable without trying it on someone else's car first, will always be a gamble that the fixed settings will be your ideal. From my experience with KWV2, I'd never take that gamble again.
Therefore, as I see it, buying aftermarket suspension which is non-adjustable without trying it on someone else's car first, will always be a gamble that the fixed settings will be your ideal. From my experience with KWV2, I'd never take that gamble again.
its probably bumpier erol due to the lack of travel it has, if you raise it, you may find it rides better, suspension NEEDS travel to work, although a slammed car looks nice, in reality, the damper cant work properly, unless its a race car and the dampers are designed that way.
keep an eye out in the classified on p/h Daz, something will come up eventually. The only problem i have with ACS is although they offer great products, they add their name and expect another 1k on top of everybody else.... you only have to look at their wheels, body kits to get an idea of their pricing scheme. Essentially its a re-badged bilstein pss9 kit, can it be much better / worse??? imo not really, and is it worth 1200 quid more on which the kit its based?? not on your Nelly its not. if you looking for that detailed adjustability look to a 3 way with independent rebound/bump so you can really fine tune things......As with everything ///M car, unfortunately the top stuff costs a lot of money. EACH SETUP has plus points and downsides, you've just got to find your compromise, or more to the point, WHAT your willing to compromise.
nitron had an entry kit that at one point was very reasonable, sadly it seems they dropped that line, maybe drop them a call.
Still think the bilsten HD sport dampers with the eibach pro kit has to be an awesome cheaper option, were talking less than 600 quid, for you daz you can reuse your eibach springs, i called CA and i have to say, they spent weeks and weeks talking to me about the various options and each benefit and pit-fall for each set-up.
whatever you buy id defo want camber plates however..... so maybe add those as well??? the only problem on the z4m is they seem to add alot more NVH, the firewall braces seem to "transfer" these right into the cabin.... a sensation i love tbh, would it wear thin everyday?? if you do, dont forget to factor reinforcements, its cheap insurance.
john how camber are you running up front??
pls excuse my horrific grammar. its always been bad, and always will be.
keep an eye out in the classified on p/h Daz, something will come up eventually. The only problem i have with ACS is although they offer great products, they add their name and expect another 1k on top of everybody else.... you only have to look at their wheels, body kits to get an idea of their pricing scheme. Essentially its a re-badged bilstein pss9 kit, can it be much better / worse??? imo not really, and is it worth 1200 quid more on which the kit its based?? not on your Nelly its not. if you looking for that detailed adjustability look to a 3 way with independent rebound/bump so you can really fine tune things......As with everything ///M car, unfortunately the top stuff costs a lot of money. EACH SETUP has plus points and downsides, you've just got to find your compromise, or more to the point, WHAT your willing to compromise.
nitron had an entry kit that at one point was very reasonable, sadly it seems they dropped that line, maybe drop them a call.
Still think the bilsten HD sport dampers with the eibach pro kit has to be an awesome cheaper option, were talking less than 600 quid, for you daz you can reuse your eibach springs, i called CA and i have to say, they spent weeks and weeks talking to me about the various options and each benefit and pit-fall for each set-up.
whatever you buy id defo want camber plates however..... so maybe add those as well??? the only problem on the z4m is they seem to add alot more NVH, the firewall braces seem to "transfer" these right into the cabin.... a sensation i love tbh, would it wear thin everyday?? if you do, dont forget to factor reinforcements, its cheap insurance.
john how camber are you running up front??
pls excuse my horrific grammar. its always been bad, and always will be.
worth the risk???
http://www.dcperformance.co.uk/cheap/522605/BMW/bilstein-b12-suspension-kits/b90-20-010-03-22.html
ok alittle more than i first said but still!!! bargain, maybe a detailed chat with bilstein on these?? throw in some camber plates, should be a very nice cheap -ISH, option... i cant call 700+ quid cheap really.
http://www.dcperformance.co.uk/cheap/522605/BMW/bilstein-b12-suspension-kits/b90-20-010-03-22.html
ok alittle more than i first said but still!!! bargain, maybe a detailed chat with bilstein on these?? throw in some camber plates, should be a very nice cheap -ISH, option... i cant call 700+ quid cheap really.
I agree that the RRP of AC Schnitzer stuff is a joke, but the actual price some of it sells for is a totally different matter.
IIRC, the advert on Pistonheads for the ACS Racing suspension which I eventually bought claimed that the RRP was £2,700, that was just sales puff and untrue to ask a high secondhand price, which obviously put a lot of prospective buyers off. I've actually got the original invoice (Rossiters) from the seller to me and the cost including fitting, 4 wheel alignment and taxi collection (@£64.17) was £2,227, including VAT. That price seems fairly comparable to Bilstein, KW, Nitron and AST etc.
As you say, there are pros and cons to all this stuff, but there's no getting beyond the fact that if you want 3 way adjustable suspension you'll have to pay £1500 or more unless you can find it secondhand. You pays your money...
IIRC, the advert on Pistonheads for the ACS Racing suspension which I eventually bought claimed that the RRP was £2,700, that was just sales puff and untrue to ask a high secondhand price, which obviously put a lot of prospective buyers off. I've actually got the original invoice (Rossiters) from the seller to me and the cost including fitting, 4 wheel alignment and taxi collection (@£64.17) was £2,227, including VAT. That price seems fairly comparable to Bilstein, KW, Nitron and AST etc.
As you say, there are pros and cons to all this stuff, but there's no getting beyond the fact that if you want 3 way adjustable suspension you'll have to pay £1500 or more unless you can find it secondhand. You pays your money...
exdos said:
fair enough....... i think around 2-3k on the z4m seems to get you top level stuff...... what ever way you look at it, thats ALOT of money. i was going to buy the nitron race BUT they wouldnt do it with a rear barrell spring. AST were nothing short of bizarre to deal with and NEVER responded to 1 email, lol... TCKline racing were my top option but being us bound i wanted someone i could ring and complain to if it all went tits up.. plus they're stuff is noisy as hell and questionable quality according to many of the us guys i talked to!!
Agree with that. Most folk tend to slam the ride height on coilovers but if you run a decent height then they perform much better IME.Beedub said:
I fitted H&R coilovers to the Clio 172 I owned years ago, but didn't completely slam it. Ride quality was better than stock, height was still lower than standard though so looks were (IMO) improved, and most importantly the handling on-road was sublime. Surprisingly soft for coilovers although I didn't ever venture onto a track.
On our roads I've found that you don't want very firm suspension and its worth exploring the softer end of the settings on adjustable suspension which generally give a better ride and handling but pretty firm settings are best on track. Likewise, too low and you're riding on the bump stops all the time.
Interesting related thread on the ZPost Forum about difficulties some owners are having finding anyone to do four-wheel alignment, especially following installation of aftermarket suspension like H&R coil-overs: http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=672836
According to this thread, many independent shops are refusing to do any alignment work on zeds saying they don't have the extra machine/computer to reset/rezero the steering angle sensor. They're saying only BMW dealers have the equipment necessary to do correct alignments. Meanwhile, BMW dealers are refusing to align cars with aftermarket suspension like H&R coil-overs 'cause they say they can't match OEM specs and they won't align to any other specs.
What experiences have folks on this forum had with this? I think this question is still on topic since erol_h (and I) will soon need to have our cars aligned following installation of H&R coil-overs.
According to this thread, many independent shops are refusing to do any alignment work on zeds saying they don't have the extra machine/computer to reset/rezero the steering angle sensor. They're saying only BMW dealers have the equipment necessary to do correct alignments. Meanwhile, BMW dealers are refusing to align cars with aftermarket suspension like H&R coil-overs 'cause they say they can't match OEM specs and they won't align to any other specs.
What experiences have folks on this forum had with this? I think this question is still on topic since erol_h (and I) will soon need to have our cars aligned following installation of H&R coil-overs.
Only just seen the photos of the accident! Which Harvester was that? It's one of my company's businesses!!
Hope the occupants were ok but no cutting equipment required which suggests they probably got out under their own steam.
Hope the occupants were ok but no cutting equipment required which suggests they probably got out under their own steam.
No problems here either. Had numerous cars - OEM and aftermarket suspension - set up by my local place. No problems whatsoever with the Z4 on Eibachs. He's more than happy to use whatever spec I tell him but only after he's asked loads of questions about intended use: I'm happy to trust his judgement when it comes to the best settings for a car and what I intend using it for as he's old and experienced!jrainlay said:
jrainlay said:
The Z4MC is a very easy car to adjust for alignment, because you can adjust for camber and toe at each corner. I do my own alignments with my own DIY method. I can't see any reason a competent Indy shop cannot do an alignment for you. The only reason I can see why anyone might refuse to do an alignment to non-OEM specification is so that there could be no comeback against them if you were to smash the car afterwards, where it could be argued that the non-OEM spec alignment was a factor in such an accident.
The steering angle sensor is just one of the sensors which the DSC uses in computing the stability of the car which works in conjunction with other sensors (i.e. yaw, wheel speed, engine revs etc.) and I doubt if there's any way to specifically reset it, or that it even needs resetting at all, because it's just a sensor.
jrainlay said:
As always, I'm prepared to be wrong, but surely, unless you physically adjust the steering angle sensor, or it develops a fault, then the only way that the DSC would detect a spin is when the steering angle suddenly is at complete variance with the other sensors the DSC monitors? It's the suddenness of change in the attitude of the car which is detected by the DSC which causes the cutting of the drive by wire throttle signal and the application of the brakes to correct a spin. I can see that fitting a new steering angle sensor might need calibrating in some way, but I can't see how simply adjusting camber and toe values in the normal range can change the settings on the existing SAS. I've just hooked up my datalogger to my Z4MC and there are no fault codes and no warning lights remain on the dash, despite all my messing about with the suspension and geometry in recent months.