kw suspension query

M

mad4slalom

Senior member
Found 2 rear springs broken on insp 2 today. just over 300 quid to replace so wondering about my options, 300 for the same crashy ride, 2k for full kwv3 fitted and set up or open to other ideas as to replacement rear springs that are a slightly softer ride than the standard ones. anyone on here have kw's on an M coupe or ridden in one ? thanks :driving:
 
Eibachs are perfect for road and track use - inexpensive, a marked improvement in ride and handling, and not stupidly low :thumbsup:


Edit: I've a set of KW Clubsport coilovers waiting for me in the UK as I'm planning to gradually turn my ///M into a more track-focused car, but for road use and half a dozen trackdays a year, Eibachs have been a really very good alternative to OEM springs. I think the main difference between these and the H&R springs is that the latter are slightly lower and slightly more pricey.
 
thanks , so h and r will give a softer ride ? and eibachs too, where would i speak to a supplier of these who could tell me more / many thanks :driving:
 
I think for both spring sets the cheapest supplier is Larkspeed.

They have Eibach on the shelf.... But H&R are usually a 2 week order...

I found the H&R better on the "M" but its personal preference... The H&R is slightly lower on the rear,the Eibach is 10mm.

Couple of pics of ride height..

Z4MCSL180_zps0f694801.jpg

Z4MCSL182_zpsd655377f.jpg
 
I'm not sure that the ride will be softer per se, but certainly it is more compliant and less crashy. With 19 inch CSLs and tyres with stiff side walls, potholes and really poor quality UK roads remain a little unpleasant. The ride is firmer and less bouncy than OEM, so the car pitches and rolls less, but it isn't a Citroen :D
If you really want a softer ride, you may have to explore the adjustable coilover route.
 
Well said !!

Compliant was the word I was looking for...

It's never gonna be like a bed if air ....lol....
 
Z4M-2006 said:
I think for both spring sets the cheapest supplier is Larkspeed.

They have Eibach on the shelf.... But H&R are usually a 2 week order...

I found the H&R better on the "M" but its personal preference... The H&R is slightly lower on the rear,the Eibach is 10mm.
Click to expand...

Why do you say that the H&R's are better?

I'm considering both, was leaning towards Eibachs, so interested to hear your experience.
 
I found Eibachs better, but it's personal preference :P

I think the only real differences are a slightly lower ride height with H&R and a slightly higher price. That, and availability from UK suppliers is usually by overnight courier for Eibachs and a few weeks for the other.
 
The H&Rs certainly aren't softer because they are lower. Eibachs are probably the best around but the H&Rs give a more aggressive look.
 
BMWZ4MC said:
Eibachs are perfect for road and track use - inexpensive, a marked improvement in ride and handling, and not stupidly low :thumbsup:


Edit: I've a set of KW Clubsport coilovers waiting for me in the UK as I'm planning to gradually turn my ///M into a more track-focused car, but for road use and half a dozen trackdays a year, Eibachs have been a really very good alternative to OEM springs. I think the main difference between these and the H&R springs is that the latter are slightly lower and slightly more pricey.
Click to expand...

your going to love them!!!! not very DDable however :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :?
 
Hi,

I may just be the perfect person to answer this question for you...

I have had a few different setups on my M coupe which went in the following order:

OEM
OEM with Eibach springs
H&R Coilovers
KW V3 coilovers.

I would agree with the comments regarding the Eibach springs that others have added above. more compliance but not necessarily more comfort. The H&Rs are incredible value for money but are stiffer than oem. The best way to describe them is that small bumps are handled better but you will know about any large ones you hit. They do however reduce bodyroll considerably so work well on track and for spirited road driving. The trade off is no adjust-ability so somewhat of a compromise on overly bumpy roads.

Finally onto the KW V3s - put simply, WOW, shortcut the spending I did above and just go straight to these if you can afford to. The best setup out of all of the above. I have a few settings I use on mine, the soft setting is better than stock. Fast road setting is slightly stiffer but damped sooo much better (i just use this most the time). And finally I can stiffen them up for there track setting which is incredible. I did Silverstone on them at the beginning of the month and it is the first time I can honestly say that I considered the need for a full harness. Just a shame its so much work to fit one to the m...

Happy to give you a passenger ride if your near
 
Beedub said:
BMWZ4MC said:
Eibachs are perfect for road and track use - inexpensive, a marked improvement in ride and handling, and not stupidly low :thumbsup:


Edit: I've a set of KW Clubsport coilovers waiting for me in the UK as I'm planning to gradually turn my ///M into a more track-focused car, but for road use and half a dozen trackdays a year, Eibachs have been a really very good alternative to OEM springs. I think the main difference between these and the H&R springs is that the latter are slightly lower and slightly more pricey.
Click to expand...

your going to love them!!!! not very DDable however :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :?
Click to expand...

I can't wait to try it on the track :thumbsup: When I've finished it won't be very DDable for other reasons anyway 8)
 
BMWZ4MC said:
Beedub said:
BMWZ4MC said:
Eibachs are perfect for road and track use - inexpensive, a marked improvement in ride and handling, and not stupidly low :thumbsup:


Edit: I've a set of KW Clubsport coilovers waiting for me in the UK as I'm planning to gradually turn my ///M into a more track-focused car, but for road use and half a dozen trackdays a year, Eibachs have been a really very good alternative to OEM springs. I think the main difference between these and the H&R springs is that the latter are slightly lower and slightly more pricey.
Click to expand...

your going to love them!!!! not very DDable however :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :?
Click to expand...

I can't wait to try it on the track :thumbsup: When I've finished it won't be very DDable for other reasons anyway 8)
Click to expand...
They really are incredible.... hell even to have them in your hand you feel sad their going to get dirty, really beautiful products, Also the compeition units come with addition welding/reinforcement on the all the mount points. Peformance is mind bending... so much grip i from even road tyres it feels like somethings going to snap!! lol.
 
Not sure if this helps but I posted this a month or two back when they went on my MR and I was looking at the options.

"I have found an alternative though which I'm thinking about.

Birds BMW (http://www.birdsauto.com/ ) have a replacement set of springs they've developed in house for the Z4m that he says don't lower the rear but do lower the front a bit. - but I'm told greatly improve the ride and handling.

Apparently the original fitment is a variable rate (I think that's what he called it) which is in fact setup as two rates, the lower rate, once fitted, is effectively not available which leads to a poorer ride and their own bespoke springs are adjusted to allow much better ride etc.

Just one downside - as you'd expect, the cost :-) the fully fitted upgraded set of four springs is about 4 x the price of two std. rear springs (parts only)."

I didn't go with these though in the end I just went for the easier and quicker fix and got standard springs from Sopers as the cheapest source.
 
Are the Clubsports suitable for daily drive abuse though? In that I mean are they 'fit & forget' with dust/muck covers or do they need maintaining much more frequently?
 
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