Opinions - Eibach B12 Pro-Kit Suspension Kit

S

Smeg

Member
 Surrey
At the weekend my pride and joy failed its MOT due to a cracked front spring. I was thinking to just replace the front springs with new OE ones however I will still be left with quite a gap between the wheel and arch as I have CSL's fitted and have never really liked the front end handling in the twisty country lanes and the rear end squirming. However I don't want the ride any harsher than OE.

So I have been scanning the Z4 forum looking for options on suspension setups. I have dismissed all the coilover solutions KW3 & H&R due to my limited budget and this just leaves 2 main options:

H&R with a 25mm Front & Rear drop
Eibach with the 20mm Front and 10mm rear drop.

The overall consensus from what I can tell is that the H&R's seem to lower the car significantly more that the quoted 25mm and that owners scrape speedbumps and find the resulting ride is much harsher than OE. The consensus on the Eibach seems to be very mixed with some owners very happy and other very un-happy.

So currently I am looking at the B12 Pro Kit which would replace the existing 14 year old shocks with Bilstein B6's and the Eibach springs.
I understand that I will need a Geo to be performed but what settings should be requested? Standard Z4M or M3 CSL setup?

Please let me know your thoughts especially if you have the B12 kit as nothing has been ordered just yet.

Many thanks,
Jason
 
I have it on one of my Alpina Roadsters and I’ve found the ride and handling superb. It will drop it about 35mm below standard height.
Maybe not ideal for a daily but as a weekend car it’s not too low or harsh but corners like it’s on rails

I’ll be upgrading the new Alpina to the B12 shortly. You can see the height difference below
 

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I took an M out with Eibach springs many moons ago and hated them, too low and crashy, if I had bought the car I’d have binned them. Weird as I put Eibach on an MR2 MK2 and they were superb, not too low and a much improved ride, but on the M....awful. It’s just my experience obvs and as you say some rave about them. You’ve said budget is tight, but if there’s some leeway I’ve just fitted KWV’3’s to my E89 with great success, transformed the car, ride height, bump and rebound adjustable so you can get it just how you want....worth stretching to if at all possible.

Hope it works out for you whatever you go for. :thumbsup:
 
I have the b12 kit on my car. It’s gives a nice drop - not sure I want the car any lower.
Generally it is a stiff set up but I wouldn’t say it’s any worse that stock.
Tbh the difference was much improved in all aspects of driving when I put the b12 kit and csl settings on the car.
 
B12 kit here, totally transformed the car, the front end was always very vague at higher cornering speeds and occasionally the back end would want to step out unpredictably. I just didn't trust the car at all. Since fitting the Eibach/Bilstein combo the car is superb, I really couldn't believe the difference. The ride is firm but not crashy, not noticeably worse than before, just a bit different.
 
Slight correction to my post.... Looks like the B12 Kit comes with Bilstein B8 shocks rather than B6. B8 shocks have a shortened rod to match the shorter spring. B6 & B8 are both 20% firmer than B4 and B4 is based on an OE replacement. Just in-case anyone is interested :D
https://www.potn.co.uk/bilstein-range-explained/

Also reading on the M3Cutters forum allot of M3 drivers are fitting the Eibach springs with B4 shocks to soften the ride.

Still not sure what to do :? Please keep your thoughts coming....
 
As previously mention, if you can stretch to the KWv3’s then I would do so. I put them on my car late last year and they completely transformed it.
 
The main difference is the dual tube dampers on the KWs that's why they feel so well damped :thumbsup:

The bilsteins are mono tube.

It's all in the design essentially :thumbsup:
 
Might often be the case that when people replace stock suspension with Eibachs or Coilovers or whatever, the improvement is down to the wear on the original set up as many of the cars are very high mileage. I have stock suspension on a 35k mile E86 and cannot imagine it would be possible to improve the responsiveness, handling and comfort which is all absolutely spot on. The only reason I would ever have to change it now is to get a lower looking stance. I imagine that I would be in the camp of those saying it ruined the ride if I did. There was a long magazine review of the E86 that I can't find at the moment that stated it was a mistake to lower the car and think BMW didn't know what was best for this particular model...
 

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Penelope said:
Might often be the case that when people replace stock suspension with Eibachs or Coilovers or whatever, the improvement is down to the wear on the original set up as many of the cars are very high mileage. I have stock suspension on a 35k mile E86 and cannot imagine it would be possible to improve the responsiveness, handling and comfort which is all absolutely spot on. The only reason I would ever have to change it now is to get a lower looking stance. I imagine that I would be in the camp of those saying it ruined the ride if I did. There was a long magazine review of the E86 that I can't find at the moment that stated it was a mistake to lower the car and think BMW didn't know what was best for this particular model...
Click to expand...
Very good point, many of us have changed suspension on low mileage cars though :thumbsup:

Throwing a set of lowering springs on often makes things worse, although on the M the springs are pretty terrible as standard so it was an improvement for me to go for eibach springs before my KWs.

Lastly everyone's view on suspensions is super subjective, what feels great to you could feel bumpy or soft to someone else :)
 
Penelope said:
Might often be the case that when people replace stock suspension with Eibachs or Coilovers or whatever, the improvement is down to the wear on the original set up as many of the cars are very high mileage. I have stock suspension on a 35k mile E86 and cannot imagine it would be possible to improve the responsiveness, handling and comfort which is all absolutely spot on. The only reason I would ever have to change it now is to get a lower looking stance. I imagine that I would be in the camp of those saying it ruined the ride if I did. There was a long magazine review of the E86 that I can't find at the moment that stated it was a mistake to lower the car and think BMW didn't know what was best for this particular model...
Click to expand...

That’s very true.

However In my case above I replaced barely year old shocks and springs for KWV3’s. pretty sure they didn’t have more than 1500 miles on them. Standard stuff is built to a price and to try to be a good all rounder, it can 100% be improved upon. Unfortunately as with a lot of things you have to pay for that R&D and quality quite heavily. Given that suspension, as well as tyres are arguably the most important aspects of a cars enjoyment with ride quality the further you can go quality wise the better. :thumbsup:
 
Started with OEM setup on my MC, went to Eibach springs which of course made for much better ride on motorways etc, as they’re progressive. Felt like hovering compared to the std jobbies.. (still on std shocks mind you, so no wear-factor here!)
Over speedbumps etc the difference was of course minimal or slightly worse as the suspension travel obviously became shorter.

I suppose the question for you is:
Do you daily do masses of speedbumps or rather more motorway driving?
In the latter case, I’d make a massive saving and go for the Eibach Pro springs.

(This september I got KWV3 which of course are even more comfortable (in softest settings).)
 
FWIW we recently invested in a set of Koni shocks from DemonTweek, and our intention is to fit these when needed
and retain the OE motorsport springs. Plus, because Haggisman in Wellington said it was a must do at the same time a set of H&R ARB's slid out of the courier van too.
We believe the B4 Bilsteins with the OE springs or the Koni shocks are the best "soft options" that while benefiting ride comfort, do not add too much to the firmness.
Eibach or H&R reading all the reviews its hard to get a true sense of what works best, guess we each have to come to our own decision.
Naturally KWV or the cost effective STC coilovers from KWV are a superior choice, and if we were in the UK they would already be on our cars.
 
I had a b12 kit on my e86.

Firstly lets just deal with an important point. People will tell you any aftermarket part is better than oe - however it is important to have in your mind that the oe parts are designed to work best across a wide range of operating parameters, amongst those to have some acceptable ride quality, and also to maintain tyre contact with the road on a variety of road surfaces. Stiffening the damping will improve the handling by reducing roll, but only in a specific set of circumstances (smooth tarmac) - so essentially by fitting any 'uprated aftermarket' suspension you are in effect reducing the operating range of the car (making it more specialised) - it will handle worse on bumpy roads with firmer suspension and ride quality and nvh will also suffer. Long as you understand what you're wanting then that's great, you end up with a car tailored to your driving tastes!

That aside, I had a b12 kit fitted to my 50k mile e86 si. I found it was undoubtedly firmer than standard, but for me personally not significantly. Consequentially, roll was reduced, and there was an improvement in the feel of the car as as a result. I had the csl geo done on mine at the same time as fitting the b12 lit, and found the car afterwards was wonderfully neutral, with oversteer with a lift of the throttle as well as under power if desired (it did have a quaife diff fitted too). It certainly was most at home on smooth tarmac and at higher speeds - low speed ride quality was a bit worse than oe, and the fixed damper tuning meant the wheels did skip a bit on bumper roads, reducing traction.

My only real issue with the b12 kit was that within 3 years and 25k miles and a handful of trackdays, my Offside Front damper burst a seal and lost all its oil. This was apparently not covered under the bilstein 5 year warranty. I had various arguments with bilstein on this but got nowhere, so ended up forking out for a new pair of front dampers and living with it. Less than impressed though with both product longevity and customer service, but ultimately they are a cheap kit and not bad in the grand scheme of things.

Personally if I were in your shoes, I'd find a second hand damper to bang on there to get it through mot, and then save the pennies toward a set of kw v3s and someone who knows how to set them up properly. You'll not regret the additional money spent, trust me!
 
Just add a bit more to the mix, I've been running KWs since 2005 on various cars over the years. I've never had one damper related issue at all.

Unfortunately Bilstein appear to live off their name these days...
 
Thanks everyone for your opinions, I have taken the plunge and ordered a set of the B12's. Fingers crossed I like them and will let you know my thoughts if I ever get them fitted as apparently will take 6 weeks to arrive! Bilstein have none in stock and making them to order!

While I have the suspension off I thought I would refresh the rubber mounts but not sure if I need top and bottom. Anyone know?

https://bmwsupply.co.uk/part/details?series=e86&typ=du91&og=02&hg=31&bt=31_0759&view=btdetail
Front Top (07 Feather pad above) part number: 31331091233
Front Bottom (11 Feather pad below) part number: 31331096664

https://bmwsupply.co.uk/part/details?series=e86&typ=du91&og=02&hg=33&bt=33_1335&view=btdetail
Rear Top (11 Feather Pad) part number: 33531094518
Rear Bottom (13 - Spring pad) part number: 33531136385

Many thanks,
Jason
 
Smeg said:
Thanks everyone for your opinions, I have taken the plunge and ordered a set of the B12's. Fingers crossed I like them and will let you know my thoughts if I ever get them fitted as apparently will take 6 weeks to arrive! Bilstein have none in stock and making them to order!

While I have the suspension off I thought I would refresh the rubber mounts but not sure if I need top and bottom. Anyone know?

https://bmwsupply.co.uk/part/details?series=e86&typ=du91&og=02&hg=31&bt=31_0759&view=btdetail
Front Top (07 Feather pad above) part number: 31331091233
Front Bottom (11 Feather pad below) part number: 31331096664

https://bmwsupply.co.uk/part/details?series=e86&typ=du91&og=02&hg=33&bt=33_1335&view=btdetail
Rear Top (11 Feather Pad) part number: 33531094518
Rear Bottom (13 - Spring pad) part number: 33531136385

Many thanks,
Jason
Click to expand...

I would check you need the front spring pads, I don't think I did for the B16 kit but you may do for the B12's. The rear's yes good idea to replace the spring pads while you are in there. I would also change the front top mount bearings....part 31331090612 (x2). One for each top mount, you don't need the whole mount just the axial bearing.

On another note...I would be VERY careful from ordering from that website you've given if you were considering it. Do some research if i was you....those prices don't seem quite correct, along with some other things. It might be OK but tread carefully would be my advice.
 
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