Suspension upgrade

B

Bodyboarder

Active member
Hi all ....

Loving my M and would like to make it handle a bit better but my heart is saying some tasty coilovers but my head is saying eibach/Bilstein combo !

A little info on my car and intended use . The car has eibach springs on already and the ride height is spot on for me ( so this negates the need of height adjustment coilovers really )

This car is for road use ... I may don 1 track day a year in it .

Already bought new RTAB bushings and the tuner limiter kit to go on .

Are the likes of the kw v3’s in my situation going to over kill ? Or even for road use will I see big benifits over the eibach / Bilstein set up ?


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I'm pleased with my Bilstein b12 set up but I have read some negative reports from others about it. Kw's pretty much universally raved about but I couldn't justify the price. May upgrade to it one day depending on circumstances.
 
I haven’t had a set of kw’s on any car I’ve owned but had the Bilstein b12 kit on 3 cars ... on 2 of the cars I went to ohlins coilovers and although they were better , it did highlight how very good the b12 kits are for the money !
 
Ignoring the money, V3s are perfect for what your after, you just need to double check the clearance to the front spring perch, spacers potentially needed (not a bad thing!) 8)
 
I’ll have a good dig around ...but from the reading and experience with the b12 kits , I’m swaying towards this again due to ease of setting up / cost verses performance ect
 
Bodyboarder said:
Yes heard someone else say about spacers being needed to clear the springs .... any more info on this?
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10mm spacer needed if you put KWV3 ‘s on with standard 224’s, I don’t know about other wheels though. :thumbsup:
 
Had b12’s plus RTAB limiting kit from turners and a few other bits done at the same time, transformed the Car, no longer feels completely dangerous to drive and does what you expect it to do :-)
 
The worst thing I ever did was the B12 kit. Put it on and the car was ruined as a drivers car in that it crashed dangerously through the bumps and lost all compliance. Spoke to Kevin Bird who confirmed B12 kit is terrible and Z4Ms shouldn’t be lowered. Ended up with New OEM springs, near CSL geo and the Bilsteins, which is OK. Sold the Eibachs to some poor unsuspecting fool.
 
InterlagosZ4MR said:
The worst thing I ever did was the B12 kit. Put it on and the car was ruined as a drivers car in that it crashed dangerously through the bumps and lost all compliance. Spoke to Kevin Bird who confirmed B12 kit is terrible and Z4Ms shouldn’t be lowered. Ended up with New OEM springs, near CSL geo and the Bilsteins, which is OK. Sold the Eibachs to some poor unsuspecting fool.
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Have to concur with that, I tried Booners old car on Eibachs and it was horrendous, hateful. This isn’t how a car should feel, it crashed, banged and skipped its way over matchsticks with heavy steering, truly awful. Strange as I had Eibachs on an MR2 and they were fantastic, transformed the car.... :idunno:
 
InterlagosZ4MR said:
The worst thing I ever did was the B12 kit. Put it on and the car was ruined as a drivers car in that it crashed dangerously through the bumps and lost all compliance. Spoke to Kevin Bird who confirmed B12 kit is terrible and Z4Ms shouldn’t be lowered. Ended up with New OEM springs, near CSL geo and the Bilsteins, which is OK. Sold the Eibachs to some poor unsuspecting fool.
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This is the member I was referring to earlier, not everyone has had a positive experience of the set up. Just fools like me I suppose........
 
Very odd ! My brother in law on his coupe had standard suspension and it was very crashy , changed just the springs to Eibach’s and the transformation was very surprising. Smoother ride , better pitch/dive control, less body roll . So much better !

My MC has just the Eibach’s on and I find it very comfortable, not crashy at all . I’m running slightly larger side walls ( 245/35 and 275/30) so this helps a bit with road compliance I guess ...... decisions decisions!

I think I really need to get a ride in a car fitted with the kw v3’s to make a informed decision..... anyone local to me ? ( Southampton)
 
Bodyboarder said:
Very odd ! My brother in law on his coupe had standard suspension and it was very crashy , changed just the springs to Eibach’s and the transformation was very surprising. Smoother ride , better pitch/dive control, less body roll . So much better !

My MC has just the Eibach’s on and I find it very comfortable, not crashy at all . I’m running slightly larger side walls ( 245/35 and 275/30) so this helps a bit with road compliance I guess ...... decisions decisions!

I think I really need to get a ride in a car fitted with the kw v3’s to make a informed decision..... anyone local to me ? ( Southampton)
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If you want the ultimate KW or similar is the way to go, but it costs.

For me, a compromise between that and the original set up was right, hence the b12s, if I'm in a position to fit KW in the future I will. My experience is one of big improvement overall, as you're brother in law has found. It's only over pot holes where I feel it hits harder and crashes more, otherwise damping and control is a different level.

All subjective and of course but best make an informed decision and take into account everyone's experiences.
 
Bodyboarder said:
Very odd ! My brother in law on his coupe had standard suspension and it was very crashy , changed just the springs to Eibach’s and the transformation was very surprising. Smoother ride , better pitch/dive control, less body roll . So much better !

My MC has just the Eibach’s on and I find it very comfortable, not crashy at all . I’m running slightly larger side walls ( 245/35 and 275/30) so this helps a bit with road compliance I guess ...... decisions decisions!

I think I really need to get a ride in a car fitted with the kw v3’s to make a informed decision..... anyone local to me ? ( Southampton)
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I had eibach springs for a while too and found the same as you. I think some people must have knackered dampers before fitting them hence the bad experience?

It doesn't explain the bad experience with the B12s though.

There's a guy with an Imola coupe on V3s in Surrey, not seen him on here for a while though. Worth getting along to a local meet :thumbsup:
 
I did have B12's and now have V3's. I would say the B12 were more comfortable and as of yet the V3's haven't been corner weighted or settings adjusted therefore the B12's also appear better tuned for the car out of the box.

Really strange to hear people having bad experiences with the B12's. I've owned 3 cars with B12's and even on my 1000+bhp GTR I have Bilsteins with Eibachs and they handle the hefty forces perfectly.
 
..... another thing to consider then . The b12’s then are more than likely more road compliant but not as good on track .

How are the b12’s more comfortable in your opinion?
 
I had Eibachs with standard dampers and found it improved the handling.
With OEM springs, I found that aerodynamic front end lift at speeds over 120mph made the car frankly terrifying. With Eibachs, this was abolished and the car felt controlled up to Vmax.
Eibachs reduced (but not resolved) turn in understeer on the track and markedly reduced pitch and roll.
However, the combination of Eibachs, an OEM strut brace, CSLs and pulling the camber pins made the front end tramline like mad on poor surfaces.
I changed to KW Clubsports to improve handling on the track at the expense of comfort on the road. For me this transformed the car but mine sees more track than road use. I wouldn’t recommend the Clubsports unless you drive on glass-smooth tarmac most of the time.
 
Bodyboarder said:
Yes heard someone else say about spacers being needed to clear the springs .... any more info on this?
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10mm needed to clear front CSLs (or reps in OEM sizes).

Not sure that the V3s would be more “comfortable” than the B12s, but the ride is good in the technical sense - they keep the rear in contact with the tarmac on our B roads and aren’t unsettled by shallow potholes taken at speed. They will still shake your fillings out over cobbles, of course, and the maximum height they go to is still lower than stock.

Have you considered the Bilstein PSS10? They also get good reviews. The only concern I’d have is that they don’t have individually adjustable bump and rebound damping, and I think you probably need a lot more of the former than the latter for the Z4M rear (that is where I have ended up with the V3s, anyway).

You could also go to 265/35 rears, which will give you more comfort and still be a decent match for a 245/35 front.
 
..... still none the wiser then :lol:

Thanks for all the input :thumbsup:

I’ll try and find a passenger ride with the kw’s fitted and go from there , as it’s not a small amount of money to just try them out !

Not really looked into the Bilstein pss10’s as I’m not sure anyone pics them over the kw’s .
 
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