Suspension upgrades

[Brad_B]

Considering getting a new setup for the E86, simply to get a drop of a few mm (pic to show current arch gap) and improve the appearance of the car.
Trouble is I really like how the standard sport suspension handles the crappy b roads where I live in the Salisbury area.

What would people considered a reasonable road setup, nothing to break the bank, mid range ish I guess?

 

[Thermaltake]

I have bilstein B4's and eibach pro springs on my coupe, Its the pretty common go to setup. It gives the perfect drop of reducing the wheel arch gap but can still take speed bumps without issue.

Theres no hiding it does make the car ride a little stiffer, It can throw around a little on bumpy B roads.
Im not sure if there are any other lowering springs that will give a softer ride though, they will all generally have a stiffer spring rate than standard.

I dont know how people get on with with anything more aggressive on a road car. I think people get tricked into thinking that if there car gets bounced down the road and rides super stiff this means its "race car", I remember a mate spending ridiculous money on coilovers and bragging how his car now "handled like its on rails" only to get left behind on the fun roads as there was just no give at all to absorb anything.

 

[Phippy]

Hey Brad,

I live not far from you, Romsey/Totton, but drive Salisbury way quite often. I had the m-sport suspension on my E86 and recently refreshed my shocks and springs with the Bilstein B4 and Eibach springs as mentioned above.......... My car is now back at the local indi getting the front springs swapped out for OEM as the wheels kept hitting the wheel arch to the extent I have worn a hole through the wheel arch liner after about 3 weeks.

The Eibachs feel amazing on smooth roads, but driving on a slightly bumpy b-road it just got just stressful. The back was fine, no issues there, but in my experience the roads around us are not smooth enough to enjoy the Eibachs, which on a good road do feel excellent! and taking a speed bump at 3mph also felt very smooth

If my car looks level with OEM front and the Eibachs on the rear i will leave it at this, if it looks front end high i will be swapping out the back as well so will be selling a set of Eibachs in virtually brand new condition - if you still feel like giving it a go......

I don't track my car, but having been down the Eibach route if i really wanted to lower the height and feel confident i wasn't going to bottom out i would just save up and get coil-overs.

Hope this helps.
Louis

 

[Brad_B]

Hey Brad,

I live not far from you, Romsey/Totton, but drive Salisbury way quite often. I had the m-sport suspension on my E86 and recently refreshed my shocks and springs with the Bilstein B4 and Eibach springs as mentioned above.......... My car is now back at the local indi getting the front springs swapped out for OEM as the wheels kept hitting the wheel arch to the extent I have worn a hole through the wheel arch liner after about 3 weeks.

The Eibachs feel amazing on smooth roads, but driving on a slightly bumpy b-road it just got just stressful. The back was fine, no issues there, but in my experience the roads around us are not smooth enough to enjoy the Eibachs, which on a good road do feel excellent! and taking a speed bump at 3mph also felt very smooth

If my car looks level with OEM front and the Eibachs on the rear i will leave it at this, if it looks front end high i will be swapping out the back as well so will be selling a set of Eibachs in virtually brand new condition - if you still feel like giving it a go......

I don't track my car, but having been down the Eibach route if i really wanted to lower the height and feel confident i wasn't going to bottom out i would just save up and get coil-overs.

Hope this helps.
Louis

All that was pretty much what I figured, I come from owning several track cars and they were all brutal on rough roads, the standard suspension on the z4 feels pretty good as it is tbh.

I may just leave it alone.

 

[Brad_B]

I have bilstein B4's and eibach pro springs on my coupe, Its the pretty common go to setup. It gives the perfect drop of reducing the wheel arch gap but can still take speed bumps without issue.

Theres no hiding it does make the car ride a little stiffer, It can throw around a little on bumpy B roads.
Im not sure if there are any other lowering springs that will give a softer ride though, they will all generally have a stiffer spring rate than standard.

I dont know how people get on with with anything more aggressive on a road car. I think people get tricked into thinking that if there car gets bounced down the road and rides super stiff this means its "race car", I remember a mate spending ridiculous money on coilovers and bragging how his car now "handled like its on rails" only to get left behind on the fun roads as there was just no give at all to absorb anything.

Personally I’d say the stock suspension on the e86 sport is pretty spot on for roads, anything harder and it will start to feel like a track car. I think it will all come down to annoyed I get with the arch gap lol

 

[Phippy]

If we had immaculate roads i'd recommend it all day long!

 

[Thermaltake]

Personally I’d say the stock suspension on the e86 sport is pretty spot on for roads, anything harder and it will start to feel like a track car. I think it will all come down to annoyed I get with the arch gap lol

probably, it can be a bit wallowy on faster A roads etc but is pretty much just right for B roads where your going to be hitting undulations, bumps and crevices in the road and you need to absorb them rather than just hit them.

I just hated the big arch gap that is was a sacrifice I had to make. I really want 19" CSL's but thats a step to far for me onto of the suspension so 18" and more tyre for me.

B4's and eibach's arent too bad, Certainly liveable with although everyone has their own limits.

 

[Benderloch]

I went with B4s with Suplex springs and 12mm spacers front and back, very happy with this setup.

 

[sw4nny]

I went with B4s with Suplex springs and 12mm spacers front and back, very happy with this setup. 85EC9828-97F0-460A-B96D-8695B22AB9F2.jpeg

I did this set up also without spacers,very happy with the result

 

[Brouse]

I also just changed to B4s and Suplex (no spacers) a month ago and also swapped the ARB bushes for powerflex and it has transformed the car!!!

 

[Brad_B]

I’ll keep that setup in mind, it seems to be a popular one!