Z4 E85 - Coilover
- Thread starter Court1987
- Start date
axelleveau
Member
First time I see those and I am quite curious. They seem made by MaxSpeedingrod but I cannot find them on their website (edit: they are on the website, under the T6 series, it seems they have developped higher end offering that the usual stuff with their T6/T7 series). I believe this brand is known to do cheap offerings but those seem good, at least the features:
And they look better than the flashy orange they usually sell.
This seems too good to be true, or the quality might be absolute garbage but this is now into OEM pricing territory to make a quick car on the cheap :|
- 10kg front, 8kg rear (I believe this is what a lot of people recommend when they go for BC BR coilovers)
- Adjsutable preload AND ride height
- Adjustbale damping
- Pillow ball front top mount
- Adjustable drop links
And they look better than the flashy orange they usually sell.
This seems too good to be true, or the quality might be absolute garbage but this is now into OEM pricing territory to make a quick car on the cheap :|
I've not tried Maxspeedingrods or read any reviews on the E85/6 platform but general consensus (on other cars) is that they're dire.
10 kgs front/8 kgs rear springs is an interesting choice if true. BC's default is 7 kgs F / 10 kgs R. My experience is with the Z4MR not the non ///M E85/6, but certainly having harder springs at the front and softer at the rear compared with OEM ///M springs is a good move in my experience, and this brand seems to have gone even further in that direction (assuming 8kgs R is spring rate not wheel rate which would be more like 4 kgs on an 8 kg spring rate).
I'd nonetheless be cautious about £367 coilovers, as generally you get what you pay for. If budget won't stretch to a set of BCs, I'd be opting for a new set of SE equivalent springs and Bilstein B4 shocks which can be had from Autodoc for less than £500. If the priority is driving rather than looks I'd choose SE spec over M-spec suspension.
10 kgs front/8 kgs rear springs is an interesting choice if true. BC's default is 7 kgs F / 10 kgs R. My experience is with the Z4MR not the non ///M E85/6, but certainly having harder springs at the front and softer at the rear compared with OEM ///M springs is a good move in my experience, and this brand seems to have gone even further in that direction (assuming 8kgs R is spring rate not wheel rate which would be more like 4 kgs on an 8 kg spring rate).
I'd nonetheless be cautious about £367 coilovers, as generally you get what you pay for. If budget won't stretch to a set of BCs, I'd be opting for a new set of SE equivalent springs and Bilstein B4 shocks which can be had from Autodoc for less than £500. If the priority is driving rather than looks I'd choose SE spec over M-spec suspension.
1066 Country
Mum always said buy cheap, pay twice.
With a Billy coilover kit costing about 2k & this is 1/5th of the price including adjustable drop links, pardoning the pun something has to give.
My suggestion, were I in your shoes considering 99% driving fast B roads, would be save for:
- A set of uprated B6 shocks
- New drop links & tie rod ends
- Polybush the lollypops & RTAB's ending with a 4 wheel alignment
- Some premium rubber
Good hunting
With a Billy coilover kit costing about 2k & this is 1/5th of the price including adjustable drop links, pardoning the pun something has to give.
My suggestion, were I in your shoes considering 99% driving fast B roads, would be save for:
- A set of uprated B6 shocks
- New drop links & tie rod ends
- Polybush the lollypops & RTAB's ending with a 4 wheel alignment
- Some premium rubber
Good hunting
axelleveau
Member
plenty said:
Good call! I confused the F/R on what people usually quote for BC. That now makes me less enthusiatic about those new coilovers
Actually based on my experience with 6 kg F / 10 kgs R BCs on a Z4MR I would like the front to be slightly stiffer still, and would be ok with a slightly softer rear still. So 10 kgs F / 8 kgs doesn't seem like a terrible choice to me. However that's with the heavy iron S54 lump above the front axle and if you have an N52 or M54 you may not want such stiff front springs.
If you want to have a play with a set of maXpeedingrods coilovers I have some here:
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1937479&hilit=MaXpeeding#p1937479
Never used - £100 plus postage, but make sure you reads the words of caution in the link and the words of wisdom above.
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1937479&hilit=MaXpeeding#p1937479
Never used - £100 plus postage, but make sure you reads the words of caution in the link and the words of wisdom above.
The cheap maxpeeding/what not ebay coilovers are complete junk. The ride is incredibly hard no matter what height they are set at and they last at best about 12 months, some have even snapped. The spring rates are just made up and the adjustable drop links are too long even on the shortest setting. I bought a set a couple of years ago after reading they were ok and took them off after 2 days, they were rock solid, you can feel the road surface let alone hitting a pot hole which was like a form of torture. Never felt anything like it and I've had some stiff cars in the past. Avoid them like the plague. As has been said, either buy decent ones or go for lowering springs.
I have had B6s and SE and Sport springs. Sport springs are a better balance in my view. The B6s are defo Troy former than stock dampers but massively more controlled. Eat fast roads up with composure. I’ve gone coilovers as I wanted stiffer springing and lower ride height but went with ST XTAs (so KW V2 internals). Not cheap but worth the price.
I’m selling my B6s and sport springs in the sale section if you’re interested
I’m selling my B6s and sport springs in the sale section if you’re interested
Disagree on the bolded bit. The standard E85 setup is just awful for British roads. It's oversprung and underdamped, and it rides very poorly on rough surfaces as a result.R17SKO said:
The coilovers I fitted to my 3.0i are so much more composed than the standard stuff, and barely any stiffer. You notice a much greater level of body control, but without the crashiness of the standard setup.
Budget coilovers with badly-matched springrates and cheap dual-tube dampers will always ride poorly. Monotube coilovers with well chosen springrates can get VERY close to OEM ride comfort in my experience.
No need to take my word for it. enuff_zed of this parish has driven many an E85, and seemed very surprised at how compliant my coilovers were.
https://www.bc-racing.co.uk/br-series-coiloversx-driver said:
I went with the softest spring options (5/8kg), which I think has helped the compliance a lot. They are monotube, which was a big plus point for me, and the droplink attachment is designed a LOT better than some of the cheaper coilovers (HSDs etc.).
I deliberately avoided the KWs at this price because the shocks are non-adjustable. I'm sure the quality is good (they are TUV approved, after all), but a fixed-rate damper was no good for what I wanted.x-driver said:
I run the BCs on their softest setting all round on the road, and then stiffen both front and rear to slightly different degrees to dial out understeer on track. Seems to work for me.
I also coated them in ACF50, a lubricant and rust inhibitor, so I didn't need to stress too much about them seizing if the car gets used in winter.