Quote:
Originally Posted by HREM3
I definitely see your point. I'm as skeptical as they come, which is why I haven't pulled the trigger yet. There's obvious fear of making the wrong decision.
If JRZ or AST made a coilover that was priced comparable to the KW V3s I think more people would spring for those more often.
So the V3 definitely finds itself in sort of a sweet spot with the E9x M3s.
There's also a bit of a guinea pig feel when buying AST or JRZ since it seems that not many users have them....This can be argued to coincide with resale and being able to get rid of them..
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I would try and make it out to a relatively local track. That's where you see stuff in action. If not, I would call and talk to the vendors who test this stuff. I would call vendors like Bimmerworld, Turner, and TC Kline, companies who actually test this stuff against other brands. When you call a company to compare products, they should ask you a bunch of questions about you. If not, hang up and move on. When they recommend brand "A", I ask about brand "B" or "C". That way you cut through the BS. Do your research before hand on brand "B" and "C" and test the vendor. I have caught certain vendors(sponsors) BSing you back to brand "A".
Here's how my experience went for my E46. I was leaning towards the ASTs. I've heard nothing but good things about them on the forums. But after talking to a couple of vendors, I found that the TC Klines were on par in performance but had some advantages. The rear spring is unique in that it is a beehive spring which provides more spring travel because of the angle of the lower control arm to the body. Then the Koni struts had fewer long-term issues in their experience and their customers.
After narrowing my search, I called Bimmerworld. They asked me a bunch of questions and explained what they thought would fit my needs and WHY. So I bought my coilovers through Bimmerworld. Now here's my biased opinion. I really like TC Kline. They've ALWAYS answered the phone...whether its Ohio or Cali. They'll even tell you recommended settings...ride height, adjustments, etc. I don't think you can get that information from any other company directly from the company that tunes the coilover as a system.