want it lower and ride/handle like stock

[Koldun]

Originally Posted by Hujan

That was my original intent, but I'm hearing conflicting information regarding whether it will actually lower a ZCP car at all. I originally thought it would give me 0.5" drop relative to the stock ZCP setup, but others have indicated it won't lower a ZCP car.

Lots of conflicting info.

Edit: The photos of the LMB E90 in this thread suggest, at least to my eye, that there's at least a modest drop.

Per BMW, the Competition Package lowers the car by 10mm. Dinan lowers a non-Comp car by .5" or 12.7mm. So a Competition Package car will be lowered only 2.7mm, or about 0.11". Another way of putting it is Dinan drops the car 20% more than Competition Package.

I say keep the suspension as is. If you have a non-Comp car, the Dinan is a great option (but stupidly expensive, and if you don't care about the warranty, you can replicate it for half the cost).

[SilentAttack]

Get the swift springs. They work great and its a near stock ride just lower

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by 808MGuy

If that's the case, they should not call it a street setup. Servicing that frequently make it pretty much a track setup because everytime you have to service it that means downtime for your car. Can't have a daily driver that needs to be down for at least a week to get dampers rebuilt.

It's only a recommendation to keep them in top shape or like when they were first installed on your vehicle. Manufacturers that don't recommend servicing don't mean their dampers don't ever need any service work. All dampers will degrade over time, some quicker than the other. That said, we have had customers with Ohlins R&T on 135/335i for 3-4 years and 50K+ miles and still going strong. By now, there should be a few 1M/M3 guys with over 20K+ miles on their Ohlins R&T, maybe they can chime in.

Originally Posted by Z K

Ohlins is 30k kilometers which is about 20k miles. It makes sense as they are higher end dampeners, the road feeling and reaction is much faster and smoother than the KW. The Ohlins is very street friendly offering comfort and performance in a sleek package but you pay the price for that in the more frequent servicing.

KW V3 is designed primarily for street use so the service intervals are longer (about 60k miles). They do not have as much road feel and smoothness as the Ohlins. No dampener I've driven sucks up bumps as well as the Ohlins. It gives you great confidence on uneven roads and on track.

How long a shock lasts also depends on the roads you drive. The more bumpy the roads, the faster the shock will wear out. Generally you will feel the degradation in shock dampening and rebound well before the shocks start to leak... if the shocks are leaking, they are blown - pushed well past the point of "worn out".

Part of the smoothness is from the monotube technology with larger piston areas and how precisely they control the spring. The other is the "Dual Flow Valve" technology that blows off on large and sharper bumps and then allows the tire to come the road surface as quickly as possible. The expanding needle technoloy(no other road going dampers currently available for the E9x M3 offer this feature that I know of) keeps the damping forces more consistent to combat damper fade when the hydraulic fluid thins out from heat.

[dans///m3]

Reviving this thread. So what is the consensus? Are the Ohlins R&T as good or better in terms of comfort over stock?

I have non-EDC and would like an honest answer, from people who drive really crappy roads. Here in Toronto, roads are always under construction (no joke - like half the city has construction).

I used to have an E46 M3 which was harsh in stock form, upgraded to a set of B&G Coils and the ride got worse (way too bouncy). I was so happy to upgrade to the much more "comfy" suspension of the E9x M3s.

As this thread states. Want it lower (not much - mostly the front), but ride/handle LIKE or BETTER than stock - want it to feel just as "cushy".

It looks like it's between Dinan and Ohlins - but if I'm going to spend 3k on Ohlins, really want validation that I'm making the right choice.

[BimmerRob08]

Man! After reading all this, I'm doubtfull I'll even upgrade my suspension from OEM non ZCP. I don't want to blow $3k or more for it, nor want to screw up its balanced handling for the purpose of just lowering it so it looks better. Unless there is a sleeve kit that will retain handling specs or improve it and not blow that much cash, I don't see the benefits. Someone educate me if I'm wrong. Thought, maybe one of the Dinan set ups might be the way to go??

RB

[Denk]

Originally Posted by BimmerRob08

Man! After reading all this, I'm doubtfull I'll even upgrade my suspension from OEM non ZCP. I don't want to blow $3k or more for it, nor want to screw up its balanced handling for the purpose of just lowering it so it looks better. Unless there is a sleeve kit that will retain handling specs or improve it and not blow that much cash, I don't see the benefits. Someone educate me if I'm wrong. Thought, maybe one of the Dinan set ups might be the way to go??

RB

The stock suspension is a sweet piece of work. Unless you need to have that dropped look or want fine tuned performance (coilovers) there's nothing wrong with the stock suspension. If you don't want to deviate much from stock, the Dinan kits are a nice way to go.

[BimmerRob08]

Originally Posted by Denk

The stock suspension is a sweet piece of work. Unless you need to have that dropped look or want fine tuned performance (coilovers) there's nothing wrong with the stock suspension. If you don't want to deviate much from stock, the Dinan kits are a nice way to go.

I would like to get that lower look for sure and so I think Dinan Stage I would be the way to go, at least for now and maybe later add other Dinan options to get it to Stage III as an option. I think that'll be my route.

[Denk]

Originally Posted by BimmerRob08

I would like to get that lower look for sure and so I think Dinan Stage I would be the way to go, at least for now and maybe later add other Dinan options to get it to Stage III as an option. I think that'll be my route.

[W Cole]

Originally Posted by dans///m3

Reviving this thread. So what is the consensus? Are the Ohlins R&T as good or better in terms of comfort over stock?

I have non-EDC and would like an honest answer, from people who drive really crappy roads. Here in Toronto, roads are always under construction (no joke - like half the city has construction).

I used to have an E46 M3 which was harsh in stock form, upgraded to a set of B&G Coils and the ride got worse (way too bouncy). I was so happy to upgrade to the much more "comfy" suspension of the E9x M3s.

As this thread states. Want it lower (not much - mostly the front), but ride/handle LIKE or BETTER than stock - want it to feel just as "cushy".

It looks like it's between Dinan and Ohlins - but if I'm going to spend 3k on Ohlins, really want validation that I'm making the right choice.

Ohlins R&T are more comfortable than stock. They can obviously be setup much harsher though. I think the sweet spot for the street is 9-10 clicks out.

[jbraslins]

Definitely not H&R

[dans///m3]

Originally Posted by W Cole

Ohlins R&T are more comfortable than stock. They can obviously be setup much harsher though. I think the sweet spot for the street is 9-10 clicks out.

Thanks W Cole, I see you are from Cali. You guys tend to have better roads than us in Toronto, so it's hard to get a gauge on "more comfortable" - but I appreciate the response nonetheless.

Do the Ohlins ever feel "bouncy"? It was a horrible experience having bouncy coilovers on my E46 M3 - made it so I felt sick every time I went for a drive.

How much have your Ohlins settled since you put them in?

[IMG]

Originally Posted by Poppin Fresh

Try RD Sport. To me it feels like stock (normal EDC) but lower.

+1

[to///m]

i have the same wants as the OP.

Is there anything wrong with buying a good condition used (8k miles) set of KW sleeve springs?

I'm pretty confident the KW adjustable sleeve over kit is the best option for springs and "stock like" ride for the money

[JoePcone]

I'd love to hear from more people that have actually done the springs,bump stops and perches by Malek.

[circuithero]

I did maleks custom set-up but with R&D springs ...drop looks sick and the handling is on point with my EDC in the twistes....19x9.5 19x11 265/285

[Ra_]

I was skeptical about altering the suspension and give up ride comfort, however heard so many great reviews on swifts spec r springs, I had to try it. I'm glad I did, because the ride comfort is unchanged, or at least not that noticeable to me. I have EDC, and e36 bumpstops. DIY install was a breeze.

[JoePcone]

Originally Posted by circuithero

I did maleks custom set-up but with R&D springs ...drop looks sick and the handling is on point with my EDC in the twistes....19x9.5 19x11 265/285

How's the ride quality?