Looking to lower my 2010 M3

[showcase]

I just picked up a DCT 2010 M3 and I want to lower my car on 19" HRE P40SC wheels. I am looking for something that will provide the improved aesthetics of the drop while maintaining excellent ride quality. This car will be my daily driver, and I won't be taking it to the track often at all. I'm definitely not the most informed on suspensions so I was hoping you guys could help me out with some good options for my needs.

[THE TECH]

Tons of info here, just do some research. You can't go wrong with the big names...Eibach, H&R, RD Sport.

[showcase]

So you think I should lower using springs and nothing else? Does the ride generally become quite bouncy and rough? Would it be sig ificanrly less so with coilovers? I want my a decent look but I definitely want to maintain good ride quality.

[edwinm3]

Apparently eibach is very popular here.

[alpina527]

Best to use shaved guide supports and e36 M3 bump stops to maintain oem travel.

[Siciliano611]

I thought about eibach's and the drop still looked a tad bit too high, so I went with the B&G springs which I have had on my car about 500 miles now and have an excellent drop and ride quality (I believe the drop is .5" in the rear and 1" in the front). I also used e36 bumpstops to allow for further travel. I haven't had one issue.

[chris s]

H&Rs are bouncy at high speeds and in general IMHO. RD's will give you the lowest drop, Eibach the least drop. A good compromise between springs and coilovers would be a sleeve kit. KW is a popular choice and TCKline now has one as well...those are height adjustable.

[Siciliano611]

Good synopsis Chris

[chris s]

Originally Posted by Siciliano611

Good synopsis Chris

Thank you!

[slicer]

Originally Posted by showcase

So you think I should lower using springs and nothing else? Does the ride generally become quite bouncy and rough? Would it be sig ificanrly less so with coilovers? I want my a decent look but I definitely want to maintain good ride quality.

Coilovers when properly set-up, are best. Next best are the "spring over" adjustable options from KW, Ground Control, and TC Kline (these use the stock dampers but have adjustable ride-height). Lastly springs from Eibach, H&R, B&G, RD Sport, etc. I had Eibach springs and liked the ride quality and the ride height was conservative (meaning it allowed for reasonable ground clearance). I recently switched to coilovers and the street performance / ride quality is much better even at a very low ride-height. However you pay much more for the extra performance of coil-overs.

[pbonsalb]

I agree with the coilover recommendation if you want significant drop. Even with sleeve over kits for you stock struts, you still have stock damping and stock length struts.

All lowering springs are stiffer, so expect a loss in ride quality. And expect a worse ride on your 19 inch wheels than on 18 inch wheels due to the reduced sidewall.

I am on H&R Sports with cut strut mount guide tubes and E36M3 bump stops to reduce the suspension travel loss from the lowering. The ride quality is definitely worse on anything but smooth roads, but still good enough that my wife has not noticed that I modded the suspension a little. I have not noticed any bounciness at high speeds, but I have not been much over 140 mph. The drawback for the person whose primary interest is looks is that the lowering is probably just half what he wants.

[2DR M3]

Eibachs on stock bump stops here and the ride is pretty much stock and no suspension travel issues so far.

[edwinm3]

Originally Posted by 2DR M3

Eibachs on stock bump stops here and the ride is pretty much stock and no suspension travel issues so far.

I just installed eibachs and tried them on the track here at homestead, great set of springs, car handled a lot better than stock and I did not replace the stock bumpstops and didn't have any issues with that. I was actually very impressed with how it behaved. Ive had coils before from tckline on both my previous Ms and for right now I'm very happy with eibachs. I wouldn't go any lower. Sits perfect for my taste

[ailikesiliu]

sorry, replied to the wrong post.

[Moxie]

Originally Posted by edwinm3

I just installed eibachs and tried them on the track here at homestead, great set of springs, car handled a lot better than stock and I did not replace the stock bumpstops and didn't have any issues with that. I was actually very impressed with how it behaved. Ive had coils before from tckline on both my previous Ms and for right now I'm very happy with eibachs. I wouldn't go any lower. Sits perfect for my taste

Mine too -

[Castr_85M]

Originally Posted by showcase

I just picked up a DCT 2010 M3 and I want to lower my car on 19" HRE P40SC wheels. I am looking for something that will provide the improved aesthetics of the drop while maintaining excellent ride quality. This car will be my daily driver, and I won't be taking it to the track often at all. I'm definitely not the most informed on suspensions so I was hoping you guys could help me out with some good options for my needs.

If you do not care for adjustablity then go with a set of springs such as H&R Eibachs RD to name a few. But if adjustabilty is something you'll be intrested in then you cannot beat KW sleeves. With EDC in comfort the car rides just like stock!

[CSanto]

Swift are supposedly coming out with springs as well. Probably a moderate drop with slightly stiffer feel.

[neilvosko]

B&G S2s