Moton Street Sport Suspension Install Review

[rldzhao]

Latest here: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=356032

Update 12/14/2009
I just spoke to Moton and they think they've isolated the cause for the noise. It appears to be air trapped inside the shock that's making the noise.

This appears to be priority #1 for Moton now, as their owner came to the US and experienced the noise in person. They will issue a recall on the shocks when they confirm a solution.

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Update 12/03/2009
Shocks are taken off and being sent to Moton for inspection... She's all sad and lonely in the garage...



Update 11/29/2009

Alright folks, in the spirit of pursuing the truth, I spend another 2.5 hours of the night on the suspension...

Anyway, I removed the Moton spring assembly and replaced it with the factory spring assmebly.

And the finding: the noise is the same and still there.

Therefore, I can say with quite a bit of certainly that the problem is in the Moton shock assembly (shock, upper mount, or lower bearing). Going to contact BW and Moton and let them know.

Cheers.

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Install
So at 3am on Thanksgiving Eve I finally finished the install of the front kit. This took much longer than expected as there are quite a few things to be changed out. I was slightly disappointed that the Moton front kit was not a "true plug and play" as advertised as you can see in the pictures. However, the modifications required were not significant and can be done relatively quickly.

For the rear kit, the installation is quite straight forward considering that this is my 4th time installing springs/shocks on the rear axle (H&R, back to Stock, Dinan, and now Moton).

Neither the front nor rear kits had dust shields, so I modified the factory components to work with the Moton kit.

First Drive
First thing I noticed is that there is a noticeable deep thumping noise fron the rear axle. I will post more on this issue when I find out more. Apparently a lot of owners have noise issues as well.

Second, at the softest settings, the Motons ride just like stock normal mode. The body actually feels more controlled (i.e. less extreme displacement) w/o being harsh at all because the shocks absorb the high speed compressions so well when you go over, say, a deep dip on the highway. This is certainly a great feature of the kit: a system that is livable on the street and will have the capability to go on the track.

Ride Height
The Motons actually have quite a wide range of height adjustments. The car can actually be as high as the factory if you choose to do so. Currently I have the car set at about 0.5" lower vs. factory.

The +
-Great body control, wide range of adjustability, can be as "soft" as factory suspension and as "stiff" as a capable track car
-Quick and intuitive adjustment knobs, no need for special tools at all - can be done in three minutes on all four corners
-Great customer service by BimmerWorld

The -
-Not "true plug and play" as advertised need to modify factory components to fit; should be more thoroughly designed as the most expensive coilover for the M3
-No spanner wrench to adjust height collars, had to pay $30 extra...
-Thumping noise from the rear axle (still under investigation)
-No printed instructions

The Verdict
Technically, the core components are brilliant. The adjustments are easy, straightforward, and quick. Can be as comfortable as the factory suspension and be capable on the race track. However, as the "Ferrari" of the aftermarket coilover world, some smaller components (sway bar link, centering pin, dust shield...) ought to be designed more carefully and thoroughly for the most demanding customers. Finally, I will hold off my judgement on the noise issue when I know more...

[knext21]

Great DIY!

[STALKER]

Thanks for sharing.
Informative thread.

[consolidated]

Thanks for the DIY. I have Dinan's kit and also want to go Motons, can you elaborate on your opinion to the change in ride quality and going from stock to Dinan to Moton?

Interested in how it does specifically with square edged hits, and if you use the lowest damping settings on the Motons does the car exhibit bounce or blow thru the travel/thud/botton on large hits?

[aus]

Awesome pics. Thanks.

Do the height adjustments require losening an allen bolt or somthing?

[BarryC]

Originally Posted by consolidated

Thanks for the DIY. I have Dinan's kit and also want to go Motons, can you elaborate on your opinion to the change in ride quality and going from stock to Dinan to Moton?

Interested in how it does specifically with square edged hits, and if you use the lowest damping settings on the Motons does the car exhibit bounce or blow thru the travel/thud/botton on large hits?

Having had Eibachs and EDC, I can tell you that the setting he has it on now is much stiffer. What he'll find is that each step up or down makes a discernible difference in ride and handling. For a comfy street ride, I go with 0 compression and 1 rebound. In this setting, it's pretty much like the "normal" setting on EDC. The biggest difference is a noticeable reduction in body roll and body control. There is no bottoming out under any condition (and I've gone over some surfaces that cause pretty big compressions on the interstate).

BC

[lucid]

Can you specify rates for the springs, or does the kit come with predetermined rates?

[BarryC]

Originally Posted by lucid

Can you specify rates for the springs, or does the kit come with predetermined rates?

Rates are predetermined but you can substitute if you want. I've talked to Moton & Bimmerworld and you can go with a race spring and camber plates if desired. I understand this is not a problem for the struts. It just depends on how much you want to beat yourself up on a daily basis!

BC

[lucid]

Originally Posted by BarryC

Rates are predetermined but you can substitute if you want. I've talked to Moton & Bimmerworld and you can go with a race spring and camber plates if desired. I understand this is not a problem for the struts. It just depends on how much you want to beat yourself up on a daily basis!

BC

Well, you'd also end up paying for another set of springs. I know that would be a small cost relative to the initial cost of the system, but it would be nice to be able to purchase what you want up front. I am sure the predetermined rates are great for the stock car, but if you want to strip and cage it, you'd probably want to play with the rates. I might do that in 2-3 years. If not, I'll get rid of the car before warranty expires. I saw the track car that was prepped at Turner at Thunderbolt a few weeks ago. It was pretty sweet--running Motons. I didn't ask about springs.

[STALKER]

Originally Posted by lucid

Well, you'd also end up paying for another set of springs. I know that would be a small cost relative to the initial cost of the system, but it would be nice to be able to purchase what you want up front. I am sure the predetermined rates are great for the stock car, but if you want to strip and cage it, you'd probably want to play with the rates. I might do that in 2-3 years. If not, I'll get rid of the car before warranty expires. I saw the track car that was prepped at Turner at Thunderbolt a few weeks ago. It was pretty sweet--running Motons. I didn't ask about springs.

You can, just spec the track option when ordering.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by STALKER

You can, just spec the track option when ordering.

Thanks for the info.

[rldzhao]

Originally Posted by lucid

Well, you'd also end up paying for another set of springs. I know that would be a small cost relative to the initial cost of the system, but it would be nice to be able to purchase what you want up front. I am sure the predetermined rates are great for the stock car, but if you want to strip and cage it, you'd probably want to play with the rates. I might do that in 2-3 years. If not, I'll get rid of the car before warranty expires. I saw the track car that was prepped at Turner at Thunderbolt a few weeks ago. It was pretty sweet--running Motons. I didn't ask about springs.

Hey Lucid,

I think that you can actually talk to vendors and see whether you can directly sub the current springs with sportier springs. When I talked to James Clay last week he said they were testing some stiffer springs on the Moton shocks... I assume later on you may be able to specify the type of springs you want w/o the extra cost.

[rldzhao]

Originally Posted by aus

Awesome pics. Thanks.

Do the height adjustments require losening an allen bolt or somthing?

Basically you turn the threaded collars to adjust height. There are two collars at each wheel to interlock each other.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by rldzhao

Hey Lucid,

I think that you can actually talk to vendors and see whether you can directly sub the current springs with sportier springs. When I talked to James Clay last week he said they were testing some stiffer springs on the Moton shocks... I assume later on you may be able to specify the type of springs you want w/o the extra cost.

Good to know JamesC is testing alternative springs on his E92. Looking forward to your front install and overall impressions. Did an EDC warning come on when you removed the OEM shocks? If so, can you get rid of it?

[rldzhao]

Originally Posted by lucid

Good to know JamesC is testing alternative springs on his E92. Looking forward to your front install and overall impressions. Did an EDC warning come on when you removed the OEM shocks? If so, can you get rid of it?

yes got the error. bought a set of KW EDC Emulators

[doba_s]

Originally Posted by lucid

Good to know JamesC is testing alternative springs on his E92. Looking forward to your front install and overall impressions. Did an EDC warning come on when you removed the OEM shocks? If so, can you get rid of it?

You can get EDC simulators from James as well

http://store.bimmerworld.com/shared/...t=products.asp

[!Xoible]

awesome review! im glad u went with motons. when i read your poll thread about kw's vs. motons and asked why i couldnt answer in technical words that will satisfy you (coz ur 100x > me when it comes to cars), but i was hoping you get to drive a car with motons on and fall in love like i did.

now say good bye to your spine and mush-to-be-spleen j/k but they're FUNNNN

[RickyBobby]

I'm one of those who opted for stiffer springs and camber plates because I wasn't satisfied with the supplied springs. I'm holding off on my review until we iron some things out.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by RickyBobby

I'm one of those who opted for stiffer springs and camber plates because I wasn't satisfied with the supplied springs. I'm holding off on my review until we iron some things out.

Looking forward to your review. Please post your spring rates then. Thanks.

[rldzhao]

Today I modified the factory rear bumpstops (cut short) so that the dust covers can fit on the Motons. There is quite a bit of suspension travel available (~6" at current height) in the rear axle, so an added 5/8 of an inch should not be a problem.

[rldzhao]

Updated to include full installation

[KonigsTiger]

Wow great review, pics and all. Thank you.