[Mvez]

Well, after what could be called a major renovation, the M3 is ready for dual duty......but the most pleasant surprise from all my mods are the Bilstein Clubsports.

I haven't had a chance to fully sort them out on track yet, but I can already tell they are going to be good. The dampening they provide for 600/800# springs is great, and they are currently set on just under the middle settings, but still offer great control even on crappy public roads, and that with bigger swaybars front and rear. Currently set at 4R/3C (front) and 5R/4C (rear) out of 10 clicks each for Rebound and Compression, I still have plenty of room to adjust stiffer if needed. Honestly, it's nice to have an adjuster with 10 clicks, not 25....most of the time, the extreme ends are never used and a waste, it feels like Bilstein did away with this and gave you adjustment in the window it was intended for, clubsport use.

What I wanted was a high quality, double adjustable monotube setup that was built like a tank. I don’t want a shock with super low friction seals to prevent hysteresis, because I don't want to rebuild shocks every couple seasons because of leaking oil. I wanted something that was valved for track focused work (600-1000# range), but still streetable with good reliability.

I have Ohlins on my Miata (and my previous 997 GT3RS), and JRZ RS Pro Doubles on my Cayman for a few years now, and these Bilsteins easily bridge the gap, both in performance and price. I always wanted to try these, as they don't seem to be used very often, and I'm not sure why. Had they offered a Clubsport kit for either my Miata or Cayman, I would have bought it. While I think similar shocks from smaller type companies (Ohlins isn't small IMO) are perfectly fine, in fact outstanding, what I don't like is their sometimes lack of robustness. It's nothing against them, but all too often I see the "high end" dampers leaking shock oil, or needing gas charges even sooner than they probably should. Sure, there is a tradeoff in service life for ultimate performance, but after I've had the opportunity over the years to use different shocks, you learn to appreciate really good performance with low maintenance....just as much as outstanding performance with high maintenance. My JRZ's are great, I just wouldn't daily on them, or puts tons of street miles on them, that's just me though.

For the price, which falls well below the cost of some of the other "high end" double adjustable setups, I think the Bilsteins are a great shock, and probably very underrated. Despite the stiffer springs, endlinks and monoballs/camber plates, the car is dead quiet. No rattles, no squeaks. Feels like a clubsport factory kit...that's how I can best describe it. As if this is how it would come from the factory.

Sure, you can buy a set of Ohlins DFV, re-valve them and spring them for 600-1000, but it's still a single adjustable, and sometimes for the really high spring rates, the DFV actually causes some issues (plus compression adjustment would be nice). Then there are KW Clubsports which everybody uses because that's what BMW put on the GTS...but they are twin-tubes. I prefer monotubes. So does the vast majority of the motorsport industry. Plenty of other monotubes in the range as well, like MCS or Nitrons, all good too, but I just feel like everytime I use Bilstein, they just work. Whether it's on my F350 tow vehicle, or my M3, or as an OE shock on a Porsche, they just work, well in fact.

Long and short, I think people sometimes forget just how good the Bilsteins are, and these are very similar to the MDS full motorsport shocks, which are pretty much aluminum threaded bodied versions of clubsports. No they aren't super light, or have trick features, or have tons of "fancy" marketing pizazz...but what they do have is tried and true track/motorsport performance, with a super long service life.

More to come as I get them sorted on track.

The build so far is:

• Bilstein Clubsports
• Turner subframe bushings
• Powerflex differential bushings
• Sway bars F&R (hotchkis)
• AP Racing CP9660 brake kit
• Front control arm monoballs
• New wheels and tires (Trofeo and Apex)
• Wheel Studs
• CSF Oil cooler
• CSF Radiator
• CSF Power steering cooler
• Schroth Quick fit harness
• Rear exhaust section (V2 MPE)
• Front and Rear Brake cooling ducts