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...