[cgarner40]

Looking to upgrade my suspension. Anyone have experience on the Bilstein sport shocks/struts for Xdrive paired with Dinan performance spring set for F30 xdrive?

Seen posts about H&R springs, but haven't found anything on this specific setup for Xdrive F30s. Both products are fairly new. Thanks

[sandwi54]

Originally Posted by cgarner40

Looking to upgrade my suspension. Anyone have experience on the Bilstein sport shocks/struts for Xdrive paired with Dinan performance spring set for F30 xdrive?

Seen posts about H&R springs, but haven't found anything on this specific setup for Xdrive F30s. Both products are fairly new. Thanks

I originally had just Dinan springs on my wife's F30 xdrive, but I was not satisfied with the ride as there's a bit more bounce than I wanted. I thought about replacing just the shocks with Bilstein B8 but in the end I decided to just go with the KW Street Comfort coilover since the springs and shocks were designed to work with each other in the coilover setup. I am very happy with the ride. It's very firm but also absorbs road impact well.

Buying the Dinan springs + Bilstein shocks separately would cost you close to $1,200, so why not just pay another $300 for the KW SC coilover that's designed to work as a whole, as well as having the ability to change the ride height and adjust the damping ratio. FYI, I have the car set at the highest ride height possible, and it's about 0.2" higher than the Dinan springs' ride height.

[cfm56d7b]

I agree with @sandwi54.

After examining all suspension options for my 2013 F30 xDrive sedan (and I literally mean ALL), KW Street Comfort coilovers were the best choice at $1,600 + installation. Set at 9 clicks as recommended by KW, the suspension now provides what was missing in the base xDrive suspension.

At least on my 2013 F30 xDrive sedan, the rear shocks cannot be adjusted without lifting the car and removing the rear shock from the top mount. For me, KW recommended setting - 9 clicks - works just fine.

[cgarner40]

Thanks for the advice! Definitely makes sense to go with the perfectly matched set. I was unaware of the "comfort" coil over option and wanted to avoid a spine bruising ride, so wasn't even considering them at first.

How do they perform on the track? And do you have to stiffen them up a lot to do so?

[sandwi54]

Originally Posted by cgarner40

Thanks for the advice! Definitely makes sense to go with the perfectly matched set. I was unaware of the "comfort" coil over option and wanted to avoid a spine bruising ride, so wasn't even considering them at first.

How do they perform on the track? And do you have to stiffen them up a lot to do so?

If you want to build the car for track use, you should probably just go with either V1, V2, or V3. The street comfort, while providing a firm ride and reducing a lot of the body roll from stock, is not really meant for track use. There's still some body roll during high speed cornering and I wouldn't recommend it for track

[cgarner40]

Originally Posted by sandwi54

If you want to build the car for track use, you should probably just go with either V1, V2, or V3. The street comfort, while providing a firm ride and reducing a lot of the body roll from stock, is not really meant for track use. There's still some body roll during high speed cornering and I wouldn't recommend it for track

Not really building a track car. Really looking to lower slightly, stiffen up the soft suspension and body roll, and participate in probably 2 HDPE weekends a year. Would they be adequate for that? 95% daily driver 5% fun weekend.

[sandwi54]

Originally Posted by cgarner40

Not really building a track car. Really looking to lower slightly, stiffen up the soft suspension and body roll, and participate in probably 2 HDPE weekends a year. Would they be adequate for that? 95% daily driver 5% fun weekend.

For your application, I think Street Comfort will be the right choice. On public roads, it's hard to corner at the speed where you'd notice significant body roll from the SC coilover without endangering the public

On the track though, you'll definitely notice some body roll but it's not big, and for "recreational" HPDE events, you should be ok with it. Heck, I even think my F80 has a ton of body roll on the track, but since I only go to HPDE a couple of times a year, I'm not gonna do any change to the suspension.

[cgarner40]

Originally Posted by sandwi54

For your application, I think Street Comfort will be the right choice. On public roads, it's hard to corner at the speed where you'd notice significant body roll from the SC coilover without endangering the public

On the track though, you'll definitely notice some body roll but it's not big, and for "recreational" HPDE events, you should be ok with it. Heck, I even think my F80 has a ton of body roll on the track, but since I only go to HPDE a couple of times a year, I'm not gonna do any change to the suspension.

Appreciate the feedback! Hey... some say body roll just means you still have grip.

[t335xi]

UGH spent 55k on a car and to make it safe to drive above 60mph i need to put another 5k in suspension upgrades. Never again XI never again

[cgarner40]

Originally Posted by t335xi

UGH spent 55k on a car and to make it safe to drive above 60mph i need to put another 5k in suspension upgrades. Never again XI never again

Yeah I went from a 2011 335i, but got sick of the IL winters so thought I'd go with the Xdrive. I ordered the Msport thinking thinking I was getting a sport oriented vehicle, but unfortunately didn't do my homework. But I agree spending that kind of money on "The Ultimate Driving Machine" and coming home with that kind of suspension is rather upsetting. I'll pay much closer attention in the future. Other than that I love the car.

[sandwi54]

Originally Posted by cgarner40

Yeah I went from a 2011 335i, but got sick of the IL winters so thought I'd go with the Xdrive. I ordered the Msport thinking thinking I was getting a sport oriented vehicle, but unfortunately didn't do my homework. But I agree spending that kind of money on "The Ultimate Driving Machine" and coming home with that kind of suspension is rather upsetting. I'll pay much closer attention in the future. Other than that I love the car.

Actually, I didn't mind the fact that the car didn't come with a sports suspension. What I was really not happy with is that BMW should have discounted the M Sports package for the xDrive cars, instead of charging the same amount as RWD cars. They also should have made it crystal clear that xDrive would not have sports suspension even if ordered with sports package (ok I understand that's what researching on the forums is for so let's not debate on that topic). A bulk of the M Sport package cost goes to the sports suspension, and if BMW does not include it, it shouldn't charge us for it! I think every xDrive owner would feel better if that were the case.

Cost aside, I'd rather drive the car with a proper set of coilover on. The 704 suspension on the RWD models is still too soft IMO as it's still designed to provide a lot of ride comfort. But that's just me since I am used to driving track suspensions.