[bbog2008]

It looks like I am the first to plunge into unknown and get Dinan springs paired with Bilstein B8 (sport).

Background - My car came with standard static suspension. I hated it so last October I went on and got Dinan springs installed on it. The ride improved instantly, those springs performed admirably. Standard shocks... not so much. The car was planted on the road, with almost no body lean, roll or other, but the ride was bouncy on almost every road imperfection. So, I started to look for some struts and shocks to address the issue. To me, Bilstein seemed to be the best solution, and because the car was already lowered, B8 was the answer in my mind.

I ordered them and waited a bit to get them. Finally they arrived last Friday just in time for the weekend install. It took me 3 hours on Friday afternoon to do the rear and the hole Saturday for the struts (at a very moderate pace).

The major delay was to reposition front springs as the dealer had them installed upside down. Thus I spent a lot of time researching for this matter.
Another set back was the front left axle which pop out and it was a pain to find the right position to pop it back in.

Finally, Saturday night at around 11 PM, I was able to take the car out for a test. Everything seemed to be normal, and the ride was something else, but I could not tell what exactly at that time. Off-course I was exhausted so I went to bed.

Next morning I took her out for more testing. I was still not able to tel much about the ride quality other than the bounciness was gone. Later in the day it started to get hot outside and the car started to feel very stiff. Every small bump was felt very very hard. So at this point I started to think that I had made a very very bad mistake. In the evening the car was softer again. Then I realized that I need to progressively dial down tire's pressure. After two more days playing with the pressure I finally got it right.

And now I can talk about the ride - it is sublime. Those Dinans are amazing for any kind of driving, and paired with Bilstein Sport, the set up gives the pleasure of driving the ultimate machine. Bilstein made the car to feel "elegant" on the road. Probably this is the best word to described the sensation that I get when I drive it. It corners like a real BMW - very precise and controlled and does it with a tone of distinction. It is a charm to be in this car. But the big surprise is that I can feel the road again. There is feed back through the steering wheel. It is not like the beautiful E90 but there is something there that gives you back the feel of the road.

In conclusion - yes, I literally love the way the car drives now,and I hope to have time soon the take it on some back roads and do some hard cornering and other more spirited driving to gauge the real performance of this set up.

There is also a down side of the story - the front raised about 7-8 mm more than the rear. I am in contact with Dinan trying to understand this. The explanation I got from them was that because I only took down front springs and did nothing to the rears, the struts/springs need settle now again and they should be coming down at the right elevation. So be it. Time will tell.

For those who want to do this king of work by themselves I recommend to follow the DIY threads here in this section of the forum, and follow the torquing instruction found in a separate thread at the top of this section.

Thanks
Ben.

[jimnov]

Ben, good review!

2 Questions:

What tires are you running? Run-flats or Go-Flats?

What pressures did you end up with?

Thx,

jimnov

[bbog]

I'm on run flats - the contis. I ended up setting the tires pressure 4psi below sticker recommendation 28 front and 31 back.

[BigVegas17]

Great write up and glad to hear you are loving the setup. I recently went to Dinan springs on my DHP/adaptive suspension with Dinan shockware, and I love the resulting road feel and grounded was on my car as well. Cheers!

[Chris@codemybimmer]

could you post the part numbers for the bilstein's
im asking a few local stores in the GTA and theyre all giving me different part numbers....

thanks

[bbog2008]

1lyfe

Here is my invoice. I got them from essex distributors and their website is very helpful. Just remember the rears for xdrive are the same as for rwd.

Shoot me another message if you need more information.

[Chris@codemybimmer]

Originally Posted by bbog2008

1lyfe

Here is my in invoice. I got them from essex distributors and their website is very helpful. Just remember the rears for xdrive are the same as for rwd.

Shoot me another message if you need more information.

Thanks!
could you also take a pciture of the side profile of your car so we know how it looks with this combo?

[bbog2008]

There you go.

[WarrENDeatH]

How much was everything, pre-labor costs!?

[bbog2008]

I installed the B8's myself. The parts were about CAD 1000.

[T4NZ4NIT3 335i]

Originally Posted by bbog2008

It looks like I am the first to plunge into unknown and get Dinan springs paired with Bilstein B8 (sport).

Background - My car came with standard static suspension. I hated it so last October I went on and got Dinan springs installed on it. The ride improved instantly, those springs performed admirably. Standard shocks... not so much. The car was planted on the road, with almost no body lean, roll or other, but the ride was bouncy on almost every road imperfection. So, I started to look for some struts and shocks to address the issue. To me, Bilstein seemed to be the best solution, and because the car was already lowered, B8 was the answer in my mind.

I ordered them and waited a bit to get them. Finally they arrived last Friday just in time for the weekend install. It took me 3 hours on Friday afternoon to do the rear and the hole Saturday for the struts (at a very moderate pace).

The major delay was to reposition front springs as the dealer had them installed upside down. Thus I spent a lot of time researching for this matter.
Another set back was the front left axle which pop out and it was a pain to find the right position to pop it back in.

Finally, Saturday night at around 11 PM, I was able to take the car out for a test. Everything seemed to be normal, and the ride was something else, but I could not tell what exactly at that time. Off-course I was exhausted so I went to bed.

Next morning I took her out for more testing. I was still not able to tel much about the ride quality other than the bounciness was gone. Later in the day it started to get hot outside and the car started to feel very stiff. Every small bump was felt very very hard. So at this point I started to think that I had made a very very bad mistake. In the evening the car was softer again. Then I realized that I need to progressively dial down tire's pressure. After two more days playing with the pressure I finally got it right.

And now I can talk about the ride - it is sublime. Those Dinans are amazing for any kind of driving, and paired with Bilstein Sport, the set up gives the pleasure of driving the ultimate machine. Bilstein made the car to feel "elegant" on the road. Probably this is the best word to described the sensation that I get when I drive it. It corners like a real BMW - very precise and controlled and does it with a tone of distinction. It is a charm to be in this car. But the big surprise is that I can feel the road again. There is feed back through the steering wheel. It is not like the beautiful E90 but there is something there that gives you back the feel of the road.

In conclusion - yes, I literally love the way the car drives now,and I hope to have time soon the take it on some back roads and do some hard cornering and other more spirited driving to gauge the real performance of this set up.

There is also a down side of the story - the front raised about 7-8 mm more than the rear. I am in contact with Dinan trying to understand this. The explanation I got from them was that because I only took down front springs and did nothing to the rears, the struts/springs need settle now again and they should be coming down at the right elevation. So be it. Time will tell.

For those who want to do this king of work by themselves I recommend to follow the DIY threads here in this section of the forum, and follow the torquing instruction found in a separate thread at the top of this section.

Thanks
Ben.

When I upgraded to Bilstein B6 and ACS springs I also noticed considerable inprovement in steering feel. I thought it was just feel good placebo type effect but I guess its not now.

BTW what tire pressures are you running

[bbog2008]

Originally Posted by T4NZ4NIT3 335i

When I upgraded to Bilstein B6 and ACS springs I also noticed considerable inprovement in steering feel. I thought it was just feel good placebo type effect but I guess its not now.

BTW what tire pressures are you running

32 psi front 35 psi rear with non RFT's.