[PRODIGAL KING]

Though I know the difference between the two I never really had some advice on which one to get and why. I have a 435i msport some tell me get H&R sport springs some tell me get H&R super sport and some tell me to get coils. Being that I'm in Florida what would you recommend? A full description on why would be nice and if anything else needs to be changed as well

[S4NoMore]

Originally Posted by PRODIGAL KING

Though I know the difference between the two I never really had some advice on which one to get and why. I have a 435i msport some tell me get H&R sport springs some tell me get H&R super sport and some tell me to get coils. Being that I'm in Florida what would you recommend? A full description on why would be nice and if anything else needs to be changed as well

You won't need to change anything else to go along with springs or coilovers, it's purely optional to look at things like upgraded bushings etc.

If you have no experience with aftermarket suspension it'll be tough to understand the difference. Doing only springs will retain most of the ride quality (ability to soak up bumps, cracks, highway transitions and so on) and do relatively less, though not nothing, for improving the handling (body roll, grip). That is plenty for most people, especially since BMWs have great ride and handling already.

If you want to go lower and/or get maximum handling performance, coilovers are the recommended route. They are far more expensive of course, but you can adjust the ride height to your liking. They also will have an even firmer spring rate, for better grip but also to reduce the risk of hitting bump stops when used at lower ride heights. Ride quality can be nearly as good as sport springs, maybe even better, but if you aren't really into maximum grip or that super-low look I'm of the opinion that most people would find the ride to be too harsh for daily driving comfort.

It's all very subjective so you might be wise to try to test drive an example. In FL I think you could easily have good results with sport springs.

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by PRODIGAL KING

Though I know the difference between the two I never really had some advice on which one to get and why. I have a 435i msport some tell me get H&R sport springs some tell me get H&R super sport and some tell me to get coils. Being that I'm in Florida what would you recommend? A full description on why would be nice and if anything else needs to be changed as well

Originally Posted by S4NoMore

You won't need to change anything else to go along with springs or coilovers, it's purely optional to look at things like upgraded bushings etc.

If you have no experience with aftermarket suspension it'll be tough to understand the difference. Doing only springs will retain most of the ride quality (ability to soak up bumps, cracks, highway transitions and so on) and do relatively less, though not nothing, for improving the handling (body roll, grip). That is plenty for most people, especially since BMWs have great ride and handling already.

If you want to go lower and/or get maximum handling performance, coilovers are the recommended route. They are far more expensive of course, but you can adjust the ride height to your liking. They also will have an even firmer spring rate, for better grip but also to reduce the risk of hitting bump stops when used at lower ride heights. Ride quality can be nearly as good as sport springs, maybe even better, but if you aren't really into maximum grip or that super-low look I'm of the opinion that most people would find the ride to be too harsh for daily driving comfort.

It's all very subjective so you might be wise to try to test drive an example. In FL I think you could easily have good results with sport springs.

Don't bother with springs-only. They might lower your car, but they most likely will negatively impact ride quality as you will now have a mis-matched spring/strut combo.

The optimal drop is only have 10mm lower than the Sport suspension configuration. The high-end coilover manufacturers (Ohlins and AST) as well as the BMW agree on this because their 'upgrades' usually provide a 10mm drop. Any additional drop will probably result in a less than ideal contact patch based on the camber curve of the car.

If you're RWD, the best upgrade path is the following:

M Performance Suspension < Ohlins Road&Track/AST

Another thing you have to consider is that if you put on a lot of miles and use this car as a DD, I'd recommend the M Performance Suspension. The reason is that when the struts are worn, you can replace them in 1 day. Unless you have a shop near you that can rebuild quality coilovers, there will be some downtime for coilovers.

[PRODIGAL KING]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

Don't bother with springs-only. They might lower your car, but they most likely will negatively impact ride quality as you will now have a mis-matched spring/strut combo.

The optimal drop is only have 10mm lower than the Sport suspension configuration. The high-end coilover manufacturers (Ohlins and AST) as well as the BMW agree on this because their 'upgrades' usually provide a 10mm drop. Any additional drop will probably result in a less than ideal contact patch based on the camber curve of the car.

If you're RWD, the best upgrade path is the following:

M Performance Suspension < Ohlins Road&Track/AST

Another thing you have to consider is that if you put on a lot of miles and use this car as a DD, I'd recommend the M Performance Suspension. The reason is that when the struts are worn, you can replace them in 1 day. Unless you have a shop near you that can rebuild quality coilovers, there will be some downtime for coilovers.

Yes I have a 435i m sport, so one says coils another says springs lol see my dilemma? Yes I appreciate you both taking the time out to explain your opinions but which ones factual? Haha guess that's something I have to investigate myself? I guess I should of been more detailed it is my daily driver and I would be doing the drop not just for the appearance but also the performance. I noticed when I put the Michelin pilot super sports it felt way better already I HATE run flats. But thank you fellas.

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by PRODIGAL KING

Yes I have a 435i m sport, so one says coils another says springs lol see my dilemma? Yes I appreciate you both taking the time out to explain your opinions but which ones factual? Haha guess that's something I have to investigate myself? I guess I should of been more detailed it is my daily driver and I would be doing the drop not just for the appearance but also the performance. I noticed when I put the Michelin pilot super sports it felt way better already I HATE run flats. But thank you fellas.

It's not really a dilemma. It's what you want to achieve. If you're just concerned about appearance, drop it to the ground and deal with the consequences. This is the "hellaflush/stance" crowd.

Up to a certain point (~10mm lower than the OE Sport Suspension) is where the drop and performance start becoming mutually exclusive. If you could lower more without hindering performance, then BMW, Ohlins, and AST would have done so.

Drop for H&R Sport Springs:

Standard Suspension
Front Lowering: -1.75"
Rear Lowering -1.6"

Sport Suspension
Front Lowering: -1.3."
Rear Lowering -1.2"

As you can see, these drops are way in excess of the 10mm for the Sport Suspension.

In my view, these springs are more appearance than function. Especially if you use OE struts which results in a mis-matched pair.

Enough clowns have already tried this combo to let us know how it works out... http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1082735

[PRODIGAL KING]

Well said, so coils it is, how much are they? Where can I get the one you mentioned

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by PRODIGAL KING

Well said, so coils it is, how much are they? Where can I get the one you mentioned

M Performance Suspension: http://www.getbmwparts.com/partlocat...catalogid=4462

AST5100: http://usa.ast-suspension.com/websho...f30-f31-detail
* AST doesn't specifically say this will fit a 435i..

Ohlins Road&Track: http://www.hpashop.com/Ohlins-RT-F3x...ins-RT-F3x.htm

If you've never tracked before or don't plan to track often, M Performance Suspension will be more than enough. I wouldn't bother to spend the money on ASTs or Ohlins unless if you track the car a LOT.

[Boxtyp3]

Another thing that you would like to consider is if you have DHP. Coilovers will delete your DHP. I'm in the same boat as you are. Only thing is I have a DHP so I think I will go on H&R sport springs. Super Sport might be too harsh for stock DHP dampers. Though I haven't pull the triger yet. Still contemplating.

[S4NoMore]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

Don't bother with springs-only. They might lower your car, but they most likely will negatively impact ride quality as you will now have a mis-matched spring/strut combo.

I would agree, but I have experienced many cars with springs-only and even on factory shocks. The ride really is more comfortable than good coils. I went from stock, to springs with stock shocks, to quality coilovers on one of my cars and still hold the feelings I laid out above. The stock shocks will wear out faster of course.

[PRODIGAL KING]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

M Performance Suspension: http://www.getbmwparts.com/partlocat...catalogid=4462

AST5100: http://usa.ast-suspension.com/websho...f30-f31-detail
* AST doesn't specifically say this will fit a 435i..

Ohlins Road&Track: http://www.hpashop.com/Ohlins-RT-F3x...ins-RT-F3x.htm

If you've never tracked before or don't plan to track often, M Performance Suspension will be more than enough. I wouldn't bother to spend the money on ASTs or Ohlins unless if you track the car a LOT.

I think it's crazy that a M sport doesn't come with a M suspension. Seems like the cheapest one however. How much lower will it be polo? Do you have a pic of one on m sport? You seem quite knowledgable so I'm considering a few mods now as far as performance goes. Any recommendations?

[S4NoMore]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

Enough clowns have already tried this combo to let us know how it works out... http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1082735

Actually that guy had aftermarket Bilstein shocks to go with his sport springs. That type of damage can just as easily occur with coils, if not more easily, when used with factory top mounts. The force sent into that mounting point is going to increase with spring rate.

[S4NoMore]

Originally Posted by Boxtyp3

Another thing that you would like to consider is if you have DHP. Coilovers will delete your DHP. I'm in the same boat as you are. Only thing is I have a DHP so I think I will go on H&R sport springs. Super Sport might be too harsh for stock DHP dampers. Though I haven't pull the triger yet. Still contemplating.

+1 this is another reason to keep the factory shocks if you value ride quality.

If you have thousands of dollars to blow on suspension, then sure you might as well go full coilover. I still advise to try it before you buy it if at all possible.

[theEZV]

What are your goals - I am assuming you are looking for a decent drop? The M performance suspension is nice, but is of no interest to most people (myself included) since it barely lowers the car.

There are a ton of people running H&R's on these cars and most have good things to say about them. But most also have realistic expectations going in - they will be a bit bouncy and won't handle all that great.

I would rather do a shock/spring combo all things being equal, but it doesn't seem like there's a viable solution for this platform given that quite a few people had issues with the Bilstein/H&R combo. Might be worth looking into pairing a more mild spring like Dinan with the Bilsteins. Durability and lifespan will most likely be greater than most coilovers.

I will be going with KW V1 - a mild coil that will give me the ability to dial in the ride height to exactly where I want it, while retaining a decent ride. Will it handle and ride as well as the M Performance suspension? Probably not. But it's the best solution for me.

[bahasad]

Very happy with my Dinan springs, perfect drop while maintaining reasonable ride quality.

[PRODIGAL KING]

Dhp? I just want the best route to a lower stance and better handling, I think there's way too much roll in this car and frankly I feel this electric steering SUCKS next to Porsches.

[S4NoMore]

Originally Posted by PRODIGAL KING

Dhp? I just want the best route to a lower stance and better handling, I think there's way too much roll in this car and frankly I feel this electric steering SUCKS next to Porsches.

DHP is dynamic handling package, including the electronically controlled adjustable shocks. If you go aftermarket you lose the electronic control. Whether that's important or not is subjective.

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by S4NoMore

Actually that guy had aftermarket Bilstein shocks to go with his sport springs. That type of damage can just as easily occur with coils, if not more easily, when used with factory top mounts. The force sent into that mounting point is going to increase with spring rate.

That's actually not true.

If you read the thread, you will notice most of the cases where the tophat was blown was when they hit a pothole and completely compressed the suspension to the point where either an external or internal(shock) bump-stop was hit. Once that bumpstop was reached, damage to the tophat occurred.

That's the risk you take when you driveway mechanic mix and match springs/struts without fully understanding either component. In this case, the Bilstein HD/Sport shock has an internal bump stop. It's not completely Bilstein's fault because they can't predict what type of drop the person will try to achieve via springs. The only true baseline they can have is against a factory spring ie. base and sport springs. I would imagine you'd find very few cases where the tophat was blown when paired with factory springs.

You'd stand less of a risk of this happening with a coilover system because the manufacturer is controlling a LOT more variables.

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by theEZV

What are your goals - I am assuming you are looking for a decent drop? The M performance suspension is nice, but is of no interest to most people (myself included) since it barely lowers the car.

There are a ton of people running H&R's on these cars and most have good things to say about them. But most also have realistic expectations going in - they will be a bit bouncy and won't handle all that great.

I would rather do a shock/spring combo all things being equal, but it doesn't seem like there's a viable solution for this platform given that quite a few people had issues with the Bilstein/H&R combo. Might be worth looking into pairing a more mild spring like Dinan with the Bilsteins. Durability and lifespan will most likely be greater than most coilovers.

I will be going with KW V1 - a mild coil that will give me the ability to dial in the ride height to exactly where I want it, while retaining a decent ride. Will it handle and ride as well as the M Performance suspension? Probably not. But it's the best solution for me.

What's the point of spending money to make a car perform worse than factory?

[Soifon]

KW V2s FTW!

[theEZV]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

What's the point of spending money to make a car perform worse than factory?

That's a subjective statement. But again - to each their own. For me - I rarely drive the car hard. I drive to work and back, and go on the occasional cruise. That's pretty much it. I'd like something that performs reasonably well, and gives the aesthetics that I'm after. Someone else might want something different from their car. That's fine.

[jgoens]

Interesting thread. I have been considering dropping a bit as well and wouldn't mind less body roll too. The thing holding me back is my stock msport setup bottoms out when I pull out of my driveway. The bottom of my bumper is all scraped--no way around this as the approach is steep and the small street takes an incline...backing in all the time is not going to work as I come and go several times a day and I'm not going to deal with holding up the neighbors all the time...so, If I lowered the car I fear I would bottom out so much that I might even bust the bumper right off.