[Burnard]

Hi guys,

I have done plenty of reading up about the suspension set ups for these cars but have not heard anyone having actually done what I am thinking about so just wanted to ask on the open forum.

I have an F31 335D LCI, currently standard.

I notice that the rear ARB is 13mm.
I know that the M1/2 40i's are fitted with a 15mm rear ARB, so I was wondering if anyone had swapped the thicker ARB onto a 3 series to help improve the handling?

My plan is to fit a M140i rear a ARB and the ACS springs, then also dial in as much front camber as possible on the standard suspension. Does anyone have any input or thoughts into this set up? Also any idea what level of front camber can be achieved?

I dont want to ruin the ride of the car, just lower it a touch, make it handle better / roll less and dial out some of that god awful understeer which plagues the XDrive cars.

Cheers,

Chris.

[ATs335Xi]

When I was looking for sways for my xdrive, H&R and Dinan's were the only options I could find. I went with the Dinan front and rear set as they seemed to be designed with a balanced performance approach in mind. Not sure if you can get just the rear. I believe H&R is a little more aggressive on the rear bar, but it is available separately.

[Smee]

exactly the same setup I have

hr lowering and i140 rear arb on my 435d. best mod I did. handles so sweet. very little understeer

[M47]

I got the H&R rear bar. TBH, I don't really feel that much of a difference.

[Burnard]

Originally Posted by Smee

exactly the same setup I have

hr lowering and i140 rear arb on my 435d. best mod I did. handles so sweet. very little understeer

Hi Smee,

Can I ask where you sourced your bar from, was it directly from BMW or somewhere else?

Cheers,

Chris.

[Lancelot]

Camber is the way to go, I got -1,5 degrees from fitting M3 lower control arms + lowering with KW DDC coilovers. Handling improvement is dramatic.

However I do not recommend going the M3 LCAs anymore, since it's rubbing towards the front of the wheel pit after lowering, instead i'll now go for increased camber wheel hubs (part #31216854199 / 200) which are factory fitted on M140i, as opposed to neutral camber for other models like our F30s, with lowering I should get a good -1deg camber.

ARB:
I got H&R fitted, 19mm rear / 29mm front, handling fine but a real pain when dealing with uneven surfaces - bad roads.

Front alone was fine, but when fitting rear it became a real pain, I'm getting them changed back to stock, the KW DDC coilovers will do the job just fine on their own.

Good for the track but these aren't 100% track cars, more like 1% track 99% road

Add to that that fitting them is a real pain (subframe out job, 6 hours of work).

Bottom line for me: per the good advice of my shop, work on suspension first (springs and dampers), then look at ARB if not enough.

And if you go the ARB way, 19mm is too much, go for KW or Eibach which are 16mm rear if you want stiffer, or indeed the M140i 15mm should be fine too.

But to each his own, someone on this board was happy with even thicker aFe bars.

[Smee]

Originally Posted by Burnard

Hi Smee,

Can I ask where you sourced your bar from, was it directly from BMW or somewhere else?

Cheers,

Chris.

Direct from bmw with 2 x rubbers and 2 x mounts for £150 ish

[AshlandTE87]

I also understand that the M235 rear ARB is what a number of people have gone with. 15mm I believe.

P/N 33556853476 is what I have written down on my list of future mods. The corresponding bushings will be needed as well.

[Lancelot]

I'll revert to this 15mm as well when the car goes back to the shop.

[BimmerFan]

Originally Posted by Lancelot

Camber is the way to go, I got -1,5 degrees from fitting M3 lower control arms + lowering with KW DDC coilovers. Handling improvement is dramatic.

However I do not recommend going the M3 LCAs anymore, since it's rubbing towards the front of the wheel pit after lowering, instead i'll now go for increased camber wheel hubs (part #31216854199 / 200) which are factory fitted on M140i, as opposed to neutral camber for other models like our F30s, with lowering I should get a good -1deg camber.

ARB:
I got H&R fitted, 19mm rear / 29mm front, handling fine but a real pain when dealing with uneven surfaces - bad roads.

Front alone was fine, but when fitting rear it became a real pain, I'm getting them changed back to stock, the KW DDC coilovers will do the job just fine on their own.

Good for the track but these aren't 100% track cars, more like 1% track 99% road

Add to that that fitting them is a real pain (subframe out job, 6 hours of work).

Bottom line for me: per the good advice of my shop, work on suspension first (springs and dampers), then look at ARB if not enough.

And if you go the ARB way, 19mm is too much, go for KW or Eibach which are 16mm rear if you want stiffer, or indeed the M140i 15mm should be fine too.

But to each his own, someone on this board was happy with even thicker aFe bars.

That person was me. I sure as hell wish your post came a year before. LOL. Lesson learned..the hard way. Going back to stock after the AFE RSB snapped after a year and a half without even tracking the car.

[Lancelot]

You think it may be because they're hollow That they broke?

[BimmerFan]

I have a strong feeling that's the case. BTW if anyone still has their stock OEM RSB for sale, PM me. Thanks.