[dancing__narwhal]

I have an LCI 328i sedan with stock (non-sport) suspension. I'm interested in a minor suspension improvement that makes the car feel sportier and hold the turns a bit better.

I do not...
plan to track this car
want anything slammed or remotely low (ideal would be stock M3 ride height)
want a bumpy ride (streets in my town are horrible)

I'd prefer to not spend a lot of money since this is mostly a daily driver. Honestly i should have just bought this car with the OEM sport suspension but that ship has sailed...

So, any advice or recommendations?

[cpie168]

Since you don't want anything too low and have a tight budget, I would suggest to start with a set of used Sport or M-Sport springs. On top of that, you might wish to consider a set of Koni Yellows or Koni FSD's. Brand new those might run you over your budget, if so then look for used ones.

Good luck.

[PourBoi-Jay]

Keep saving your money.

A suspension refresh costs more than the price of shocks and/or springs. It makes no sense to touch the suspension if you're not also gonna refresh all of the mounts and other rubber around those parts. Generally, all of that will cost a minimum of $250. Then you should also account for an alignment.

So, keep saving and researching until you can afford everything needed for the install

[dancing__narwhal]

Thanks guys. I'm not overly concerned about budget, just don't want to spend $1500 on suspension for a daily driver.

Does anyone have experience with Koni STR.T or Bilstein B12? Both seem to be reasonably priced under $1k...

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by dgaultiere

Thanks guys. I'm not overly concerned about budget, just don't want to spend $1500 on suspension for a daily driver.

Does anyone have experience with Koni STR.T or Bilstein B12? Both seem to be reasonably priced under $1k...

Koni STR T Orange are basically an OE upgrade. Definitely reasonable priced if you just want fresh shocks.

Bilstien B12 is a great kit cause it offers all 4 shocks and lowering springs.

Definitely something you want to consider if you want a slight drop and a slightly more sportier feel.

As far as turn in better and stuff like that, that really falls back into your alignment (Of course shocks and springs play a role too). First thing to do is get away from stock alignment settings - they are designed and intended to understeer and provide a more conservative handling. Also, removing the strut alignment pins at the top of your front strut will allow your to increase negative camber in the front.

Or if you want to do it the "ideal" method, you can do something like Dinan Camber plates or another fixed camber plate. This is getting a little beyond the scope of what most people in your position may want to do but the point is increasing the negative camber in the front of the vehicle does wonders for this platform. As well as 0 toe all around on the alignment. Most regular alignment shops won't want to go outside of stock alignment settings for liability reasons so it's best to find a race/tuner alignment shop.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. There is so much that goes into the suspension and they all play an important role.

[dancing__narwhal]

Thanks a bunch for the tips Jeff@TopGearSolutions

So how would the Koni STRT compare to OE sport suspension? I found a kit on Euro Performance (Koni Part Number 1120-1871) for around $500. It includes blue Koni springs and advertises a 35mm front/20mm rear drop over stock. Seems ideal for me given the price and fact that I won't be tracking.

As far as camber, i was planning to grab the M3 control arm + thrust arm kit from ECS since my stock thrust arm bushings are worn anyway.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by dgaultiere

Thanks a bunch for the tips Jeff@TopGearSolutions

So how would the Koni STRT compare to OE sport suspension? I found a kit on Euro Performance (Koni Part Number 1120-1871) for around $500. It includes blue Koni springs and advertises a 35mm front/20mm rear drop over stock. Seems ideal for me given the price and fact that I won't be tracking.

As far as camber, i was planning to grab the M3 control arm + thrust arm kit from ECS since my stock thrust arm bushings are worn anyway.

I believe the Koni are supposed to be about 10%-15% stiffer. If you need anything, I'd be happy to send you a quote.

[dancing__narwhal]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

I believe the Koni are supposed to be about 10%-15% stiffer. If you need anything, I'd be happy to send you a quote.

Sure I'd love a quote on the Koni Strt + springs. Also how does the H&R touring cup kit compare?

Do you also offer the M3 thrust arm + control arms?

[whyzee125]

I'm running Koni StrT with Tein Stech springs and absolutely love the setup. I will write a review soon but I want to give it a little time first as it's only been about a week. Tein's aren't the stiffest springs but the Konis have no trouble keeping them under control and I have no bounce whatsoever. Lifetime warranty, too, regardless of the spring used with them. For the price it's a tough setup to beat.

[dancing__narwhal]

Originally Posted by whyzee125

I'm running Koni StrT with Tein Stech springs and absolutely love the setup. I will write a review soon but I want to give it a little time first as it's only been about a week. Tein's aren't the stiffest springs but the Konis have no trouble keeping them under control and I have no bounce whatsoever. Lifetime warranty, too, regardless of the spring used with them. For the price it's a tough setup to beat.

Thanks for sharing! I'm curious?how much does this setup reduce body roll around tight turns? Would sway bars be more effective?

[whyzee125]

Originally Posted by dgaultiere

Thanks for sharing! I'm curious?how much does this setup reduce body roll around tight turns? Would sway bars be more effective?

I think this is more effective than sway bars would be on stock suspension, but that's just a guess. There's no noticeable body roll at all, corners really flat and the nose dive under braking is gone too. I had H&R sports for 2k miles between stock and tein so the contrast wasn't quite as noticeable as it would've been had I gone straight from stock to tein. H&R's are stiff.

[Will_460cs]

IMO replacing bushings with good quality OEM or Poly will provide the best bang for buck..

[mweisdorfer]

Honestly, I'd get the Bilstein Sport B4, if I had a 328 and going off of what you had stated. They make a non-sport B4 and a sport B4. You can get all the struts, shocks and surrounding hardware for about $600.00 total, if you plan to DIY this project.

[YoungBlood]

Originally Posted by whyzee125

I'm running Koni StrT with Tein Stech springs and absolutely love the setup. I will write a review soon but I want to give it a little time first as it's only been about a week. Tein's aren't the stiffest springs but the Konis have no trouble keeping them under control and I have no bounce whatsoever. Lifetime warranty, too, regardless of the spring used with them. For the price it's a tough setup to beat.

I'd love to see some pics of the setup and drop! I'm looking into doing the exact same setup, the spring rates on Teins are only mildly stiffer than sport springs, I just am on the fence about how much of a drop I'll get from them. How's the ride comfort? Body roll decreased etc?

[whyzee125]

Originally Posted by YoungBlood

I'd love to see some pics of the setup and drop! I'm looking into doing the exact same setup, the spring rates on Teins are only mildly stiffer than sport springs, I just am on the fence about how much of a drop I'll get from them. How's the ride comfort? Body roll decreased etc?

They're definitely low but not overkill IMO. I'm currently wheel shopping but am running my buddy's wheels for now and on both 18s and 19's there's no gap. I think the spring rates are just right! Ride comfort is great, my setup soaks up large dips and potholes with ease and is quite smooth on good roads. No bounce whatsoever either. Body roll is decreased and front end squat is completely gone when braking. Overall I'm very happy and have no regrets about not instead doing coilovers.

On 18s


On my friend's 19s

[CobraMarty]

Bigger diameter sway bars F+R. Wheel spacers if you can fit them.

NO change in current ride height or ride quality.
Will corner like you are on rails.

Just did the sway bars on my commuter and handles nearly as well as my son's which has lowered bilsteins, eibachs, sway bars, 18s and spacers. Handles nearly as well with a much less harsh ride.

[3002 tii]

If you don't want too low forget the B12's. Granted they're not slammed but sounds like you're looking for an OEM plus feel. In that case I'd look into BMW PS, Dinan/Koni, or a combo of the 2.

On my previous 135is I went BMW PS shocks + Dinan and the drop was perfect.



On my current daily I went Bilstein B4 + Dinan. Your front would have been less gap since xDrive rides higher compared to rwd.

[dleccord]

relative to stock, if we introduced negative camber and zero toe, it will reduce understeer?