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Suspension question...

6K views 43 replies 8 participants last post by  Zombie_Head 
#1 ·
Hi all,

I'm looking at some suspension kits and am seriously tempted to pull out my wallet and spend some more cash.
I have no idea what's best but don't really want to spend more than £500 (I'm not looking for anything serious).

My car is currently on the stock M-Sport suspension which has done 84,000 miles so I think new shocks and springs would be well worth the investment.
But, I don't want the ride to be too much firmer than it already is, although I know it's likely to stiffen up a bit.

Having said that, would I need to purchase anything else in order to swap the suspension out? Or could I just buy a new kit, and it would literally be plug and play?

Also, Bilstein B12 or Koni STR.T?

Sorry if these questions have already been asked multiple times! (probably)

Thanks in advance!
 
#2 ·
For your budget its either B12 kit if you don't mind firmer and a touch lower at front, or get some Bilstein B4 dampers, new bumpstops and resuse stock springs (or get eibach prokit for slight drop) , if you can stretch budget my favourite for road is Koni Sport adjustables with new bumpstops and stock msport springs, on soft setting much better body control and ride quality than stock, see my suspension quest thread in signature below for all things ive tried! ;)
 
#3 ·
THETYRANT said:
For your budget its either B12 kit if you don't mind firmer and a touch lower at front, or get some Bilstein B4 dampers, new bumpstops and resuse stock springs (or get eibach prokit for slight drop) , if you can stretch budget my favourite for road is Koni Sport adjustables with new bumpstops and stock msport springs, on soft setting much better body control and ride quality than stock, see my suspension quest thread in signature below for all things ive tried! ;)
You the man, thanks!

So, If I decided to go for a full kit like the B12, I wouldn't need to buy anything else?
 
#4 ·
Webarno said:
So, If I decided to go for a full kit like the B12, I wouldn't need to buy anything else?
Yes pretty much if everything else is in ok order, the B12 kit comes with Bilstein B8 Front and Rear Dampers complete with bumpstops and a set of Eibach Pro-kit springs :D
 
#5 ·
THETYRANT said:
Webarno said:
So, If I decided to go for a full kit like the B12, I wouldn't need to buy anything else?
Yes pretty much if everything else is in ok order, the B12 kit comes with Bilstein B8 Front and Rear Dampers complete with bumpstops and a set of Eibach Pro-kit springs :D
Perfect! Sounds like the most attractive option then. Thanks Ian! :D

Now just need to find the best place to purchase.
 
#6 ·
I'm in the process of deciding exactly this and currently have too much time on my hands so I did a spreadsheet for the costs [emoji23]

In the breakdown all stuff is from eBay apart from the b12 set up which is from n2o tuning in Germany (€570 delivered). I'm personally being forced to go down the b4 route cos my European insurance won't cover mods [emoji53]

I would also allow £130 for worse case scenario full alignment and £110 for m3 lca (seems silly not to) and £20 for xenon levelling arm of you have xenons



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#7 ·
Fritz said:
I'm in the process of deciding exactly this and currently have too much time on my hands so I did a spreadsheet for the costs [emoji23]

In the breakdown all stuff is from eBay apart from the b12 set up which is from n2o tuning in Germany (€570 delivered). I'm personally being forced to go down the b4 route cos my European insurance won't cover mods [emoji53]

I would also allow £130 for worse case scenario full alignment and £110 for m3 lca (seems silly not to) and £20 for xenon levelling arm of you have xenons



Hahah well that's helpful for me too.
You think new top mounts are required?

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#8 ·
I'm going to do the bushes listed. If everything is apart and you're going to the trouble of refreshing the suspension cos it's tired, it seems silly not to spend a little extra and do the job properly. Worse case scenario - if you don't change them when you change the suspension you'll be unsettling 10 year old 80'000 mile rubber/plastic bushes/mounts which by this point will also have quite a bit of wear and tear. The added pressure of new equipment/seating position could just mean they are finished in half a year and then you have to replace them anyway.

I think it comes down to how long you intend to keep the car, or if it bothers you to potentially have to do more work later down the line.

Personally I'd say do it once, do it right :D
 
#10 ·
I received the B12 kit from N20 tuning a couple of weeks ago but so far I've only managed to fit the rear shocks so far due to this horrible weather we seem to be having.
Even just fitting the rear shocks I have noticed a definite improvement in the compliance of the rear end. I changed the lower shock mounts (the ones that fit in the wishbone) with oem versions but the upper shock mounts got replaced with powerflex versions. In hindsight neither really needed replacing as they were in decent condition but I thought whilst it's all apart I might as well replace them for peace of mind.

I've just got the springs, front shocks, top mounts and all the associated rubber gaskets, spring perches etc etc to fit once this horrendous weather clears up.

Oh, mine only has 62k on the clock but the rear shocks I took off were absolutely dead.
 
#11 ·
krisabf said:
I received the B12 kit from N20 tuning a couple of weeks ago but so far I've only managed to fit the rear shocks so far due to this horrible weather we seem to be having.
Even just fitting the rear shocks I have noticed a definite improvement in the compliance of the rear end. I changed the lower shock mounts (the ones that fit in the wishbone) with oem versions but the upper shock mounts got replaced with powerflex versions. In hindsight neither really needed replacing as they were in decent condition but I thought whilst it's all apart I might as well replace them for peace of mind.

I've just got the springs, front shocks, top mounts and all the associated rubber gaskets, spring perches etc etc to fit once this horrendous weather clears up.

Oh, mine only has 62k on the clock but the rear shocks I took off were absolutely dead.
How long did it take to arrive from them after you ordered mate?
 
#12 ·
Webarno said:
krisabf said:
I received the B12 kit from N20 tuning a couple of weeks ago but so far I've only managed to fit the rear shocks so far due to this horrible weather we seem to be having.
Even just fitting the rear shocks I have noticed a definite improvement in the compliance of the rear end. I changed the lower shock mounts (the ones that fit in the wishbone) with oem versions but the upper shock mounts got replaced with powerflex versions. In hindsight neither really needed replacing as they were in decent condition but I thought whilst it's all apart I might as well replace them for peace of mind.

I've just got the springs, front shocks, top mounts and all the associated rubber gaskets, spring perches etc etc to fit once this horrendous weather clears up.

Oh, mine only has 62k on the clock but the rear shocks I took off were absolutely dead.
How long did it take to arrive from them after you ordered mate?
Once it was despatched it took about 4 days. When I ordered it was out of stock and took about a week before it came into stock. I got regular emails updating me with the progress so I can't fault their service at all to be honest.
 
#14 ·
I couldn't find anywhere cheaper when I was looking.
 
#17 ·
CynicalRobot said:
Webarno said:
Ordered the b12 kit today. From Demon Tweeks. Found a 10% discount code so all in total it came to £508.34.

Chuffed! :)
Please let us know how they feel once you get them installed! :D
Of course. Going to take about 11 days before they arrive though :(
Should be able to get it fitted on April 7th.
 
#19 ·
Fritz said:
Webarno said:
Ordered the b12 kit today. From Demon Tweeks. Found a 10% discount code so all in total it came to £508.34.

Chuffed! :)
Thats great! quite rare to get that much off from DT so you got a good deal. Plus if there are any issues down the line it's better that it's a UK supplier
My thinking exactly.
 
#21 ·
Did you find another supplier? If not, I'd recommend Larkspeed - I bought my Konis from them and Billies for a 4x4 Fiat. The Fiat parts were the cheapest I could find anywhere, The Koni Sports were with £10 of the cheapest too. Excellent service from smart people. Both times I ordered, the parts were dispatched within 24 hours.

 
#26 ·
How much are people typically paying to get the B12 kit fitted?

I'm being quoted over £400 from an independent... what's a typical price?

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