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My Suspension quest! 130i

151K views 1K replies 91 participants last post by  THETYRANT 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Ok as many of you might of seen over the last few months ive been on a mission to find a suspension setup suited to my needs on this my 2nd E87 130i, basically im after a compliant road setup that doesn't spoil the sporty feel of the car and also wont object too much to going on track, although that has become less important as time has gone on, so thought i would start a new thread to diary it all for my reference and it might also help others wondering what direction to go in, its a LONG story so if you don't like reading probably best to hit the back button now :)

On my first 130 i never touched the suspension and it was always on the list of things to try and improve (as well as an LSD!) so on this my 2nd 130 i decided to address these issued starting with suspension and following with a quaife LSD (which is now also fitted), first up was to replace the Msport dampers as nsf was blown and nearly out of oil which gave me the excuse i need and so the quest began!

Below is the list of suspension ive had fitted since i bought the car in June 2015, i will go into more detail but i like a good list to start :)

1st - 60k mile Original Msport dampers and springs (NSF damper leaking)
2nd - New Koni Sport Adjustable dampers with Msport springs
3rd - Used Koni FSD dampers with Msport springs
4th - KW Street Comfort Coilover kit
5th - BIrds B1 Bilstein Dampers and Springs
6th - Bilstein B4S oem spec dampers, initally with Eibach Pro springs but read on :)

7th - And to update this first post, back to another set of Koni Sport adjustables with BMWP front bumpstop and Koni rear, tried several springs from eibach prokit to various Msport versions, currently on Fl-130 or 135i front with pre-fl 130i rears.

Koni Sport/Msport Spring - we all know what Msport dampers/springs are like so no need to report on those, the Koni Sports are probably the favourite dampers that ive had (so far) for various reasons, on the soft setting they are nice and compliant with good damping control giving a nice improvement all round in comfort and handling over totally stock setup, also you can adjust/stiffen the damping up to suit your needs if you can live with a firmer ride on road, i did play around with them for a few weeks on various settings and while on soft setting or even 1/2 turn harder they were very good for road and even on track (although little stiffer there was better still) but i always felt that while front end was good the rear needed quite a firm damper setting to fully control the bouncy rear end that plagues the 1series (more on this later), while on this higher damper setting i found ride a little too firm for poor roads and pottering about usage i mostly do, so when i spotted so low mileage Koni FSD on german ebay i bought them to try and see if they were more suitable.

Koni FSD/Msport springs - these are meant to be a great allrounder with automatically adjustable damping rates depending how you drive, some report that this can give a slightly inconsistent feel to the car as it varies between settings and i would say i did feel this to a degree but not noticeably an issue apart from on bumpy tracks, if anything i would say they felt slightly firmer initially than the Koni Sport on soft setting but when you hit a big bump they did as designed and open up internal valves to absorb them , worked pretty well but after awhile i realised i wanted more control and i still felt the rear was a little bouncy, although it was improvement over stock it wasn't as good as i wanted......

KW Street Comfort Coilovers - i found these after much researching about people looking for a comfy/compliant coilover kit, there is not much info on these on 1series forums and not much at all in the UK!, i found quite a lot of discussion on the E9x forums mainly from usa about them and nearly all positive saying it does what it says on the tin so thought i would give them a try, i was wary as they run very high springs rates at around double the Msport setup which was a concern for comfort, however egg'd on by positive reviews i got an order in with one of my customers/suppliers at work so KW made some and shipped them over.
This was first time i had run a coilover setup on a 1series without the stock Msport springs with conventional dampers and bumpstops etc, first impression were good and with some tweaking to damping got a reasonably good compromise, the high springs rates however always felt just a bit to firm for my awful roads around here and also as sprint series ive been competing in was coming to an end i thought i should maybe look towards more comfort for road use, so with the KW up for sale we moved on.....

Birds B1 Dampers and Springs - OK everyone on here raves about this setup for road car usage so i just had to try it next, it was a close thing between going for these or the Ohlins R&T kit but i reasoned that the B1 is meant to be the ultimate road setup which is what i was aiming for really, track use is few and far between especially as winter approaches so Birds B1 it was.
Initally after fitting i was very impressed with this setup, a fast blast along some fairly bumpy A and B roads and it just soaked it all up, non of the rear bouncy issues a just very controlled and balanced feel, it did feel a little soft on rear especially after firm spring of the KW setup but i soon got used to that, day after fitting it was a 450mile roundtrip to Rockingham for the sprint seried final and i was worried it would feel a bit soft on track but it was very good and very controlled which was a bonus. Subsequent 600 or so road miles i started to feel the low speed comfort which is a lot of my usage just wasnt there, front end just feels a bit choppy at sub 50mph when pottering around bumpy back roads with family on board, its not harsh just annoyed me enough to start pondering other options and as i rarely get chance to go and have fun on my own in car i started to rethink the whole thing!, as you have probably guessed by now once i start thinking about changing it doesnt take long before another plan has formed....

Moving on......



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#2 ·
Bilstein B4s and Eibach Pro /Msport springs - After much deliberation i decided to go back to pretty much stock for winter and start again seeing if i could improve the more stock setup enough for my road use and look again at upgrades next year if required, with this in mind i decided on the Bilstein B4S oem spec sport dampers which are available very cheaply on ebay.de and as these are meant to be direct replacement for the stock dampers seemed a good choice, plan was to fit these with stock Msport springs and tweaked bumpstops which is something i started to play with inbetween the B1 kit and B4 setup, this is were it gets more interesting!

Looking at the design of rear suspension and from my new found experience of various spring rates on other suspension kits on this car i deduced that even the stock rear msport coil spring was firm enough to support the car, without the need for the additional support from the stock bumpstops ( i will call them bumpstops for ease but thats not really what they are on these cars, they are more complex and designed to act like an additonal damper/spring, in fact BMW call them Additional shock absorber in their parts list), for those who dont know the stock setup has the car sat on the bumpstop using it as an additonal spring/damper and rumour has it that is to prevent the rear of car sagging too much when fully loaded without the need for a very stiff coil spring which would impact low speed comfort, downside is the material/design used on the bumpstops which while progressive at first soon becomes very firm which has the effect of hugely increasing overall spring rate at back of car when you hit even a medium bump in the road, the stock damper cant control it and you get the bouncy/pogo issues we all know plague these cars and spoil the otherwise decent handling.

With all this in mind i chose to try some experiments, first up while awaiting the B4 dampers i removed the Birds rear dampers and springs and refitted my old stock dampers with msport springs, along with these i cut out approx 30mm from middle of the stock rear bumpstop and glued them back together, you cant just cut end off the bumpstops really as they have a progressive section at damper end and body end has fitting to hold dust shield etc on, so cutting the middle out was best option, before i did this i first tested the damper stroke to make sure this reduced length wouldnt cause damper to bottom out internally, which thankfully it wouldn't as rod can go all the way into damper body and even the trimmed bumpstop was 45mm long to soak up big impacts should it need to, i havent actually felt that ive hit the new bumpstops though.

Ok all back together and off for testdrive, first thing i noticed was the softer feel from the rear with reduced damping rate of stock damper despite the harder stock rear spring, good start which got better with more miles on some bumpy roads to see if the rear bounce was gone, it was and i think this is a resounding success. Ive done quite a few miles with that setup including a trackday and a trip over to track loaded to the gills with 4 spare wheels and tyres, jack and other tools as well as 2 passengers in car with no undue bottoming or bump contact i could feel.

Bilstein B4 dampers arrived and first thing i did was swap over the rears as its only half an hours work, the B4 damper is meant to be oem spec damping but i would say its a touch firmer at least compared to my old stock dampers, maybe 5% stiffer but nothing to cause and issue with comfort just a bit more damping control when travelling a bit quicker and so far happy with the rear of car for comfort and performance.

Moving onto the Front its not quite gone to plan!....first up i couldnt get the stock msport springs compressed far enough for the B4S dampers which are shorter stroke than the BMW ones although once car is on its wheels the availabel damper travel is about the same, its just when off the car the damper doesnt extend as far which means spring needs to be very compressed to get top mount etc on which i just couldnt do with screw type spring compressors, even using 4 of them!....so i ordered some Eibach Pro springs which i was toying with them anyhows and as they start life much shorter in extended form i knew they would go on the B4S dampers (and the fact DC11 on here had just fitted same :) )...I was concerned by lack of damper travel by lowering car further and as im happy with stock ride it wasnt my first plan, however not being able to get the stock spring on i felt it was only option without changing dampers for longer ones, B4 is also available in longer version but im not sure on spec if this would help and need to check that with Bisltein for future.

So front B4 dampers are on with Eibach Pro springs and i pondered fitting the rear eibach springs as they are a higher spring rate than stock of which i was quite happy with and didnt really want to change it, however i would only wonder so i fitted them at same time but after some testing i decided to refit some stock msport springs on rear, i actually fitted some low mileage ones from a E82 135i that i got with the Koni FSD dampers as they are slightly softer again so wanted to see what they were like.

Im happy with rear of car now but front is still work in progress!!....i had also shortened the front bumpstops in same way as i did the rear but with car lowered on Eibach springs ive only got about 20mm of damper travel before it hits bumps, doesnt feel too bad but i think the B4 damper is slightly softer than oem so it is a little bouncy on front as bump is coming into play, i wasnt sure if it was better to have stock length bumps on front to help with spring and damper rates which seem pretty soft, so as a temporary test today i refitted the section of bumpstop i removed by slitting it so it could slide over damper without removal, not ideal i know but with cable tie to secure it in place it should last a few days while i test it, with car lowered back onto wheels i can see bumpstop is now in full contact with topmount and damper top like stock, it feels more bouncy so dont think thats right plan and i need more damper travel without bump intervention, not sure on best method to sort this yet but have some ideas

OK so a long story i know but some might find it interesting i hope, i will add to this once i progress further with the front setup, options are to run as is for awhile, trim bumpstop some more, or change dampers which i dont really want to do just yet.

Updated 22-4-16 -

2nd set of Koni Sport/Msport Spring - As per my first post this was my first setup and after trying all the others im back to the Koni sport adjustable dampers but with a few slight differences!....mainly Bumpstops to improve ride quality on bumpy roads as last time I had the Koni sports on I ran stock bumpstops and while front isn't so bad but the rear is too long and car sits on it all the time giving a bouncy rear end, I had konis adjusted firmer to control that which led to a ride I wasn't happy with hence moving to try other kits, now ive got the shorter BMWP front bumps stop which gives little more travel but more importantly Ive sourced a Koni rear bumpstop which is approx 30mm shorter than stock giving a much nicer ride quality than stock by allowing the damper to travel further before it intervenes, this also means I can run damping on lower setting to retain a nice compliant ride.

BUMPSTOP INFO for Easy Reference -

FRONT BMWP - Part number 31331096099

REAR BMWP - Part number 33536788905

REAR Koni short - Part number 71.34.42.000.0

Ian
 
#3 ·
Fantastic write up Ian, extremely helpful too!

I'll be going down a slightly different route - these are the changes which I plan to make all at once:
- Keep stock M-Sport dampers
- Eibach Pro springs
- BMWP front and rear bumpstops
- Powerflex yellow rear subframe inserts
- E9x M3 front LCAs
- Michelin PSS XL 225/40/18 + 245/35/18

This should give me a comfier yet firmer road set-up making it ideal for traffic and the occassional fast blast - no track work.
 
#4 ·
jgalea324 said:
Fantastic write up Ian, extremely helpful too!

I'll be going down a slightly different route - these are the changes which I plan to make all at once:
- Keep stock M-Sport dampers
- Eibach Pro springs
- BMWP front and rear bumpstops
- Powerflex yellow rear subframe inserts
- E9x M3 front LCAs
- Michelin PSS XL 225/40/18 + 245/35/18

This should give me a comfier yet firmer road set-up making it ideal for traffic and the occassional fast blast - no track work.
Glad it was of interest, its been an education for sure :).... im interested to know how you find that once all fitted and from what ive found out so far it should be ok, I would be tempted to shorten BMWP rear bumps a bit more but see how it goes.

Out of interest have you bought the springs ? and if not are you in a hurry to do so ? only reason I ask is as above my rear Eibachs are off and I may yet remove fronts as well if I change to a damper that will allow stock springs easier, if so then my eibachs would be for sale that's all and could save you a few quid :)

Ian
 
#5 ·
#6 ·
THETYRANT said:
Glad it was of interest, its been an education for sure :).... im interested to know how you find that once all fitted and from what ive found out so far it should be ok, I would be tempted to shorten BMWP rear bumps a bit more but see how it goes.

Out of interest have you bought the springs ? and if not are you in a hurry to do so ? only reason I ask is as above my rear Eibachs are off and I may yet remove fronts as well if I change to a damper that will allow stock springs easier, if so then my eibachs would be for sale that's all and could save you a few quid :)

Ian
Believe it or not, the only parts which I have bought so far are the rear MPSS tyres and the springs :( bought the springs for a fantastic bargain from eBay.

I was going for Koni FSD dampers too but after seeing your various write-ups, I came to the conclusion that a better change would be seen with the BMWP bumpstops than a change of dampers. I think that couples with the Eibach springs, the BMWP bumpstops will really make a difference. I'm not certain about the subframe inserts but a firmer rear-end wouldn't hurt I guess
 
#7 ·
deelite said:
Interesting and very helpful write-up!
However, I thought you would use BMWP bump stops...
But you can also make them softer by drilling in holes, as indicated in this article:
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I would of used the bmwp bumps but there was no uk stock when I needed them, also the rears im not sure are short enough as only around 11mm shorter than stock rather tham my 30mm shorter ones, which seem about right for stock springs anyhow

I have thought about playing around drilling them but got some other things to try first :)

Ian
 
#8 ·
Ok further update on the front end situation, after much studying and debate with myself i decided i need to know how much this front bumpstop is affecting/causing this slightly bouncy front end, it certainly seemed worse after i slotted back in the part of bumpstop i had removed returning it to stock length so only solution without removing dampers was to trim down the bumpstop further to see what difference it made, i was sure that i could feel damper travelling up into the bumpstop even on my trimmed bumps once road got a bit rough and the front B4 damper doesnt seem to have enough rebound damping to handle this giving the slightly bouncy front feel, its weird as rear B4 dampers feel a good bit firmer than the stock msport ones and can handle even the uprated Eibach spring no problem, but the front B4's feel softer damped than Msport for some reason and although its not very scientific test just pulling damper rods in and out gives this impression, would be nice to see them on a shock dyno but i dont have access to one easily.

Anyhows ive decieded to take the risk of damper damage and trim down front bumpstop further to increase travel before bump contact to see what impact on ride quality it has, PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF!!!! ..., i know from testing dampers before fitting that the rod will travel all the way into body where its met with a hard/undamped stop!!...so if this happens while driving there is a chance of permanent damper damage/failure and as this is a macpherson strut system where the damper holds the wheel upright further increasing the risk should problems occur!...again DO NOT TRY THIS!

So by removing one of the sections of my already trimmed front bumpstop ive increased damper free travel another 15mm or so before it starts to work on bumpstops, whats left is basically made up of 2 different densities of material, 50% the progressive/soft section from damper body end and 50% of more solid bumpstop so im hoping its enough to prevent damper rod bottoming on big impacts, will be testing very carefully this weekend!

As those who know (or have read the link Deelite kindly posted above) the bumpstops are more than just damper limitiing devices on modern cars like the 1series and are used/tuned to control the car cornering amongst other things working alongside the coil springs and dampers, which under loads compress enough to bring bumpstops into play and then they affect the ride and body control, what im trying to find out is if just the damper and coil springs alone (along with maybe uprated Antiroll bars in future) can be made to give a nicer ride than stock msport but with still decent body control, so far it seems good news but there is still a lot of testing to do.

Ian
 
#9 ·
Nice write up Ian but....

One thing i think you have massively over looked is wheels and tyres , you should have tried the b1 kit with a set of 17's first before selling it.
On the rd the 18"s ain't the greatest things in the way of comfort , but the 17"s with the bigger side walls give amazing comfort over our broken rd's
17"s for the rd/comfort and the 18"s for the track esp with the tyres you are running!
Again i still think you will never be happy until you try a smaller wheel/tyre combo .

Fancy bedford autodrome on the 28th of november £129 open pit lane (not sure how far this is from you ? )

P.s did you get my pm the other day ?

Mark
 
#10 ·
markhurley said:
Nice write up Ian but....

One thing i think you have massively over looked is wheels and tyres , you should have tried the b1 kit with a set of 17's first before selling it.
On the rd the 18"s ain't the greatest things in the way of comfort , but the 17"s with the bigger side walls give amazing comfort over our broken rd's
17"s for the rd/comfort and the 18"s for the track esp with the tyres you are running!
Again i still think you will never be happy until you try a smaller wheel/tyre combo .

Fancy bedford autodrome on the 28th of november £129 open pit lane (not sure how far this is from you ? )

P.s did you get my pm the other day ?

Mark
Oh dont worry wheels and tyre's were not overlooked in all this, problem is I dont like look of 1series on 17" wheels really and as ive got 2 sets of 18's it doesnt help, I have run various tyres though including my most recent goodyear winters and while they did improve slowspeed ride a little I still felt B1 wasnt for me and my usage.
Also as birds demo 130 is on 19's I think it should work well enough on 18's and dont think they are cause of what I found.

Bedfords somewhere I haven't been yet but do fancy a run round there sometime but its a good 5hr drive so will have to be next year now I think.

I didnt get a pm mate although inbox was full and had a clear out to release some pending but didnt see yours, fire it over again :)

Ian
 
#11 ·
THETYRANT said:
markhurley said:
Nice write up Ian but....

One thing i think you have massively over looked is wheels and tyres , you should have tried the b1 kit with a set of 17's first before selling it.
On the rd the 18"s ain't the greatest things in the way of comfort , but the 17"s with the bigger side walls give amazing comfort over our broken rd's
17"s for the rd/comfort and the 18"s for the track esp with the tyres you are running!
Again i still think you will never be happy until you try a smaller wheel/tyre combo .

Fancy bedford autodrome on the 28th of november £129 open pit lane (not sure how far this is from you ? )

P.s did you get my pm the other day ?

Mark
Oh dont worry wheels and tyre's were not overlooked in all this, problem is I dont like look of 1series on 17" wheels really and as ive got 2 sets of 18's it doesnt help, I have run various tyres though including my most recent goodyear winters and while they did improve slowspeed ride a little I still felt B1 wasnt for me and my usage.
Also as birds demo 130 is on 19's I think it should work well enough on 18's and dont think they are cause of what I found.

Bedfords somewhere I haven't been yet but do fancy a run round there sometime but its a good 5hr drive so will have to be next year now I think.

I didnt get a pm mate although inbox was full and had a clear out to release some pending but didnt see yours, fire it over again :)

Ian
Fair enough mate i personally don't like the 17''s look myself and i stick with the 18"s but if it was just added rd comfort you was after i feel the 17"s work best over crap rds
but like you have said before the b1 kit is firm but not at all harsh but with the mono tube design they are never going to beat a twin tube damper for comfort , i personally love the way the car drives with the b1 setup and it suits my needs i don't use my car as daily drive tho,
lets hope this new setup is what your looking for! still if you sell up dibs on the diff haha !

Shame your so for from bedford would have been good to get two 130i's out on track together (not sure if I'm going to it now due to this weather )

Maybe we should arrange a babybmw track day for next year ?

Mark
 
#12 ·
Thank you for detailing the different setups you've tried. We've spoken on another thread about the conflicting reports around various forums regarding different dampers and their day to day suitability.
I have the Whiteline rear subframe inserts which have reduced the free up & down movement at the back, but the harshness remains over rougher tarmac. I'll try your bump stop mod on the back which should help in that respect.
I've done all this before with my E36 328i. I had Eibach pro kit with Bilstein B4s and the ride was terrible. Trimmed the bumpstops and you could feel the extra smoothness going down the road. I just wish you could fit a rear arb on the E87 as easily as I did with that car. I went from a 15mm bar to a 20mm M3 one and it was amazing! The turn in was ridiculous at any speed :D
 
#13 ·
Its not that hard to fit the rear roll bar took me a few hours on my driveway granted i wouldn't want to do everyday but it really aint that hard.
If i was to do it again i would disconnect the prop and the brake lines and drop the whole rear sub frame off of the car that would be easier imo
I've got a 20mm one to fit but I'm waiting till i do the diff then i will do it all together.
 
#14 ·
Great write up tyrant. Boy you know your onions and good to see someone capable and brave enough to try all these options. I'm looking to firm my b1 kit up as you know. Going to start speaking to some tuners about the best options. Looking at clubsports or ohlins R&T. But would prefer a cheaper option. What I can't get over is the spring rates some USA guys run on their e82's - 400 fr 800 Rr with the ohlins which seems like madness. You've run them, is the damper that good?

Mark, I'd be keen for bedford next weekend. Have a new set of federal 595's id like to try out. Weather app says it looks like rain and 8 deg. Who knows what it will really be like by then though.
 
#15 ·
Rustle said:
Great write up tyrant. Boy you know your onions and good to see someone capable and brave enough to try all these options. I'm looking to firm my b1 kit up as you know. Going to start speaking to some tuners about the best options. Looking at clubsports or ohlins R&T. But would prefer a cheaper option. What I can't get over is the spring rates some USA guys run on their e82's - 400 fr 800 Rr with the ohlins which seems like madness. You've run them, is the damper that good?

Mark, I'd be keen for bedford next weekend. Have a new set of federal 595's id like to try out. Weather app says it looks like rain and 8 deg. Who knows what it will really be like by then though.
I'm up for it I will keep an eye on the weather and pm you if I book it
 
#16 ·
markhurley said:
Rustle said:
Great write up tyrant. Boy you know your onions and good to see someone capable and brave enough to try all these options. I'm looking to firm my b1 kit up as you know. Going to start speaking to some tuners about the best options. Looking at clubsports or ohlins R&T. But would prefer a cheaper option. What I can't get over is the spring rates some USA guys run on their e82's - 400 fr 800 Rr with the ohlins which seems like madness. You've run them, is the damper that good?

Mark, I'd be keen for bedford next weekend. Have a new set of federal 595's id like to try out. Weather app says it looks like rain and 8 deg. Who knows what it will really be like by then though.
I'm up for it I will keep an eye on the weather and pm you if I book it
Awesome, fingers crossed for a turn in the weather.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#17 ·
THETYRANT said:
Ok further update on the front end situation, after much studying and debate with myself i decided i need to know how much this front bumpstop is affecting/causing this slightly bouncy front end, it certainly seemed worse after i slotted back in the part of bumpstop i had removed returning it to stock length so only solution without removing dampers was to trim down the bumpstop further to see what difference it made, i was sure that i could feel damper travelling up into the bumpstop even on my trimmed bumps once road got a bit rough and the front B4 damper doesnt seem to have enough rebound damping to handle this giving the slightly bouncy front feel, its weird as rear B4 dampers feel a good bit firmer than the stock msport ones and can handle even the uprated Eibach spring no problem, but the front B4's feel softer damped than Msport for some reason and although its not very scientific test just pulling damper rods in and out gives this impression, would be nice to see them on a shock dyno but i dont have access to one easily.

Anyhows ive decieded to take the risk of damper damage and trim down front bumpstop further to increase travel before bump contact to see what impact on ride quality it has, PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF!!!! ..., i know from testing dampers before fitting that the rod will travel all the way into body where its met with a hard/undamped stop!!...so if this happens while driving there is a chance of permanent damper damage/failure and as this is a macpherson strut system where the damper holds the wheel upright further increasing the risk should problems occur!...again DO NOT TRY THIS!

So by removing one of the sections of my already trimmed front bumpstop ive increased damper free travel another 15mm or so before it starts to work on bumpstops, whats left is basically made up of 2 different densities of material, 50% the progressive/soft section from damper body end and 50% of more solid bumpstop so im hoping its enough to prevent damper rod bottoming on big impacts, will be testing very carefully this weekend!

As those who know (or have read the link Deelite kindly posted above) the bumpstops are more than just damper limitiing devices on modern cars like the 1series and are used/tuned to control the car cornering amongst other things working alongside the coil springs and dampers, which under loads compress enough to bring bumpstops into play and then they affect the ride and body control, what im trying to find out is if just the damper and coil springs alone (along with maybe uprated Antiroll bars in future) can be made to give a nicer ride than stock msport but with still decent body control, so far it seems good news but there is still a lot of testing to do.

Ian
It is great to follow your experiments to achieve a better, more comfortable suspension, Ian!

Here's some other interesting information, where it is mentioned that longer, more progressive and thus softer bump stops can also result in a better, more comfortable ride, and the zip tie test can indicate real suspension travel:

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" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
#18 ·
I did a similar test on the rear of mine i fitted the b1 bump stops then i put the oem bump stops back on and i felt no difference in ride quality (maybe this is a different case with the b4 or oem dampers ) i was just trying to firm up the rear as the birds setup is quite soft in the end i left the oem stops in as was to lazy to re fit the birds ones ,however with inspiration from Ian i might start having a play about myself.
Ive got some good reviews on ARB's as i have tried a few different setups now.

After all this we could put our heads together and design a whole new package !
 
#19 ·
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This guy knows his **** just been watching some of his vids i think Ian will appreciate it.
 
#21 ·
Rustle said:
Great write up tyrant. Boy you know your onions and good to see someone capable and brave enough to try all these options. I'm looking to firm my b1 kit up as you know. Going to start speaking to some tuners about the best options. Looking at clubsports or ohlins R&T. But would prefer a cheaper option. What I can't get over is the spring rates some USA guys run on their e82's - 400 fr 800 Rr with the ohlins which seems like madness. You've run them, is the damper that good?

Mark, I'd be keen for bedford next weekend. Have a new set of federal 595's id like to try out. Weather app says it looks like rain and 8 deg. Who knows what it will really be like by then though.
Glad its of interest for you :)... certainly been an education playing around with all these setups seeing how each part changes the dynamics and comfort levels etc.

Ohlins will be a big step from Birds kit I feel as the damper is so much better, only thing that concerns me for my road usage is the stiff front spring rate its supplied with as its designed for the heavier E9x 3series cars, It will be fine for you though im sure and a good starting point and as you have read many go a lot stiffer front and rear, I think the rear spring that comes with kit will be fine for road and could go stiffer again on track, that said take what you read on American websites with a big pinch of salt as there is a lot of misleading information out there! they often have a tendancy to think bigger is always better with no clue what they are doing!, running 800lb rear springs would be way too much for our roads I think.

The guy on following link if you have plenty of time to read it has been through it all with the Ohlins kit fine tuning to get it perfect for him, its a long read but when you see what lengths he has gone to you just tweaking small aspects you have to respect just how good the kit out the box is as well - " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The KW Street comfort kit I had ran (according to the net but not confirmed) 285lb front springs and 585lb rear springs which compared to the stock approx 120lb front and 370lb rear is a huge jump!... but apart from the front feeling just a little oversprung for my road use you wouldn't of known there was such a big increase over stock springs, quality dampers just make sooo much difference.

Ian
 
#22 ·
markhurley said:


This guy knows his sh*t just been watching some of his vids i think Ian will appreciate it.
Yeah ive watched a few of there vids, some interesting info but there is something about the guy Im not sure about!...still he does seem to know his stuff :)

Ian
 
#23 ·
deelite said:
It is great to follow your experiments to achieve a better, more comfortable suspension, Ian!

Here's some other interesting information, where it is mentioned that longer, more progressive and thus softer bump stops can also result in a better, more comfortable ride, and the zip tie test can indicate real suspension travel:

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Its certainly been fun glad your enjoying it, zip tie on damper is something ive done many times before and Im doing this week to confirm my findings on current setup, which its been interesting testing this weekend although snow and ice up here has somewhat limited what ive been able to achieve!, short story though is the much shorter front bumps have certainly changed things and extra damper travel has helped with ride quality, but I feel the B4 front damper just hasn't got enough damping control for me so need to look at options on that.

Ian
 
#25 ·
marco_polo said:
We usually recommend B8's over B4's, as they have a larger piston and a more consistent damping response.
What makes you think the piston is larger on the B8 damper have you seen one/both ? rears probably are yes due to monotube design but it would be interesting to see both pistons on front dampers, as while the monotube design (which the B8 is) often means a larger damper bore and piston compared to like for like twintube (like B4 and oem etc) however the inverted design of the B8 means the damper body is actually smaller as it sits inside an extra external casing, unlike the B4 and oem twintube damper where the external casing is the damper body as well, wouldnt be suprised if they are similar in piston size on fronts due to this although i dont think small differences in piston size would make much difference in terms of normal road use/comfort etc, thats the shim stacks/valving inside which are what defines the damper rates/curves and im sure a B4 damper could be valved to perform/feel like a B8 damper at least in the short term, just it wouldnt be as consistent when pushed harder due to difference between monotube/twintube principles with the mono design generally being though of as better in a higher performance application due to way they work, that said many topend twin tubes can perform as well or maybe even better as a mono.

All that aside i know the B8 is often recommend on here (sometimes wrongly imo) over B4 but as its valved much firmer than stock its not what im after, also ive had them with the Birds kit remember so i know what they are like, although i suspect they might actually be B6 dampers used as the base in birds kit as they are very long externally, but ive not seen both side by side to compare if they are different externally like the B4 and B4S dampers are.

All interesting stuff though :)

Ian
 
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