Eibach Pro Kit and Bilstein HD Installed

[gferil]

So...living and driving in San Francisco with the wonderfully torn up streets, the harshness of the stock suspension was killing me...and people actually didn't want to ride in my car after a while because of how harsh the ride was in the city. On top of that, I feel like the stock height of the M coupe was sitting just a tad bit high, and the gap between the fender and tire just wasn't to my liking.

After looking at all the options from coil-overs to separate spring and stock setups, I decided to go with the Eibach Pro Kit and Bilstein HD setup. I wanted something that slightly lowered the car, but not too low because of all the driveways and parking lots I have to go in and out of here, and I wanted to keep the firm ride but get rid of the harshness whenever my car approached anything that wasn't a smooth surface.

Well I got it installed last night, so this post will just be initial impressions, and I'll make sure to update it after a few weeks and/or few hundred miles of driving. All I can say is WOW, this was exactly what I was looking for! The ride is still firm, the harshness has gone away, the car just feels more balanced on turn in, and everything just feels more planted. Of course the ride height looks sweet now, but I'll have to report back after I try to go in and out of a few driveways here to see if I start scraping plastic bits.

Thanks to Mike (dorifto88) for the deal on the springs and to Turner Motorsport for the Bilsteins!

[IronZ4M]

[gferil]

I know, I know! It was raining when I got them installed so I'm waiting for a chance to clean my car and then take pics. Maybe I'll snap a quick cell phone picture today...just don't mind the dirt on the car!

[gferil]

Alright, here are some quick and unfortunately crappy cell phone pics I snapped after the rain.

[Finnegan]

That looks like a nice, yet sane enough to not scrape on everything, drop.
Does it play out that way IRL?

The somewhat unsettled composure the car has if it hits a bump mid-corner: better or worse or the same now? I know what the rest is like from the original post.

[gferil]

Yeah so far no scrapes on any of the inclined driveways and parking lots here in SF. What little clearance I used to have on those little concrete parking bars at the end of parking spots is now gone, but not a big deal since our cars are so short anyway so I rarely even came close to them. I'll report back after a month or so of driving in the city and let you know how the clearance is once I encounter more situations.

You know, it's funny that you bring up the "unsettled composure", I'm going to need a few hundred miles more to really comment on that, cause there have been a few turns where that has happened and the car feels super planted, and then there has been a few times where I'm just changing lanes and I hit the lane reflector and the car feels like it "slides over"...but it still feels in control. Overall I think since the rebound is much less harsh, the car keeps more grip...but I could be imagining things. I'll report back in a few weeks.

But like I said in the first post, I'm super happy with the results thus far in terms of removing the harshness while still keeping the awesome feedback in the wheel.

[Finnegan]

Thanks, a longer term review will be helpful.

BTW, the unsettled composure I'm referring to is in the rear end. I notice it if I start rolling on the power at the apex or a little after and hit a bump. It's there w/o power on too, but more pronounced with power. It's not always the most reassuring and planted feeling.

Then again I think we "feel" that more given the seating position which is practically over the rear end (unlike most cars). It may be more about perception than really being any more pronounced in reality. IDK, in any case, taming it a bit would be nice, but isn't required. It doesn't really bug me that much, but if a particular set-up addresses that and makes other improvements, it certainly goes in the plus column.

[XMetal]

It is indeed a very nice subtle drop Glad you went with this rather than the overly slammed drop.

If you think the MC has a harsh ride, try riding in a Cooper S or Works with runflats. Our MC is plush compare to a Mini.

[pokeybritches]

I've found the car to be a lot more planted with lightweight wheels (ARC-8's in my case). The way the car was upset when encountering bumps used to be my biggest complaint, and the wheels reduced the effect to the point that I would now consider going with a firmer setup.

gferil, the drop looks good!

[IronZ4M]

Looks good. I do like the H&R drop i think the difference between them that H&R much lower in the rear and Eibach looks much lower in the front.

[Beedub]

the drop is perfect imo...... looks great.....

[dubsesd]

looks very good. i can agree on the harshness of the stock ride, i find my H&R coilovers are smoother than the stock setup. i enjoy a firm ride, but not when its teeth shattering haha

[MRZ07]

Originally Posted by gferil

So...living and driving in San Francisco with the wonderfully torn up streets, the harshness of the stock suspension was killing me...and people actually didn't want to ride in my car after a while because of how harsh the ride was in the city. On top of that, I feel like the stock height of the M coupe was sitting just a tad bit high, and the gap between the fender and tire just wasn't to my liking.

After looking at all the options from coil-overs to separate spring and stock setups, I decided to go with the Eibach Pro Kit and Bilstein HD setup. I wanted something that slightly lowered the car, but not too low because of all the driveways and parking lots I have to go in and out of here, and I wanted to keep the firm ride but get rid of the harshness whenever my car approached anything that wasn't a smooth surface.

Well I got it installed last night, so this post will just be initial impressions, and I'll make sure to update it after a few weeks and/or few hundred miles of driving. All I can say is WOW, this was exactly what I was looking for! The ride is still firm, the harshness has gone away, the car just feels more balanced on turn in, and everything just feels more planted. Of course the ride height looks sweet now, but I'll have to report back after I try to go in and out of a few driveways here to see if I start scraping plastic bits.

Thanks to Mike (dorifto88) for the deal on the springs and to Turner Motorsport for the Bilsteins!

How do you like the set up so far? I had installed eibach springs already and I have been wanting to install bilstein HD for a while now. Do you feel any difference on the performance with Bilstein HD over stock? Ride quality? Thanks.

[gferil]

Originally Posted by MRZ07

How do you like the set up so far? I had installed eibach springs already and I have been wanting to install bilstein HD for a while now. Do you feel any difference on the performance with Bilstein HD over stock? Ride quality? Thanks.

Absolutely love it! I don't track or auto-x, but on city streets I do feel a difference when I'm doing some spirited driving. Since you're local, I'm sure one of these days we can meet up and we can screw around in an empty parking lot so you can feel the difference.

[Pheonix]

Nice Review. I will definitely go with setup especially i already have Eibach on my stock struts (and it will most likely blown up soon:-)
btw, I am looking to move to the Bay Area (Foster City) in the next 3-6 months so it is nice to know there are many Z4M in the area

[gferil]

Originally Posted by Pheonix

Nice Review. I will definitely go with setup especially i already have Eibach on my stock struts (and it will most likely blown up soon:-)
btw, I am looking to move to the Bay Area (Foster City) in the next 3-6 months so it is nice to know there are many Z4M in the area

Foster City is great! Nice area and location, way better weather than San Francisco despite it only being about 20 minutes away, and close access to a lot of the main freeways and bridges. My only advice is to find a place that isn't under the flight path of all the planes landing at SFO.

Back on topic...I highly recommend this setup, I use my car as a daily driver, and it has totally taken away the harshness of the stock ride while still maintaining the firm feel.

[gcochard]

I agree about the SF streets. Just there last weekend and I felt like I was driving on unpaved roads.

How much was the drop? 1-2 inches?

[Pheonix]

Originally Posted by gferil

Foster City is great! Nice area and location, way better weather than San Francisco despite it only being about 20 minutes away, and close access to a lot of the main freeways and bridges. My only advice is to find a place that isn't under the flight path of all the planes landing at SFO.

Back on topic...I highly recommend this setup, I use my car as a daily driver, and it has totally taken away the harshness of the stock ride while still maintaining the firm feel.

Thanks for advice, i will keep that in mind. It is going to be hard to move from a 2,500+ sq.ft. house with 3 car garages to a shit size shoebox without garage but the weather is definitely nicer than New England.
Anyhow, the drops are set by the springs. The Eibach does not drop the car by a whole lot. I believe it is about 0.8" for the Front and 0.4" on the Rear.

[gferil]

Originally Posted by cliffhopper

I agree about the SF streets. Just there last weekend and I felt like I was driving on unpaved roads.

How much was the drop? 1-2 inches?

Yeah what Phoenix said above was right, about 3/4" on front and a hair less than half an inch in the rear. Low enough to take away that ugly wheel to fender gap, but high enough that I don't scrape on every driveway and pothole that litter the SF streets.

[MRZ07]

Originally Posted by gferil

Absolutely love it! I don't track or auto-x, but on city streets I do feel a difference when I'm doing some spirited driving. Since you're local, I'm sure one of these days we can meet up and we can screw around in an empty parking lot so you can feel the difference.

Thanks for the response, happy to hear that you had great results with the setup since eventually I will be going the same route. Absolutely! Send me a pm whenever you get the chance to meet up.

[Sirhan]

Could I have the part number of the Eibach springs installed and how much lower than stock are they?

[dubsesd]

google search

http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/e...-p-146543.html

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-15...-4-shocks.aspx