I HATE my H&R coilovers

[Boosted 1]

Me and my wife just took a trip and my suspension setup made it miserable! I have h&r coilovers with about 5k miles on them and it is by far the most punishing ride I've ever encountered. Before those I had blown stock shocks/struts with H&R springs and it didn't ride much worse. I love the z4mc but damn my body can't handle that. Is there any suspension that would be more comfortable? I understand this isn't a comfort cruiser, but there has got to be a better setup.


My wants and needs:
-I'd like to stay under $3k.
-I don't track, just spirited driving
-Would like something that doesn't try to crack my car in half over EVERY expansion joint

KW v3?

[3002 tii]

Are you still on run flats?

Aside from comfort, what were you looking to get out of coilovers? Asking only because you might get away with just springs and shocks for much cheaper.

[Boosted 1]

Nope I'm on 18in Michelin PSS on Apex sm10's.

I love the way it handles now I just hate how violent it is over every single bump, crack, joint etc. It really is butt puckering hard. I don't mind stiff, I just think maybe the rebound on these are way off. I had springs to begin with but they blew my factories out in about 15k miles.

[sirhodjibob]

How low is your car? Raising my H&Rs a half inch made a noticeable improvement in ride quality.

[Boosted 1]

It's not bottomed out by any means. I've never scrubbed. I've tried a few different heights, but have never really seen an improvement. The pics attached are from right before we left and it's current height

[Westersund]

Go up one size in tire side wall height and/or lower you tire pressure slightly, makes a huge difference. Legal though? No one will notice except you.

[Cyclops]

Had the same coilovers but was running 19". On the track it was ok as I didn't really think about it, but driving on the roads was just painfull, I felt every pebble I went over. Initially I thought I was too low, then I thought it was because of the 19", then tires, and finally I just attributed it to me getting old lol. Replaced with KW V3 and what a difference, night and day in comfort. Car looks great, handles great and feels like I'm driving in a Caddy compared to before. Just pull the trigger and get yourself a good suspension. I think the H&R Coilovers are a "good from far but far from good", IMO it's a budget coilover set for looks only. If you have someone in the area that has a set of KW installed, ask then for a ride and your eyes will open to what a proper suspension should feel like.

[Boosted 1]

Originally Posted by Cyclops

Had the same coilovers but was running 19". On the track it was ok as I didn't really think about it, but driving on the roads was just painfull, I felt every pebble I went over. Initially I thought I was too low, then I thought it was because of the 19", then tires, and finally I just attributed it to me getting old lol. Replaced with KW V3 and what a difference, night and day in comfort. Car looks great, handles great and feels like I'm driving in a Caddy compared to before. Just pull the trigger and get yourself a good suspension. I think the H&R Coilovers are a "good from far but far from good", IMO it's a budget coilover set for looks only. If you have someone in the area that has a set of KW installed, ask then for a ride and your eyes will open to what a proper suspension should feel like.

Thanks. I'm on 18's and its bad, I couldn't imagine 19's! When I bought the H&R's it was more from a $ standpoint than anything. I think I'm about to pull the trigger and buy em. If it will make the wife happy riding in it I think I can milk it and play that to my advantage LOL.

[KevinC]

On my last Z4MC I replaced the stock Sachs dampers with Bilstein B6's at around 40k miles, retaining the stock springs. In typical Bilstein fashion, I found both the ride quality and handling to be perfect for my needs - slightly better ride quality than stock, while slightly more planted and less lean - which I would expect from brand new shocks compared to tired factory parts. Perhaps a setup like this would better suit you?

[kyriian]

My experience with KW V3 seems to match your needs perfectly. I had them on my former 370Z. I didn't like it because simply it was too soft riding for me. The ride is amazing, but it simply wasn't sharp enough on the 370Z on the track for my demands.

[Boosted 1]

Originally Posted by kyriian

My experience with KW V3 seems to match your needs perfectly. I had them on my former 370Z. I didn't like it because simply it was too soft riding for me. The ride is amazing, but it simply wasn't sharp enough on the 370Z on the track for my demands.

Sounds like a winner. Plus they have $350 rebate right now

[Z4M_Coupe]

KW V3 of Bilstein PSS10 is the way to go. H&R is a big no no for comfort haha...

[GPower]

Originally Posted by Z4M_GT3

KW V3 of Bilstein PSS10 is the way to go. H&R is a big no no for comfort haha...

As good as it gets with both of them. I went the cheap way on the BMW but got the KW on my Audi. I'm slammed on the Audi driving on 20" and still feels better than the BMW.

My advise to anyone getting suspension is to wait but get a good one. It's pretty much the one thing that will make you love or hate the car.

G

[Boosted 1]

Originally Posted by GPower

As good as it gets with both of them. I went the cheap way on the BMW but got the KW on my Audi. I'm slammed on the Audi driving on 20" and still feels better than the BMW.

My advise to anyone getting suspension is to wait but get a good one. It's pretty much the one thing that will make you love or hate the car.

G

Yeah I just learned that. This past trip has made me hate my car worse than my crazy ex. I bought the H&R’s because of A: price and B: I thought I didn’t need any adjustability. Boy I Was wrong on both.

[ANILE8]

Hello, I know well the issue you are describing because I get the same thing every time I drive it. The only difference is for me is it not a 'problem' as I was willing to make the tradeoff to gain performance.

But I would be very surprised if changing to KW coilovers by themselves would do anything to resolve your issue. In my opinion, KW V3's are still an entry level, mass-produced product, how much better the quality might be compared to H&R is unknown. How much better the ride quality will be is an even bigger unknown. The times I have experienced KW's, I have been shall we just say, less than impressed.

Upgrading to better dampers will most likely not resolve your issue with NVH, because the issue is most likely not with the dampers in the first place. Better quality dampers typically give you more adjustability, consistency, and reliability. Not so much better ride comfort levels.

More probably the type of suspension mounts (spherical, nolathane, or rubber) and the type of front and rear top mounts for the coilovers, will play a far greater determining factor. You never said what you were using with your H&R setup which I think is a major oversight. Were you using camber plates with spherical bearings? If not then what? Did you upgrade your control arm bushings to spherical? Did you change your RTAB's from stock? Far more information needs to be giving before a fair assessment can be made.

[Boosted 1]

All were replaced at the same time with factory bmw parts. I did use rogue rear top mounts, and added bmw top mount reinforcement plates, and ground control end links. Control arms are lemforder. In the rear I had an adjuster break and put a hole in my control arm. I replaced it and added ground control weight jacks.

[Track_junky]

what i did with my car is I increased the aspect ratio of my tires 5m and it improved my ride comfort