E92 SE handling upgrades - where to start on a budget

[Monkey_boy]

wow you have some saving to do there then ..just get friends invlolved in the wedding and that will save you loads of £, we had friends provide a car, cake, a band etc..

have you tried these guys? I've found the Koni FSD the cheapest here at £534

http://www.dcperformance.co.uk/uprated/bilstein-b1...

[SoupAnxiety]

If I had my way it'd be a wedding on a beach somewhere - forget money, the amount of people involved is overwhelming enough on its own!

Thanks for the link - that is the cheapest price I've seen for the B12 kit. What would your plan be with Koni FSDs - pair with existing / fresh OEM springs?

[Monkey_boy]

Yeah pair the FSD's with new oem springs as don't want to lower the car. My only issue now is that having read that Birds article it implies that the OEM springs are what cause the crashing over bumps etc, although the reviews I've read on forums suggest that FSDs with standard springs works very well.

[SoupAnxiety]

How about Eibach springs with spacers? It's what I'm considering to soften the 25mm / 35mm drop with the Pro-Kit!

Out of interest does your 335i have the staggered wheels? 18" or 19"? I'm on 17" wheels at the moment, 225 all round, and wondering if a set of staggered wheels would help. I prefer the look of 18" and suspect 19" ride horrible.

[Monkey_boy]

mm possibly.. think need to do some more research..

My Alloys are Alpina 19 inches and are staggered. 235 30 19 at front, 265 35 19 at the rear. Tyres are Goodyear Eagle F1 asyametic 2's

[SoupAnxiety]

How does it ride on the 19" wheels? I appreciate it's a tough question to answer as M Sport springs are known for being harsh. Gut says 18" would be the sweet spot for looks, have you got any pictures handy?

P.S. I've got the same Goodyears on mine, albeit on the Fisher-Price 17" wheels! I'm really happy with their performance in the wet, much better than my previous favourite Yokohama tyres.

[Monkey_boy]

Yeah ride is rather crashy, but love the look of the 19's.. vanity eh! lol ..well the previous owner put them on.. I love the Goodyear f1's mmiles better for traction in dry and wet and haven't worn down as much as I would have expected. My previous Cooper tyres were rubbish.

the only pics I can find right now are from a wedding last year..






BTW when I test drove another 335i before I bought mine it had runflat tyres and it was unbearable!

[SoupAnxiety]

Thank-you for the pictures - that is a brilliant motor which you have there! You have rekindled my love of Alpina wheels - I've been eyeing up replicas for my E30 but they are too big. 19" wheels look to sit well, I think when I win the lottery I'll go for 18" wheels to balance vanity but keep (a degree) of comfort. I ditched the RFTs after two days of ownership - bloody awful! Next job is to take out the clutch delay valve, much cheaper than the replacement spring job. Will keep you posted on my experience when I get the new springs and shocks - don't tbink I'll be able to restrain my wallet until May!

[Monkey_boy]

thank you, have had it for four years, it's been looked after by all of it's owners it seems which is good. Alpina alloys are a pain to clean, but worth it in the end.

read some forums saying that FSDs give a bouncy feeling on the motorway.. so B12's looking good... mm We'll see..

Hope you get the springs/shocks sorted, yes let me know how it works out!!

[Monkey_boy]

Well SoupAnxiety I bought some Eibach springs! As luck would have it I stumbled across a brand new set on ebay and won them for £50 for a full set! Bargain. So ordered the Koni FSD's this morning...

My concerns over lowering have been put at ease, as doing some more research it appears that M sport springs lower anyway, to the claimed 35mm for Eibach is actually going from non M sport springs. So only 10mm or so lower which is great. see here:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=718...

"Pro-Kit says 30-35mm drop. MSport is 20mm drop over SE, so the Eibachs should give a good 10-15mm drop compared to Msport. My results agree with that."

Will update when I manage to get them fitted.

[SoupAnxiety]

Thanks for the update - £50 was indeed a bargain! You've set my mind at rest with regard to the lowering too, 35mm sounds a lot but it looks to translate into something which is still "real world" friendly. Keep me posted when you have them fitted - would be keen to know if the springs balance comfort / spirited driving. Some folks seem to rave about H&R but I suspect this is too far one way without any of the balance. Eibach were in the BMW owners mag this month for an E36 but they seem to have a brilliant reputation.

[texasjohn]

Monkey_boy said:

Yeah ride is rather crashy, but love the look of the 19's.. vanity eh! lol ..well the previous owner put them on.. I love the Goodyear f1's mmiles better for traction in dry and wet and haven't worn down as much as I would have expected. My previous Cooper tyres were rubbish.

the only pics I can find right now are from a wedding last year..






BTW when I test drove another 335i before I bought mine it had runflat tyres and it was unbearable!

You pulled up next to me coming off M27 at Fareham one morning about a month ago. Black 335i M Sport E92

[Monkey_boy]

Oh Really? small world... Well I mostly work in Fareham so that's my daily route! Have you got rid of yours then as your profile says you now have an E500?

An update: I now have the FSD Shocks delivered. Now waiting for all the suspension arms and bushed and Strut mounts etc to be delivered. I may have gone OTT but thought if I'm taking it all apart, might as well do it properly.

[phil_cardiff]

As an owner of a E91 325i SE I'm watching this with interest.

Just replaced my RFTs, should have done it within hours of buying the car!

[SoupAnxiety]

Monkey_boy - A proper job makes sense since you are stripping things. I plan to do shocks, springs, mounts and bushes together. Keep me posted!

phil_cardiff - I replaced RFTs a few days after getting the car. If you have a manual your next job needs to be the removal of the clutch delay valve!

[phil_cardiff]

SoupAnxiety said:

phil_cardiff - I replaced RFTs a few days after getting the car. If you have a manual your next job needs to be the removal of the clutch delay valve!

The what? I've never even heard of this! What's the problem with the clutch?

[Monkey_boy]

phil_cardiff said:

The what? I've never even heard of this! What's the problem with the clutch?

I need to do this too, it's bl00dy annoying!! It delays the clutch movement (to supposedly give less stress to the drivetrain) by restricting the clutch fluid flow. The plastic restrictor can be easily removed, but you need to bleed the fluid afterwards to remove any air.

[phil_cardiff]

Monkey_boy said:

phil_cardiff said:

The what? I've never even heard of this! What's the problem with the clutch?

I need to do this too, it's bl00dy annoying!! It delays the clutch movement (to supposedly give less stress to the drivetrain) by restricting the clutch fluid flow. The plastic restrictor can be easily removed, but you need to bleed the fluid afterwards to remove any air.

Thanks, so the benefit is to prolong clutch life?

[SoupAnxiety]

The benefits are that you can feel the bite through the clutch, changes go from being jerky and inconsistent to working the way a manual should. I removed mine as I was fed up of the clutch operation, particularly when manoeuvring and having to wait for the fluid to work its way around despite me pressing the pedal. Take it out, it's straightforward to removal and as said in the other posts you will need to bleed the clutch. Took me less than 30 minutes with a buddy to press the pedal for me whilst I bled the system from underneath. It's a night and day difference and should never have been installed on the car!

[phil_cardiff]

Perhaps mine has been done as I've not had a problem with the clutch at all and I do a lot of urban driving.

Putting it in first gear though...grrrr.