Discussion
EDC is the electronic suspension.
It just means you can have it 'soft' when tootling around town, and 'hard' when on track or hoon.
If it's on a new (to you, not brand new) car then buy the standard spec one and fit your own adjustable suspension, such as the Bilstein RideControl ones (the electro-magnetic ones).
It just means you can have it 'soft' when tootling around town, and 'hard' when on track or hoon.
If it's on a new (to you, not brand new) car then buy the standard spec one and fit your own adjustable suspension, such as the Bilstein RideControl ones (the electro-magnetic ones).
Edited by mmm-five on Thursday 27th May 13:11
why on earth would you void the warrenty of a brand new car by fitting new shocks straight away???
Anyway, I have EDC on my M3, the differences in settings are quite noticeable, I use comfort 90% of the time, sport for hooning about and the hardest setting seems a bit too unforgiving for most roads in my area!
Most cars seem to come with it as standard and i'd reccomend it.
p.s Its worth noting the EDC doesn't alter the ride height, just the firmness.
Anyway, I have EDC on my M3, the differences in settings are quite noticeable, I use comfort 90% of the time, sport for hooning about and the hardest setting seems a bit too unforgiving for most roads in my area!
Most cars seem to come with it as standard and i'd reccomend it.
p.s Its worth noting the EDC doesn't alter the ride height, just the firmness.
I heard you the first time
You're not voiding the warranty of a brand new car - you are simply replacing a BMW warranty on BMW suspension with a Bilstein warranty on Bilstein suspension - and you're getting a better suspension system, and with a known source of replacements. But of course you've then got to let your insurance company know you've modified the car
If something other then the suspension goes kaput you're still covered by the BMW warranty.
But I incorrectly used the word 'new' in my first post as I meant new to the OP, not new from a dealer - i.e. AUC or private resale. As a brand new buyer, I'd probably go for it too. But as a buyer of a 2nd hand model, I'd stick to the standard suspension and fit my own.
BMW buy the EDC dampers from a 3rd party who will not sell them to you direct due to licensing conditions. As an optional extra on a new car, the £1000 or so to spec it is not the problem - it's the fact that they're currently £500/corner, but if the prices/margins increase as they did on the e34 M5, you'll be looking at £1000/corner for replacements.
EDC is great when it's working fine, but after as little as 10,000 miles it can start to degrade just like any suspension, as the seals degrade, springs weaken, etc. This 'wear & tear' will not be covered by warranty unless the unit actually 'fails'. The degredation is very slow and if you're doing 3,000 miles a year you won't notice it and you'll probably have sold it to some poor unsuspecting punter by that time.
BTW, you can probably tell that I'm not a huge BMW fan (the company/dealer network, not the cars) - but that's because they've pissed me about so much over the last 10 years that I've owned ///M's.
You're not voiding the warranty of a brand new car - you are simply replacing a BMW warranty on BMW suspension with a Bilstein warranty on Bilstein suspension - and you're getting a better suspension system, and with a known source of replacements. But of course you've then got to let your insurance company know you've modified the car
If something other then the suspension goes kaput you're still covered by the BMW warranty.
But I incorrectly used the word 'new' in my first post as I meant new to the OP, not new from a dealer - i.e. AUC or private resale. As a brand new buyer, I'd probably go for it too. But as a buyer of a 2nd hand model, I'd stick to the standard suspension and fit my own.
BMW buy the EDC dampers from a 3rd party who will not sell them to you direct due to licensing conditions. As an optional extra on a new car, the £1000 or so to spec it is not the problem - it's the fact that they're currently £500/corner, but if the prices/margins increase as they did on the e34 M5, you'll be looking at £1000/corner for replacements.
EDC is great when it's working fine, but after as little as 10,000 miles it can start to degrade just like any suspension, as the seals degrade, springs weaken, etc. This 'wear & tear' will not be covered by warranty unless the unit actually 'fails'. The degredation is very slow and if you're doing 3,000 miles a year you won't notice it and you'll probably have sold it to some poor unsuspecting punter by that time.
BTW, you can probably tell that I'm not a huge BMW fan (the company/dealer network, not the cars) - but that's because they've pissed me about so much over the last 10 years that I've owned ///M's.
Edited by mmm-five on Thursday 27th May 13:20
EDC is great if you do a mix of town/a/m-way stuff or live in london with crappy roads as I do, it offers the ability to have a stiff ride for pushing on (which can be part of m settings) and compliant for tootling to the shops, I use virtually ever journey and gives you the feel of a different car at the touch of a button. Like PASM on 911s and Caymans there is the likelihood the car will be easier to move on given the price new and technology elsewhere in the car. Just MHO
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