Suspension Upgrades for Daily

[Jonyxz]

+1 for Bilstein B6 or frpp track

Where I live roads are pretty bad and like you I was afraid of getting a punishing ride for the street.
Now that I finally did it I'm soo happy that my only regret is not doing it earlier.

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[Bluemustang]

Actually I need to amend my recommendation to do the RLCA bearings. I'd only do vertical links if it was one of the last pieces to finish it off. The lower control arm bearings change the handling and composure a great deal more.
Bearings and a front sway bar is the right call.

 

[Brian@BMVK]

Actually I need to amend my recommendation to do the RLCA bearings. I'd only do vertical links if it was one of the last pieces to finish it off. The lower control arm bearings change the handling and composure a great deal more.
Bearings and a front sway bar is the right call.

Wrong thread lol

 

[Bluemustang]

Wrong thread lol

Oh, that's telling.. how far this has gone lol
Whoops lol

 

[Dave2013M3]

Hard pass on the Koni or Steeda Actives. Stay away from gimmicky type stuff. I would personally recommend the Ford Performance track dampers (don't let the track in the name fool you) and replacing the stock rear shock mounts with aftermarket. Bilstein B6 dampers are also good to consider with many good reviews on them already.

Aside from that, there isn't much you can do. Your car is lower to the ground and has stiffer spring rate than stock. It's going to be a firm ride. It's more responsive from the spring rate and you have reduced travel by lowering the ride height. But the ultimate goal IMO is firm AND controlled. The stock shocks do a poor job of controlling things, which is made worse with your lowering springs.

^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^

To the OP, what wheels are they?

 

[Roadway 5.0]

1) Monotubes - some people like to make this sound scary but I know @Roadway 5.0 saw the light and the ride & handling magic of monotubes with excellent valving and construction
2) Valving specific for spring rates right about yours/slightly higher

I was adamant that twin tubes were the route for a lowered S550 that uses traditional springs. Jumped-on the Bilstein monotube train early regardless, and the results were epic. Better ride and significantly improved handling. This was on 225/880 springs. I’ll probably switch to the ProKit, or equal 200/800 spring, in preparation for some cross-country rallies next year. Excellent combo.

 

[S550_GTCS]

Anyone know when the FP dampers are going to be back in stock? Every place I check has them out of stock and the lead time keeps getting pushed back.

 

[Brian@BMVK]

Anyone know when the FP dampers are going to be back in stock? Every place I check has them out of stock and the lead time keeps getting pushed back.

Friend of mine found some with a reputable eBay seller.

 

[thornclaw]

i dont want to turn this into a koni v bilstein discussion but heres my 2 cents.
if u look at the spring rate sticky you will see the rear spring rates vary from 668 (stock) to
994 lb/inch. how can one damper setting be the right amount for that entire range? the advantage of konis is u can dial in the right amount of rebound for any spring

 

[Bluemustang]

i dont want to turn this into a koni v bilstein discussion but heres my 2 cents.
if u look at the spring rate sticky you will see the rear spring rates vary from 668 (stock) to
994 lb/inch. how can one damper setting be the right amount for that entire range? the advantage of konis is u can dial in the right amount of rebound for any spring

Good point. But to be fair there's only so much you can do even with rebound adjustment. Hence the reason why I switched from these springs to BMR SP083 handling. I haven't looked back. The handling became more direct and predictable, and one might be surprised how well it can still ride with 250 lb. Front and 980 lb. Rear.

 

[Brian@BMVK]

i dont want to turn this into a koni v bilstein discussion but heres my 2 cents.
if u look at the spring rate sticky you will see the rear spring rates vary from 668 (stock) to
994 lb/inch. how can one damper setting be the right amount for that entire range? the advantage of konis is u can dial in the right amount of rebound for any spring

It's a bit more complicated than you're making it. If we just look at one end of the car at the moment and ignore the pitch control that a flat ride setup has, here's what happens:
Near 700-800 lb/in springs, the spring-mass-damper system is damped very well (damping ratio), if a bit more than ideal for the smoothest ride, BUT the wheel rates are low enough that it is relatively soft riding.
In the 850-980 lb/in range of popular handling rate springs, the damping ratio is usually closer to the happy medium between ride and handling, so they also pair well there.

I would not recommend the FP or Bilsteins for my current rear springs of 1200 lb/in or higher.

 

[shogun32]

how can one damper setting be the right amount for that entire range? the advantage of konis is u can dial in the right amount of rebound for any spring

except the earlier post was talking about the 'Active' from Koni/Steeda. The Yellow/pro-Action+adjustable are the answer to covering wide spring ranges. After my experience with the 'Active' I'm sticking to adjustable shocks whenever possible.

 

[Brian@BMVK]

except the earlier post was talking about the 'Active' from Koni/Steeda. The Yellow/pro-Action+adjustable are the answer to covering wide spring ranges. After my experience with the 'Active' I'm sticking to adjustable shocks whenever possible.

Adjustables can be nice for people who use for performance driving regularly, and need to go from rebound damping ratios of 0.3-0.4 on the street to 0.6-0.7 for autocross/track, but nicely matched fixed is a better option for the road. It's easy for people to muck things up with a knob to turn, and it's just more parts that can break. It's easy to sell knobs.

 

[86pagt]

Anyone know when the FP dampers are going to be back in stock? Every place I check has them out of stock and the lead time keeps getting pushed back.

set on eBay now ... $550 shipped.. I put it on my watch list and they sent me an offer for $495.. I’m not ready to pull the trigger and figured I would share

 

[Emilbadal]

+1 on Bilsteins, however, I don’t recommend the aftermarket rear shocks if you want to have a comfortable daily driver, plus you’ll be risking tearing up the rear shock mounting plate of the body. Just go with stock shock mounts. There’s nothing wrong with stock mounts. They are more quiet and less harsh plus they won’t transfer road noise.

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