Coilovers... opinions on cheaper sets.

[hanfi09]

looking to slam my lovely 320i just wanted some advice on which ones to go for.

there's only 2types, budget or very expensive! i can't seem to find anything in between.

has anyone fitted any of the budget brands? what does it feel like to drive or am i just better of saving for the gaz ones. is it too bumpy? does the ride comfort suffer alot? hows the wear on other parts of the car, cv joints, bearings etc.

i don't really want to spend £899.00 for a set of coils when all I'm looking to do is go lower.

cheers Asad.

[Rav335uk]

If you're just wanting to "Slam" the car, the the cheapest ones would be the Hottunning ones.

[hanfi09]

i bought a cheap set on my golf and i found they were so stiff they honestly destroyed the car. bearings suffered so much as did the cv's. i couldn't even go over cats eyes on the motorway it was so stiff.

how do the hot tuning ones fair in terms of ride comfort?

[Ninja_Penguin]

ive got the supersport ones, which im pretty sure is the same as the hot tuning ones and the JOM ones. they are wound down as far as they will go.

the ride i find is actually quite comfortable. i drove a mk2 golf with the same kind as low as it would go and it was rock hard. i still get a smidge of body roll too. and here is how it sits.

oh and £210 off of coilovers-direct.co.uk which i think worked out £10 cheaper than hot tuning ones

[Phill172]

Uh oh can of worms question.....

Cheaper they are the worse the ride and quality (in performance conditions)
However for simple road use and looks hot tuning /super sports you can't go wrong
With and I think for your app will be fine!!!

Have you had a look second hand too?

[VW-will]

That e30 touring is as low as they allow? I have gaz fitted too mine on the lowest they go probably about 2" clearance on the chassis rail and diff, that's slammed lol

[hanfi09]

@Ninja_Penguin - is that the lowest the coil overs allow? boy... that's how my e30's sitting at the moment. when i say slammed i mean't like touching the floor. I've currently got Bilstein B12 springs and shocks (http://www.coiloversdirect.co.uk/bilste ... d_153.html) don't get me wrong there really nice, its just a shame you can't wind them down to give the perfect height..

a pic of my mk2, i need to be this low..


@VW-will - whats the damp. adjustment like on the gaz coilovers? i saw a set of golds online for 8 something and it said it had 6 settings. Are they really worth the money, is the car noticeably smoother?

@Phill172 - i haven't contemplated second hand to be honest. Not really keen on buying second hand suspension, never quite sure as to how its been treated.


btw thanks for the feedback guys..

[Morat]

Pft, on the b12 kit you're already at the perfect ride height.

[Green]

My m20b25 sat like this for ages



two weeks after taking that photo I hit this



Which did this



I then had the sump repaired 2 days later.

7 days after replacing the sump it went in for an MOT and then I had this



When I removed the engine I had rounded off half of the sump plug making it a pig to remove as from where it had been knocked it tightened it up even more.

M52 conversion now installed with the M535i engine mounts and 10mm spacers Sump currently sits like this



I will get around to winding my front coils up a couple of notches one day, I fear going to hear a noise first though and I know how it's going to end


Spax RSX btw, very good coilovers and drive nice how I want them to!

[mani]

Hottunning or JOM both pretty much the same price good for driving on the road but not so good on track

[D7UGE]

£200 a set?!?!?!?! Sorry like but I don't think any £200 coilovers are ever going to be worth having , you get what you pay for. If I had a limited budget I'd buy the best direct replacement sus' kit I could afford , not cheap coilies.

I run coilovers on my escos but they are proper Leda's (from before they went bust) and consequently were well over £200 PER CORNER , they were then properly set up and corner weighted and as a result drive beautifully (well.... for a cossie anyway lol).

As someone stated above (I couldn't agree more) :

Uh oh can of worms question.....

Cheaper they are the worse the ride and quality (in performance conditions)

[hanfi09]

@Green - haha I've had that before, sumps come and go! glad to know it's all up and running now..

@D7UGE - ultimately you are right, i just wanted to know what the cheaper sets offer. 899.99 is a big price to pay for a few inches lower if you understand were I'm coming from.

i mean these b12's I'm on are ok, they corner well to and extent. i think i might just save up for the gaz coilies, as its probably the best way to go.

@mani - wont be taking her on track so were good haha.

[e30topless]

whats wrong with billies and H&r springs?

[Jhonno]

Cheap coilovers are wank end of. Wont handle well, wont ride well, they wont last long. They might get it sitting how you want.

Decide if any of this bothers you, if not, ideal.

[D7UGE]

More to the point , if you do go down the coilover route.... could I have first dibs on your current set up please?.......

[savagehenry]

FK's are kind of in the middle, I ran them on my golf for a few years and apart from the adjusters seizing they were fine. I must admit I did seem to go through a few wheel bearings and I had the whole set-up poly bushed.

But please don't think that if you wind your coils right down you can have a ride that is not harsh. Maybe with top-end fully adjustable's but with cheap sets......no chance.

I like the back crunching ride tbo, you just have to be dedicated to drive a car on the deck all the time. I think the go kart handling is worth it though, but living in north norfolk there are a few roads that I would get the thing bouncing side to side.....head like a nodding dog.

I'm on the hunt for some for my touring and I must admit I'd like mine to go slightly lower than that red touring above.

I'm finding that the e30 coil-overs don't go to 100-120mm drop that say golf mk2 sets do even the cheap ones.

[Morat]

That's because your sump would probably be underground at -120mm

If you want to look that low (tucked, etc) I'd imagine you'd to go the other way and get bigger wheels.

Imy? Where are you?

[Black_Potato]

Get teh cheap ones, its going to handle like shite anyway ;)

[hanfi09]

savagehenry - my fk's handled amazing for such a cheap set but honestly the ride comfort was non-existent. im down with the whole you have to be dedicated to run low all the time thing, static for life and all that sh*t lol but the bmw is in such good condition i wouldn't want to ruin it. even if it means i wait and get me a real set of coilovers> Ones that will allow me to sit slammed and not shake my car to death.

i do have another question. why isit the e30 coilies have such a small drop?! made me think maybe air is the best way to go. would anyone know roughly how much a kit would cost?


@e30topless - there ok but i mean she doesn't grip as well as i would hope, i guess I'm just so accustomed to having no body roll what so ever it just feels soft to me. I mean i can't find a bad review on them what so ever!


@Black_Potato - lool does your thirty handle that bad when these b12's are out your welcome to have em hahaa

[ross2009]

a drive in drive out job on air will be about 2-3 k maybe less thats the way i was gonna go but was gonna do it my self but i went boosted so scrapped the idea as i didnt think air bags would handle the ponies

so i went coilovers got gaz ones with spacers rides really nice not hard or trashy at all which did put me of coilovers to start with common misconception im glad i bought then now car drives and rides lovely but i didnt want them to get it lower i got them for the handleing they do have damper rebound which softens them up some what but also mine isnt a daily driver

[savagehenry]

I'm sorry but I think air is gay. there I've said it! I come from the VW scene and air has spread like wild-fire and I hated it. I think putting a mk1 or mk2 golf on air is bad enough but worse on a BMW.

I think air is seen as cool, and I do admit it does serve it's purpose well and the latest kits offer fairly good handling, but 9 times out of 10 when you see it on a car you just think 'that's on air' because you could never drive it like that. just misses the point really.

Peace.

[Jhonno]

Bags are for fags..

[pacerpete]

I'm sorry but I think air is gay. there I've said it! I come from the VW scene and air has spread like wild-fire and I hated it. I think putting a mk1 or mk2 golf on air is bad enough but worse on a BMW.

I think air is seen as cool, and I do admit it does serve it's purpose well and the latest kits offer fairly good handling, but 9 times out of 10 when you see it on a car you just think 'that's on air' because you could never drive it like that. just misses the point really.

Peace.

Strangely, when I see a car on the deck, my first thought is not "dat is sick, it must be on air,innit" but rather, " oh look at that sorry looking sack of sh1t with no suspension, why would an INTELLIGENT person that understands how suspension works do that ? " Question answered.........


PS, congratulations on leaving the unwashed dub peasants behind and getting a decent car, next step is to learn about suspension dynamics

[e30topless]

Pete you should slam the Burban, they look Phat on Air.. and you won't need a step to get innit,

[pacerpete]

Pete you should slam the Burban, they look Phat on Air.. and you won't need a step to get innit,

Where is that sh1tter parked ? I need a rear screen

[Barx325i]

dig the zoro tri spokes, that really compliments the 'look'

[sweep]

Loose a few coils thats the cheapest way.

[Barx325i]

Loose a few coils thats the cheapest way.

to an mot fail and a trip across a roundabout

[pacerpete]

Loose a few coils thats the cheapest way.

to an mot fail and a trip across a roundabout

A properly executed 'coilectomy' is far preferrable to a set of no name -60 springs in every way

[Jhonno]

Pete you should slam the Burban, they look Phat on Air.. and you won't need a step to get innit,

Where is that sh1tter parked ? I need a rear screen

I a field from the look of it..

[sweep]

Who needs pigtails anyway...

[savagehenry]

I'm sorry but I think air is gay. there I've said it! I come from the VW scene and air has spread like wild-fire and I hated it. I think putting a mk1 or mk2 golf on air is bad enough but worse on a BMW.

I think air is seen as cool, and I do admit it does serve it's purpose well and the latest kits offer fairly good handling, but 9 times out of 10 when you see it on a car you just think 'that's on air' because you could never drive it like that. just misses the point really.

Peace.

Strangely, when I see a car on the deck, my first thought is not "dat is sick, it must be on air,innit" but rather, " oh look at that sorry looking sack of sh1t with no suspension, why would an INTELLIGENT person that understands how suspension works do that ? " Question answered.........


PS, congratulations on leaving the unwashed dub peasants behind and getting a decent car, next step is to learn about suspension dynamics

I'm not against it in any way, I love hyro low-riders and even the odd slammed german estate wagon. But to me putting air onto an e30 or m2 golf is style over function.
Both cars are well documented track and performance roads cars and don't belong on air. IMHO whatever floats your boat (or car).
I think the 'unwashed' is more the air-cooled scene (from my experience) Believe me the 'rat look' 'sticker bombing' and general heaps around the VW show grounds was a lot worse than seeing a car on 'air' at least there was engineering and ingenuity
involved.
Peace.

[wynnie318is]

Anyone tried the bc-racing coilovers ? I've been looking at them there 769 quid.
I'm torn between them n the gaz. Reading all the bumf on there site Id say they seem a little better. Anyone
Else tried em?

[MattTheHat325]

Anyone tried the bc-racing coilovers ? I've been looking at them there 769 quid.
I'm torn between them n the gaz. Reading all the bumf on there site Id say they seem a little better. Anyone
Else tried em?

I've heard good things about the BC's, my mate fitted a set on one of his customers' MR2 and said they appeared to be a good quality bit of kit, impressive for the money. I'm sure there is a red e30 on here running very low on BC's and 15's, hopefully he'll be along to deliver the verdict as I'm considering a set myself. Only considering mind.......

[fozzymandeus]

Just scanned this thread but is someone seriously considering swapping a Bilstein B12 setup for a set of hottuning coilies?



You realise these cars are good because of how they handle, right?