p3style

Hey guys, coming from a Lexus GS L-tuned - I was very surprised that my GS handled the corners much better than my 545??

I am sliding all over the place with my 545 on the same curves where I would take the corner hard with my GS???
I have 19's with Nitto 555's...my GS had 18" frickin Sonars????

What is going on???

I would have thought a 545 with the sport suspension would be better if not equal to my l-tuned set-up.
I have to admit the ride is much more suppler on the 545 sport - but I like driving and taking curves hard...

What are your thoughts guys?

thedreamshop

I am dissapointed with the suspension on my 545i sport as well. The front end is really low and the shocks allow too much dip and rebound. In fact I have damaged the underside of my front bumper and sideskirts in parking lot speedbumps. I now have to crawl up the speedbumps and then brake on the way down to control the dip in order to save the sideskirts. As far as handling it handles like a 5,000 lb car with a soft suspension. My previous car was a E30 with pollyurathane bushings, coilovers, koni adj shocks, and swaybars. This car handles quite a bit different. I think the solution is simple... we just need to get a quality set of coilovers and adj shocks and we should be fine. I have been considdering the KW Variant 2. I would like to know if anyone has put on a pair and what their feedback is.

freed0m

I had KW V2 on my 545i before and liked them alot, with adjustable heights and dampening technolgy = superior handling, good looks and comforts ro11dice is another member that have it on is 530i.

KnIgHtCoM

freed0m, you have the Bilstein PSS9's now right? How do you like the compared to the KW V2's?

Rudy

I don't know much about wheel/tire mods but I can tell you that my stock 545 nor my stock 550 did any "sliding all over the place" when taking corners fast or hard.

Again, I realize many people mod their cars -- especially wheels and tires -- but I've always believed in trusting the BMW engineers and their design skills. The car's wheels, tires, suspension, brakes, etc. are all designed to work together as one "system" and I'm clearly not smart enough (or clearly not smarter than the engineers) to determine what might make it work better. Sure, I can make a car look better by messing with the wheels, tires, springs, etc. but will it make the car perform better? Maybe, maybe not.

If your car is sliding all over the place, something is clearly wrong in my opinion. I'm curious to see how many other members here complain about this problem. I don't recall hearing this complaint before but hey, you never know...

freed0m

Hey KnIgHt, I'm favoring the KW V2 more than the current PSS9 and 'past' Dinan Stage 1 suspension. I'm running PSS9 at the moment because my KW V2 right front strut blew out (highway was under extended construction where I live, the road was really bad), I will be sending the KW V2 both front struts in for replacement

westcoast550

I agree with Rudy , Especially vs a Lexus ! Any test drives I have experienced with Lexus were very soft ,smooth maybe a little mushy. I would bet something isnt quite right in the set up of your 545. Whats the mileage ?

Cheers

iversonm

Perhaps you should consider different tires. The NT555s seem to be average at best.

alpinewhite

yea i dont think a regular e60 is meant to be taking turns hard that is. it does handle better than most cars. if you got an M however, then it would be a different story.

Rudy

Don't discount the capabilities of the "regular" E60 -- it's clearly able to take turns hard without sliding all over the place...