antmarc217

First off I'm on a budget like everyone else and don't have $2-$3k to spend nor am I patient enough to save that much for a set of coilovers or springs/shocks.
If I decide on coilovers I am considering ksport/megan/d2 coils. Which are all around the same price range of $1k.
If I go with H&R springs and a full set of bilstein shocks, cheapest I've summed up online is close to $900.
My godbro worked as a bmw tech for 2yrs. And now over 6 months at this euro motorsport shop called Gintani in Van Nuys, CA.. He believes I shouldn't even waste my money on a coil set and to just get springs and throw em on my stock sport shocks.

My car is strictly for street driving (no track)... a full round trip from home to work is only 7miles.. at max I only drive 30 local miles daily.
I live in los angeles, which has some awful potholes.

My question is, who here has thrown on a set of lowering springs with stock sport suspension? What brand? How is the ride quality? Have any of the stock shocks blown? If so approx how many miles after putting in the lowering springs.

I'm leaning more towards springs/shocks over coils. As much as possible I would rather just buy springs to save money. For the sake of the car's ride I will eventually get bilsteins.

Thanks in advance! =)
- Anthony

socale39

A lot of people have just installed springs however the real question is the condition/mileage of your current shocks. If they have high mileage then it would make sense to just buy a coilover setup since springs and struts would cost you nearly the same cost!

jg7879

hey anthony, i did the same thing on my set up, just change the shocks to koni yellow and i have H&R sport spring, and it rides amazing, i'm currently sitting on 19's also! with BBS LM I think this route is safe and a little cheaper and also i only drive in the city no track. hope this helps
btw: how is gintani and oe tunning doing? do you think doing a tune with jeremy is worth it or not? pm me thanks!

jgt

+1
I was in a similar situation. K Sport coilovers just made more sense since my shocks were at ~60k and I would've had to replace them soon enough anyway.
It was a straight swap which I ended up doing myself. The other option separate springs and shocks would've ended up costing more since I don't have a spring compressor.

antmarc217

Awesome! I actually have 20s. Yeah, I'm definitely going with H&R springs. Most likely go with bilsteins.

As far as tuning and performance mods I really can't speak too much about it for my own experience. I've got a few buddies with m3s (e46 + e90/e92) that have heavily modified their cars for the track at gintani, and have nothing but greats words to say. Can't rally help too much with that.


Thanks to the rest of your guys' input!

antmarc217

True! My shocks are at 80k miles...
Too impatient to save so id like to get springs now and eventually new shocks. Just wondering if anyone else has done this and how long the stock shocks survived.
If I go this route, ill have my car slammed by the end of june. I'll have shocks by late july/early august.
We'll see how it goes.

socale39

With 80k on your shocks now you're going to have to replace your shocks very soon. Honestly, if you can, be patient and save for the coilovers. Not only will it allow you to replace your suspension easily, but you'll never have to worry about the height as you'll be able to adjust it to your preference.

Isaiah_Charles

I did it with race springs but my shocks were fairly new(changed last June) but now I want coils BAAADD! Anyways I'd recommend coils as well

TheRacerBoss

+1
Just love the koni yellows man, they are Wonderful. My wife drives a 2010 Lexus IS 350 which has a sports suspension that is HARD. Guess what, I have driven a 335i that had an even harder sport suspension. Overall I think the koni sport on soft are the best for city.

I recently happened to drive a Koni Yellow with Eibach springs on it and let me tell you they are a little softer than the H&R. I wish I had gotten the Eibach but then I still love the H&R with the kony Yellows for their stance.

I know that the KW's are HARDER than the setup I have (koni yellow with H&R springs) and I would say coming from a regular suspension(Non Sport), koni yellows are the farthest I could go, even a tad bit more would make it HARD according to me.

IceyTys

I have Eibach springs (Pro-Kit) with factory sport shocks and ride quality is great, or was. I've had this set up for about 3 years now and I can tell that I am pretty close to needing to replace my shocks soon. (Currently have 48K miles on the car) So would assume if youre on a budget you could get away with it for a couple years then upgrade the shocks later, depending on how many miles and how old your car is now.