Sorry for asking this again but I have done a lot of searches and just confused myself.
Looking more for a ride of the sport model, do not want to be beat up.
Do I need lowering springs - Eibach?
New shocks? any brand recommendations?
Sway bars?
Bigger wheels and tires?

Any help with set up and brands will be much appreciated. Happy Thanksgiving to all

 

All of the items above will give you a better (more sport like) ride. So the next question will be what order you would go in, Id say depending on your wheel tires set up, id start with shocks and springs, then go wheels, then sway bars. That is unless you have the funds to do it all at once, then I say go for it all...

So unless your running on 16", you should definitely go springs/shocks 1st. Some folks on here will recommend coil-overs, but IMHO they are pretty pricey, so if cost is an issue you could probably do a spring/shock combo for about $800 installed.

When you upgrade just wheels tires you'll notice a difference in the way your car grips thru turns, but your body roll will remain the same. When you upgrade your springs/shock and not the tires you'll notice less body roll, but you'll feel your tires maxing out more. (sliding more sideways). As you find the balance between both tires/wheels and shocks/springs you will get the sport like feel you are looking for. Wheels are usually prefered 1st, because you get the visual effect of your hard earned cash, but I am sure once you do 1, your gonna want the other as well.

As for shock recommdations, Bilstein and Koni are some pretty good brands. I wouldnt go to adjustable shocks, as even thought they are nice to have, how many times are you really gonna manually adjust them? If you really think about it, you drive the way you drive in the city, so if your driving characteristics are not changing, why get adjustables?

I know some more experienced members will chime in, but to each is own. Do your research on here and fine what will work best for you.

GL and Happy Turkey Day

 

Thanks for taking the time with your reply - You provided very good information and cleared up the issue for me.

 

A good suspension system with matched parts can make a big difference. I am happy with my OEM sport pkg suspension but had a Dinan Stg 2 in my old E46 M3 and thought it was great. Don't just pick parts without understanding how they will work togther...

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on my 530, Im running on eibach pro-kit (said to give the most similar ride in terms of stock comfort) and Bilstein sport shocks (gave a more sportier feel). in my opinion, sway bars arent necessarily needed unless you do a lot of spirited driving, but thats just me. wheels and tires, going wider will help as well with the body roll but not too much. even with the springs and shocks I still get some body roll (non-sport here so no stock sways). sent you a PM as well btw

 

I went through the exact same dilema as you, and bought wheels in the summer and have recently bought H&R sport springs and bilstein sport shocks. If money is a concern take your time and be patient stuff always comes up in the classifieds. I bought all my stuff used and got great prices on everything and the products were is prestine condition hardly used.

 

Take a look at Eibach Pro-kit springs with Koni FSD struts -- might be a good fit for what you want.

 

Really ? I installed Eibach Pro-kit but still in stock shock. Under searching which shock is good fit.