E9X E93 best coilovers ?

Subwoofer

Sergeant
Jan 9, 2020
267
48
0
Ride
335i
Hello all,

First of all, the reason I specified the E93 is because as I'm sure you know it's heavier than an e90/92 so I'm already under the impression they need to be different.


Does anyone have any good suggestions? I've been looking at the KW and it's looking quite nice.

I'm looking for increased handling, try and negotiate the body roll a bit (anti-roll bar coming soon, if anyone has a good link for E93 let me know)

Budget, is probably mid-range, unless top range really shows something wonderful.

Currently have FBO, and M3 control arms(talking in the future) so hopefully someone knows!

Many thanks again, all.
 

Asbjorn

Lieutenant
Mar 10, 2018
854
602
0
European, based in China
Ride
Z4 N54 DCT
Adjustable sway bars are great for negotiating body roll, and by far the easiest way to tune the suspension. For better handling you can add some camber up front, and stiffen up the rear a bit relative to the front. This will allow you to access the grip available better, but also increase the possibility of oversteer. Another way to get better handling is simply choosing better tires. It is easy to forget that tires act as springs and play a huge role in how the car feels to drive.

Personally I wouldn't trust any off-the-shelf coilover to be tuned properly for the E93. Even Eibach got the springs wrong for my car (E89) because it is a bit special. It is not like the 1M where all the larger coilover brands have dedicated and fine-tuned solutions.

Another thing to consider is that dampers are wear items, and you might get better handling by simply installing new oem dampers. If you are otherwise happy with how the car squats and dives, ie the spring rates, then you can get far with just better dampers. If not OEM, then I recommend anything DFV/FSD/frequency dependent/3-way. You ideally want something that is stiff through corners but soft over bumps.

Also remember that lowering the car will increase body roll - everything else being equal. Try to avoid that.

If you still think what you need is coilovers, then I have attached some detailed info about E92 coilovers I got from @AzNdevil below. If you know the weight front rear of your E93, you can calculate the spring rate difference required to achieve the same results.

a.jpg
b.jpg

Remember that one spring rate is not better than the other, as it totally depends on the driver and the roads what is better. Just think about a mountain bike vs a road bike. Different purposes, different designs. Stiffer can easily mean less grip, and just because something is more expensive, doesn't mean it is right for you. A soft spring and damper costs about the same to produce as a stiffer spring and damper. What actually costs more is an advanced damper with frequency dependent dampening and/or even adjustability. And that is what you actually want. Unfortunately, due to market depands I guess, most of these advanced dampers are sold with "race" springs and a huge drop in ride height and damper travel.
 

Subwoofer

Sergeant
Jan 9, 2020
267
48
0
Ride
335i
Adjustable sway bars are great for negotiating body roll, and by far the easiest way to tune the suspension. For better handling you can add some camber up front, and stiffen up the rear a bit relative to the front. This will allow you to access the grip available better, but also increase the possibility of oversteer. Another way to get better handling is simply choosing better tires. It is easy to forget that tires act as springs and play a huge role in how the car feels to drive.

Personally I wouldn't trust any off-the-shelf coilover to be tuned properly for the E93. Even Eibach got the springs wrong for my car (E89) because it is a bit special. It is not like the 1M where all the larger coilover brands have dedicated and fine-tuned solutions.

Another thing to consider is that dampers are wear items, and you might get better handling by simply installing new oem dampers. If you are otherwise happy with how the car squats and dives, ie the spring rates, then you can get far with just better dampers. If not OEM, then I recommend anything DFV/FSD/frequency dependent/3-way. You ideally want something that is stiff through corners but soft over bumps.

Also remember that lowering the car will increase body roll - everything else being equal. Try to avoid that.

If you still think what you need is coilovers, then I have attached some detailed info about E92 coilovers I got from @AzNdevil below. If you know the weight front rear of your E93, you can calculate the spring rate difference required to achieve the same results.

View attachment 41979
View attachment 41980

Remember that one spring rate is not better than the other, as it totally depends on the driver and the roads what is better. Just think about a mountain bike vs a road bike. Different purposes, different designs. Stiffer can easily mean less grip, and just because something is more expensive, doesn't mean it is right for you. A soft spring and damper costs about the same to produce as a stiffer spring and damper. What actually costs more is an advanced damper with frequency dependent dampening and/or even adjustability. And that is what you actually want. Unfortunately, due to market depands I guess, most of these advanced dampers are sold with "race" springs and a huge drop in ride height and damper travel.
Hey, thanks for the lovely informative message.
I will look into adjustable sway bars now,
I was thinking off the shelf is probably not the best idea because of the difference in weight. I’m no suspension expert, though.

I will try and figure out a spring rate; I have also messaged Barry to try and organise something.

Thanks once again!