Opinion on ground control single adjustable kit with m3 arms e92

Rob09msport

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I ordered a bilstein b12 kit on black Friday after getting jerked for 6 months I am looking for alternatives and seeking refund my mechanic recommends a gc setup but he is on extreme side multiple motiv setups with straight pipes basically he is immune to nvh so i am curious if I could keep close to our possibly better ride comfort with a ground control coil over setup I know it should improve handling and is more expensive but does seem to be well thought out and complete any opinions greatly appreciated.
 

dyezak

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Ground control had some bad press way back when. Their valving was questionable but the physical components were always top notch.

YCW is the new hotness for reasonable cost and great reviews. Exact same MSRP as GC but has extremely good reviews with no published negatives.

KW is pretty much the standard bearer in this market (but people say YCW is killin KW). Same MSRP as GC's.

And if you were looking at GC's the Ohlins R/T is only a little more and it's Ohlins. I mean common....Ohlins. For $400 more ($1800 for GC and $2200 for Ohlins) you'd be silly to not buy Ohlins.

If you are getting the GC's for a deal (like $1500) you can call MFactory and they have some capability of slow boating you some YCW's for that price assuming you can wait a month for them. But if you are looking at a set of $1800 GC's (retail price), then don't even bother, just save another $400 and get the real deal Hollifield Ohlins.
 
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Rob09msport

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Fuck I ordered the m3 conversion kit with 440 700 springs you think I should suck up and get ohlins shocks and use with the gc hardware? Also do you think those spring rates will be somewhat comfortable? 09 e92 335i fob inlets outlets whittling poly rsfb ?
 

dyezak

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MFactory (YCW) did a phenomenal post somewhere explaining spring rates on our cars with our suspension geometry. If you are curious about comfort I'd read through their explanation. I don't have a link to it and I don't remember where they posted their data off-hand.

Whatever you decide, do not mix and match suspension pieces. If you do the GC setup then stick with it as a holistic package. If you move to the Ohlins then use the whole Ohlins setup.

And whatever you chose, don't have buyers remorse. Remember, the difference between Ohlins and GC in performance and ride quality is probably like the difference between the engine performance comparing a 650hp VTT Twin Turbo vs a 700hp Single Turbo. They will feel different, and one is probably slightly better than the other for certain applicaitons, but it's not like it's worlds different.
 
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Rob09msport

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MFactory (YCW) did a phenomenal post somewhere explaining spring rates on our cars with our suspension geometry. If you are curious about comfort I'd read through their explanation. I don't have a link to it and I don't remember where they posted their data off-hand.

Whatever you decide, do not mix and match suspension pieces. If you do the GC setup then stick with it as a holistic package. If you move to the Ohlins then use the whole Ohlins setup.

And whatever you chose, don't have buyers remorse. Remember, the difference between Ohlins and GC in performance and ride quality is probably like the difference between the engine performance comparing a 650hp VTT Twin Turbo vs a 700hp Single Turbo. They will feel different, and one is probably slightly better than the other for certain applicaitons, but it's not like it's worlds different.
Thankyou I do remember reading something about stiffest isn't best and proper dampers can make world difference also allot of misinformation regarding the stock spring rates being way to low because are cars have bump stops that are secondary springs and add to the spring rate but figuring all this into numbers makes my head spin hence why I wanted a pro kit set and forget I like that the gc cones with the shocks pre set as i know my limits and would never stop playing with adjustments once I start kinda like when you try even your side burns 'll at time end up like pee wee Herman.i also know I'm not amazing driver I'm decent but I don't think I can get to limit of any of these setups I just don't want be one the guys that spends all this money and ends up worse off then started.
 

Rob09msport

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I was panicking posting from phone if I did this on the other forums I'd get three responses on how I didn't use proper punctuation and no answers this forum so much better
 

Rob09msport

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Also last question I'm fbo, pr inlets ,Vargas outlets, ade fmic ,vrsf dp ,whiteline sub frame bushings and just ordered gc m3 coil over single adjustable 440f 700r, toe arms ,m3 upper control arms ,front m3 arms upper and lower and adjustable end links I want to make sure their isn't anything else I am forgetting or is a good idea with 65k miles on original msport suspension thanks in advance
 

Rob09msport

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Sounds pretty comprehensive. I think you have it covered.
Thankyou last time ill pick your brain as you seem to have pretty good grasp on our suspension is my front spring rate of 440 a good match to 700 rear allot of the coil over packages go way lower front and little lower back mid level go similar back but little lower front like tckline do 350 700 but the high end like jic magic go 400 700 some little higher I'm just wondering if I have picked to much spring in front thks again
 

dyezak

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Thankyou last time ill pick your brain as you seem to have pretty good grasp on our suspension is my front spring rate of 440 a good match to 700 rear allot of the coil over packages go way lower front and little lower back mid level go similar back but little lower front like tckline do 350 700 but the high end like jic magic go 400 700 some little higher I'm just wondering if I have picked to much spring in front thks again

Heh, I really don't have a great grasp on our suspension...just some cursory reading and research. One thing of note however is that the front to rear spring rate ratio must stay the same as factory to prevent a bouncy ride. The YCW post I mentioned earlier explained it in detail and gave the correct ratio. I'd try and find that for you but I'm at work.
 

Rob09msport

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Heh, I really don't have a great grasp on our suspension...just some cursory reading and research. One thing of note however is that the front to rear spring rate ratio must stay the same as factory to prevent a bouncy ride. The YCW post I mentioned earlier explained it in detail and gave the correct ratio. I'd try and find that for you but I'm at work.
K ill look for it
 

Rob09msport

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I read through all those posts for some reason m3 guys run way more spring in front I'm wondering if it's cause the bushings gc swears with me converting everything to m3 the mounts and bushings I using to stay at 440 in front I am thinking go 800 rear then I have few hrs to set final .
 

Rob09msport

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This a post from mfactory it seems they found out 1 too 3 wasn't optimal
MFactory;500652 said:
I would need to check on this, but possibly.
For the test sets, sports is 6K/12K (after testing, we found this to be slightly better than the 4K/12K)
For race, we will initially be testing 6K/18K and 8k/18K. If the rates need to be changed, we will revise for the production batch
 

Rob09msport

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After talking more to people at meets and track I stick with the 440f 700r I almost went up in back to make car more over steer biased but with all info I've heard and read seems for dual purpose you need stiff front to not lose camber and since we all add little rake that increases front grip as and also dropping front more requires stiffer springs and most of all rear bushings and both bump stops alter spring rate on stock car and math proves if had a 145f you would be using 6 inch of travel just parked also the strut being further out in rear and having more leverage has to change something. Honestly why not sure but before waste allot money and time I did agree 350f on street car close stock height with 650r perfect but 440f 700r good starting point for dual purpose or autox and if slammed 525 750 or more road coarse high speed 600 900 or 600 800 i was amazed how not bad 600 800 rode on street almost went to 800 on back but I gonna put seat time in 440f 700r then if need adjust from their


Edit not panicking and much more research and experience from install. Stock is not 1 to 3 we have 200 lb pre load then 4 inch static compression this leaves us a half inch from the front bump stop. What the end result is a very progressive setup that is comfortable and gets firmer basically riding on bump stops real OEM actually calls them secondary springs.
 
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