New coilovers or LSD?

[Forcefed]

you should get an LSD, trust me, you wont be disappointed, it should end up being more expensive though all in all, i would get the suspension once you see your stock system fading, otherwise an LSD will make the world of difference on a torque monster like the n54.

Yeah, thats kind of what I am thinking. I will probably go this route.

[Yomama69]

New suspension = $2000 installed. Used in good condition around $1200 installed.
LSD is around $2000 - $2500 installed depending on whether you have a bolted or welded ring gear.
Both together can come out to $3200 if you look around.

I say go for the LSD, it may be more expensive but it makes the car MUCH more controllable and is a definite mod for anyone who spends time sideways or on the track.
The stock suspension isn't terrible - nothing a little extra driver correction can't fix

Most contradictory post on this forum to date. You're lucky I don't have enough rep points to hit the thumbs down. $2000 + $2500 =/= $3200 or anything close to it. I was much closer with 5K which is the amount more for the M3 than my 335i was...and it has better suspension and LSD. Of course, I didn't know OP bought his car CPO when I said that.

[Forcefed]

Most contradictory post on this forum to date. You're lucky I don't have enough rep points to hit the thumbs down. $2000 + $2500 =/= $3200 or anything close to it. I was much closer with 5K which is the amount more for the M3 than my 335i was...and it has better suspension and LSD. Of course, I didn't know OP bought his car CPO when I said that.

It actually would be around 3200-3600.

[CookieCrisp]

Most contradictory post on this forum to date. You're lucky I don't have enough rep points to hit the thumbs down. $2000 + $2500 =/= $3200 or anything close to it. I was much closer with 5K which is the amount more for the M3 than my 335i was...and it has better suspension and LSD. Of course, I didn't know OP bought his car CPO when I said that.

Go troll somewhere else.
You are wrong.

It actually would be around 3200-3600.

Thank you

[Itsbrokeagain]

Most contradictory post on this forum to date. You're lucky I don't have enough rep points to hit the thumbs down. $2000 + $2500 =/= $3200 or anything close to it. I was much closer with 5K which is the amount more for the M3 than my 335i was...and it has better suspension and LSD. Of course, I didn't know OP bought his car CPO when I said that.

he pulled his calculations from the $1200 for the used coilovers.

[e92]

I don't trust KW

[Yomama69]

he pulled his calculations from the $1200 for the used coilovers.

Which makes more sense. So I wasn't wrong.

[Yomama69]

Go troll somewhere else.
You are wrong.

Yeah, not really.

[654]

There is no problem with my current set up, I have the sport suspension and everything works fine. I am just looking to take the car to the next level performance wise. My real goals are just to have an extremely fast car that can handle well too. I already have full bolt ons and I am just trying to decide which mod will help me the most. I will not be tracking the car very often, maybe 1 or 2 times a year max. I guess what I am looking for is just more of a connection with the car.

Then I would definitely go with LSD. I can imagine that there is nothing especially bad in the stock sport suspension, so why not just use it up and upgrade the suspension next year or even later when the shocks stop performing well. LSD does not really wear out and it helps also in the straights adding some grip.

Btw. new rims are rarely a performance upgrade even if they were extremely light

[Sticky]

Go troll somewhere else.
You are wrong.

He isn't trolling, let's get along guys.

He was incorrect about factoring the car being CPO and did not take that into account but the OP seems to know what he is doing.

[Forcefed]

He isn't trolling, let's get along guys.

He was incorrect about factoring the car being CPO and did not take that into account but the OP seems to know what he is doing.

+1 lets keep thread peaceful haha. No one is here to argue.

[CookieCrisp]

+1 lets keep thread peaceful haha. No one is here to argue.

amen to that, sorry i was a bit cranky

[e92]

+1 lets keep thread peaceful haha. No one is here to argue.

Buy a case because we have some giant trolls around here.

[lamia2super]

i know someone that is selling his coilovers for about $900 and they are probably 2 months old....he is trading in the car so he has no use for them and i think their ksport coilovers

[Doug007]

Go for the LSD. This car never should have been sold without at least an optional LSD.

I think the stock sport suspension handles great and is very comfortable. I imagine you are going to add a lot of NVH with coil overs.

[ultimateendz]

trust me go with matts recommendations.....i was the first to go with the recommendations harold told matt and i couldnt be happier. i had TWO sets of FKs before that gave on me and went to these koni DAs and 900lb rear swift springs....coupled with the full m3 suspension AND rear subframe bushings my car is AMAZING....mind u i have an e93....bet my e93 feels better than most e92s with regular coilovers

[fundahl]

LSD.

You are gonna waste after-market suspension without a LSD. Or maybe I just feel that way because I can't stand "one-wheel-peel". Sure, I can toss my car into a drift and hold it for the most part, but powering on out of exits creates a stupid feeling, artificial "fishtail" and you don't accelerate much because of that damn "E-Diff" that doesn't want to lock up to help push you forward.

[Doug007]

FWIW, I just got done with a track weekend with an instructor who previously owned a 335i.

He recommended Bilstein PSS10s as the best suspension setup for this car. Turner motorsports seems to agree...

"Hands down, the best modification you can do to this car." -Will Turner

After the track day I'd say the suspension (cornering grip) was slowing me down more than the LSD. But to be really fast both will be needed as it's hard to get the power down early with this open diff.

[sr20seb]

Many will say that an LSD and suspension will go hand in hand and they are very much correct on that. It also depends on how you've drawn out your "mod road map." I for one did it around a daily driven car so in my opinion the LSD would be taking preference over a suspension upgrade. If it was a weekend track car then it would be suspension closely followed by the LSD in shortest amount of time possible. From what I also see is that an LSD is the more expensive mod part wise so that is something I would also like to get out of the way first. But if possible, do both at the same time, that is something I was also pondering for a bit.

[Ocbimmer]

Get the LSD.

You already have decent suspension, which you can make slightly better with the upgrade. But if you get the LSD, you add something you haven't had.

[xbox_fan]

This is one of the best posts, ever! thanks Matt for being open and informative!

I sell Koni Yellow/ Koni DAs and Swift Spring coilovers. They have proven to be my suspension of choice.

Unlike E90post, I will give you the laydown of my results with KWs and FKs and not expect it to be deleted and covered up.

KWs:
-Squeaky pistons and valving, tried to blame it on the springs
-Blowing out prematurely
-Shearing the front swaybar tabs off
-locking allen key in the front stripping out

FKs:
-blowing out prematurely
-front endlinks were $#@! design and fell apart after 3 months
-the welds around the bottom of the front strut housings would crack and send the koni insert out the bottom, causing loss of suspension.

Both I was not really a fan of, mostly because they give you a generic spring rate to be used, and expect the damping to make up for ride quality issues. Harold at HP Autowerks turned me onto Swift Spring coilovers and now that I can get infinite spring rates and spring heights, I can set a car up any way I want. You want good handling with a smooth ride while maintaing stock ride height? I can do it. You want it tucking tire and still ride like OEM suspension without blowing out suspension components? I can do it.

Sure its not the cheapest solution but you get what you pay for.

Also, I dont see any logic in buying used coilovers. I found that there is a very high turnover rate for used crap, especially in the tri-state. Whether you buy cheap $#@! or used $#@!, it is still $#@!, and you will be spending the money again to replace it. The only coilovers I would buy used are Koni DAs, because you can send them back to Koni and have them rebuilt as they are a double adjustable strut, meaning bound and rebound both have adjustment. These shocks are also used widely in the Koni Challenge Series and SCCA racing with E46 and E36 M3s.

Yellows you can do this with as well, but it would be cheaper to buy a new strut. You want to get KWs or FKs rebuilt? good luck....no one does it, they just sell you a new one.

I sell AST as well, since they just released the version for XIs and I can pair it up with Swift Springs, I will be pushing that now as well as H&R street coilovers if someone is really on a tight budget.

The other issue is a bit of a personal one. If you dont have the money now, you have a job right? Whats stopping you from saving a little bit longer? Pulling some extra hours? Getting a second job for a bit? Do you have to have that suspension RIGHT NOW? Do you have a race you need to attend? Most people just sacrifice because they want it right away, without having to wait. In all my years watching my bosses sell wheels, tires, stereos, performance work, etc, no one wants to wait. If you got it in stock great, if not they most likely will go someplace else to find it.

As the saying goes, good things come to people who wait.

[Scourge82]

I sell Koni Yellow/ Koni DAs and Swift Spring coilovers. They have proven to be my suspension of choice.

Unlike E90post, I will give you the laydown of my results with KWs and FKs and not expect it to be deleted and covered up.

KWs:
-Squeaky pistons and valving, tried to blame it on the springs
-Blowing out prematurely
-Shearing the front swaybar tabs off
-locking allen key in the front stripping out

FKs:
-blowing out prematurely
-front endlinks were $#@! design and fell apart after 3 months
-the welds around the bottom of the front strut housings would crack and send the koni insert out the bottom, causing loss of suspension.

Both I was not really a fan of, mostly because they give you a generic spring rate to be used, and expect the damping to make up for ride quality issues. Harold at HP Autowerks turned me onto Swift Spring coilovers and now that I can get infinite spring rates and spring heights, I can set a car up any way I want. You want good handling with a smooth ride while maintaing stock ride height? I can do it. You want it tucking tire and still ride like OEM suspension without blowing out suspension components? I can do it.

Sure its not the cheapest solution but you get what you pay for.

Also, I dont see any logic in buying used coilovers. I found that there is a very high turnover rate for used crap, especially in the tri-state. Whether you buy cheap $#@! or used $#@!, it is still $#@!, and you will be spending the money again to replace it. The only coilovers I would buy used are Koni DAs, because you can send them back to Koni and have them rebuilt as they are a double adjustable strut, meaning bound and rebound both have adjustment. These shocks are also used widely in the Koni Challenge Series and SCCA racing with E46 and E36 M3s.

Yellows you can do this with as well, but it would be cheaper to buy a new strut. You want to get KWs or FKs rebuilt? good luck....no one does it, they just sell you a new one.

I sell AST as well, since they just released the version for XIs and I can pair it up with Swift Springs, I will be pushing that now as well as H&R street coilovers if someone is really on a tight budget.

The other issue is a bit of a personal one. If you dont have the money now, you have a job right? Whats stopping you from saving a little bit longer? Pulling some extra hours? Getting a second job for a bit? Do you have to have that suspension RIGHT NOW? Do you have a race you need to attend? Most people just sacrifice because they want it right away, without having to wait. In all my years watching my bosses sell wheels, tires, stereos, performance work, etc, no one wants to wait. If you got it in stock great, if not they most likely will go someplace else to find it.

As the saying goes, good things come to people who wait.

Thanks for the honest answer Matt.

And I do go with a LSD first.

[scottp999]

If you are spending almost all your time on the street, Quaife LSD, latest BMW performance Suspension, and Michelin Pilot Supersports are a great combination. Between suspension and LSD, i got the LSD first.

[Terminator-N54]

KW2 Coilovers Bridgetone RE-11's wavetrack LSD

geter donee..

[tunachris]

Well did both. Put KW Series 1 on about 16 months back. Then junked the runflats about 8 months ago. Last July did a Quaife LSD. Don't know what if anything else I am going to do suspension wise. About the only major mod I still plan on doing is upgrading the FMIC.

I haven't seen the DTC lights once since adding the Quaife, except one time when I floored it off the line on the first rainy day after putting it on. Had to try don't you know. No more wheel spin coming out of corners, and so much more power off the line, its sick!