Which Suspensions / Springs?

Not done it myself, but from my searching of this forum the most popular combination appears to be Bilstein Sport shocks with Eibach Pro-kit springs, which will lower the car by 25mm at the front and between 15-20mm at the rear. Can't offer any advice with your other questions though I'm afraid.

The Bilstein shocks are on my to-do list for this winter, and so i a new set of springs.
H&R springs in combination with Bilstein shocks has been the track drivers no. 1 choise here in Norway for many years.
That combination has worked very well on the e30,e36 and e46 3-series, and also on e28,e34 and e39 5-series.

My current plan is to use the H&R Bilsten (sport) combination on my 850 to lower it 25mm front and 15mm rear.

The best rear springs for your car "In My opinion and several others" are standard equipment CSi Springs! I've tried several and the CSi rears are the Siffest which helps the steering big time! The H&R's are very nice but too soft in the rear, As a matter of fact there softer than stock 850i springs, The H&R fronts are awesome! I've tried H&R, PI, AC Schnitzer, Eibach, G-Power and Intraxx! Eibach is a awesome set up for the 8 also with Bilsteins, H&R's up front and CSi's in the rear are a well balanced and exceptional experience.

Marv,

///M Turbo is absolutely correct here with the advice on both dampers and springs.
I have always recommended the AC Schnitzer springs but these are no longer available. In my opinion, the H+R springs are too soft on the rear of the car.
Whatever you decide to do, I feel it essential that if you install uprated dampers, that you fit rear strut top mount reinforcing plates before your struts punch through the boot skin and say hello to the rear parcel shelf!
As tou have a CSi already, you have the best springs, but if you must buy some to get the front lower then the Eibach would be my choice.
To improve the handling though, I would fit the Bilsteins with rear plates and a set of front camber adjustment kits, and whilst its all apart, inspect the stock springs and if ok, refurb them by powder coating them to freshen them up. If you still want to lower it then get the Eibach kit.
You mentioned in your post that you wanted the rear of the car HIGHER? I hope you meant higher than the front, not higher than it is now!

Do not raise the rear of the car unless you have joined the caravan club and are going camping on wet muddy fields at the weekend with 2.7 kids and a torn Badmington net, pooing in a bucket and wearing shorts in -5 degC.

8Tech.

Thanks for the input on the H&R springs.
Sadly I will not pass the local MOT with different springs in frot/rear in Norway, so I have to have the same spring manufacturer both places.

Maybe I'll go for the Eibach springs and bilstein shocks, since the H&R are soft iun the rear.

Hi mate, as you know I have the Bilsteins too, but only with 'stock' Sport springs. bear in mind that the Bilsteins are very stiff and you will feel EVERY bump on the road around town.....

However, on the motorway they make travelling at speed much more stable with significanty less wallowing.

I do want the Eibach lowering spring kit for, if nothing else, aesthetic reasons..... but I've just recently bought a whole new front end and don't relish the thought of smashing the CSi spoiler on a speed bump or carpark ramp

electronic ride height adjustment would be cool for avoiding this, but as far as I know there are no aftermarket kits available for doing this, for 8s or otherwise

My Bilsteins don't feel to stiff? I cut a complete coil off of the front H&R's to lower the car even more and it rides better than my porche! Maybe it's your "Sport springs". I try but i cannot find anything wrong with Bilsteins for beamers. Did you install CSi Bump stops?

Re: Which Suspensions / Springs?

Zitat von Sama

I'd like to get some new suspension and springs for my darling (CSi).

If you've got the csi, then you already have the equivalent of eibach springs and bilsteins.

Change your dampers if you think the originals are worn, but otherwise leave it alone.

Zitat von ///M Turbo

My Bilsteins don't feel to stiff? I cut a complete coil off of the front H&R's to lower the car even more and it rides better than my porche! Maybe it's your "Sport springs". I try but i cannot find anything wrong with Bilsteins for beamers. Did you install CSi Bump stops?

Hi ///M, it's not that I dont like them, it's just that some people dont like hard suspension. The car handles a lot better with them, and you 'feel' the road better than before. Maybe I just notice it more since I changed the 17" wheels to 19s at the same time as replacing the worn out stock shocks too, doubling up any difference in 'bump feel'

When off the car, the old shocks could be compressed with hardly any effort by hand, whilst it was impossible to compress the Bilsteins by hand... and I dont consider myself a weakling !!

Next up, camber plates and CSi sway bars (F&R)..... another 'double mod'

What about cars with ESC ???? I have looked at Bilsteins and they all say W/O ESC.... I also can't seem to find CSI springs anywhere...

Thank-You In Advance

DMP

Zitat von DMPrentice

What about cars with ESC ???? I have looked at Bilsteins and they all say W/O ESC.... I also can't seem to find CSI springs anywhere...

Thank-You In Advance

DMP

Sure you dont mean EDC - Electronic Damper Control.

this is for cars that have a button in the center console that has a Comfort and Sport setting on the dampers.
These dampers are electronically controlled.
A replacement can be made but then the system wont work.

Maybe ESC is a German abbriviaton?

Just to clarify

I put Bilstien sport shock absorbers into my EDC car (91 850) no real problems but there is one thing you need to know.

When you remove the wire to the front towers you will need to destroy the area to reveal a 22 mill nut which you need to get off in order to extract the dud shock absorber.

I tried pulling it out and basically ended up with 100 EDC shock parts and oil all over myself. Then I found the nut.

N

Zitat von TallTony

Hi ///M, it's not that I dont like them, it's just that some people dont like hard suspension. The car handles a lot better with them, and you 'feel' the road better than before. Maybe I just notice it more since I changed the 17" wheels to 19s at the same time as replacing the worn out stock shocks too, doubling up any difference in 'bump feel'

When off the car, the old shocks could be compressed with hardly any effort by hand, whilst it was impossible to compress the Bilsteins by hand... and I dont consider myself a weakling !!

Next up, camber plates and CSi sway bars (F&R)..... another 'double mod'

Hi TT! we all have different taste so it's hard to choose for someone else, The set up i mentioned works good for me, When you do your other upgrades mentioned, Dont forget to ad some rear shock Tower plates for the rear, They will save you a small fortune if it breaks without them!

Sorry Guys...

I guess it was a typo, the d is right next to the s, but is this something that I will miss ?? (the edc?) I have never switched it off of sport... What aboout the self leveling??? I want everything that is this simple to replace, almost everything on the front end is brand new , I have new strut mounts to be installed, I am trying to buy the camber plates from Phoenix Motorsports UK but can't get a reply back, as I said almost everything is new and I still get a shimmy at 45 mph until I drive the car for about 2-4 miles.... Any input is appreciated....

Thank-You In Advance

DMP

Make sure you have Hubcentric rings in your front wheels if there not original! Also be sure that they are correctly speed balanced.

It's good to have people on here remind you to do things ! I ordered the Shock Tower reinforcer plates from $tealers yesterday. I didnt realise that Phoenix also made them, so the BMW ones will have to do. I believe they were added to the parts list as an 'afterthought' by BMW once the problem with the towers was identified. The parts I ordered are shown as #11 on this diagram....

I assume they are similar in performance to the Phoenix ones, though I have to admit they don't appear (on the Real OEM picture) to be a beefy as the ones you pictured.

Still toying with the idea of Eibach springs. Found a site selling the Pro Set for £220 which seems good value. I'll probably buckle and buy them next week, but it's expensive time at the mo having just bought CSI sway bars, Camber plates, and a new sunroof........ and I need 4 new tyres...... and none of the above have actually been fitted yet

In my ETK the item #11 is listed as a gasket.
I believe it supposed to go between the bering assy and the tower, not on top as a reinforcement.

I had some made in 4mm stainless steel, and they do the job just nicely.

Found a kit for the e31 with eibach springs and bilstein shocks on Ebay.com for just over 1000 $US yesteday.