Suspension & Brakes E46M platform.

[K-Dawg]

Most people run them too low, and you have a 1/10 chance of getting the best shock setting. And even if you do get the best one, is it that good?

[JeremyJames]

Leave it stock. Pretty much most of what you wrote says you want things for their appearance - not that you are addressing any shortcoming. If you want bling calipers - then buy bling calipers for the bling.

If some day you go to the track - then wait until your hardware begins to limit you before changing anything.

Well, kind of. I just rolled120k this week. I’m refreshing everything on the car. Suspension is next up. Am I happy with the way the car currently handles? Yes.

However, if investing in the time and parts replacement of the suspension components, would I benefit from “upgrading” my suspension? My thoughts on this are, I have no intentions on buying an aftermarket suspension and downgrading the overall feel and performance of the car. If I could also benefit by tucking the wheels a little tighter to lose some wheel gap, that would be a bonus as long as it doesn’t sacrifice the performance. None of that is necessarily bling factor.

As for the brakes, yes I mentioned how beautiful those R8 brakes are, but my intentions are to upgrade the stopping power without sacrificing performance. I have never ran out of brakes on my M, but if the time ever came to where more stopping was needed it would be nice to be prepared. So my intentions here are not bling, but questioning a bbk upgrade without sacrificing something else in return.

[JeremyJames]

bbk with street pads is definitely an upgrade with no drawbacks except for the price.

you get the dopamine rush of a bling purchase, lose some unsprung weight, and no discernible loss of ride quality or day to day driveability

Which BBK are you referring too?

[JeremyJames]

Either spend $1k on bilstein b6s & dinan/eibachs or spend $3k+ on MCS/ohlins/FCM.

Best brakes for this car are stock.

Appreciate this. Thank you!

[Obioban]

Great advice all around. Thank you. I currently run Michelin Pilot Super Sports, I absolutely love these tires. Do the PS4s offer something over the PSS?

Can you just slap rear 67s up front and call it a day? No other mods are needed to support the square set up properly?

square setup compromises street civility.

PS4Ss ride better, are quieter than, and last longer than PSSs.

Going lower means you must go stiffer, to not bottom out (all else equal). That is further exacerbated if you use a shock that decreases travel, e.g. bilsteins.

Good (not all) BBKs are an only better upgrade over stock. Lighter, better pedal feel, more heat capacity, faster pad swaps, longer last rotors. But, good ones cost money (and IMO stoptechs are not good ones).

[Cubieman]

Going lower means you must go stiffer, to not bottom out (all else equal). That is further exacerbated if you use a shock that decreases travel, e.g. bilsteins..

I can attest to this as the PO of mine had BC Coilovers installed which seem to lower the car maybe even moreso than KW's/Bilstein's.

With proper rebound settings it's not terrible but I would sure like to compare with a nicer set of coils and have the car professionally set up if/when getting them.

[usdmej]

Which BBK are you referring too?

any street oriented bbk from stoptech or brembo is a quality product that won't give you any headaches, i don't have experience with other brands like AP racing or PFC. i personally run the Stoptech st40 kit on all 4 corners. avoid running what is now branded as their sport brake pad since it's known to leave rotor deposits if you aren't consistently hard on the brakes

[rbg]

PSS10s are great, but with drawbacks. I'd do it if you get linear springs (60mm) and thinner mounts (plates like vorshlag, gc, tms). But then you're at Ohlins pricing so....

Aren’t ohlins progressive as well?

[Tbonem3]

Aren’t ohlins progressive as well?

I think that's an assumption based on the bee-hive or barrel shape of the springs. We've always assumed the stock style shape meant progressive, but actually, stock front springs aren't progressive (they're 143lb/in) their shape notwithstanding, though rears are progressive.

I want so say Ohlins are 400lb F and 630lb R.

That said, I've never confirmed what PSS10 spring rates are. Perhaps they mimic stock and are linear in front (again, despite the shape), and then progressive in the rear? I *think* every coilover kit's rear spring besides race coils (2.25"/60mm/2.5") ARE progressive. Ohlins might be the only one that isn't. Oh and TCK, despite the shape with the pigtail, are linear as well.

[eXpensiveGears]

square setup compromises street civility.

PS4Ss ride better, are quieter than, and last longer than PSSs.

Going lower means you must go stiffer, to not bottom out (all else equal). That is further exacerbated if you use a shock that decreases travel, e.g. bilsteins.

Good (not all) BBKs are an only better upgrade over stock. Lighter, better pedal feel, more heat capacity, faster pad swaps, longer last rotors. But, good ones cost money (and IMO stoptechs are not good ones).

Out of Brembo's line-up, AP and PFC, what is your pick? Those are 3 I'm looking at.

[Obioban]

Out of Brembo's line-up, AP and PFC, what is your pick? Those are 3 I'm looking at.

For a primarily/entirely street car, Brembo. They have the best street pad options.

For street and track, also brembo for the above reason.

For track only, probably AP Racing. PFC made(/makes) some nice stuff, but the new owner doesn't seem to care about track parts... so who knows how much longer that'll last. Makes me sad, as PF-01s have long been my favorite track pad.

[JeremyJames]

For a primarily/entirely street car, Brembo. They have the best street pad options.

For street and track, also brembo for the above reason.

For track only, probably AP Racing. PFC made(/makes) some nice stuff, but the new owner doesn't seem to care about track parts... so who knows how much longer that'll last. Makes me sad, as PF-01s have long been my favorite track pad.

Brembo GTs?

[Obioban]

Brembo GTs?

Yes.

[TexaZ3]

Either spend $1k on bilstein b6s & dinan/eibachs or spend $3k+ on MCS/ohlins/FCM.

Best brakes for this car are stock.

Bilstein B8s, not B6s. Eibachs and Dinan springs are lowering springs, B6 are designed to be used with stock height springs. B8s are for lowering springs (shorter stock and internal bump stop).
Bilstein B12 Pro kit (which is essentially B8s + Eibach springs) is absolutely the best budget suspension that is way better than stock.

[Obioban]

Bilstein B8s, not B6s. Eibachs and Dinan springs are lowering springs, B6 are designed to be used with stock height springs. B8s are for lowering springs (shorter stock and internal bump stop).
Bilstein B12 Pro kit (which is essentially B8s + Eibach springs) is absolutely the best budget suspension that is way better than stock.

Last I saw, the only difference between the B6s and B8s is that the B8s have less droop travel-- bump travel (shock length and bump stop height) is unchanged.

I'd use Bilstein at ~stock ride height or Konis if you want to lower it, unless taking other corrective actions to restore bump travel.