Suspension & Brakes E46M platform.

[jvit27]

PSS10 are progressive rates of 340/565

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

Best brakes for this car are stock.

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....

Sometimes I agree with you, other times I don't - and this is one of those times you seem way off the mark. You're just 'upgrading' for the sake of upgrading without keeping OP's use-case in mind.

There's no need to convert PSS10 springs to a linear setup for most people, and Ohlins are not a fundamentally better setup for an extra $1000. Yes i've owned both, and for a street car i'd prefer the PSS10 to an MCS. The Ohlins just aren't the best for this car. Sorry but the premium damper hype is grossly overrated for anything but track use, and should not be the defacto recommendation. And flat ride is not nearly as important as valving. It's hilarious to see people saying keep stock brakes (MEH at best) but not suggesting that Eibach/Koni is the perfect suspension solution for this guy.

I'd much rather see the 996 kit be recommended because it will even improve ride quality due to the decrease in unsprung weight. Don't know why $3000-6000 dampers that will be exactly what he doesn't want should even be part of this discussion.. jfc.

[Tbonem3]

Sometimes I agree with you, other times I don't - and this is one of those times you seem way off the mark. You're just 'upgrading' for the sake of upgrading without keeping OP's use-case in mind.

There's no need to convert PSS10 springs to a linear setup for most people, and Ohlins are not a fundamentally better setup for an extra $1000. Yes i've owned both, and for a street car i'd prefer the PSS10 to an MCS. The Ohlins just aren't the best for this car. Sorry but the premium damper hype is grossly overrated for anything but track use, and should not be the defacto recommendation. And flat ride is not nearly as important as valving. It's hilarious to see people saying keep stock brakes (MEH at best) but not suggesting that Eibach/Koni is the perfect suspension solution for this guy.

I'd much rather see the 996 kit be recommended because it will even improve ride quality due to the decrease in unsprung weight. Don't know why $3000-6000 dampers that will be exactly what he doesn't want should even be part of this discussion.. jfc.

1. My rec for OP and newer owners was my first post. The post about PSS10 wasn't for OP specifically. I post with posterity and others in mind. The point was, do stock replacement or get high quality parts and skip the mid tier stuff.

2. One ride in my car or anyone with MCS would immediately change your mind. I got tired of konis and bilsteins. Pss10s would require a minimum of $700 in camber plates and springs for me. Ohlins $500 in plates. I wanted to pick my own rates and re-use some hardware, and a damper that could keep up. MCS were the right choice for me.

I don't care if you agree with me or not. Not sure why you even bothered singling my posts out.

[eXpensiveGears]

They can work on the street but they will likely be noisier and need to be bled more often since they lack dust boots to keep the brake dust out of the brake fluid. The selection of street compound pads might not be as wide as what's available for other calipers as well.

Thank you! I'll adjust my expectations to getting Brembos in the future then.

[zzyzx85]

Thank you! I'll adjust my expectations to getting Brembos in the future then.

You were talking about the AP Racing kits from Essex Parts, right? The folks at Essex were helpful on making sure I got the right stuff when I bought a set for my STI.

[Drewrivera]

What's up guys. So after catching up on the forum and reading these posts again. Did i totally mess up on getting B4 with dinan springs? Is there no travel for spring to strut? Smh. I still have my h and r springs if that still works better than dinan. I think they may be dropped a bit more than the h and r.

[Obioban]

What's up guys. So after catching up on the forum and reading these posts again. Did i totally mess up on getting B4 with dinan springs? Is there no travel for spring to strut? Smh. I still have my h and r springs if that still works better than dinan. I think they may be dropped a bit more than the h and r.

H&R springs drop the car significantly more than Dinans. The dinans and eibachs have the least drop of any springs for the chassis.

[Drewrivera]

Thanks for the tip. I guess I'll have to open things up again and see what's feeling off. I can't remember if i pressed the spring down onto the strut. 🤔. I feel like i didn't need to.

[K-Dawg]

What's up guys. So after catching up on the forum and reading these posts again. Did i totally mess up on getting B4 with dinan springs? Is there no travel for spring to strut? Smh. I still have my h and r springs if that still works better than dinan. I think they may be dropped a bit more than the h and r.

I'd think you're fine. It's the monotube B6 damper that has limited travel.

Are you experiencing some trouble?

[tnord]

I've searched and read a bunch on this subject, but I'm still left with a specific question or two.

Yes, I know the Ohlins have very limited front bump travel. What I don't see is what scenario you run out of travel. For a dual purpose setup, I believe you need the most travel when using curbs on track, which shouldn't be an issue for me. If I take it to the track, I can avoid curbs.

"but if you're not taking it to the track why not just get TCK, or why even spend the money and just stay stock?"

well, I kind of agree with that, but when I looked at even the SAs they cost the same as the Ohlins, and I can't help but think they're more capable and better built. Also, I bought the car in 2010 and it came with Konis and H&Rs. I'd like to try something other than the H&Rs, the koni bodies are severely corroded and need replacing, and the "lifetime" rear top mounts I got from bimmerworld seem to make a lot of noise when it gets cold. So there's a bunch of stuff that needs to be replaced anyway.

I have 245 front PSS right now, and will replace with same size PS4S in the spring, so the packaging of the ohlins isn't as much of an issue. If my guess is right, that my use case really won't run into bump travel problems, and they cost the same, is the TCK SA really still the better option (understanding the different people have different definitions of "better")?

[lvm3sm46]

You have to remember that with the Ohlins purchase you need to also get camber plates. So that brings the price closer to $3k. I'm in a similar situation as I need to replace the factory stuff soon so might as well upgrade. I ran Ohlins on my Audi and loved them for a street car but the M3 I am thinking of moving over the the Fortune Auto stuff.Their prices are much more reasonable compared to Ohlins and KW. They come with with camber plates too.
They have a lot of options and can upgrade as you move down the road. A lot of the M3 guys around me are now running them. One of them even moved from KW Clubsports to the Fortune set up.

Sorry for going way off topic but maybe it will help.

[Obioban]

You have to remember that with the Ohlins purchase you need to also get camber plates. So that brings the price closer to $3k. I'm in a similar situation as I need to replace the factory stuff soon so might as well upgrade. I ran Ohlins on my Audi and loved them for a street car but the M3 I am thinking of moving over the the Fortune Auto stuff.Their prices are much more reasonable compared to Ohlins and KW. They come with with camber plates too.
They have a lot of options and can upgrade as you move down the road. A lot of the M3 guys around me are now running them. One of them even moved from KW Clubsports to the Fortune set up.

Sorry for going way off topic but maybe it will help.

If he’s not tracking, no benefit to camber plates.

[Obioban]

I've searched and read a bunch on this subject, but I'm still left with a specific question or two.

Yes, I know the Ohlins have very limited front bump travel. What I don't see is what scenario you run out of travel. For a dual purpose setup, I believe you need the most travel when using curbs on track, which shouldn't be an issue for me. If I take it to the track, I can avoid curbs.

"but if you're not taking it to the track why not just get TCK, or why even spend the money and just stay stock?"

well, I kind of agree with that, but when I looked at even the SAs they cost the same as the Ohlins, and I can't help but think they're more capable and better built. Also, I bought the car in 2010 and it came with Konis and H&Rs. I'd like to try something other than the H&Rs, the koni bodies are severely corroded and need replacing, and the "lifetime" rear top mounts I got from bimmerworld seem to make a lot of noise when it gets cold. So there's a bunch of stuff that needs to be replaced anyway.

I have 245 front PSS right now, and will replace with same size PS4S in the spring, so the packaging of the ohlins isn't as much of an issue. If my guess is right, that my use case really won't run into bump travel problems, and they cost the same, is the TCK SA really still the better option (understanding the different people have different definitions of "better")?

The travel is sufficient, so long as you tailor your ride height to it. People who try to go higher or lower than is optimal really ruin them fast…

… which was initially exacerbated by them being designed for euro spindles, so they didn’t work at any sort of reasonable ride height with US spec spindles (3DM now makes/sells spacers to address that issue).

[02_lsb]

car use: mostly weekend, good weather only.

Suspension: I had stock->ST (not a fan) and now TCK DA, they’re fantastic.

Brakes: I have 996 brembos. Given my driving style, they’re just bling.

[tnord]

The travel is sufficient, so long as you tailor your ride height to it. People who try to go higher or lower than is optimal really ruin them fast…

… which was initially exacerbated by them being designed for euro spindles, so they didn’t work at any sort of reasonable ride height with US spec spindles (3DM now makes/sells spacers to address that issue).

I may swap the spindles also, I haven't looked into it much yet. From what I remember of the initial discussion on the old board about them, they increase castor but otherwise have no drawbacks? I think it needs a new wheel bearing also, do they need to be pressed in?

[m3_sancho]

Hi guys,

I don't want to open a new thread and hope continuing this thread is ok.
I am thinking about replacing my brake system aka BBK. However after reading and researching I've read a lot that the stock brakes are not bad compared to a lot BBK "upgrades".
My initial plan was fitting BMW F30 Brembo 4-pot calipers with CSL rotors in the front and 996 calipers in the rear. Even though the brake bias will only slightly shift to the rear by 1.36 % (F 65.51 % R 34.49 %) I am worried about loosing stopping power. Total piston area in the front will decrease about 11 % which also leads to a decrease in torque of about 11 %. For the rear I will loose about 5 % in total piston area which therefore leads to a loss of 5 % of torque. Total decrease in piston area/torque is about 16 %.
I am not an expert nor have I any experience with that, I was just playing around with the calculator and trying to understand what the outcome numbers will mean in the end. Can someone explain if these 16 % loss in total piston area/torque will bring me 16 % less stopping power?