Coilover Recommendation

[rbg]

Surprised no one has mentioned Fortune Auto's. Currently riding on FA 500s with 10k/12k swift springs and it's been my favorite mod on the car. Fully compliant for street driving even at near-full stiff settings, and when you corner hard the shocks really load up and keep the car flat.

Originally was set on PSS10s but these are similar monotube designs (although non inverted), have custom valving to match spring rates, and comes with camber plates. All for a price lower than PSS10s.

Not to mention their customer support. I definitely recommend.

Really interesting, but I don't see them being cheaper there pss10 (2k)...

[liam821]

Surprised no one has mentioned Fortune Auto's. Currently riding on FA 500s with 10k/12k swift springs and it's been my favorite mod on the car. Fully compliant for street driving even at near-full stiff settings, and when you corner hard the shocks really load up and keep the car flat.

Originally was set on PSS10s but these are similar monotube designs (although non inverted), have custom valving to match spring rates, and comes with camber plates. All for a price lower than PSS10s.

Not to mention their customer support. I definitely recommend.

Read the post directly above you, I just bought Fortune Auto Muller MSCs.

[dl.m3]

Surprised no one has mentioned Fortune Auto's. Currently riding on FA 500s with 10k/12k swift springs and it's been my favorite mod on the car. Fully compliant for street driving even at near-full stiff settings, and when you corner hard the shocks really load up and keep the car flat.

Originally was set on PSS10s but these are similar monotube designs (although non inverted), have custom valving to match spring rates, and comes with camber plates. All for a price lower than PSS10s.

Not to mention their customer support. I definitely recommend.

[liam821]

I've had or tried almost everything (owned six E46 M3's)...

PSS10: one of the best all-around compromise for the money. I've owned a few sets and was never disappointed. They will go conservatively lower than stock, great quality/warranty, and good ride comfort. Digressive valving will make them feel a little more racey but not harsh. Good spring rates as they are pseudo flat ride although not quite..

KW V3: currently on 1/2 of my E46's and they are underwhelming... not the worst setup but there is better for the money. Won't even consider V1/V2 - sorry but they are poser setups IMO. Progressive springs give them the illusion they are good on the street but the damper itself just doesn't live up to the hype.

Ohlins R&T: great for what they are, but not a no-brainer for everyone. NOT A COMFORT-FOCUSED SETUP; Just really good at smoothing out small stuff. Nicely built kit. Currently have them on my other E46. They're basically a more serious version of PSS10 (dual duty, hp monotube, sensitiive to height, non-race style springs, single adjustable).

TCK: still is and will probably always be THE go-to setup. The most comfortable aftermarket coilovers without a doubt. Pricey for a Koni-based kit but there are arguably no downsides. I've yet to do better for a street car. SA are great if you're on a budget, DA are even better if you're not.

MCS/JRZ/Moton/Etc: do not be sold into thinking a premium damper will ride 'better' on the street. Very expensive and you will be dumbing them down to ride like one of the aforementioned. They are leagues above in terms of outright performance, but if you do not track the car more than 50% of the time, save your money.

I can also agree on the above. My ZCP car had PSS9s (older version, basically the same) and the ride was great. My thoughts on them are the same as above. My PY car had KWV3s and it felt soft, progressive springs are nice on the street up until it runs out of travel which at that point it turns awful. And that was the biggest problem I had with the V3s, it kept running out of travel because the springs/valving were so soft. I'm sure you could crank up the damping but then I think it will be under-sprung and over-damped. KW also gets a big negative from me for not rebuilding the dampers to custom spring-rates - you need to buy their $3200 clubsports for that - so what you get in the box is it. You also have to get them rebuilt by KW because they will not sell rebuild parts to a 3rd party company.

I sold the V3s and bought FA MSC Mullers. I can't comment on them yet as I haven't driven the car with them on. I was going to buy a set of PSS10s, but after spending some time with them up close at SEMA, the reviews online, customizable, features, and the price won me over. I have high hopes, I'll write a review on them once I get my car back together.

[jbfrancis3]

Great cheat-sheet provided by jvit27

[old///MFanatic]

OP here. The above link is helpful info. It is sounding like the PSS10s might be a decent balance of comfort and capability. Do the camber plates have an effect on ride? I’d expect taking rubber out and replacing with metal would.

Yes camber plates aren't as forgiving. Unless you're really low you will not need the camber plates.
Also I agree with Terra the latest bump in their pricing is a bit high.

[Obioban]

I've had or tried almost everything (owned six E46 M3's)...

PSS10: one of the best all-around compromise for the money. I've owned a few sets and was never disappointed. They will go conservatively lower than stock, great quality/warranty, and good ride comfort. Digressive valving will make them feel a little more racey but not harsh. Good spring rates as they are pseudo flat ride although not quite..

KW V3: currently on 1/2 of my E46's and they are underwhelming... not the worst setup but there is better for the money. Won't even consider V1/V2 - sorry but they are poser setups IMO. Progressive springs give them the illusion they are good on the street but the damper itself just doesn't live up to the hype.

Ohlins R&T: great for what they are, but not a no-brainer for everyone. NOT A COMFORT-FOCUSED SETUP; Just really good at smoothing out small stuff. Nicely built kit. Currently have them on my other E46. They're basically a more serious version of PSS10 (dual duty, hp monotube, sensitiive to height, non-race style springs, single adjustable).

TCK: still is and will probably always be THE go-to setup. The most comfortable aftermarket coilovers without a doubt. Pricey for a Koni-based kit but there are arguably no downsides. I've yet to do better for a street car. SA are great if you're on a budget, DA are even better if you're not.

MCS/JRZ/Moton/Etc: do not be sold into thinking a premium damper will ride 'better' on the street. Very expensive and you will be dumbing them down to ride like one of the aforementioned. They are leagues above in terms of outright performance, but if you do not track the car more than 50% of the time, save your money.

Agreed on all counts!

[jvit27]

I've had or tried almost everything (owned six E46 M3's)...

PSS10: one of the best all-around compromise for the money. I've owned a few sets and was never disappointed. They will go conservatively lower than stock, great quality/warranty, and good ride comfort. Digressive valving will make them feel a little more racey but not harsh. Good spring rates as they are pseudo flat ride although not quite..

KW V3: currently on 1/2 of my E46's and they are underwhelming... not the worst setup but there is better for the money. Won't even consider V1/V2 - sorry but they are poser setups IMO. Progressive springs give them the illusion they are good on the street but the damper itself just doesn't live up to the hype.

Ohlins R&T: great for what they are, but not a no-brainer for everyone. NOT A COMFORT-FOCUSED SETUP; Just really good at smoothing out small stuff. Nicely built kit. Currently have them on my other E46. They're basically a more serious version of PSS10 (dual duty, hp monotube, sensitiive to height, non-race style springs, single adjustable).

TCK: still is and will probably always be THE go-to setup. The most comfortable aftermarket coilovers without a doubt. Pricey for a Koni-based kit but there are arguably no downsides. I've yet to do better for a street car. SA are great if you're on a budget, DA are even better if you're not.

MCS/JRZ/Moton/Etc: do not be sold into thinking a premium damper will ride 'better' on the street. Very expensive and you will be dumbing them down to ride like one of the aforementioned. They are leagues above in terms of outright performance, but if you do not track the car more than 50% of the time, save your money.

[Obioban]

Would you consider a two finger gap all around significantly lowered? That’s usually where I end up

If you want to be lower than the Dinan springs get you, you need a setup with increased bump travel (yes, significantly lowered).

[Cubieman]

I've got BCs with the Swift springs, the setup came installed on the car when I bought it. Still have the stock components thankfully though.
Are BCs really the trash people claim? The car rides quite nice, isn't too harsh and tracks great around corners.
I dont have much of anything to compare it with as I have never been in another E46 M3 w/ coilovers...

[Carl Spackler]

Would you consider a two finger gap all around significantly lowered? That’s usually where I end up

[Obioban]

The PSSs are a good setup for the money... but they don’t do well with being significantly lowered, which it sounded like you were looking for.

[Carl Spackler]

OP here. The above link is helpful info. It is sounding like the PSS10s might be a decent balance of comfort and capability. Do the camber plates have an effect on ride? I’d expect taking rubber out and replacing with metal would.

[old///MFanatic]

I mixed it up, it’s the front that’s linear (340 lbs), rear is “up to” 565.
Price has also gone up considerably. They’re not worth $2k imo.

Agree the pricing at TR is up there.
Still not sure why you think these use "linear rate" springs?
Second post by Bilstein even more important about the lb rating of these "Progressive rate" springs.

https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/forum/product-details-read-only/suspension/7271-vorshlag-e46-bmw-bilstein-pss-vs-pss10-review

[Obioban]

The Eibach Pro-Street is currently on sale at Tirerack for $1373. Haven't really heard too many bad things about them. If anything, some of the track folks changed out the springs and mentioned they were on the soft side. They also come with new endlinks.

They came on my m3 wagon. Crap imo— never settle down on the highway, unexceptional on back roads. I replaced them with konis/dinans and the car was immediately dramatically better.