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Originally Posted by FSETH
I agree with never mixing shocks. Whatever you go with, be sure to use the same shocks all around. It just isn't safe to do otherwise.
Just curious why you wouldn't consider Bilsteins vinuneuro? They are designed to last a little longer than average and give a slightly firmer ride. What's wrong with that? I have had them on my 325i for over 100k and they still work great.
My personal opinion would be to go for the Bilsteins.
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I think Bilsteins are great; in fact we've got Bilsteins in the 4runner. The oem shocks are made by Sachs, which aren't bad quality by any measure. The reason I won't change from OEM on a BMW is that the shock valving is never the same when you go to an aftermarket damper regardless of the vehicle. It'd be fine for most vehicles out there.
That's not a bad thing, but why go to different valving when the some of the best chassis/suspension/shock engineers in the world came up with the valving curve for the OEM shocks? Most people don't realize it, but the shocks determine 90% of the handling characteristics of a vehicle once suspension geometry is fixed. There's a LOT that goes into developing the right curve. I can guarantee you Bilstein engineers wouldn't have put in even 10% of the time that BMW engineers put into the oem dampers.
A firm ride doesn't equal better handling. All a firm ride means is more high-speed damping. Ever wonder how BMW's have that perfect balance between ride stiffness and handling? That's all in the shock absorber. There's a question of whether to use digressive or linear valving for the entire curve. If digressive, do you want the low-speed section to be digressive, linear or progressive. Where do you want the knee of the curve. At what rate do you want it to digress. Etc etc etc. Then using the sway-bar size as a tuning tool beyond the shock absorber. There's a lot to account for mathematically with the chassis frequency, spring rate, tire rate, etc. Then you have to do a lot of testing after you've got a decent baseline. There's quite a bit to it, and the aftermarket company- even if it's Bilstein isn't going to invest as much in it as the company that prides itself on vehicle dynamics- the one that designed the vehicle in the first place.
Imo, Bilstein probably makes the best quality shocks handsdown. They're oem shock suppliers to the VW group, also have a ton of motorsport experience in F1 and a ton of Porsche LMP, Grand Am, etc cars use them. BUT they did not develop the oem BMW shocks.