Suspension Question - KW vs. Bilstein w/ Eibach Sprigns

[Bayerische E53]

Hi everyone,

I have tried quite a bit of searching and cannot seem to find a quality comparison between a KW coilover setup vs. a Bilstein HD setup with Eibach Sport springs.

What I have found is that people using OEM springs with Bilstein HD shocks hate the setup. However, I can't really find any comment as to whether the Bilstein HD shocks work well with the Eibach Sport springs. I also can't find any discussion regarding what setup is better - the Eibach Sport/Bilstein HD or KW V3.

One thing that sort of makes me skeptical of the KW shocks is that they are twin-tube, rather than mono-tube construction (the "racer" in me doesn't like that - I even tried offering AST a boatload of money to make me a custom setup because I have their stuff on my race car and I like it (mono-tube really is the way to go); but they refused to work with me. I'm not trying to be high and mighty but I know it may come off that way. Blah blah blah).

I need to buy something pretty soon here so I'd appreciate any feedback.

Thanks, all!

[epdarks]

I have the Billy HD and eibach sports. My rear retains the factory airbags. I also have the eibach sways front and rear, Dinan camber plates.

It's stiff. Stiffer than my old M3 was for sure (koni yellow).

Depending on how you like to drive your X, you may love them. I am doing a lot of city driving with crappy roads, I personally feel they are too stiff but I need to research a way to decrease the stiffness in the rear airbags.

ASTs on the X. Now that I gotta see.

I have not ridden in an X with the KWs so no comment there, but I trust it would be a huge improvement over stock.

[Bayerische E53]

Originally Posted by epdarks

I have the Billy HD and eibach sports. My rear retains the factory airbags. I also have the eibach sways front and rear, Dinan camber plates.

It's stiff. Stiffer than my old M3 was for sure (koni yellow).

Depending on how you like to drive your X, you may love them. I am doing a lot of city driving with crappy roads, I personally feel they are too stiff but I need to research a way to decrease the stiffness in the rear airbags.

ASTs on the X. Now that I gotta see.

I have not ridden in an X with the KWs so no comment there, but I trust it would be a huge improvement over stock.

Right, ASTs would have been so cool - but, as I said, they bailed on me.

Anyways, I should have added what the remaining portions of my suspension plan were going to be. Here they are:

Eibach Sway Bars, Rear Links, etc.
Dinan Camber Plates (already have them).
Meyle HD bushings throughout.
K-Mac Rear Camber/Toe Stuff (I'm actually going to take the kit to a local machinist and have them make me a complete replica out of the toughest stainless you can get your hands on because I hear the K-Mac stuff is made of weak steel).

Few questions for you:

Most importantly, what is your total front camber and caster with the Dinan plates and the Eibach ride height?

I don't mind a really firm ride. That said, would you say your Bilsteins are experiencing that bouncyness that everyone talks about (i.e. do you feel they are valved too aggressively to handle the Eibach spring-rate and height)?

Any word on how the rear feels? Most of the people who don't like the Bilsteins complain of the rear bouncing too much (but they don't have the airbag stuff - mostly on OEM rear springs).

Couple of comments:

Maybe I'll stick with the Eibach and Bilstein combo because if I go with a KW setup (the drop is lower) then I'd be preloading the rear sway bar (and, to my knowledge, no one makes adjustable rear end links for the X5). The Eibach sway kit comes with end links designed to work perfectly with the Eibach Sport Spring drop; very convenient. Eibach doesn't offer front end links so I'm going to have to buy adjustable front end links for the car (I'll grab a custom length set from Turner or BW).

Thoughts?

Any other input on the KW vs. Bilstein/Eibach debate?

Oh, and one more thing, how much positive camber can I realistically get out of the K-Mac stuff? Although I'm either going with the mild Eibach drop (just over an inch) or fully extended KW drop (1.5"), does the K-Mac stuff have enough adjustability to get no more than -2.5 degrees of camber and no more than -1/8 of toe? (maybe I should make a separate thread for this question...)

[epdarks]

Bouncyness... None. Truck is very planted, especially at higher speeds on a smooth road.

I will say the drop is perfect, from a ride height standpoint.

I don't have my camber specs, the previous owner told me he aligned it as close to stock as he could. He said without the Dinan plates up front you will have alignment issues. I do not have any camber/toe adjustments in the rear. My tires are wearing a bit more on the inside edge because of it.

I should also mention the turn-in is incredible, overall handling is exceptional, only complaint is just slightly too stiff for my application.

I have no experience with the K-Mac parts, please post your findings.

[Bayerische E53]

Originally Posted by epdarks

Bouncyness... None. Truck is very planted, especially at higher speeds on a smooth road.

I will say the drop is perfect, from a ride height standpoint.

I don't have my camber specs, the previous owner told me he aligned it as close to stock as he could. He said without the Dinan plates up front you will have alignment issues. I do not have any camber/toe adjustments in the rear. My tires are wearing a bit more on the inside edge because of it.

I should also mention the turn-in is incredible, overall handling is exceptional, only complaint is just slightly too stiff for my application.

I have no experience with the K-Mac parts, please post your findings.

Sounds like the previous owner of that car was full of it. You won't have alignment issues without the Dinan plates - you'll have a better alignment than stock (i.e. more negative camber - in stock form, the outside edge of the front tires wears like a bastard) which is good. Now, with the Dinan plates, you'll have even MORE negative camber (with a stock spring, the Dinan plates give you an additional 0.7 degrees of negative camber - with a drop, I'm betting you're getting a total of at least 1.0 degrees). Which is excellent considering the X5 has effectively zero camber in stock form. Basically, I'm saying that "getting it as close to stock as possible" doesn't tell you a damn thing. Furthermore, because you're getting at least another 1.0 degrees of negative camber, he couldn't have gotten it anywhere near stock spec.

I digress.

As for the rear, I'm not surprised you're getting more inner tire wear - I'm really going to have to address that with the K-Mac stuff.

Anyways, I hope I don't want to have to be the guinea pig here (and spend a shit ton of money for that purpose to boot).

Anyone have any experience with either the Bilstein/Eibach combo or KW setup or both?

[epdarks]

He may have been referring to the toe or caster being off without the camber plates, yes camber is more than factory. The strut is offset with the Dinan CPs, so that will change more than just camber.

He was a BMW tech of 10 years so I think he had an idea what he was doing. I can put you in touch with him if you are dying to know more.

BTW, what year/model is your X?

[Bayerische E53]

The X is a 2005 3.0i with a 6-speed manual

[Bayerische E53]

Bump.

Any input?

[bigwave2255]

i have a 2005 diesel sport and changed to lowered eibach springs front and rear

but with the standard shocks, and in my situation the ride is vastly better , hitting pot holes now it feels like the car wil ride over them, not through them.

the turn in to corners seems better, and all over a slightly more compliant/better ride quality

only negative is that the 1.25" lower is hard to pick unless beside a standard ride height car,

all said i,m vert satisfied with the results ride and handling

[Bayerische E53]

So you're saying that the 1.25" drop is not really noticeable? Personally, I don't care for "showing off" (i.e. I don't care that other people notice it). What I care about is that I notice it and enjoy the way it looks. If I can't notice it, then I might just have to go with the KW setup so I can get a little lower than 1.25".

Anyone else?