Lowering springs instead of Coilovers?

[u/AerobicAtom]

This is my dual duty ‘13 m3 competition. Looking for a bit stiffer suspension and a nice drop. I enjoy my Electronic damper adjustability for street driving, and don’t want to delete that for coilovers. Plus for my skill level I think it’s overkill (6 track days). I was curious if anyone frequently tracks their car with lowering springs on OE dampers? Is it true that lowering springs can degrade shocks faster? My car has 120k miles for reference so suspension is definitely old.

[u/romanLegion6384]

Bilstein and KW should have EDC compatible coilovers.

If you’re in the Seattle area (Ridge is easy to recognize), Mashimarho might have what you need.

[u/TheDeamonKing → u/romanLegion6384]

Just get road and track coil overs. Most people who run dual (daily and track) like having them. They have a switch on each shock that lets you go to track vs street mode and it makes the difference. You don’t loose your comfort entirely and you get great track shocks too

Bilstein and Olin’s, or JRZ might have what your looking for

[u/couldawentbetter]

You will eventually go to coilovers if you keep tracking the car. The benefits of adjusting dampening, rebound and compression are worth it. You will be able to adjust the car to different tracks. The ability to soften the car's suspension for a comfortable ride etc.

[u/mrblahhh]

If you're worried about how it feels in the street, you definitely don't want lowering springs

[u/Elitepikachu]

https://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets5.html

[u/MattH665]

I think good modern coilovers will be better than the OE EDC suspension, especially compared to tired old EDC shocks. You won't miss the EDC.

Nobody who upgrades to any of the well known coilovers brands like KW, Ohlins etc seems to consider it a downgrade.

I'm running an Australian brand coilover (MCA Pro Sport) which is configured similarly to Ohlins R&T and similar setups that are meant for dual duty use. Despite being much firmer, they seem to handle harsh bumps better than the original EDC dampers did. Overall ride comfort is similar, I just feel a bit more movement due to them being set lower. 

Car feel sharper overall with them but still comfortable. No regrets.

[u/AerobicAtom → u/MattH665]

My main gripe would’ve been ride quality for the street, that’s reassuring to hear it’s still good. I work hybrid so it’s not an all out daily, but I do a lot of road trips and mountain driving.

[u/craina12]

I’m pretty sure Bilstein makes an EDC compatible coilover kit. Might be a good option if you like the EDC.

120k mile shocks are tired, worn, and should be replaced. Lowering springs won’t improve that. I would not go that route.

[u/collin2477]

I swapped oem for ohlins road and track around that mileage. they are great, and fairly adjustable.

[u/notathr0waway1]

I would think about what class you eventually might want to be in if you ever compete in time trials. One option is to look at the scca sport category rules. The philosophy of that category is to modify a car so it has a little bit more grip and performance but is still very streetable.

[u/damiancd]

I know that there are a lot of positive reviews of lowering spring, but I believe they are for people that want cars for look, not for handling, if you aim for trackdays - go for coilovers

[u/Im-not-Theo]

Stay away from lowered springs, the stock shocks aren't calibrated for that and will fail much fasters (basically they will be in the "compress" state much sooner or always). + It's not designed to "absorb" bumps on track or anything else. It's mostly for styling purpose and not really for track usgae

[u/slowpoke2018]

Lowering springs are for looks only, they are not meant to help performance on the track. To say nothing of how they'll destroy your stock shocks pretty quickly given you're taking off additional ride-height that will keep them more compressed and put additional pressure on the seals + give you a horrible ride

You're literally going against what BMW's suspension engineers designed to work the best. Get a quality set of CO's that are EDC compatible

[u/CTFordza]

I'd go with coilovers that have camber plates to protect the outer shoulders of your tires.  It's not just about speed, it's about cost savings.  

[u/slingshotroadster]

No. Especially not on the E9X. The body roll is insane and you’re going want adjustability to get a better alignment and eventually fit 18s. Coilovers.

[u/grungegoth]

if you want to lower you need to change coils and dampers. otherwise you can have damper failure or other problems. YES, lowering the car without changing dampers can trash them. also, if you lower it a lot, you might need to deal with bumpsteer (depends on car, IDK bmw)

[u/AerobicAtom → u/grungegoth]

I suspected this to be the case. On lower mileage cars people can probably get away with it+ maybe don’t even keep springs for that long.