The following review is courtesy of 645Nm @
E90post.com.
I have to start by thanking Mike at Modbargains
for making the buying experience an easy one with their advice and guidance on
the product, shipping options, charges and best of all fast and efficient
delivery. The Bilstein package was the largest order I ever placed and I was
obviously worried about possible damage to the product crossing the Atlantic. It
was shipped directly from Bilstein US in perfect condition.
I researched the various suspensions from the
different brands as well as the Bilstein range for the e90 and searched the
bimmerpost reviews. The PSS10/TEIN/H&R/KW/Eibach looked great with mostly good
reviews. But I settled for the B16 ridecontrol because of the convenience of the
in cabin dampening control feature and because it would be another gadget in my
performance arsenal.
So, the package arrived and I was impressed with
the quality of the springs, shocks and all the parts that came with it.
So, after 8 hours over two days the suspension
was installed by the dealer. And what a great job they did especially with the
wiring and the in cabin mounting of the control unit. The wiring is completely
independent from the BMW car wiring and the only link is connecting the Bilstein
wires to the battery terminal for powering up the Bilstein control unit. The
wiring runs from the 4 shocks on the inside of the car (under the carpet on the
sides) to the front of the car near the BMW ECU area where it plugs into its own
Bilstein ECU control unit. The only difficulty we had with the wiring install
was the fact that the wires of the front shocks come out at the bottom of the
shocks which made it more difficult to guide safely upwards to the bonnet area
without twisting and forming crinkles unlike the rear shock wires that come out
at the top and was easily guided through the existing holes in the body of the
car. We discussed the various heights-the kit is fully height adjustable - a
15mm drop was my preference but we settled for 20mm On the 17' and 18 inch
wheels I am sure one can go even lower.
The old suspension was the sport pack version.
With the Bilstein kit installed the car had a lowered stance front and rear but
not excessively low. I could push one finger and a bit between the rear tire and
fender. But the embarrassing stock gap was gone - car appeared streamlined, low
and aggressive. My test drive after the install before the wheel alignment was
done was a nervous and tensed affair (right in the stomach) expecting to be
surprised or experiencing the car to bottom out or to be disappointed with a
very expensive purchase. But the test drive was spoilt by the rubbing of the
rear tires (225/35/19 front and 255/30/19 rear) against the fender walls
whenever we hit a dip even a slight dip. So we put the standard wheels and tires
back on (225/45/17 front and 255/40/17 rear) and yippee off we went!! No rubbing
or thumping.
After two days I had the fenders rolled in to get
rid of the squealing and rubbing and put the 19' wheels back on.
It is hard to believe that the old stock BMW
suspension looks so crappy and ugly yet giving us the "ultimate driving
experience" and is the benchmark in a great handling car - the stock suspension
is comfortable and reassuring, as we all know, owning a BMW. If you drive a BMW
on the track with standard suspension you know how much abuse it can take on the
track without falling out underneath you - it just goes assuring from the one
corner with body roll and all to the next bend. You will never push the car on
its stock suspension to its true limits in real world driving
conditions/situations. The Bilstein kit is better in the comfort stakes to the
stock suspension even if it is just; but it is in the handling that the B16
ridecontrol is far more convincing and improved substantially to the stock
setup. I hope I am not ambiguous about this point.
Back to that switch: the race mode is something
else altogether - it is simply brilliant!
Race mode is an aggressive and immediate
dampening force selection that seriously tightens up the springs and shocks. It
does NOT lower the car but gives the feeling and appearance of being further
lowered. Some of the early reviews I read about the B16 system talks about the
race mode being too soft for track use and others said it feels like the car was
running "on rails" and I think the latter is an apt description for what happens
in race mode. I think (my personal opinion) it eliminates the need for further
under chassis braces and sway bars - the car is thoroughly glued to the road. No
matter how hard you push it in the corners or bends. Look, I am not an expert in
all this technical suspension jargon but the experience on the road is simply
amazing. I had the opportunity to have fun driving through the challenging
Bainskloof mountain pass and remain impressed with the capabilities of the
system. You can switch from race to sport so quickly when the road surface
worsens to get it back in comfort (sport) mode.
The car also "feels" quicker and lighter.If
someone can identify with this please chime in. Or is it just my imagination?
Surely a car that drives, handles and turns better should perform better overall
and thus translates into better sprint times.
