[khcoaching]

Question for everyone here on my 228i, which sees a fair amount of track use. Currently, the car is basically stock suspension wise. It did come with the ZTR brakes and suspension package from the factory and works well upgraded brake pads, fluid and GC camber plates with an aggressive track alignment, but that's it. Oh, and, a square setup of 245/35/18s on P4s tires. (Edit - the stock suspension has 68k miles)

The car gets used in my on track coaching business and quite honestly, works amazingly well. The suspension is soft (really soft) offering a lot of feedback, and safety, it's just not very fast lap time wise. The car is going to get relocated to the East Coast, where I'll be playing with it more myself and a few of my more capable students will be using it, hence me wanting to do look at a slight upgrade. (I already have a 2021 SS 1LE as my personal track car and I understand it will never be that, nor do I want it as that)

So.....budget friendly upgrade ideas? I wasn't thinking coilovers ($$) or anything too aggressive as it will see quite a few 3-4hr commutes to East Coast tracks from my base. Note - I could be talked into a coilover system that is semi inexpensive, but isn't a POS. I also want to spend the money, once.

I saw 230iZTR comments on the Spec R springs and my thought was to get a set of those and that's it, or maybe some OE replacement EDC Bilsteins with those?

Thanks in advance!

Ken

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by khcoaching

Question for everyone here on my 228i, which sees a fair amount of track use. Currently, the car is basically stock suspension wise. It did come with the ZTR brakes and suspension package from the factory and works well upgraded brake pads, fluid and GC camber plates with an aggressive track alignment, but that's it. Oh, and, a square setup of 245/35/18s on P4s tires. (Edit - the stock suspension has 68k miles)

The car gets used in my on track coaching business and quite honestly, works amazingly well. The suspension is soft (really soft) offering a lot of feedback, and safety, it's just not very fast lap time wise. The car is going to get relocated to the East Coast, where I'll be playing with it more myself and a few of my more capable students will be using it, hence me wanting to do look at a slight upgrade. (I already have a 2021 SS 1LE as my personal track car and I understand it will never be that, nor do I want it as that)

So.....budget friendly upgrade ideas? I wasn't thinking coilovers ($$) or anything too aggressive as it will see quite a few 3-4hr commutes to East Coast tracks from my base. Note - I could be talked into a coilover system that is semi inexpensive, but isn't a POS. I also want to spend the money, once.

I saw 230iZTR comments on the Spec R springs and my thought was to get a set of those and that's it, or maybe some OE replacement EDC Bilsteins with those?

Thanks in advance!

Ken

I'm afraid I can't help, as I always go pretty much all-in and don't have experience with the route you're taking. It would be great if you could locate a set of lightly-used coilovers that will fit your car.

Owning a 228 and an SS 1LE sounds like a terrific combination. Is the 1LE a Gen 6 model? I gave serious consideration to buying one for street/track use before I settled on what I was most familiar with: a 6-cylinder BMW.

What part of the East are you headed for? As you no doubt know, there are some outstanding tracks back there, ranging from pure handling tracks to high average speed tracks.

[khcoaching]

Originally Posted by dradernh

I'm afraid I can't help, as I always go pretty much all-in and don't have experience with the route you're taking. It would be great if you could locate a set of lightly-used coilovers that will fit your car.

Owning a 228 and an SS 1LE sounds like a terrific combination. Is the 1LE a Gen 6 model? I gave serious consideration to buying one for street/track use before I settled on what I was most familiar with: a 6-cylinder BMW.

What part of the East are you headed for? As you no doubt know, there are some outstanding tracks back there, ranging from pure handling tracks to high average speed tracks.

The 228i is not -my- primary focus track car, that is why it is not an all out track build. The Camaro is my personal track car (it stays in WA state) and is a Gen6 (2021) SS 1LE and it has gobsmacking performance for near stock. I track a lot of BMWs (M3c/M2c) and quite honestly, it blows them away, even with them being lightly modified.

I'm in the DC area and spend quite a lot of time at Nelson Ledges and PITT, plus some NJMP. I want to hit Summit Point, plus a few others when I can.

Ken

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by khcoaching

The 228i is not -my- primary focus track car, that is why it is not an all out track build. The Camaro is my personal track car (it stays in WA state) and is a Gen6 (2021) SS 1LE and it has gobsmacking performance for near stock. I track a lot of BMWs (M3c/M2c) and quite honestly, it blows them away, even with them being lightly modified.

I'm in the DC area and spend quite a lot of time at Nelson Ledges and PITT, plus some NJMP. I want to hit Summit Point, plus a few others when I can.

Ken

I'm not surprised the 1LE outruns the M-cars. Car and Driver's reviews of the car, their detailing of the car's track-focused features, and their Lightning Lap results are the reason I had it on my list. Having run mostly a very highly-developed 3.2-liter E36 on 255/40-17 tires, the 1LE's massive torque, foot-wide tires, electronic diff, etc. looked very attractive.

Do you have camber plates on the 1LE?

I really enjoyed Summit Point Main; it was my favorite handling track. If you get over there and happen to shoot some video, I'm sure I wouldn't be the only member who would enjoy viewing it.

[khcoaching]

Originally Posted by dradernh

I'm not surprised the 1LE outruns the M-cars. Car and Driver's reviews of the car, their detailing of the car's track-focused features, and their Lightning Lap results are the reason I had it on my list. Having run mostly a very highly-developed 3.2-liter E36 on 255/40-17 tires, the 1LE's massive torque, foot-wide tires, electronic diff, etc. looked very attractive.

Do you have camber plates on the 1LE?

I really enjoyed Summit Point Main; it was my favorite handling track. If you get over there and happen to shoot some video, I'm sure I wouldn't be the only member who would enjoy viewing it.

The 1LE is stock except for a GM track alignment and DOT4 fluid....You can get up to -3 in the front with just a little strut mod. Car is silly....I'll post up a graph with it against the M3 at some point.

Here's a video of the 1LE at The Ridge -

Ken

[PeanuKeeyes]

I run stock suspension as well with the EDC dampers. I noticed a fairly big improvement on track after having Dinan shockware installed. It remapped the stock EDC for the Sport + setting. It works great even with OE springs and is completely non-invasive, quick and easy.

Currently looking at these as a possible upgrade for springs. Stock ride height is a must for me. https://www.bmptuning.com/products/m...31296086442102

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by khcoaching

You can get up to -3 in the front with just a little strut mod.

Well, that's a pretty darn nice feature to have, isn't it!

[khcoaching]

Originally Posted by PeanuKeeyes

I run stock suspension as well with the EDC dampers. I noticed a fairly big improvement on track after having Dinan shockware installed. It remapped the stock EDC for the Sport + setting. It works great even with OE springs and is completely non-invasive, quick and easy.

Currently looking at these as a possible upgrade for springs. Stock ride height is a must for me. https://www.bmptuning.com/products/m...31296086442102

Hmmm, maybe the Spec R springs and the Shockware?

Ken

[khcoaching]

Graph of the M3c vs the 1LE -

M3 has MC2 2 way, sway bars, square setup and control arms all around...Same driver. The front end grip of the 1LE is staggering compared to the M3....Also shows that the M3's power is underrated (as we know) compared to the lighter and same HP Camaro.


Ken

[230iZTR]

Originally Posted by khcoaching

[...]
Note - I could be talked into a coilover system that is semi inexpensive, but isn't a POS. I also want to spend the money, once.

I saw 230iZTR comments on the Spec R springs and my thought was to get a set of those and that's it, or maybe some OE replacement EDC Bilsteins with those?
Ken

Woo! Thanks for the shoutout. I feel internet famous.

Anyways, I stand by the ZTR shocks being perfectly serviceable for entry-level hobby use. I like the Dinan shockware, and I'm sure the Bilsteins would only improve upon that.

The Swift Spec-R's are great. I'm really surprised that I seem to be the only person around here that has them. They're firm enough that I don't feel like the car's geometry is shifting wildly but its still compliant enough that I'm happy with how it drives on the street the other 99% of the time. It passes the girlfriend test. Really big speedbumps require slowing down, and I don't recommend hitting potholes...but that's sound life advice regardless of what springs you're running.

But if you're doing this professionally for income, the car sees a lot of track miles, and you actually care about your lap times...then you might really be the rare person that benefits significantly from going with coilovers. An entry-level kit - perhaps ST Suspensions STX or similar - would be rebuildable and can be corner-balanced. Your existing camber plates are probably a new spring perch away from being compatible with them. And they'll surely be more affordable to replace than an OEM EDC damper if one of your students hops the curb and stuffs the car into a barrier.

Edit: I see your data analysis software has categories for yaw, pitch, roll, etc. If you do end up swapping to the Swift Spec-R's I'd be really curious to see if your before/after data matches my instinct about spring stiffness or if its just a placebo because the car looks cooler lowered.

[Vroomtuber]

Originally Posted by khcoaching

Graph of the M3c vs the 1LE -

M3 has MC2 2 way, sway bars, square setup and control arms all around...Same driver. The front end grip of the 1LE is staggering compared to the M3....Also shows that the M3's power is underrated (as we know) compared to the lighter and same HP Camaro.


Ken

Sway Bars are a pain to install, but sooooo worth it.