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      05-08-2021, 05:06 PM   #45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by B58_bomber View Post
Official writing from Technical & Warranty Support Expert
thyssenkrupp Bilstein of America, Inc
Stating the installation for:
B16 (DAMPTRONIC) - SUSPENSION KIT
Part Number: 49-255935

- Hopefully this helps clears the air for this specific Bilstein product.
THANK YOU for digging into this and getting the proper info. Well done....

josh
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      05-09-2021, 11:44 AM   #46
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Hi B58_bomber

The literature from Bilstein is as has been said a cut and paste job from the passive B16 kits and an error. This has been discussed at length on our UK forums and I had it confirmed by a Bilstein Tech in Leicester that they are Twin Tube. This is also confirmed in the TUV certificate which states Twin Tube.

All the Bilstein B4, B6 and B16 damptronic kits for the F2X and F3X cars are TwinTube. The Damptronic B16 kits for the M3 and M4 are Monotube. You can tell the difference by where the wiring for the shock is presented. The Monotubes have wire exiting the bottom or the top of the shock. Our Twintubes have the solenoid control on the side of the shock because they are twintube.

49-255935 TUV Certificate:
https://media.schmiedmann.com/media/...-255935TUV.PDF

note it shows fitment of the OE front bumpstop.

Farkle also confirms here: https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...&postcount=316
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      05-10-2021, 04:09 PM   #47
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The only way to really find out is cut one open or get the CAD files from designer. That's just UK certification standards. That may not apply to American roads & tracks. Plus FrAnKle assumption on part number meanings is a little weary. Does he work for Bilstein? I was told to follow the Technical & Warranty Support Expert " for this particular system". Perhaps within a 1-1/2 year span. There was a revision in design from his or her post you mention. That is always a possibility too. Like I said you have to cut one open to really see the technology/innovation involved.

Update: If I am putting bump stops its going to be shorter aftermarket++ poly. I wonder if Delrin is a good material for that. Remember suspension travel is a good thing. Don't want to be riding on bumpstop all day, its like training wheels but worst. From my measurements 1.5" thick "spacer" will stop the main shaft from bottoming out. Its either me doing the math or Dinan can for you. With their fancy Supplemental Ride Quality & Handling Kit.

Last edited by B58_bomber; 05-11-2021 at 12:48 AM..
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      05-12-2021, 08:49 AM   #48
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Alright! They are ON, the car is ALIGNED, and HEIGHT is adjusted.

Photo attached.

As you can see I didn’t drop it too much from a base M235i but there still quite a bit of room to go down on them. Yes, I know one of my wheels is curbed, long story, but I do have a replacement wheel in my garage and it will become my spare soon enough

I am NOT a professional reviewer of this stuff, I haven’t had many coilovers before, but I can say I’m usually a fan of a good set of Koni Yellow struts with good springs, and I don’t shoot for super stiff because I hate losing traction in corners on bad asphalt.

Installation
As I have detailed in previous posts, the packaging was very bad…

The plastic protecting connectors was shattered, there’s paint scratches, and the bracket that holds the brake lines on one side was bent at 90 degrees. Thread was damaged, and there are scratches on the « adjustment spin-thingie » (sorry for using highly technical terms). My (awesome) mechanic took his time, cleaned up the thread, slowly bent the bracket back, etc.

What I will do this fall is shoot some antirust oil of some kind to protect them, because I don’t want to go through winter with exposed metal on this.

In the meantime, the distributor is working with Bilstein for some kind of compensation.

A friend got a set of Ohlins for a different type of car at the same time I got mine. The difference in how they were packed and protected and how great the finish is on them is night and day.


Ride Quality
Definitely feels better than my OEM suspension with about 53,000miles on Quebec roads (well…technically a lot of those were on the track and 1500 were in Germany - but the rest is all very bad roads. Think Michigan if you’re from the US, it’s pretty much the only comparison).

I was worried that it might be a bit too hard for daily driving, but it isn’t. In fact, I think I would prefer slightly stiffer springs or damping. Someone coming from a stock 228 might see a bigger difference in stiffness, but from a M235i all I can say is the very scientific « Yes it’s stiffer, but it also feels more solid and more comfortable ».

I went with 0 toe up front and about -2 camber all around. The car now chases down « tracks » on the highway a bit more than before but the steering feels more alive. I have not driven the car much yet but the most obvious improvement is in transitions - there is less body roll and the car reacts faster.

I also put on adjustable Hotchkis end-links in the front, set to the lowest amount of « pre-load » for now. I’ll probably get the same in the back (and probably change the swaybar at least in the back before the next alignment).

Overall it does not feel like an obvious « aftermarket suspension » - it just feels like a more solid OEM, which is nice.

Track
I’m not a great driver, and I only do 3-4 events a year usually. It was not worth measuring times before/after as too many other variables including my own consistency would make a much bigger difference anyway.

I am going to the track tomorrow for the first time with them, I’ll report back.

I’m expecting a reduction in body roll, faster transitions, and hopefully the ability to put the power down a bit earlier (don’t have a real diff yet), so you will get my anecdotal data on that in a few days.

Bottom line
The shipping problems left a sour taste in my mouth. Maybe it was bad luck but looking at this thread and how they pack their stuff… I am not sure I would buy them again.

If we ignore those issues though, it seems like a solid package to get better suspension on a F22 while remaining streetable even on bad roads and eliminating wheel gap.

I changed my top plates while I was at it to get new ones with bearings, and now that I have about -2c camber everywhere I will look and see if I can fit a wider square setup when these tires are done.

Damptronic is nice, but the effect is not so pronounced that I would hate the car if it was always on the hardest setting. I think I would be totally happy with a manual version of this and electronic suspension delete. Then, I would have more settings to try.

So TL;DR: Are they worth it? If you receive them in good shape, yes.
Would a manual version be worth it? Yes, if I could save the money and just go with the manual version now I probably would.
Are they streetable: Absolutely
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      05-12-2021, 10:05 AM   #49
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gepeto View Post
Alright! They are ON, the car is ALIGNED, and HEIGHT is adjusted.

Photo attached.

As you can see I didn’t drop it too much from a base M235i but there still quite a bit of room to go down on them. Yes, I know one of my wheels is curbed, long story, but I do have a replacement wheel in my garage and it will become my spare soon enough

I am NOT a professional reviewer of this stuff, I haven’t had many coilovers before, but I can say I’m usually a fan of a good set of Koni Yellow struts with good springs, and I don’t shoot for super stiff because I hate losing traction in corners on bad asphalt.

Installation
As I have detailed in previous posts, the packaging was very bad…

The plastic protecting connectors was shattered, there’s paint scratches, and the bracket that holds the brake lines on one side was bent at 90 degrees. Thread was damaged, and there are scratches on the « adjustment spin-thingie » (sorry for using highly technical terms). My (awesome) mechanic took his time, cleaned up the thread, slowly bent the bracket back, etc.

What I will do this fall is shoot some antirust oil of some kind to protect them, because I don’t want to go through winter with exposed metal on this.

In the meantime, the distributor is working with Bilstein for some kind of compensation.

A friend got a set of Ohlins for a different type of car at the same time I got mine. The difference in how they were packed and protected and how great the finish is on them is night and day.


Ride Quality
Definitely feels better than my OEM suspension with about 53,000miles on Quebec roads (well…technically a lot of those were on the track and 1500 were in Germany - but the rest is all very bad roads. Think Michigan if you’re from the US, it’s pretty much the only comparison).

I was worried that it might be a bit too hard for daily driving, but it isn’t. In fact, I think I would prefer slightly stiffer springs or damping. Someone coming from a stock 228 might see a bigger difference in stiffness, but from a M235i all I can say is the very scientific « Yes it’s stiffer, but it also feels more solid and more comfortable ».

I went with 0 toe up front and about -2 camber all around. The car now chases down « tracks » on the highway a bit more than before but the steering feels more alive. I have not driven the car much yet but the most obvious improvement is in transitions - there is less body roll and the car reacts faster.

I also put on adjustable Hotchkis end-links in the front, set to the lowest amount of « pre-load » for now. I’ll probably get the same in the back (and probably change the swaybar at least in the back before the next alignment).

Overall it does not feel like an obvious « aftermarket suspension » - it just feels like a more solid OEM, which is nice.

Track
I’m not a great driver, and I only do 3-4 events a year usually. It was not worth measuring times before/after as too many other variables including my own consistency would make a much bigger difference anyway.

I am going to the track tomorrow for the first time with them, I’ll report back.

I’m expecting a reduction in body roll, faster transitions, and hopefully the ability to put the power down a bit earlier (don’t have a real diff yet), so you will get my anecdotal data on that in a few days.

Bottom line
The shipping problems left a sour taste in my mouth. Maybe it was bad luck but looking at this thread and how they pack their stuff… I am not sure I would buy them again.

If we ignore those issues though, it seems like a solid package to get better suspension on a F22 while remaining streetable even on bad roads and eliminating wheel gap.

I changed my top plates while I was at it to get new ones with bearings, and now that I have about -2c camber everywhere I will look and see if I can fit a wider square setup when these tires are done.

Damptronic is nice, but the effect is not so pronounced that I would hate the car if it was always on the hardest setting. I think I would be totally happy with a manual version of this and electronic suspension delete. Then, I would have more settings to try.

So TL;DR: Are they worth it? If you receive them in good shape, yes.
Would a manual version be worth it? Yes, if I could save the money and just go with the manual version now I probably would.
Are they streetable: Absolutely
Thank you. I'm looking for something that rides close to M2 oem. Would you say yours does so?
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      05-12-2021, 11:41 AM   #50
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It has been a while since I tried a M2 but I can say it won’t feel « more hardcore », it’s probably a bit stiffer but the comfort level is still very good.
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      05-12-2021, 01:52 PM   #51
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gepeto View Post
It has been a while since I tried a M2 but I can say it won't feel « more hardcore », it's probably a bit stiffer but the comfort level is still very good.
Is yours set at the highest height?
How much does it lower compared to stock?
I really wanted to get bilstein but my problem is that it lowers the ride height by too much even at highest setting. So I started looking into KW.
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      05-12-2021, 05:35 PM   #52
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gepeto View Post
Alright! They are ON, the car is ALIGNED, and HEIGHT is adjusted.

Photo attached.

As you can see I didn’t drop it too much from a base M235i but there still quite a bit of room to go down on them. Yes, I know one of my wheels is curbed, long story, but I do have a replacement wheel in my garage and it will become my spare soon enough

I am NOT a professional reviewer of this stuff, I haven’t had many coilovers before, but I can say I’m usually a fan of a good set of Koni Yellow struts with good springs, and I don’t shoot for super stiff because I hate losing traction in corners on bad asphalt.

Installation
As I have detailed in previous posts, the packaging was very bad…

The plastic protecting connectors was shattered, there’s paint scratches, and the bracket that holds the brake lines on one side was bent at 90 degrees. Thread was damaged, and there are scratches on the « adjustment spin-thingie » (sorry for using highly technical terms). My (awesome) mechanic took his time, cleaned up the thread, slowly bent the bracket back, etc.

What I will do this fall is shoot some antirust oil of some kind to protect them, because I don’t want to go through winter with exposed metal on this.

In the meantime, the distributor is working with Bilstein for some kind of compensation.

A friend got a set of Ohlins for a different type of car at the same time I got mine. The difference in how they were packed and protected and how great the finish is on them is night and day.


Ride Quality
Definitely feels better than my OEM suspension with about 53,000miles on Quebec roads (well…technically a lot of those were on the track and 1500 were in Germany - but the rest is all very bad roads. Think Michigan if you’re from the US, it’s pretty much the only comparison).

I was worried that it might be a bit too hard for daily driving, but it isn’t. In fact, I think I would prefer slightly stiffer springs or damping. Someone coming from a stock 228 might see a bigger difference in stiffness, but from a M235i all I can say is the very scientific « Yes it’s stiffer, but it also feels more solid and more comfortable ».

I went with 0 toe up front and about -2 camber all around. The car now chases down « tracks » on the highway a bit more than before but the steering feels more alive. I have not driven the car much yet but the most obvious improvement is in transitions - there is less body roll and the car reacts faster.

I also put on adjustable Hotchkis end-links in the front, set to the lowest amount of « pre-load » for now. I’ll probably get the same in the back (and probably change the swaybar at least in the back before the next alignment).

Overall it does not feel like an obvious « aftermarket suspension » - it just feels like a more solid OEM, which is nice.

Track
I’m not a great driver, and I only do 3-4 events a year usually. It was not worth measuring times before/after as too many other variables including my own consistency would make a much bigger difference anyway.

I am going to the track tomorrow for the first time with them, I’ll report back.

I’m expecting a reduction in body roll, faster transitions, and hopefully the ability to put the power down a bit earlier (don’t have a real diff yet), so you will get my anecdotal data on that in a few days.

Bottom line
The shipping problems left a sour taste in my mouth. Maybe it was bad luck but looking at this thread and how they pack their stuff… I am not sure I would buy them again.

If we ignore those issues though, it seems like a solid package to get better suspension on a F22 while remaining streetable even on bad roads and eliminating wheel gap.

I changed my top plates while I was at it to get new ones with bearings, and now that I have about -2c camber everywhere I will look and see if I can fit a wider square setup when these tires are done.

Damptronic is nice, but the effect is not so pronounced that I would hate the car if it was always on the hardest setting. I think I would be totally happy with a manual version of this and electronic suspension delete. Then, I would have more settings to try.

So TL;DR: Are they worth it? If you receive them in good shape, yes.
Would a manual version be worth it? Yes, if I could save the money and just go with the manual version now I probably would.
Are they streetable: Absolutely
Appreciate the write up. You can still manually adjust the dampening on these right? Not referring to comfort, sport, sport+
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      05-13-2021, 04:31 AM   #53
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thanks for the review!

Really interesting the ride quality is still good. The springs that come with the kit are actually predominantly rather high spring rates - but they are progressive, so I think the initial travel/spring rate is perhaps similar to OEM.

Rear are E4-FD1-Y183B00 and Fronts are E4-FD1-Y549B00 and apparently are 565 lbft and 330 lbft respectively, which I suspect is the main spring rate rather than the initial lower spring rate of the progressive section. When I calculate based on the TUV cert my numbers are 250 lbft and 137 lbft which are obviously incorrect.

You fitting adjustable drop links helps with the ride quality too, eliminating preload. I think a lot of the crashy ride quality people experience with lowering springs is to do with hitting bump stops and also preloading the antiroll bars. ... just my thoughts..

Can you elaborate on the ride quality between comfort and sport?
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      05-13-2021, 02:39 PM   #54
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Ended up fabricating Custom progressive polyurethane bump stops for the fronts integrated onto "top mount+". Then Dinan 5er shorter bump stops for rears. Dropped the car off this morning, picking it end of day👍🏼.
Attached Images
  

Last edited by B58_bomber; 07-20-2021 at 03:37 AM..
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      05-13-2021, 07:37 PM   #55
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JD11937 View Post
Appreciate the write up. You can still manually adjust the dampening on these right? Not referring to comfort, sport, sport+
As far as I’m aware, no? Maybe I should re-read the manual (which is bad and confusing btw!)
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      05-14-2021, 08:01 AM   #56
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lixiang7349 View Post
Is yours set at the highest height?
How much does it lower compared to stock?
I really wanted to get bilstein but my problem is that it lowers the ride height by too much even at highest setting. So I started looking into KW.
In the back it can go higher, but that gives it quite a rake. In the front it’s pretty much at the highest maybe minus half an inch MAX.
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      05-17-2021, 09:16 AM   #57
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Gepeto,

Thanks for the great write up. I am going to ask my questions in the suspension forum.

josh
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      06-02-2021, 08:09 AM   #58
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Quote:
Originally Posted by B58_bomber View Post
Ended up fabricating Custom progressive polyurethane bump stops for the fronts integrated onto "top mount+". Then Dinan 5er shorter bump stops for rears. Dropped the car off this morning, picking it end of day👍🏼.
B58,

Were you able to install the B16's? I am just about to pull the trigger. I keep hoping you and Gepeto may have more seat time and possibly have feedback.

Cheers!
josh
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      10-04-2021, 09:58 AM   #59
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Can someone give a concrete answer on the ride height. Can you adjust B16 to stock ride height front and rear? Or at least close like within .25 inches?
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      10-04-2021, 10:33 AM   #60
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Without a doubt yes
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      10-04-2021, 10:59 AM   #61
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rickd View Post
Without a doubt yes
I'm getting conflicting information from bilstein. My m240i is non xdrive so hopefully your right. Has anybody actually tried this front and rear? Thanks!
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      10-04-2021, 11:16 AM   #62
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brakthru View Post
I'm getting conflicting information from bilstein. My m240i is non xdrive so hopefully your right. Has anybody actually tried this front and rear? Thanks!
I have non xdrive, I’m about 1/2 in adjustment so there is plenty of room. Got mine corner balanced 50/50.
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      10-04-2021, 02:17 PM   #63
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rickd View Post
I have non xdrive, I’m about 1/2 in adjustment so there is plenty of room. Got mine corner balanced 50/50.
Your saying your only lowered a half an inch from stock and you can go back to stock height? How do they feel sport vs sport+ compared to stock? Much stiffer? You think I would need a LSD for cornering for the stiffer setup?
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      10-04-2021, 02:31 PM   #64
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brakthru View Post
Your saying your only lowered a half an inch from stock and you can go back to stock height? How do they feel sport vs sport+ compared to stock? Much stiffer? You think I would need a LSD for cornering for the stiffer setup?
I track my ride every couple months, I have a Wavetrac diff, Eiboch front and rear swaybars and camber plates. Not sure what your plans are but this setup makes me smile ear to ear.

Noticeably stiffer than stock yes.
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      10-04-2021, 02:52 PM   #65
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rickd View Post
I track my ride every couple months, I have a Wavetrac diff, Eiboch front and rear swaybars and camber plates. Not sure what your plans are but this setup makes me smile ear to ear.

Noticeably stiffer than stock yes.
Lol! Sounds like you transformed it into a great sports car. No track for me. I have staggered wheel setup 235/40 18 with 10mm front spacer & 265/35 18 with 5mm spacer. Car drives great with the setup with wider track. Just need firmer body control. Don't want sways because I know I'll need LSD. The cost for both installed is horrendous. As long as B16 is good for daily and not make me a 3 wheel wonder when cornering I'd be happy.
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      10-04-2021, 02:57 PM   #66
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brakthru View Post
Lol! Sounds like you transformed it into a great sports car. No track for me. I have staggered wheel setup 235/40 18 with 10mm front spacer & 265/35 18 with 5mm spacer. Car drives great with the setup with wider track. Just need firmer body control. Don't want sways because I know I'll need LSD. The cost for both installed is horrendous. As long as B16 is good for daily and not make me a 3 wheel wonder when cornering I'd be happy.
I squared it up w Apex 18x 8.5 and 245/35’s all around.
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