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      04-23-2019, 09:28 AM   #1
GregoryG
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Damper life

I have a 2014 M235i RWD with 40k miles on it and just started HPDE last year (loved it) and will be doing 3-4 this summer. Michigan is home so the season is short and the roads are bad. In a couple weeks I'll be installing Dinan lowering springs and bump stops, a friend and I will do the work.

Since I'll have all the strut assemblies off it seems like an opportune time do replace the dampers. They only have 40k miles on them and I'd expect them to last another 20-40k, so this would be a preemptive replacement. That, and I'd expect the lowered springs to potentially wear the stock dampers more.

I'm aware that with Koni Yellow or KW v1 I'd lose the EDC function and would be Ok with that - I don't really find that Comfort is that much more comfy than Sport+ anyways.

If I thought the dampers needed replacing soon I'd just do it and not have a post, but I'm curious how much life others got out of their stock ones? And if saving the replacement labor later is worth the extra money now?

Thanks.
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      04-23-2019, 10:55 AM   #2
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BMW and Mercedes struts have traditionally been very good. though some deterioration by 70 or 80 miles not that much performance deterioration.
Also if you go too stiff if you are going to be fast in the wet, NOT having that bit of weight transfer and tire deformation from going too stiff, is not always a good thing.

It's more about the best shock for the springs so what does Dinan say ?
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      04-23-2019, 12:58 PM   #3
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So i have TCKline double adjustable coilovers and i love them. The TCK's have koni DA shocks and they are amazing! so personally i would recommend those.

I used to have Dinan springs with the stock shocks and tbh, they were fine on the road and stuff but on track i honestly wasnt a fan. they just seemed to throw the suspension off balance and didnt work to well for me.
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      04-24-2019, 06:49 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottSinger View Post
BMW and Mercedes struts have traditionally been very good. though some deterioration by 70 or 80 miles not that much performance deterioration.
Also if you go too stiff if you are going to be fast in the wet, NOT having that bit of weight transfer and tire deformation from going too stiff, is not always a good thing.
Yikes, I'm not too keen on replacing something 3 years before it's useful life span.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottSinger View Post
It's more about the best shock for the springs so what does Dinan say ?
However, this is a compelling reason to do just that, and probably a more compelling reason to spend the money now vs down the road. Dinan pairs their sport lowering springs with Koni Yellow.
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      04-28-2019, 12:34 PM   #5
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I haven’t seen much evidence that shorter springs = more damper wear and think it’s mostly a myth tied to the quirks of the 90’s car scene. There were two main factors there -

(1) Cut springs. First and foremost, that reduces the total available suspension travel. Second, if it was a progressive spring (which they usually were) you’d be cutting off the portion of the coil with the highest spring rate. Put those two together and you’re going to get two conditions that are killer for a damper - riding the bumpstops at full compression, and lack of droop travel under extension. Both ways, what ends up happening is that the spring no longer supports the weight of the car and those forces are put on the damper. And they’ll crack, leak, etc.

(2) And then there’s the heavier than stock wheels and cars that were common back then. Almost all of the wheels back then were gravity cast, so if you were upsizing and going wider, you added ridiculous amounts of unsprung weight. Also the tuning scene then was about goofy fiberglass bodykits, lots of heavy electronics, etc. One of the factors in the harmonic damping equation is dependent on the mass of the sprung and unsprung portions of the system. So you’re adding a bunch of mass to both back in the 90’s, it’s going to work your dampers a lot more at weights they were never designed to work with.

So yeah...I believe in BMW and Dinan doing a good job with their products, and most of the premature wear warnings for dampers are just from us being their hardest and most demanding users and conflating that with the real problems of badly lowered cars back in the day. So I’d say ride it out with the stock dampers for now, then be prepared to go to the aftermarket instead of to BMW when they do eventually give out. Unless you’re really wanting to upgrade the dampers anyway. Then just do it now and enjoy.
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      04-29-2019, 07:09 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 230iZTR View Post
So yeah...I believe in BMW and Dinan doing a good job with their products, and most of the premature wear warnings for dampers are just from us being their hardest and most demanding users and conflating that with the real problems of badly lowered cars back in the day. So I’d say ride it out with the stock dampers for now, then be prepared to go to the aftermarket instead of to BMW when they do eventually give out. Unless you’re really wanting to upgrade the dampers anyway. Then just do it now and enjoy.
Thanks for the input, but MI roads have conspired to make the decision for me. This weekend after driving about 5 miles on my brand new Apex FL-5 I hit a pothole and cracked one rim and flattened 2 tires So, replacing those items will eat any $$ I might have allocated towards new dampers. I'm SOOOOO jealous of you folks who live in places with nice roads.
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      04-29-2019, 10:43 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GregoryG View Post
I have a 2014 M235i RWD with 40k miles on it and just started HPDE last year (loved it) and will be doing 3-4 this summer. Michigan is home so the season is short and the roads are bad. In a couple weeks I'll be installing Dinan lowering springs and bump stops, a friend and I will do the work.

Since I'll have all the strut assemblies off it seems like an opportune time do replace the dampers. They only have 40k miles on them and I'd expect them to last another 20-40k, so this would be a preemptive replacement. That, and I'd expect the lowered springs to potentially wear the stock dampers more.

I'm aware that with Koni Yellow or KW v1 I'd lose the EDC function and would be Ok with that - I don't really find that Comfort is that much more comfy than Sport+ anyways.

If I thought the dampers needed replacing soon I'd just do it and not have a post, but I'm curious how much life others got out of their stock ones? And if saving the replacement labor later is worth the extra money now?

Thanks.
Name brand springs are usually designed around the damping capabilities of the stock dampers so as long as your stock dampers are in good working order you are good to go.

Upgrading the dampers at the same time will turn up the handling of your another notch if your budget allows. Koni with Dinan springs will basically be like a KW V1, but with Koni's having higher quality damping.
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