suspension....more i read, the more i'm confused :)

[Tim B.]

Hey guys, i've got some suspension/handling questions here. I've got a '10 E92 with EDC. I have stock 18'' wheels. I drive very sporty on the street & will track it 2 or 3 times a year. Ride comfort is not THAT huge an issue for me as handling/performance are. After further reading, i've changed my mind from getting just springs(Eibach or RDsport) to getting the Dinan Stage 3 kit(after reading all the reviews on it). I would consider KW3 setup but i can't justify it for $$ and for only tracking twice a year. What i'm looking for here is a sorta "package" with the Dinan stg 3 & maybe wider tires/spacers too. My overall goal is better handling/turn in, less understeer, faster cornering, etc. So, can i get some advice/suggestions here please? I'd appreciate any feedback or comments. Thanks.
Tim

[elh0102]

You don't mention your driving level on track, so I don't know your goals. I had my stock '11 E92 on track for the first time last week. I have about 8 years of track experience in a variety of cars. Frankly, I did not find the level of understeer excessive at all, very well balanced. If you plan on being on track once or twice a year, I can't see spending the money on suspension mods. Given the car's weight and speed capability, my concern was brakes, but they worked fine with race pads and fluid. I think it just depends on whether you are satisfied with the car's limits, which are really quite high.

[Tim B.]

I only tracked the car once and thought it did really good. But it did want to "push"/understeer in some corners. And i felt a good deal of roll too. I thought the brakes held up just fine, just a bit of fade at the end of straightaway(120mph) after 7 or 8 laps. Anyway, i'm just looking for a practical improvement in handling for the street and track without going too overboard........somewhere in the middle of the road.

[rzm3]

If you are a novice on the track, get to know the car first. Embrace what you have, don't over drive or fight it. Once you get to intermediate/advanced, then think about improving the car. Unless you are Sebastian Vettel, you won't be feeling the limit of your car on your first track day. Cheers.

[elh0102]

Originally Posted by Tim B.

I only tracked the car once and thought it did really good. But it did want to "push"/understeer in some corners. And i felt a good deal of roll too. I thought the brakes held up just fine, just a bit of fade at the end of straightaway(120mph) after 7 or 8 laps. Anyway, i'm just looking for a practical improvement in handling for the street and track without going too overboard........somewhere in the middle of the road.

Tim, I can almost promise that you can find the solution to your understeer issue in driving technique. Any car will push under certain conditions, and those conditions are usually created consistently as you gain experience. The same might be the case with the brake fade you experienced, assuming you had track pads and fluid. My speeds on the two straights were about 135 and 145, and I had no fade at all. Anyway, I would just encourage a bit more patience with the car at this point.

[Tim B.]

I understand what you guys are saying about gaining experience and learning the car's true limits. But i've been driving an M3 for over 9 yrs now(had an e46 for 8 yrs before this one) and tracked that one a few times. I'm no where near advanced and my lines might not be perfect at times, but i did push the car to its limits. And the car was bone stock, pads, fluids and all. This track has a good bit of turns, some high speed, some not so fast, and i found the car to have a bit of roll and a good bit of understeer at times. So, let's just say for arguements sake ( ) what do you think of my previous suggestion of dinan's stg 3 and some wider tires, etc. ? Still leave the street drivability but yet improve handling on the track. thanks again
Tim

[elh0102]

Wider tires in front for a square setup would definitely change the handling balance towards oversteer. My E46 M3 had quite a bit more understeer than the E92, and I used 265 all around on it. I'm not familiar with the Dinan Stage 3 kit, but I know their reputation is excellent. When I was changing my E46 suspension, I thought the TC Kline coilover suspension was a better value than the Dinan products at that time, and I was very pleased with the TCK/Koni kit.

[montreal red]

before you do suspension mods, get more aggressive brake pads, change your lines to stainless steel and upgrade your brake fluid this will basically eliminate almost any fade you have. when you get better, then you can upgrade the brakes further.

to kill understeer, get stickier rubber. i run nitto nt05. re11, advan ad08, etc are good choices too. try to get as square a set up as possible. i suggest doing 255/265 if you are on stock rims. tires make a huge difference in terms of cornering speed and grip.

suspension wise, the dinan kit is probably not going to feel much different than the stock. it does lower the car, which looks better but it doesnt have very aggressive spring rates so the feeling would be close to the stock set up. i'd say hold off on this until you do the brake and tire mods.

[klammer]

Great compromise setup if wanting to keep edc functioning. Ride is great, stock or better, and performance definitely improved, you won't regret it

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by Tim B.

Hey guys, i've got some suspension/handling questions here. I've got a '10 E92 with EDC. I have stock 18'' wheels. I drive very sporty on the street & will track it 2 or 3 times a year. Ride comfort is not THAT huge an issue for me as handling/performance are. After further reading, i've changed my mind from getting just springs(Eibach or RDsport) to getting the Dinan Stage 3 kit(after reading all the reviews on it). I would consider KW3 setup but i can't justify it for $$ and for only tracking twice a year. What i'm looking for here is a sorta "package" with the Dinan stg 3 & maybe wider tires/spacers too. My overall goal is better handling/turn in, less understeer, faster cornering, etc. So, can i get some advice/suggestions here please? I'd appreciate any feedback or comments. Thanks.
Tim

What you should look into is get a bit more rubber on the road, not just the front, but both front and rear. A square set-up is great so you can rotate your tires and get more life out of them, but what you really need is more negative camber on the front of the vehicle to keep the outside front tire more upright in a corner. The roll induced camber changes is taking all of you traction away from your front tires. Taking some of the toe out of the manufature's alignment settings help as well.

Another way to reduce roll induced camber changes and understeer is a good coilover system with proper spring rates, but comes at a significant cost. Anti roll bars will do a similar trick as well at a lower cost.