coilovers vs. springs and shocks. opinions needed
 

So I have owned a 97 318ti fir about 3 months now. Picked it up in Chicago for $2000 with only 130k miles. It was originally from Florida do it has not one bit of rust anywhere which is really nice. So far I have been replacing everything suspension and steering related.

List of repairs so far:
Tie rods, front and rear coltrol arms and bushings, carrier bearing, driveshaft flex joint, air intake boots, and front shocks(they were blown to hell).

I tried the monroe shocks because they were cheap and I EFFING hate them. They bounce almost as bad as my blown one's. Luckily Monroe is going to give me back my money for them and I'm going to get a new setup. I'm not looking for anything crazy fancy or with extreme track capabilities. Just something a little stiffer than stock.

Option 1: koni or bilstein front and rear shocks on bavauto springs. About $650 all together for parts.

Option 2: koni or bc coilovers. $1000 for either pair and no assembly or spring compressors required.

Option 3: CX Racing coilovers. $700 on amazon or andys auto. never herd of this company. I was wondering if anyone has tried them.

Does anyone have either of these setups and would like to add their opinions or does anyone have any other options they would like to throw in the mix. Thanks for reading.

The first question is... How do you use the car?

If you do not track the car and you are not looking to adjust the ride height for the perfect look I would just go with a set of Koni adjustables and H&R springs. Bav Auto springs are notoriously soft and do not offer much of a drop.

Not having to compress the springs for coil over install is nice but if you are not going to pay the $250ish for a corner balanced alignment then I contend coil overs are pointless.

I just want a little bit better handling and a slightly lowered ride height. having coilovers would be nice to drop it low for the helll of it on some days but is not 100% necessary. im pretty much made up my mind that I'm going to get the koni shocks front and rear but not sure of springs now. I didn't know the bavauto springs were soft. im getting the koni shocks from bav abd it seemed kinda convenient to grrr everything from there.

Changing the ride height will throw off the alignment (and corner balance). Plan for a new corner balance and alignment with every ride height change.

It sounds like you are on the right path with the Koni's and I would consider H&R sports.

If I can help, give me a call. 772.215.4069

I have konis with h&r sports and I love the combination. Go for it you won't be disappointed.

I know about the alignment. not my first time lowering a car. just more familiar with the toyota side of things. Gonna go with the koni and hr springs

My ti has KW's, but my '91 sho has koni yellow/ ground controls......the koni/GC combo is harsher than good coilovers, but it handles a lot better than standard shock/spring combos.