So this morning I had a couple hours and really wanted to at least get the front KONI's on so I set to work.
Little comparison between:
-(left)STAGG shock with a BavAuto Spring (Represents OEM length I assume)
-(middle) Adjustable Koni non-M with Eibach Sportline spring.
-(right) Bilstein non-M shock - need to check exact specs though. Has a some kind of nut on the bottom that I haven't noticed before either - for adjustment? or ease of rebuild?
*Notice the larger "center part" (technical name? for the part that goes up and down and does the absorption?) on the Bilstein.
I was planning to go with the BavAuto's for front and rear but I always felt the front was too soft, so did some searching and could only find that the spring rates for the Bavauto set is something like 200ishlbs (progressive of course) front and 380ish??lbs rear. The Eibach Sportline non-M fronts should be somewhere around 300lbs according to my research so I think that will be a better spring rate to be balanced with the rear spring rate.
Same with rear shocks:
-(left) Bilstein e30
-(middle) Brand spankin new adjustable Koni for z3m (shorter then the others)
-(right) STAGG shock (oem representative?)
I was also going to replace the rear shocks since it wouldn't take any more time until I found this little surprise:
Looks like my rear shock mount is torn. Its good quality too, (meyle) I have the reinforcement plate also. I guess this is a good warning to anyone that if you go lowered, aftermarket suspension, it is a good idea to get something more then oem replacement rear shock tower mounts, even if you have the reinforcement plate. The second I saw that I bought a set of new ones that will last me longer (bimmerbumco FTW) - I will post up when I get it - the Koni's will go on at the same time I get those new rear mounts.
Lastly, some of you may have seen the
FS THREAD for the set of SSR's I bought on impulse. I have a whole set of front M3 brakes just waiting to go on for a year or so but I really want to play with the 15" TRM's w/ R888's, also I am still thinking that non-M vented with good pads should be good enough so there is no need for me to go with that large of a wheel.
SSR's are 17x8 et40 with 225/50/17 tires
I have not weighed them, they do feel pretty light for 17", I will most likely do that tomorrow - and do a comparison to the Panasports and TRM's (of the weight).
A few pics of how they look on the car:
(back to my old cracked lens cell phone, so bad quality.)
They fit fine, drive smooth, but I think 16" with et 25-23 is just the right size for a compact with a 50 sidewall, perfect mix of tire meat and wheel.