To Drop, or not to drop; that is the question...

So I have had my Bimmer for about two or three months now. I've gotten all the little fixes out of the way (P/S Pump, P/S Hoses, Valve Cover Gasket, Intake Boot, Cleaned TB and IC Valve). Now, I have one more problem, which is hopefully the final one to have everything buttoned up mechanically. The tires that were on the car originally when I bought it had some severe cupping (by my standards, I suppose) in the front. It was bad to the extent that the rumbling and groaning was unbearable up through about 30-40kmh until it would go away with speed. To make sure it was the tires I swapped the bad tires to the rear and sure enough the groaning was significantly less, albeit behind me now. So, I began to wonder if my front struts were the culprit. If I jack the car up and give the wheel a good heave I can quite easily move the wheel up and down as the only resistance present is the resistance of the spring. The front also seems a bit soft for what a car with factory sport suspension should feel like (I've bounced and driven every Beamer to come into our car lot with sport suspension as of late and while some are softer than others, the ones with low mileage and good struts aren't nearly as squishy as mine). So, it seems like a pretty fair case that my front struts are toast. So now the question is.... ...should I drop it? A dropped BMW is possibly one of the sexiest pieces of engineering on the planet. Okay, not possibly, it IS. My dilemma is whether or not to just replace the front suspension with the Sachs sport struts and strut mounts, bump stops, etc., or go with the Sport Cup Kit from H&R. Every car I have driven before this has been lowered, either by me or by the previous owner. So I know and enjoy the feeling of a tight, tuned suspension. The real question is, I can get the front struts, mounts, etc. replaced at work for probably 600 dollars or less including parts and labor. Pros: It's cheaper than the Cup Kit. I don't mind the factory suspension now. The current ride height doesn't bother me. Cons: I may regret not forking up the dough and dropping it. The pros on the Cup Kit are that it would be dropped, all the shocks and struts and mounts would be redone, etc. The cons are that it is a much more expensive route. WHAT TO DO?!

SparkNotes: I can't decide whether to just replace my front struts or go all out and do a drop with a Sport Cup Kit from H&R...

Also, this is a DD so I'm not interested in an incredible performance coil setup, nor am I looking for that "Hellastanced" look. So a spring/strut combo would be my primary choice for a drop.

Depends on how much you like your ride quality. If you won't miss it, go with H&R.

Well, I like the ride. It's a nice balance between firmness and softness. But I suppose you're right. I certainly don't mind the feeling of a stiff suspension.

There is also the Touring Cup Kit. Decisions, decisions!

I vote no for more reasons than I can enunciate, but if it's that important to you, read threads on the subject until you're bouncing up and down.

The up and down play that you described sounds like bad control arm bushings, have you looked at those? Unless you are manually compressing the strut, in which that is bad, hence your diagnosis.

Yeah there doesn't seem to be much play in the control arm bushings. The car had one new control arm and the bushings look fairly new on both side. I will look at them more closely, though.

too much to read. off thread title. Lower it, Conservatively.