REVIEW: Street Edge Coilovers E46 M3

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Every single part for every single vehicle is made specifically for that vehicle. Because you can bolt something on doesn't mean you should.

I can bake a loaf of cornbread and drill holes in it and mount it anywhere on an E46. Does that mean I should?

Now I'm hungry

OK while I agree that getting low end coilovers for an M3 would be less wise I don't think mods are bad or less quality than original parts. I've had KWs on several cars and they not only improve the ride quality but the handling and grip too and give alot more setup options. As long as the quality and history of the brand and product are good then it should be fine.

I've never understood the whole static hellaflush stanced out crowd (mostly vdub kids, not many m3's in that bunch) spend $3000 on brand name coils just to slammmm and camber their car to the point of ruination... They should be the ones buying $500 coilovers! haha

That being said I understand where the OP is coming from. I originally cheaped out some still decent FK coils with koni struts for like $1,200 when i first bought my M. They were quality, lowered the car a bit, handled a little bit better which at first was perfectly fine. Eventually I wanted more out of the car with a serious interest in chassis setup and handling so I sold those and bought a custom Ground Control setup for only like $2,000. The setups were night and day difference for only $800 more.

So here's my point... if these cheaper coils are doing it for you then enjoy them! A year from now if you want more out of the car and have the cash just buy something better (worth the cash, trust me!) Hell you could probably sell those for almost as much as you paid for them so don't worry about losing out much either.

Originally Posted by Cru

I've never understood the whole static hellaflush stanced out crowd (mostly vdub kids, not many m3's in that bunch) spend $3000 on brand name coils just to slammmm and camber their car to the point of ruination... They should be the ones buying $500 coilovers! haha

The Vdub crowd in Euro world is like a Honda crowd in Import world
They spend a lot to be "creative"
But it looks sh11ty and doesnt function well in the end

of course, it's my .02

Originally Posted by fiveightandten

Some more elitist crap here, but I find it disconcerting that the aftermarket parts industry has basically made it so people think anything that says "coilover" on it is automatically something that will make their car better. I understand the OP still has his stock suspension. But what I don't understand is removing a well designed, high quality suspension setup with tons of great engineering behind it, and replacing it with unknown dampers, secret spring rates, no adjustable dampening, ect.

Coilovers are designed for people that require the extra adjustability of being able to pick spring rates they want, set dampening properly to accompany those spring rates, set ride height at proper ranges to optimize roll center, suspension travel, and rake, balance the weight of the car, then use camber plates in conjunction with stock adjustments to align the car properly in supplement to the suspension setup.

It's nice to experiment. But did you find out what the spring rates are on these and how they compare to stock? Do you know how much travel the dampers have and whether or not your ride heights are going to bottom them out in compression or droop? Did you measure the stock ride heights before removing stock suspension so you could reproduce any right to left bias built in to compensate for driver weight, then calculate compression at your new spring rates with you in the car so sway bar preload isn't an issue? Did you disconnect the sways when setting ride heights so the ride heights could be set without them interfering and you could check for preload at the new heights? Did you measure damper travel to be sure you're not riding on your bump stops? Did you record ride heights so you can check and make sure the adjustment collars aren't slipping and messing up your alignment? What specs did you align the car to? Did you reset the preload on the RTABs and other bushings so there not twisted at the new ride height?

Those are the things you need to take into consideration to properly set up a suspension setup with adjustable ride height. If you ignore that stuff, you're really just playing with the car, downgrading from what BMW put on it, and possibly causing issues as well.

I'm not trying to attack you personally. But I see too many people that are the product of ill-informed information that gets regurgitated over and over again. Pulling well designed suspension off a $50K BMW to throw a $500 spring and damper kit with threaded collars on it? Meh.

You have a great car. An amazing car. In the future, I'd urge you to learn about the engineering before you change it. Learning doesn't cost anything.

So. Much. Win.

I love how people cant drive their car to its limit on stock suspension, but think throwing $XXX amount of new suspension will suddenly turn them into Senna....

i just wanna lower it in the summer time. its a slow 323. should do the job.

So, just a little update.

Put over 15k on the kit so far and every mile has been just as solid as the first.
It's a little humorous when people ask what I'm lowered on and when I say "street edge coil overs" they're like "what?" not a very big name yet, but at the price point, they should definately be getting up there.
I changed brakes about a hundred miles ago (car at 51k) and inspected the struts, springs, rubber pieces... all intact and squeak free.
as a daily driver, this kit is amazing. strong enough to withstand the random unavoidable potholes, and strong enough for intense canyon weekends.
On the lines of hard driving:
body roll is minimal - I mean you have to push a rated 30 turn at 70 to really 'toss'. from what I remember my zcp it was softer, and you cushioned into turns a little more. not quite sure what a track setup would feel like (TCK or high-end KW) but considering the price, this kit is beautiful.

to anyone out there looking into coil overs for DD/weekender fun, I definately recommend this.

I'll try getting some pics of the components as they sit now, little later.

I'm curious to know how low they go.

I'm switching wheels today, so I'll be back with pictures and info on that ^^^

Thanks

Just ordered a set can't wait

Originally Posted by fiveightandten

Some more elitist crap here, but I find it disconcerting that the aftermarket parts industry has basically made it so people think anything that says "coilover" on it is automatically something that will make their car better. I understand the OP still has his stock suspension. But what I don't understand is removing a well designed, high quality suspension setup with tons of great engineering behind it, and replacing it with unknown dampers, secret spring rates, no adjustable dampening, ect.

Coilovers are designed for people that require the extra adjustability of being able to pick spring rates they want, set dampening properly to accompany those spring rates, set ride height at proper ranges to optimize roll center, suspension travel, and rake, balance the weight of the car, then use camber plates in conjunction with stock adjustments to align the car properly in supplement to the suspension setup.

It's nice to experiment. But did you find out what the spring rates are on these and how they compare to stock? Do you know how much travel the dampers have and whether or not your ride heights are going to bottom them out in compression or droop? Did you measure the stock ride heights before removing stock suspension so you could reproduce any right to left bias built in to compensate for driver weight, then calculate compression at your new spring rates with you in the car so sway bar preload isn't an issue? Did you disconnect the sways when setting ride heights so the ride heights could be set without them interfering and you could check for preload at the new heights? Did you measure damper travel to be sure you're not riding on your bump stops? Did you record ride heights so you can check and make sure the adjustment collars aren't slipping and messing up your alignment? What specs did you align the car to? Did you reset the preload on the RTABs and other bushings so there not twisted at the new ride height?

Those are the things you need to take into consideration to properly set up a suspension setup with adjustable ride height. If you ignore that stuff, you're really just playing with the car, downgrading from what BMW put on it, and possibly causing issues as well.

I'm not trying to attack you personally. But I see too many people that are the product of ill-informed information that gets regurgitated over and over again. Pulling well designed suspension off a $50K BMW to throw a $500 spring and damper kit with threaded collars on it? Meh.

You have a great car. An amazing car. In the future, I'd urge you to learn about the engineering before you change it. Learning doesn't cost anything.

This. Depending how fair the op is the five fingers are going to leave a lasting imprint on his face.

You took a pos suspension and put it on your car. Can't afford better coilovers? Are you such an epic fail just sell the dam things new and get money towards a better proven setup. Yes you are balling with your csl diffuser and other stuff but seriously, the ride is something that impacts everything you do with a car . Stop recommending that pos setup. Take it off your car maybe a brz owner will buy it

to each their own....personally i applaud this experiment!
Unlike most of the "bawlers" around here i have no interest in dropping at least a grand on a "proven" coil setup just so that i can lower my DD car a little bit.
Im not into tracking my ///M either, so if this setup works i'll just throw it on and spend the money i saved on something else...oh i don't know, maybe a cooling system overhaul?

Thanks OP! Please post pics of your car lowered on this setup!

..I..(0o)..I.. to all the haters

Why are you so concerned?

The guy had a positive experience with this product, for what he wanted to get out of them (not everyone wants to track their car), and was nice enough to follow up after 15k miles.

My advice to you would be to forget everything you know about the english language (which should be easy for you), spend a little less time worrying about spring rates, perhaps a little more on english lessons, and let others do what they want with their cars. That way you will not look like a fool when you are trying to voice your opinion.

Originally Posted by emm3speed

This. Depending how fair the op is the five fingers are going to leave a lasting imprint on his face.

You took a pos suspension and put it on your car. Can't afford better coilovers? Are you such an epic fail just sell the dam things new and get money towards a better proven setup. Yes you are balling with your csl diffuser and other stuff but seriously, the ride is something that impacts everything you do with a car . Stop recommending that pos setup. Take it off your car maybe a brz owner will buy it

Im getting this kit today.

Rofl at this thread. The epic fail is the guy who thinks you shouldn't be willing to test new products on your car. It's a car, get over yourself.
The M3 isn't top of the line anything, it's just better than average but it's cute that some of you live or die by the price of what you put on your car.

Originally Posted by Dan1983

Rofl at this thread. The epic fail is the guy who thinks you shouldn't be willing to test new products on your car. It's a car, get over yourself.
The M3 isn't top of the line anything, it's just better than average but it's cute that some of you live or die by the price of what you put on your car.

finally, the voice of reason

Originally Posted by Dan1983

Rofl at this thread. The epic fail is the guy who thinks you shouldn't be willing to test new products on your car. It's a car, get over yourself.
The M3 isn't top of the line anything, it's just better than average but it's cute that some of you live or die by the price of what you put on your car.

Well put. OP, any updates on coilovers? I rarely track my M3 but I hate stock ride height and don't feel like dishing out lots of $$$ when I won't be tracking it a lot. I do feel where others are coming from about higher quality brands like KW and Ohlins (which I'll most likely end up getting).