Bilstein B8/H&R Race vs. GC/KW Coilovers.

[khiobrien2]

It is has come time to decide between buying new B8s to replace my current ones that are nearly 10 years old, but I am left wondering if it may be worth just forgoing this and going to coilovers.

I do not care at all about the ride height/dampening adjustment, so the difference would purely be in performance for me. Ignoring price, how significant is the difference between b8s/hr race/camber plates and high end GC or KW coilovers? Will it yeild a significantly better result performance/track-wise?

[mtech325]

The H&R Race springs are decent, but since they're intended for an M3 with a 4-cylinder, the 6-cylinder cars lose some suspension travel up front. Bilstein makes great shocks, but on e30's I've leaned more toward Koni for ride quality.

I have the full GC coilover kit with their custom shocks and if I were to do things again, I'd just go with a set of Koni sport shocks, GC's coilover conversion kit with the street spring rates, and the camber plates and sway bars of your choice. At least for a street car that sees the occasional track day to go have fun, it's plenty capable while still having street manners. Add some sticky tires and good pads & fluid and it'll be a fun day at the track.

I haven't tried the KW kits, so can't comment on performance, but their spring rates were on the softer side when I had emailed them before.

[Panici]

I personally am over Bilstein setups.
I have H&R Sports & Billy Sports in my E30 for about 10 years and the ride has always been harsh considering the springs are soft. Overdamped for the street IMO.

Planning on Koni Yellow Adjustables for the E30 in a year or two. Can keep it soft for cruising and firm it up for spirited driving.

My E36 328i came with mismatched H&R Race/Raceland springs and Billy B8s.
Switched to H&R Sports (to get a little more ride height out of it) last year and now have the same problem as the E30. I just ordered a set of Koni Orange STR.T shocks that should help, supposed to be delivered next month.

[moatilliatta]

I think A GC setup with matched Koni's rides better than anything with off the shelf Bilstein B8's