Your "Stage I" with Bilstein HD's ... (more) (archive)

I'd suggest you do two other things - bigger sway bars than your stock setup, and you should upgrade your wheels to 16 or 17" wheels. (I assume you have sharked the car - if not, do that first!)

: Greets,

: '90 535i with 200K, stock 225/60/15 wheels and Dunlop SP Sport 5000s here. Having ridden in a friend's S4, I'm envious of its ride, handling, acceleration, not to mention the Xenons and six speed.

: I don't take off-ramps at 90mph; mostly 60 and occasionally 90 if the conditions are safe. My current ride is just fine and I'd like to stay with the stock wheels but I'd like to improve the handling a bit, i.e., less body roll. I don't think I'd mind a firmer ride. So in a pique of inspiration, I checked out some upgrades and came up with the following:

: Stage 1 H&R OE Sport -- 15-20% stiffer, lowers the car subtly, ride equal or better to stock.

: Stage 2 H&R Sport -- 25-30% stiffer, lowers 1.3" front, 1.0" rear.

: Stage 1 would presumably be with Bilstein HD while one could go either HD or Bilstein Sport with Stage 2. Or I could forego the springs and just upgrade to the HDs but with 200K on them, perhaps I should replace them anyway?

: Is there anything else such as shock mounts or other components that I should consider if I go with the stiffer springs and/or Bilstein Sports so as to not shake everything off?

: I like the stock ride though the shocks are a bit worn out. The front struts were actually replaced with Boges last year but either the mechanic f*cked up or they're just crap, because they're bouncy again. In that vein, I suppose the supplier could be suspect too but who knows. Vendor suggestions? I might order from Eurasian again but maybe cheaper isn't better.

: Your experiences, advice, comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and for the dads, have a happy Father's Day.

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