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      11-17-2017, 08:41 PM   #22
x.shell
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffucd View Post
Update after 1 track day and a long distance road trip:

PERFORMANCE
I ran the car at Sonoma back in July with the settings on 6 out 11 front and rear. This is the setup that the shop recommended. Prior to the changes, I ran a best time of 1:58 a handful of times, but with the changes, I was able to run 3 laps back to back to back in the 1:56's. Turn in felt much sharper, through the corners it felt level and compliant, and I was able to roll onto the throttle earlier than usual. Also, when the car did break traction, it still acted predictably. I had a brown moment going over 100mph into turn 10 where I went into power oversteer, but was able to gather the car up, brake, then make the right before instead of going into the concrete wall. It could have been much worse, and the suspension definitely had a positive impact.

COMFORT
The shop recommended I try 5 for street driving and 6 for track and I've largely only left it there. I was initially planning on dialing it for comfort when the family was in the car, and to dial it up when on the track, but the ride is great in the firmer setting and I haven't felt the need to do it at all. Even on a 1,000 mile road trip I took in October, on roads from the SF Bay Area, up to the Sierras, South on 395, and through to Vegas, I never once felt the urge to change the settings. The sounds are probably the most noticeable change in day-to-day comfort. When driving normally, the increased road noise is very apparent. I didn't have a co-pilot with me on the drive, but at times it got loud enough where you'd have to raise your voice quite a bit to carry a conversation (we were on radios). Also, there are also sounds that come from the suspension that sound very different from the stock setup. Not metal on metal, or questionable, but more just low, dull tones that are different from the stock setup.

VISUALS
The "1 finger drop" seems to have pretty much stayed at the level when the work was first done, and really looks great. The car was aligned after a few hundred miles, but I didn't notice any noticeable changes in height. I've been asked a few times whether or not it bottoms out because it's such a tight visual fit, but functionally I have never had a problem, and it has never bottomed out or scraped the body. In all, I'm very happy with how it looks. I'm running 15mm spacers front and 12mm rear.

LIVEABILITY
By taking an angle over bumps and out of driveways I have yet to scrape the nose. The most significant change I've had to make (which really isn't that big a deal at all) is to be careful when driving in/out of sloped driveways - the wheels will lift and the limited slip will kick in and peel out/stall/lurch if I drive it like normal. I've gone over some pretty high bumps and the car hasn't high centered either. It has been a while since I've driven a lowered car and am surprised that it doesn't hit more often. Now it makes me feel like I should have lowered it sooner!

HINDSIGHT
The setup rocks, I'm really happy with it. I think it fits the car very sell since the M3 is an all around performer, and I've found that the AST's are much the same - road and track. That being said, I haven't had much need to change the settings on the car, but paid quite a premium for it over the 5100's. While I like to think that the 5200's include features and performance that can't be obtained by the lower models, it makes me wonder if I could have just done with 1-way adjustable CO's + bought a nice watch instead. But, I don't regret it, as it's just what I wanted.
Great write up. I'm glad you're liking the coilovers. A good suspension makes for a happy driver; that's what I say.

Quick question. Did you leave the spacers on when you took it to the track?

Also, part of the overall noise in the cabin can be attributed to the RE71R. They're really loud; especially after it's been worn down even a little bit. When I mounted my spare wheels with Continental ECS on it, the noise reduction compared to the RE71R was the first thing I noticed.
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