Bilstein B16 Damptronic - Too stiff for the street?

[BzsBimmer]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

The clunking sound is trapped debris. I spray my wheel wells down heavily after every wash and this did the trick. No more clunks.

Odd... I don’t and I have never had clunks. Glad that sorted it out though.

[jpy1980]

Just FYI, I felt this suspension was super stiff even in comfort mode and I changed from 19 inch wheels with 35 aspect profile tires to 18s with 40 aspect profile tires and that really took the edge off and make the ride 100% better. This is with the b16 with CS tuning.

[irunalot]

I'm perfectly happy with the compliance but the clunking sounds when I turn the wheel past 1/4 turn in either direction is driving me nuts.

I'm not sure if it's dirt as I just picked up the car but will clean it out tomorrow when I wash the car.

[slaughter.mode]

After 3 months of running the B16s I gotta say--yeah, they're stiff as hell. I never used comfort mode until now. I have it set to the lowest setting in the front and about 3/4s the way down in the rear (this is how it was installed, I just left it). It sits with no gap all the way around. Camber is at 1.7F 2.0R. Running 275x30x20 PS4s in the front and 305x30x20 in the rear.

I live in an area with really smooth roads so I have no complaints. Handles so damn good.

[irunalot]

I ended up with thrust bearing on the lower spring perch as the clunking was due to coil bind when turning the wheels.

[ASRman]

Guys, update on this. Just goes to show how tolerance of ride is extremely subjective.

In a nutshell, the B16 Damptronics are the best upgrade I have ever done to the car. It has completely transformed the handling and unlike many others reported on here I have not experienced the bone jarring stiff ride. In comfort mode it is absolutely acceptable FOR ME. The ride is not crashy in the slightest. Yes it is stiffer than standard OEMs but isn't that the point of coilovers? There is a very noticeable difference between comfort sport and sport plus. I have also found that after around 2k miles the coilovers soften up and the ride is now plush. Extremely happy with the purchase! Considering upgrading to poly bushes next.

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by ASRman

Guys, update on this. Just goes to show how tolerance of ride is extremely subjective.

In a nutshell, the B16 Damptronics are the best upgrade I have ever done to the car. It has completely transformed the handling and unlike many others reported on here I have not experienced the bone jarring stiff ride. In comfort mode it is absolutely acceptable FOR ME. The ride is not crashy in the slightest. Yes it is stiffer than standard OEMs but isn't that the point of coilovers? There is a very noticeable difference between comfort sport and sport plus. I have also found that after around 2k miles the coilovers soften up and the ride is now plush. Extremely happy with the purchase! Considering upgrading to poly bushes next.

In my opinion, this has to do with the number of suspension/EDC revisions that the generation went through in its entire lifecycle. Not even from base to Comp to CS, but even minor revisions that were done from year to year.

I'm sure configuring the EDC settings is a part of this process and finding the right one is the correct way to get the right feel out of it.

Personally, on my 2017 base with 18s, comfort, sport, and sport plus were all far worse than stock sport plus. So I bailed.

[hellokitty]

12,000 miles later... I would do this upgrade all over again. You feel like you are driving a completely different (MUCH better handling) car.

[irunalot]

I agree its a huge improvement over stock.

[kenf80]

Originally Posted by ASRman

Guys, update on this. Just goes to show how tolerance of ride is extremely subjective.

In a nutshell, the B16 Damptronics are the best upgrade I have ever done to the car. It has completely transformed the handling and unlike many others reported on here I have not experienced the bone jarring stiff ride. In comfort mode it is absolutely acceptable FOR ME. The ride is not crashy in the slightest. Yes it is stiffer than standard OEMs but isn't that the point of coilovers? There is a very noticeable difference between comfort sport and sport plus. I have also found that after around 2k miles the coilovers soften up and the ride is now plush. Extremely happy with the purchase! Considering upgrading to poly bushes next.

Hey do you have any photos of the car on the b16s? Im currently on 19" 437M wheels and was about to buy some b16s but I saw a few things which showed me they dont go as low as kw ddc. And I am after 0 wheel gap in the front and i dont think this is achievable with b16s. Mind you this guy was running aftermarket wheels and 20s but still he was max low on the b16 and there was still a decent 1 finger gap in the front.

[SteveChester]

Just as an update I would say that when having these installed make sure you go to someone that is reputable and specialises in suspension geometry. I originally had these installed at a car tuner/car modifier establishment, was never fully happy with the ride height so took it to Suspension Secrets in the UK ( have a look at their Insta account ) and it was way out, left to right, front to back. Now has a fully corner weighted setup with some rake and it's miles better!

[M 4 FUN]

Check this out!
Evolve has been working with Bilstein for a while to revalve the dampers. Too many have complained about the car being too stiff for the roads many drive on.

[sergzz]

Glad to hear it worked out for you!

[phefner]

Hello, I like to track and usually hit between 8-12 HPDEs days a season. My 2016 F80 M3 is totally stock with the Adaptive M Suspension option. Looking to improve the track setup and it sounds like these are a good option.

Got a price of $5445 which includes installation. Bimmerworld is offering these for $3533. $2100 for the install? Seems high.

Can I get some ideas about how many hours it takes a tech who knows what they are doing?

Many thanks in advance.

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by phefner

Hello, I like to track and usually hit between 8-12 HPDEs days a season. My 2016 F80 M3 is totally stock with the Adaptive M Suspension option. Looking to improve the track setup and it sounds like these are a good option.

Got a price of $5445 which includes installation. Bimmerworld is offering these for $3533. $2100 for the install? Seems high.

Can I get some ideas about how many hours it takes a tech who knows what they are doing?

Many thanks in advance.

A couple of hours plus alignment.

[Dtwcastle]

I'm seeing a lot of feedback from people that live in areas with nice roads. Any northern folk running these on less then optimal road surfaces?

[EvoFire]

I'm in Vancouver BC. It's nicer here than Portland Oregon in terms of roads, but it's not great.

I'm on B16 Damptronics. It's a stiff setup, but also super capable on track. The big thing is the front springs. I have a M3 comp which starts at 198lb springs for the front and B16 is 525lbs iirc. It's going to be stiff whichever way you swing it.

I've updated my EDC coding from comp to CS and it made a good difference. Comfort is unusable in comp but now I mainly drive around in comfort/sport. Swapping from my 19"s to 18"s in winter has made a difference.

It's going to be a stiff setup no matter what, but this will transform the car into a CS beater on track. Took it to the local track and I was faster than a M2CS and I had much worse tires.

[hellokitty]

[QUOTE=Dtwcastle;29796384]I'm seeing a lot of feedback from people that live in areas with nice roads. Any northern folk running these on less then optimal road surfaces?

IMO Get KW DDC if you have crappy roads. I’m considering switching over to KW since the roads where I am are pretty crappy.

[f80tanz]

[QUOTE=hellokitty;29802981]

Originally Posted by Dtwcastle

I'm seeing a lot of feedback from people that live in areas with nice roads. Any northern folk running these on less then optimal road surfaces?

IMO Get KW DDC if you have crappy roads. I’m considering switching over to KW since the roads where I am are pretty crappy.

Hi there, I’m in New Jersey and roads in this state are not the greatest (that’s putting it very diplomatically). These coilovers are on the stiffer side compared to the KW HAS and stock setups that I had beforehand. I do think they handle road imperfections noticeably better than my previous HAS setup, as the car still feels planted without being jarring in ride quality. To me, the HAS setup had a real issue handling bumps at highway speeds, almost feeling a bit ‘floaty’, that I couldn’t get over. These coilovers, combined with the CS EDC programming, significantly improved the drive in my opinion. I tend to leave the car in comfort mode for the suspension setup around town, and sport when I’m on some nice backroads.

That being said, I would note the following:
- this is not my daily ride, so I am much more accepting of a stiffer suspension setup
- if you dump the ride height with this suspension (or any for that matter), it will feel jarring at times.
- I picked this to drive 95% backroads, 5% track.
I have never been in a KW DDC equipped car, so I can’t really comment on how that feels. As a point of reference, TheDailyDriven had some videos comparing the two setups on his old F80 since he had both. I have zero regrets from installing this setup, would highly recommend it.