Swift vs Eibach Springs! Must See/Read!

[JDE92M3]

Hey guys I hope everyone is doing great! I just wanted to inform the community on my knowledge/understanding of the F80 M3 after all the research and hands on experience I've had.

I bought my car brand new in 2015 (MY2016 NON ZCP) and drove the car stock for about 7K miles. At this point I swapped my OEM springs for Swift Spec R springs. This dropped my car 1" in front and .4" in the rear. The drop really helped with the overall lofty feel that OEM had. I also feel it made the car look more aggressive, but this came with trade-offs. Most of the time when I had Swift springs I would track/autocross a lot, and I would drive it daily for the most part. I would swap around between my E36, E90 and F80 M3 for daily use. The Swift springs did a great job achieving the look I wanted, but the ride wasn't quite there. Now comes the beauty of the forums, and why I think it will always have a place in the car community. There is actual data and thought process, as opposed to the bashing type behavior I see on Facebook that truly provides very little value.

After tons of research, everyone stated that ZCP coding would help. So I contacted Alex Alpine got it done and I felt as though comfort mode felt better, but the stiffness in sport and sport+ almost made it unbearable especially when there were passengers were in the car. Then fast forward to the release of the M3 CS, and when the coding became available everyone was praising the coding. I was skeptical, as the ZCP didn't impress me. But I was VERY HAPPY to report that the M3 CS coding makes a world or difference and the car actually soaked up bumps rather than fumbling around. So I was very happy with the ride, but the issue that still remained was the ride quality with passengers and the ride with less than perfect roads.

I decided to do some more research. I know everyone is probably saying just get coilovers already lol. But I feel I paid for the EDC and I wanted to use it and I liked the adjustability of various drive modes. I understand certain coilovers do that as well, and I will be pursuing that at a later time. But in the mean time I wanted to see if there was any difference between Eibach and Swift springs. Once I learned more about linear vs progressive springs and ride heights, I felt as though Eibach could be the ticket.

Ok you guys still with me? Now you would think it would be an easy decision, ok just buy and swap. Butttt there are Eibach Euro V1, US V1 and US V2. Now this made it a little more confusing, but after studying the HUGE thread on Eibach springs and reading first hand experience. I knew that the Eibach Euro V1 were hopefully going to be the ticket. My buddy and I installed the Eibach Euro V1 springs and the ride height is acceptable, the ride quality is amazing and coupled with the M3 CS coding it is truly a winner! I'm no brand affiliate and I get nothing when anyone buys Eibach. So any type of linear spring should be the answer, now when we get into spring rates that could also play a huge factor. But so far the Eibach does a great job working with the stock EDC dampers and never falling on its face when roads are bad. I made a video so you guys can see visually the difference between the two style of springs, my opinions and just overall ease of install/working on the F80 M3.

I'm very appreciative to the community because without this forum I couldn't make informed decisions. And basically I would have to listen to all the retailers, who I feel have ulterior motives. Unlike myself who does this for the community and won't get a penny back in return. So rest assured my review is honest and unbiased. If anyone has questions please feel free to ask! I'm always happy to help, and if your not subscribed already think about it. I got a lot of content coming your way, and my collection of cars seems to never stop growing

Swift Spec R Springs:


Eibach Euro V1 Springs:

*During Install

*After All 4 Corners Complete

*Eibach Euro V1 Springs Settled (200+ miles)



JD

[JDE92M3]

If you guys haven't already consider subscribing, I got a ton more content coming on all my M3s



**BEAR WITH ME ON QUALITY, VIDEO IS STILL PROCESSING!**


JD

[BananaSlug]

Looks fantastic! How much did the Eibach springs drop the front and rear of your car?

[JDE92M3]

Originally Posted by BananaSlug

Looks fantastic! How much did the Eibach springs drop the front and rear of your car?

Appreciate the feedback, and happy to help. It is .8" in front and .4" in the rear. This is the type of information I would've wanted when I made the switch haha. So I'm hoping this helps the F8x community out! I will post a video soon, just waiting for it to upload then you will have all your questions answered and visuals always help.

JD

[Bmock17]

Where did you buy them from?

[JDE92M3]

Originally Posted by Bmock17

Where did you buy them from?

I found the link on the forums, https://www.tunershop.co.uk/! Hopefully the link shows up, I think it was $230 Shipped and arrived in 3 days.

JD

[Bmock17]

Originally Posted by JDE92M3

I found the link on the forums, https://www.tunershop.co.uk/! Hopefully the link shows up, I think it was $230 Shipped and arrived in 3 days.

JD

It looks good. I keep going back and forth about springs. The roads are awful here in Chicago and I have a front lip. I don't like the slammer look either; these springs look perfect.

[Daveneezy]

Great post! I just bought the same springs for my zcp after tons of reading. I wanted to keep oem ride quality with a slightly lower stance. I'll report back next week after they go in.

[65fastback]

Originally Posted by JDE92M3

Appreciate the feedback, and happy to help. It is .8" in front and .4" in the rear. This is the type of information I would've wanted when I made the switch haha. So I'm hoping this helps the F8x community out! I will post a video soon, just waiting for it to upload then you will have all your questions answered and visuals always help.

JD

curious ...did your steering feel change at all with lower springs? and if so...in what way.

i bought a 16 m4 recently and it has eibach springs (original owner put them on ) though i dont know what version they are. I noticed the steering feels VERY direct and almost too sensitive to input at times wile driving on the freeway, almost twitchy feeling. Feels different than stock F8x's that ive driven.

My car also has MPSS alpine winter tires on 20" bc forged wheels 295 rear 245 up front...not sure if thats part of it.

Thanks

[JDE92M3]

Originally Posted by Bmock17

It looks good. I keep going back and forth about springs. The roads are awful here in Chicago and I have a front lip. I don't like the slammer look either; these springs look perfect.

Trust me when I say these springs literally give you the best of both worlds. The car remains practical, the front is not overly slammed where Chicago roads scare you, the ride is OEM like if not more stable and the spring rate matches great with stock EDC. And if you go into sport or sport+ it is nearly as agile as Swift or other branded progressive springs. I really think linear springs are the way to go!

JD

[JDE92M3]

Originally Posted by Daveneezy

Great post! I just bought the same springs for my zcp after tons of reading. I wanted to keep oem ride quality with a slightly lower stance. I'll report back next week after they go in.

You will love the springs, and if you haven't already I would suggest adding M3 CS coding to your dampers. You will fall completely back in love with the car and the ride height.

JD

[JDE92M3]

Originally Posted by 65fastback

curious ...did your steering feel change at all with lower springs? and if so...in what way.

i bought a 16 m4 recently and it has eibach springs (original owner put them on ) though i dont know what version they are. I noticed the steering feels VERY direct and almost too sensitive to input at times wile driving on the freeway, almost twitchy feeling. Feels different than stock F8x's that ive driven.

My car also has MPSS alpine winter tires on 20" bc forged wheels 295 rear 245 up front...not sure if thats part of it.

Thanks

First things first winter tires are very soft compound for a reason. So any steering issues or flaws I would mainly attribute to that and the sizing. I feel as though my steering is very similar to OEM, and it gets more and more darty/nimble as I change the steering from comfort to sport to sport+. Personally I prefer to drive the car in comfort/sport suspension, comfort/sport for power and comfort or sport for steering. I don't like when things feel artificially quick, that takes away from the fine tune adjustability IMO. So I'm not like the usual that loves driving sport+ everything haha.

JD

[65fastback]

interesting....sounds like my eibach springs have very little or nothing to do with the twitchy - darty steering thing iam experiencing.
Thanks for the response.

[CachacoF80]

Nice. Are you running 35s and 19" up front? I have the same springs but the gap looks much better than mine with the standard 666 30s 20".

[JDE92M3]

Originally Posted by 65fastback

interesting....sounds like my eibach springs have very little or nothing to do with the twitchy - darty steering thing iam experiencing.
Thanks for the response.

Yea I'm not experiencing those symptoms tbh. I've only put about 4-5K miles so far. Maybe it will shows its ugly face soon, but I don't foresee it happening. Might have to also get under there and make sure nothing is bent, broken or loose.

JD

[JDE92M3]

Originally Posted by CachacoF80

Nice. Are you running 35s and 19" up front? I have the same springs but the gap looks much better than mine with the standard 666 30s 20".

Whenever I can I run a larger profile, I need some cushion for ride comfort and to handle our crappy roads. I am running 265/35/19 in front and 305/30/19 in the rear. The 35 profile def has an advantage of clearing up any wheel gap as well, which adds to the benefits for me. With 20" wheels sometimes that's not possible, which is why for me the optimal size on the F80 is 19" wheels. It's all subjective preference haha! Love your car color San Marino Blue? Beautiful and the 30 profile on the 20" wheel is definitely why the ride height seems so different.

JD

[CachacoF80]

Originally Posted by JDE92M3

Whenever I can I run a larger profile, I need some cushion for ride comfort and to handle our crappy roads. I am running 265/35/19 in front and 305/30/19 in the rear. The 35 profile def has an advantage of clearing up any wheel gap as well, which adds to the benefits for me. With 20" wheels sometimes that's not possible, which is why for me the optimal size on the F80 is 19" wheels. It's all subjective preference haha! Love your car color San Marino Blue? Beautiful and the 30 profile on the 20" wheel is definitely why the ride height seems so different.

JD

Got it, thanks. I've never liked the 666 so now I have one more reason to move to 19s and improve the ride.

Yes, thanks. San Marino Blue on Amaro. Love the color.

[SleepyF80]

Great thread! And thanks for the info JDE92M3! Looking forward to videos and more pictures

[JDE92M3]

Originally Posted by SleepyF80

Great thread! And thanks for the info JDE92M3! Looking forward to videos and more pictures

Anytime I'm happy to help! I got a ton more mods coming, and I will do write ups and videos to help anyone else that's in the same predicament. Trust me anyone on the fence about lowering the car, get Eibach or similar. Anyone that is deciding between linear and progressive springs, determine what's important to you. Do you care more about the solo driving experience? Or do you care about the all around package which also allows you to bring passengers in the car without embarrassment and enjoy the car as a dual purpose car? Determine the answer to this and that will make your spring search that much easier!

JD

[SleepyF80]

Originally Posted by Daveneezy

Great post! I just bought the same springs for my zcp after tons of reading. I wanted to keep oem ride quality with a slightly lower stance. I'll report back next week after they go in.

Looking forward to this. ZCP owner as well and curious how they would look!

[Rahul718]

OP, you mind sharing the part number of the Euro V1 springs you bought? I’m on Swifts right now and the bounciness is going to get old real fast. Appreciate it and car looks great!

[SleepyF80]

Originally Posted by JDE92M3

Anytime I'm happy to help! I got a ton more mods coming, and I will do write ups and videos to help anyone else that's in the same predicament. Trust me anyone on the fence about lowering the car, get Eibach or similar. Anyone that is deciding between linear and progressive springs, determine what's important to you. Do you care more about the solo driving experience? Or do you care about the all around package which also allows you to bring passengers in the car without embarrassment and enjoy the car as a dual purpose car? Determine the answer to this and that will make your spring search that much easier!

JD

For sure. I've had eibach on other vehicles. Nice but over time they got a little rough. Curious to see how these hold up in the long run. Hopefully amazing