Better than Swift Spec-R?

[Izzmeister]

Guys, 2015 non ZCP M4 with EDC. Running 12 mm spacers rear and 15mm front. Installed swift spec r springs, I hate them. They are a little stiffer, not bad but the car is so bouncy. Feels like a go kart, stock was so so so much better. I think it's due to lack of suspension travel. Tried diff modes, comfort, sport, etc and it's definitely bouncy because it has very little travel. Does anyone recommend a spring that will give me a decent drop without being so bouncy? It rubs on the top of the wheel liners now with any decent drop in the road. Have a buddy with eibachs, doesn't really look lowered. Then again eibachs are progressive rate so lots more travel. I don't mind if it lowers me a little less than swift but definitely want it to have that no gap or slight gap like half inch between tire and fender look. Can't deal with bounciness. Suggestions?
Thanks!

[stevehifi]

stock shocks cant handle that kind of drop. also the swifts lower much more than advertised (especially in the front)
I recommend you get the CS dampening as it helps level the car.
even with that its barely adequate

if you need to have higher ride height go with a coilover system or HAS

[MNR]

Man! I literally came on here to start a thread and say the same exact thing!!! I finally had enough on my ride home today to seek an alternative.

I can't stand my Swift springs aside from the look of the drop ('18 F80 ZCP). Car is beyond bouncy and very unsettling on bumps/elevation changes in sweepers - especially at speed. The car feels like it walks all over the place.

Was going to try CS coding but not sure this will help enough. Considering swapping to Emmanuel Design springs, HAS, or even coilovers if necessary.

You've got another set of ears listening...

[rborane]

Originally Posted by MNR

Man! I literally came on here to start a thread and say the same exact thing!!! I finally had enough on my ride home today to seek an alternative.

I can't stand my Swift springs aside from the look of the drop ('18 F80 ZCP). Car is beyond bouncy and very unsettling on bumps/elevation changes in sweepers - especially at speed. The car feels like it walks all over the place.

Was going to try CS coding but not sure this will help enough. Considering swapping to Emmanuel Design springs, HAS, or even coilovers if necessary.

You've got another set of ears listening...

Eibach V2 springs. Nice conservative drop with spring rates close to factory. You will like them.

[Izzmeister]

Originally Posted by rborane

Eibach V2 springs. Nice conservative drop with spring rates close to factory. You will like them.

Originally Posted by rborane

Eibach V2 springs. Nice conservative drop with spring rates close to factory. You will like them.

I'm thinking of going with those as well. I did try them in comfort mode for a complete day and it made a difference. Not enough to keep them though. Once this corona crap is over I will swap them out and the swifts will go for sale on here. It's just the lack of suspension travel that kills it for me. Love the look but hate everything else. I've had eibachs on all my cars...you can't go wrong.

[ntg44]

OP, get M Performance HAS. Seriously. Just do it and forget about it. I've gone through 4 suspensions including springs, full coil overs, and the M Performance kit is the best and most comfortable by far. You get what you pay for with OEM parts.

[Suds]

I had Swift springs installed on my 2015 M4 and the CS damping programmed.
After about 3 months I had the Swifts replaced by Eibach V2s.
Car has about the same drop but the ride is much better over large bumps.

[Remonster]

Originally Posted by ntg44

OP, get M Performance HAS. Seriously. Just do it and forget about it. I've gone through 4 suspensions including springs, full coil overs, and the M Performance kit is the best and most comfortable by far. You get what you pay for with OEM parts.

Which coilovers did you have before going to the HAS? Just curious for my own information.

I'm really glad you guys posted this thread, I have never used Swift springs on the F8x but I had them on my personal E92 M3 plus some customer cars and they were really great on that platform. Good to know not to expect the same high level of comfort on the F8x!

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by Remonster

Which coilovers did you have before going to the HAS? Just curious for my own information.

I'm really glad you guys posted this thread, I have never used Swift springs on the F8x but I had them on my personal E92 M3 plus some customer cars and they were really great on that platform. Good to know not to expect the same high level of comfort on the F8x!

Bilstein B16 Damptronic. It's one hell of a kit, but way too stiff for a street car.

[parabmw]

Any thoughts on Mss has?

[MNR]

Originally Posted by ntg44

OP, get M Performance HAS. Seriously. Just do it and forget about it. I've gone through 4 suspensions including springs, full coil overs, and the M Performance kit is the best and most comfortable by far. You get what you pay for with OEM parts.

Were you able to reuse your stock struts or did you switch to something like B6's?

Only asking because I am now paranoid I ruined my struts with these garbage Swifts

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by MNR

Were you able to reuse your stock struts or did you switch to something like B6's?

Only asking because I am now paranoid I ruined my struts with these garbage Swifts

Nah they're fine. However, my car only has about 8000 miles on stock shocks, and roughly 2500 of which were on MS springs. B6 won't work with MP HAS

[MNR]

Originally Posted by ntg44

Nah they're fine. However, my car only has about 8000 miles on stock shocks, and roughly 2500 of which were on MS springs. B6 won't work with MP HAS

Cool...good to know!

Very small possibility - but - have you ridden in a car with V3s? I was dead set on MPHAS but am starting to think of just doing full fledged coilovers at this point. If so, how do they compare?

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by MNR

Cool...good to know!

Very small possibility - but - have you ridden in a car with V3s? I was dead set on MPHAS but am starting to think of just doing full fledged coilovers at this point. If so, how do they compare?

I haven’t unfortunately, but in my opinion, coding out EDC when paying for the feature isn’t the right choice for a car of this caliber. Someone is selling the KW DDC kit on the classifieds for an awesome price. In my opinion, that’s what you should go with, since they integrate with OEM EDC and don’t get listed often. Much better than B16 Damptronic from the reviews I’ve read. Get them while you can! I’m surprised they’re not sold yet.

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1703094

[MNR]

Originally Posted by ntg44

I haven’t unfortunately, but in my opinion, coding out EDC when paying for the feature isn’t the right choice for a car of this caliber. Someone is selling the KW DDC kit on the classifieds for an awesome price. In my opinion, that’s what you should go with, since they integrate with OEM EDC and don’t get listed often. Much better than B16 Damptronic from the reviews I’ve read. Get them while you can! I’m surprised they’re not sold yet.

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1703094

Thank you for your insight sir! Greatly appreciate all the help

[Izzmeister]

Originally Posted by ntg44

I haven't unfortunately, but in my opinion, coding out EDC when paying for the feature isn't the right choice for a car of this caliber. Someone is selling the KW DDC kit on the classifieds for an awesome price. In my opinion, that's what you should go with, since they integrate with OEM EDC and don't get listed often. Much better than B16 Damptronic from the reviews I've read. Get them while you can! I'm surprised they're not sold yet.

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1703094

For my application I don't need HAS. They're expensive, I want to just drop the springs in and call it a day. Adjusting the height is cool for guys running different wheel sets and tracking often. I don't track it so just looking for a decent drop that rides well and looks good. Think I'm going with the Eibach V2 US Spec springs. Thoughts? Anyone else had these springs? I like the EDC and think OEM rides great and handles well enough. It's just a bit too much wheel to fender gap for my tastes.

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by Izzmeister

For my application I don't need HAS. They're expensive, I want to just drop the springs in and call it a day. Adjusting the height is cool for guys running different wheel sets and tracking often. I don't track it so just looking for a decent drop that rides well and looks good. Think I'm going with the Eibach V2 US Spec springs. Thoughts? Anyone else had these springs? I like the EDC and think OEM rides great and handles well enough. It's just a bit too much wheel to fender gap for my tastes.

I don't have experience with Eibach springs, but I did have Macht Schnell, which were bouncy/crashy. The rears felt like they were riding the bump stops. I had the same desires as you - I just wanted a lowering spring that worked well, and also was not looking for a HAS kit because it was unnecessary for me.

But in my case, it took too many suspension iterations and the associated costs that came with them than I cared for to finally find a suspension I'm happy with. I spent way too much money with all the swaps to the point where the labor alone could have paid for the MP HAS had I just stuck with my gut and gone with it the first time. The MP HAS comes with its own bump stops, and while I cannot speak for the Eibach, I can guarantee you're going to love the MP HAS. The Eibach may work out perfectly, or it may not, and then you'll need to look for another option anyways. In which case the money was better spent up front on the MP HAS.

The purpose of this post is to inform you, not to push you away from Eibach . But as someone who is coming from the exact same place you were, I guess my angle is the "been there, done that, learn from my mistakes" type, so it's just something to think about when making your decision.

Please post an update with whatever you choose. I am looking forward to your review.

EDIT: There's a MP HAS on sale for super cheap! https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1705540

[tropicatango]

try CS coding for the edc, with oem spring it's a major upgrade

with the swift, it's stiffer but i was alway in sport plus for daily driving and it was perfect for me, comfortable and great handling

[g0dbless]

Originally Posted by tropicatango

try CS coding for the edc, with oem spring it's a major upgrade

with the swift, it's stiffer but i was alway in sport plus for daily driving and it was perfect for me, comfortable and great handling

Agree with this post, haven't tried CD coding, I'm also on Swifts.

Comfort is so subjective, these things are comfortable but they're bouncy and takes a little bit to settle which is not confidence inspiring, but by no means harsh. I drive around on Sport on a regular basis and drive over train tracks in front of my house. These aren't uncomfortable in any way. If you're not going over bumps, they are pretty good for handling as well. My experience is with japanese cars and stiff coilovers so its subjective for everyone.

I also agree with ntg somewhat, after owning multiple cars with multiple suspension setups, good struts with matched springs is honestly the easiest and most stress free. Just drop it and go.

I haven't experienced very high end setups, so my experience is limited in that way, but I'm probably going to experiment more with this car.

[aswy6]

So im confused here. I was about to purchase Swift Spec R springs for myself because of all the fancy posts of how good are they, that they are made for this suspension etc. Now this posts seems to have negative feedback specifically about them being bouncy. I do track my car and dont want coilovers before i get good, the reason im getting springs is because im also getting camber plates so figured i would stick springs in there while at it. I dont want the car to be super bouncy because even though tracks i am going to are pretty flat, if there was a bump or something i dont want to lose traction. Can someone here with track experience summarize characteristics of this spring? Is this a good option for car that sees track with beginner driver?

[FreeDarko]

Originally Posted by aswy6

So im confused here. I was about to purchase Swift Spec R springs for myself because of all the fancy posts of how good are they, that they are made for this suspension etc. Now this posts seems to have negative feedback specifically about them being bouncy. I do track my car and dont want coilovers before i get good, the reason im getting springs is because im also getting camber plates so figured i would stick springs in there while at it. I dont want the car to be super bouncy because even though tracks i am going to are pretty flat, if there was a bump or something i dont want to lose traction. Can someone here with track experience summarize characteristics of this spring? Is this a good option for car that sees track with beginner driver?

I believe the positive posts on the Swift's are usually made quite soon after the install.

Based on my experience with the e92, the Swifts tend to overwhelm the shocks over a period of time, thus whatever positives experienced at install becomes moot.

For what it's worth, I went with Eibachs on my F80 M3 & M2 competition.

[ellipsis212]

I've had Swifts with OEM ZCP for nearly 20k miles now, and I wouldn't say the experience has changed that much in 2 years. They are pretty stiff in the sport/+ settings and comfort soaks up road chatter but is definitely a bit bouncy on bad roads. And let's be honest, we're all talking about comfort on bad roads because smooth tarmac feels great.

At some point I had considered the KW DDC but you need to read up about the rear suspension height before you pull the trigger. Max height is still WAY tucked.

Another thing to consider is the impact of your wheel/tire choice on overall ride quality. My car is downright compliant when I'm riding on my 20" winter setup but on my performance/looks setup with 305/25 in the back I am willfully sacrificing some comfort for style.

The point is that all of these things add up to your ride quality and the roads are largely out of your control, and all in all Swifts with OEM are still pretty good.