[Wingnut335]

Hey guys, as my post title suggests, I was wondering if I needed to buy anything else when looking to have coilovers installed on me 2011 E90 335xi. I initially thought it was as simple as ordering the coilovers (in this case KW-V1s) and having them installed, but then a friend mentioned I may need to get a new top cap and bearings. He also mentioned that if I was looking to have them remove and install the strut assembly as a whole (as opposed to reusing parts from my stock assembly), I would need to order other parts.

Can someone please clarify what needs to be done to have a proper coilover system installed? Since I'm paying a shop to do the install, I'd prefer to have all the parts ready so I only pay the labor once. Thanks for the help!

[zipstic]

It depends on what you want in your setup. I'd say most people just install the coilovers, get an alignment and then go on their way. (That's what I did when I had my V1's installed.) However, if you're into tracking your car you could look into camber plates and other suspension components.

If you just want a better ride height and improved handling for your daily driver/spirited driving, then I would just install the coils and get and alignment; anything else would be overkill in my opinion.

[Wingnut335]

Thanks for the feedback zipstic. Does that mean if I order the KWs that the kit comes with all the parts needed to pre-assemble the strut without having to re-use any parts from my existing stock assembly? I'd like to maintain the existing stock assembly in case I ever want to sell or trade the car in in the future.

[zipstic]

Yep, the KW kit comes with everything you need. The shop will take out the stock shocks and springs and install the coils in their place. Just ask for the stock shocks and springs back from your shop.

I have my stock shocks and springs sitting around in storage in case I want to revert back to stock before selling.

[jwzimm]

If you want to go by the book from BMW you will need to replace all the locking nuts that will be removed during the installation. There is also a paper gasket between the tophat and the chassis on the fronts that should be replaced (can't usually be reused). You can go to www.realoem.com and pull up the diagrams to identify the various parts that will have to be removed. I think the misc parts I ordered were around $100 from Tischer.

Some folks will argue that you don't need to replace the nuts. You may not but I don't take chances with suspension components.

[Wingnut335]

Originally Posted by jwzimm

If you want to go by the book from BMW you will need to replace all the locking nuts that will be removed during the installation. There is also a paper gasket between the tophat and the chassis on the fronts that should be replaced (can't usually be reused). You can go to www.realoem.com and pull up the diagrams to identify the various parts that will have to be removed. I think the misc parts I ordered were around $100 from Tischer.

Some folks will argue that you don't need to replace the nuts. You may not but I don't take chances with suspension components.

So aside from the nuts and a paper gasket, I won't need to get new tophats or bearings? I've read someone people say that you should replace the end links (with aftermarket ones) as well. Did you do this?

[jwzimm]

Originally Posted by Wingnut335

So aside from the nuts and a paper gasket, I won't need to get new tophats or bearings? I've read someone people say that you should replace the end links (with aftermarket ones) as well. Did you do this?

The reason to get new tophats is so you can assemble the fronts without stealing parts from your old struts. ECS tuning has a great video on the install that helps:

The bearing you may have heard of is the steering bearing that is inside the tophat assembly.

I did not replace the endlinks as KW did not say that it was required. I have noticed no ill effects from it.

[Wingnut335]

Thanks jwzimm. That video was extremely helpful The video made it look so simple that I may want to even try tackling this project.

I guess the only question I have at this point is, would you have any recommendations of any others work that I should have done while the suspension is already taken apart?

[jwzimm]

Hahaha! I did mine myself as well. If you do not have a well stocked garage, a committed helper, and about 12 hours free, you may want to re-think DIYing it. I felt like I had just finished getting worked over by Ali when I was done. :O

As for other stuff you can do, not really sure. You could swap over to the M3 front control arms to get some extra camber up front but that would really only be needed if you track your car. What I did is after I finished installing the front struts I removed the alignment pins. This allowed the alignment shop to shift the tops of the struts inward and give me close to 1 degree of negative camber. I combined this with having them set the front toe to near zero and that really improved the turn-in of the car without making it tramline.