I would like to lower my CMS All4 by about 1.25 to 1.5 inches. As we know, options are limited for the Countryman. I considered coilovers but don't want the harsher ride. I want to stiffen things up a little but I'm not going to the track or driving especially hard on the street. So I'm thinking about the Bilstein B12 kit. There's inconsistent information about how much the kit lowers the car. Some blurbs say up to 40mm while many list it as 30mm front and 20 mm back. I don't know if I'm willing to make the investment for 0.8" lowering in the back.

So I'm looking for real-world experience with this kit. Information on both amount lowered and the ride quality are appreciated.

 

Here's my $0.02... With lowering springs, you're at the mercy of the dampers how low you can go. The Bilstein B12 kits use Eibach Pro-Kit springs, which are not the lowest, but modest. According to Eibach, its 1.2" in the front and 0.8" in the back. ON a Countryman, not sure how much lower you can go from there without changing out a bunch of other items. For example, NM springs go 1.4" front and back, and H&R go 1.4" front and back. Anything lower, you'll probably need coilovers.

If it were me, I would give consideration to the H&R springs paired with the Bilstein B8 shocks, add adjustable rear control arms and a rear sway bar, call it a day. (or long weekend)

 

Thanks for the reply. I would love to do H&R springs with Bilstein B8s. Unfortunately, according to Bilstein's site they don't make B8s for the R60. I've also read that the B12 kit uses B8s but I don't know if that's correct. If it is, it means that Bilstein sells them only as part of the kit, as far as I can tell.

 

Yeah, Bilstein even lists the B12 kit on their website as using the B8 shocks, but does not list the B8 shocks by themselves.

 

If there is no other way to get the B8s, I think I'll buy the B12 kit and a set of H&R springs. Then I'll sell the unused Eibach springs.

 

Maybe try getting in touch with Bilstein direct to make sure?

 

I decided to go with the B12 Pro-Kit. Unfortunately, it seems to be out of stock everywhere and no one has good information on when it will be available. Very disappointing.

 

Were you able to confirm the shocks are B8s?

 

Still waiting to hear back from Bilstein.

 

Received a reply from Bilstein US this morning. Interestingly, the shocks in the B12 kit are B6. He wrote that "traditionally" they are B8 but to work with the Eibach springs, they are B6. I assume that he means for R60 and R61, not universally.

 

I'm going to assume that they use the B6 with the R60-61 kit because they don't have a B8 application.

 

That's my assumption as well. I thought I'd read that the B8 is more appropriate for lowering.

I've decided to go with KW coilovers instead. A little more expensive but I'm more comfortable that they are more tailored to the car and I can dial them in to fit my taste.

 

Sorry if this is late or out of date, but coming from BMW discussions, the B6 and B8 Bilsteins aren’t different from each other other than length. Hence one more suited for lowering.

this was coming from when I was looking for suspension parts for my 3 series.