http://www.nitronracingshocks.com/Mi...t-_p_2122.html

I haven't been able to find much info on anyone running these coilovers. I'm curious what the consensus is on the coilover kit with highest quality dampers for the F56 at the 3K price point, would prefer one that includes camber plates. I'm guessing these would be comparable to the 5100 Series AST coilovers although those do not include camber plates for a similar price point.

If my car has the EDC option that means that if I don't go with a KW kit designed for EDC cars I'll have a light on my dash? Will I really need this EDC cancellation module? https://www.ecstuning.com/b-kw-suspe...e/68510477~kw/

Since the previous owner was adding the JCW parts to my MCS I thought it might be cool to take it one step further and add some of the JCW challenge parts to the car. I'm curious if there's anything else aside from the Nitron suspension, Quaife limited slip differential, custom Mintex brakes and lightweight Team Dynamics Wheels that make the Challenge different from a a JCW F56?

 

Bilstein clubsports, but not sure if online info is still accurate such as pricing (some at $3k some at $4.5k). If you're in socal Bilstein support, service, and customization options should be strong which would sway me over the Nitrons.

 

Was hoping to get a little more input from damper snobs before I pull the trigger. Bilstein Clubsports vs Nitron R1 vs KW??

 

Very few put up that kind of money, especially on this platform. We have KW Clubsports and we had a few issues, namely the top plate on the camber plate warped over time, we replaced it with a titanium plate without countersinks using regular cap screws in order to strengthen it on two fronts which seems to have held up great. The springs began to sag and coilbind, maybe because we had to jack up the preload to prevent rubbing (the car sat far too low in the front) but replacing it with an Eibach spring was a night and day improvement on all fronts and we've maxed out the damping trying to keep up with the spring rates (~500#) we feel are necessary to support 200tw autox tires, even in the measly 225s we're limited to, they are not revalvable to my knowledge. They are however able to be turned down for a comfy ride, so they have that going for them.

Nitrons might be brilliant, idk, but the local service and flexibility of rebuilds would get my vote, shipping dampers off to England would be a pita, and there's no guarantee they get you what you want even after multiple revisions, all of these setups were tuned for euro road and track days on modest street tires, I find it's incredibly rare for any platforms off the shelf kit to magically be great at autox/street duty, many will likely be good enough for a fun time though. I'd love for you to try them and report back, it bothers me that they don't post spring rates or even basic sample damping curves on the website I'm looking at, that would help a lot, far too many companies look at you funny when you ask questions, the good ones put the info up front or respond knowledgeably and quickly.

Honestly I'd really like to try BC and get them revalved by ProParts, but I'm not the spender on this car. As for being a snob, the car doesn't know who manufactured the damper, as long as it gets the job done, it'll get the job done. Unlimited budget I'd contact MCS and talk to them, get a set of Vorshlag camber plates to match, hopefully they have a BMW fitment they can adapt so you're not paying out the nose, second choice would be Bilstein with a budget for a revalve.

 

i’m running the nitrons, which replaced V2’s. big improvement, but they are street focused. the camber plate is a nice piece. even at the lowest setting, the car does not go as low as others. however, the ride quality belies the handling. poor communication from the US rep, but easy to work direct with factory folks. I don’t believe you’ll find a better setup for the intended purpose.

 

Thanks! It's great to hear from at least one person who's run them. Sounds like they are a nice step up from KW's. You reckon they will ride better on the road than Bilstein Clubsports? I like the idea of a coilover that actually had some R & D with the platform. I am definitley not looking for a big drop or to slam the car, quite the opposite I'd prefer a minimal drop. Having poor communication with US rep is a little frustrating though...

Your car didn't come with EDC or DDC or whichever you want to call it by chance? I've heard different things on f56 threads whether the EDC cancellation modules are really needed? I've also seen a thread where it said the top mounts on the rear are different in EDC cars? Would love to get this figured out before I order the Clubsports or Nitrons.

 

I've heard of a few people having similar issues to you with their KW's and have also heard that their customer service can be poor. I'd really like something I don't immediately have to send out to be revalved. I would think if the budget is really unlimited, depending on your purpose I'd go for a 10K plus set of Penske shocks! I hear you on BC's and that they work great for some people. I kind of skipped over coils in that price range and started with suspension in the 2K range, mostly made in Japan. So I can't comment on the quality of the 1K or less dampers. I really just want the best dampers I can get without external reservoirs that don't need to be rebuilt every 40 hours of driving in the 3K to 4K price range.

I will say going from two thousand $ Japanese coils to a JRZ RS2 setup was a big step up in stabilizing my other car at high speeds over large bumps on track. I picked up almost 2 seconds on the same tires at my local track. Unlike people who say they can feel the difference between cast wheels and forged wheels that are 2 lbs lighter per corner. Or they can feel their new carbon fiber driveshaft. With my limited experience great dampers seem like something you can appreciate everyday, even on public roads!

 

The nitrons are specific to the car....designed and tested just for the platform. They are adjustable without having to be removed (unlike the KW). When set stiff, they handle very well; when set softer, they are compliant but still handle well. I’ve had PSS10’s on other bmw’s and liked them for the usual longevity, but they are stiff. The nitrons maintain a bit of back to front rake when set to lowest position.

With the KW, I was running an aggressive alignment to get the thing to handle dammit! With nitrons, I’m back to less aggressive settings, but it handles far better and is much more composed. I had similar results on a 2007 Lotus Exige track car. PM me if you want to talk to a factory rep. Keep in mind, they aren’t on the shelf....you order them, they make ‘me and then they show 6 weeks later.

 

One more thing. The camber plates are key....caster becomes camber on these cars and having that variable to play with is great. You do lose the ability to have a strut brace however, unless you modify the ends or make your own.

 

Drilled holes above the rear dampers allow for adjustment of the top **** on the KW v3/Clubsports. But they would definitely be my last choice.

So do you pick spring rates for the Nitrons and get some customization in or is build to order mean they start building their standard set after you order?

 

they will go with a standard street set unless you talk to them. meantime, a pic of their camber/caster plate and a side view of the rake with the street setup...notice higher in back (and they are set to max low, back and front).

 

The Nitron Kit is used from the challenge as it is British.
Quaife as well, however a drexler is better and competitive Investment into speed🛵

 

That's even more than OS Giken. Care to enlighten me on the tech behind it?

 

Looks like I may need them to make the kit specifically for DDC according to this thread. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-with-ddc.html
Your car didn't come with DDC did it? Just got back from my first road trip and really appreciated how soft the ride was for that purpose, now slightly worried about ruining the ride quality. Maybe I should try just camber plates and an LSD 1st? I do have a front shock that is leaking which was encouraging my habit of modding to begin with...

I just want coils that offer a similar to stock ride height and much better handling with an aggressive alignment without sacrificing too much in the way of comfort. I'm guessing the Nitrons will be better on the street than Bilstein or KW clubsports?

 

no But its as expansive as nitron 👑

 

lol "I just want perfection, nbd"

 

So I'm still trying to decide on suspension. I think I've narrowed it down to these 2 options. Please let me know which you think has a better possibility of giving me the semi-comfortable ride and positive handling characteristics I'm looking for. If I go coils I will most likely stay close to stock ride height.

Option A) Nitron R1 coilovers for challenge car. These are suppose to be setup for the road but I have some doubts on street ride quality. Still waiting to hear back on spring rates etc.

Option B) Half the price would be Koni FSD shocks with stock springs, K-MAC camber plates and eibach front and rear sway bars. If I go coils I would most likely leave the stock bars for now.

 

I'd probably get frustrated by the soft stock springs midway through the season and want to change them, maybe you're more patient than me though.

 

I believe Koni says that FSD shouldn't be used with lower springs. I don't know why- if they don't ride well, if they blow out when low, or if Koni is just covering themselves.

I really think you're describing either the JCW Pro coil overs, or the KW Street Comfort, which I believe are basically an adjustable version of the JCWs (add camber plates to either). I went with the SC after reading a few threads on the German F56 forum. Well, google translations of the threads. The folks there seem to love them. My takeaway was that owners saw no need for the less smooth v2s, even though Germany's roads are famously smooth already. Here's one such thread... 41 pages!

https://www.mini-f56-forum.de/index....t-Comfort-JCW/

The Nitrons do also sound like what you describe, but a lot of money to test that theory!

If you're ever in the LA area, come take a spin in my car.

 

Hi

I am located in Europe and I m interested in fitting some coilovers on my F56 JCW and some wider wheels and tyres (probably some 8x18 ET45 OZ wheels or some 7.5x18 ET40 NM eng RSe12 with 215/40r18 or 225/40r18 tyres)

I know that KW have a flat spot on the strut near the tyre to give more clearance and also that BILSTEIN recommends a spacer (on standard wheels) on their B14 or B16 coilovers as probably theyr inverted type shock takes more space than others...

Do you have any info about the clearance of the nitrons or could you please measure the strut diameter? even better if you also have the sizing of the KW

Do you know the nitron spring rates?

And even if they wont go really low do you know approximately how much lower than standard they are at the lowest settings?

Thanks

 

HolyF56 guy: Doesn't sound like your taking your car to the track? I too wanted better handling for street use while maintaining ground clearance. I grabbed a set my JCW Pro's set them to 10mm lower than stock, seemed like everything else out there runs lower (requiring camber plates, control arms, links etc.)
The car improved greatly, less roll on turn-in etc. but I was still looking for quicker turn-in so I grabbed the Eibach's F/R sway bars. The car turns instantly now but jumps/hops/skips over bumps in turns. Keep in mind, my clearance from tire to flat spot on strut is 5mm (Pirelli P-Zero 205/45/17) so if you grab a larger diameter strut you might have tire-to-strut contact.

 

Another question about the NITRONS

When you say that they are at lowest position does it mean that if you unscrew the spring collars for even lower the springs will start to move when suspension is unloaded?

Or do you mean that you are out of thread and in that case some shorter custom NITRON springs would make it lower?

 

sorry for the late reply. out of thread and installed as per their instructions. they are a street oriented setup and suited to that purpose. the KW's will go lower, but i found lost compliance and a harsher ride overall the lower i went, perhaps because they were not truly tuned to the vehicle, or they were designed more for track use. i do still have the KW's and will try to remember to measure them when next at the storage area. as for the Nitron's i'd have to get it up in the air and it's currently in hibernation waiting for spring. you can always contact Nitron directly for anwers.....sales@nitron.co.uk

 

I emailed them and was told a 15N spring front and 300-350# spring rear, no damper Dyno samples unless you pay for the kit.

 

I went for some AST / Moton custom made 5100 suspension kit with their adjustable top mounts and arb links

The actual models have a big inverted front stut similar size as nitrons or bilstein (and are normal and excentered as some of their older model to make space for the tyre as that design was not available anymore) that would require a spacer with oem wheels

For the wheels I fitted some NM eng RSe12 7.5x18 et 40 with some Michelin older design PS2 in 225/40R18

The tyres seat well on the rim and the profile is square (not stretched on the wheel but not much wider than the rim)

The strut itself have a lot of space from the tyre (like 12mm) but if you want to lower the car a lot then the coilover spring collar will come really close to the tyre like 2 or 3 mm and you could not go much lower at the front (maybe 20mm lower than standard wich is already good)

If you want to go even lower there could be more space with less wide tyres as 215 or 205 or get a slightly shorter front spring

The ride of the AST dampers is I would say really good as expected at least on the street making the handlig slightly stiffer on bumps and making the car react way more as a sport FWD car but still absorb the road bumps well.

I did not make the proper alignment yet (just added some front camber) but with non runflat wider tyres camber and suspension the feeling of the car is really changed and good

In some tighter turns compressions it can slightly rub the fenders but not much at all and it can I think be trimmed not to touch

will post pictures later