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Recently purchased an r53 and am going to do a complete suspension rework. The previous owner replace the struts and shocks with Bilstein B4s, but only those, right before I bought it. Given that the car has 123k on it, I would have changed springs too at that time, and would like to go with H&R springs or JCW springs.
Question is, should I stick with the B4s since they are brand new, or swap to the Koni Sports and call it a day and take the $250 or so i could get for the Bilsteins?
Unlimited budget? Go with the Koni sport and springs and be potentially disappointed by the ride. I continue to waffle between the FSD which are installed now and swapping for a sportier (but presumed harsher) ride from the Konis. The FSDs ride so good that I'm not sure I'll ever make the change.
Any sort of budget? Stick with the B4s. You might get 150 for them used on a good day. But unlikely as a full kit brand new can be had for ~250 shipped. The B4s are plenty sporty with used OEM springs and I thought it was a fantastic budget setup. Definitely more sporty than comfort.
As fully outlined in my (sig) topic, I'm currently running combo of Koni "yellows" with JCW Sport "reds" (which replaced too short and too stiff Bilstein springs). IMO, the JCW Sports are a much better match for streets and highways usage as was my objective. Only 10mm drop from OEM springs and just a bit stiffer as outlined in the linked MF article. Mine has 100% poly bushings, which I believe result in the majority of overall ride stiffness vs my shocks/springs combo. The JCW "reds" P/Ns below were still available to order out of BMW Germany warehouse inventory as of a few years ago. Depending how heavy your own R53 is compared to mine minimally optioned, those could work well for you too.
I’m surprised there are still JCW springs left. I couldn’t get JCW springs for my car about five years ago when I tried.
@MCS4FUN , out of curiosity, how many turns of rebound are you running on your yellows? IIRC, I’m 3/4 of a turn from soft in the front and half a turn in the rear with my Swift springs.
To keep things somewhat on topic, my ride is firm but not intolerable with Koni yellows and Swift springs (and also a bunch of poly bushings and Vorshlag camber plates).
^^^ I'm running both F&R Konis at full soft rebound, noting fronts being adjustable externally using this tool and the rears when removed as assembled:
With respect to remaining JCW Sport spring inventory, I'll paste response from a popular MINI dealership parts manager received 20July2021 at the time I ordered mine. PM for specifics if needed:
The part numbers you have provided are available directly from Germany. The fronts are showing 93 sets and the rears are showing over three hundred. They are showing to be available to order. Keep in mind, turnaround would be prox 3-5 weeks. I did check the other part numbers, you are correct that these are the only option springs available anymore.
JCW Sport Springs I ordered and received prior to installationL
The previous owner replace the struts and shocks with Bilstein B4s, but only those, right before I bought it.
Just to be sure, the previous owner replaced at least the front top strut mounts while doing so, right? Bump stops should probably have been replaced as well.
I'm a budget guy, so I'd keep the B4, but if the new springs you intend to put on it lower the car, it might be best to change them for shocks that are designed for lowering. Or as other said, if you have the budget and want comfort, get Konis, though I don't have first-hand experience on this.
Full soft is what I expected, but I was curious. Maybe I should have just bought the JCWs that were available instead of the Swifts, but I dunno. They only had the JCWs for the heavier cars (but my springs are also designed for the R53 as well).
