I have Eibach springs installed with the factory sport suspension, and although I'm happy with the handling and ride in general, the suspension bottoms out on the large potholes that we have in such great supply here in Massachusetts. I've installed Craven shock tower defenders as a precaution, but was hoping that a shock with more compression damping might help. I've been waiting for R56 Koni FSDs to be announced, but I noticed the the R53 versions are not recommended for lowered vehicles. Any ideas anyone (other than coilovers).

The other option I'm thinking about is just taking the hit on the Eibach springs and going to the JCW kit. How does this setup behave on sharp transitions?

Thanks!

 

I'm in the same boat, only I've already taken off the lowering springs and am pondering coilovers or JCW. Nobody has stand alone shocks available yet besides those included in the JCW kit. The Koni's yellows would probably be the cheapest solution for you by far and they should be out soon for the R56. I'd follow their recommendation against using FSD's with the lowered cars. Somebody here on NAM put the R53 Koni yellows on their R56 with Mach V springs and thought it was an amazing combination. Koni says that voids warranty though.

 

Thanks. Did you have Eibachs too? I'm curious how the base sport suspension rides on sharp transitions like expansion joints compared to the ride with the lowering springs. I had my springs installed before delivery, so I have no means for comparison. I don't mind a firm ride, but I don't want to punish the poor car... I'm trying to decide if I'd benefit going back to the standard springs until some additional R56 options become available as you did or save the labor cost and wait.

 

I had Mach V's. My biggest gripe was any time I'd hit a dip in the road the suspension would compress, hit the bump stop, and feel like it over reacted on the rebound. It felt like it would be downright dangerous at the limits. Stiffer shocks would make it harder for the suspension to compress completely. I felt like the car with too low with the Mach V's so I had two reasons to take them off. It wasn't going to be a permanent solution for me. If you are happy with the ride height, I'd say leave them on. You can either get the JCW kit sans springs like Scott48 did or wait for adjustable shocks like Koni yellows to come out in a few months. I may very well end up just going with the JCW kit. A big factor for me is how it augments my classification in autocross.