Alright folks. In my quest for the perfect coilovers (for me), I researched to death every option out there for the R53. I ultimately decided to replace my Bilsteins with....more Bilsteins, but nonetheless came across some interesting options, especially overseas. Spax, Cobra, Weitec, AP, etc.

So we all know KW makes ST, but did you know the UK version of ST is called Weitec? And to take this one step further, KW also makes a brand named "AP" that is similar in quality to ST, but a bit firmer and made with slightly different housing and perch materials?

AP Coilovers are mostly sold and known only in Europe, but there are several sets on Ebay right now. I looked into these very carefully, and while they cannot compete with KW (they're not meant to), they offer a solid bang for the buck. MINI Torque thinks fairly highly of them, as do other euro tuner forums. I personally would run these before something cheap and Taiwanese.

TL;DR KW makes AP coilovers, and they are $700 on Ebay right now.