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When choosing a strut and spring suspension system for your car, it's not always about how low can you go. It's related to your car's ride quality, handling, durability and ability to adapt to your driving ability. To most this conversation is like falling down the rabbit hole. Every driver, enthusiast, and tech alike has their own opinion on what is best. Truthfully, choosing the best option for your application boils down to an idea or goal to which you want your perfect setup to achieve.

What's your goal?

What type of activities do you participate in with your car? Is it a track car, a drift event vehicle, your weekend toy, or your daily driver? It can be any of these or none. If your car has a specific role or duty, direct your focus toward that goal.

Car Condition and Maintenance

One of my more noted statements or quotes is "Maintenance before performance."  Suspension systems are designed to help the driver dictate the behavior of the vehicle, maintaining control over various road surfaces and situations.

W107KITWhen upgrading your struts and springs to a lowered stance you change the geometry of your car. Your center of gravity changes, the stress tolerance decreases on other components, toe and camber changes. Keeping up with the maintenance of your control arms, strut mounts, links and bushings will pay off when upgrading your struts and springs.  Failing suspension components will result in poor drivability.

Road Conditions

Every road surface is different. Choosing a suspension that can handle your everyday driving conditions is pivotal. Areas where the roads are less than stellar may not be the environment for stiffer suspension setups. It can translate into a very harsh ride. You may want something sporty, but with the ability to cushion the impact of a road imperfection.

In other areas where the pavement is even flowing with very little obstacles to traverse, you can choose a more firm ride and not be affected. You want a ride quality that is tuned for your driving style that will not hinder your car's performance. An improper setup or tune can spell premature failure of associated parts and/or suspension issues. In SCCA or weekend course racing events, drivers adjust their cars to adapt to the changing track conditions to gain more handling and better times. Better times mean more wins.

Springs, Struts, or Coilovers

kw v2 rear strut stickerYour budget can make or break a project. There are many suspension products available for all performance needs. Once you’ve created a budget, you'll have more clear options.

If your budget is the alpha then product quality is the omega. Compare the construction of each product within your budget. Learn about spring rates, compression dampening and rebound. If that’s too much, there are online suspension calculators on various sites that can help you decipher the technical jargon. Some sites can be a little overwhelming if you’ve never dabbled in it before. Others are less complicated. Ask your customer service rep for their recommendations. Most CSRs know, and/or have used the products they sell. They can easily point you in the right direction.

Customer & Technical Support

To me this is a deal clincher. I have a set of KW variant 2 coilovers for my BMW. I absolutely love them. I had a recent issue that required my warranty to be honored. The tech advisor assisted me through the entire process. We quickly resolved the issue and items I needed were sent out immediately.

Talking to someone about your concerns with a product is vital. How they handle your claim or concern is also a reflection on the products they sell. Most have a warranty against manufacturer defect. Companies generally honor them. It's the manufacturer and retailer who go beyond the call of duty that truly standout. That's what you want.

Go Get'em Tiger

Upgrading your suspension is one of various things you can do to improve your car's performance. Like any other modification it takes planning and preparation to make it work. Again there are many opinions and options out there. Hopefully armed with this simple outline you’ll be set.

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About the author: William Yelder

William is an enthusiast, entrepreneur, and BMWCCA member from Freehold, NJ. Preferring the classic lines over modern convenience, he’s continuously improving the performance of his ’95 BMW 5-Series… One bolt at a time.


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Written by :
William Yelder

William is an enthusiast, entrepreneur, BMWCCA member, and admitted adrenaline junky from Freehold, NJ. Preferring the classic lines over modern convenience, he’s continuously improving the performance of his ’95 BMW 5-Series, One bolt at a time.


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