E85 Z4 Handling
Suspension tuning is all about being honest with yourself, what do you want - looks, handling, road, race or a compromise on all the above?
 |
 |
For looks then don't worry about fully adjustable platforms and remote shocks they are pure overkill for that, simply go for a lowering kit. Normally handling is marginally improved and ride only compromised a little but they represent the easiest and most cost effective way of getting the lowered look you want. We can supply and fit kits from all the major manufacturers from Eibach to H&R.
Thorney Motorsport Custom Geometry Set Up - From £250
Cars come from the factory with pretty benign settings, the manufacturers don't want hundreds of people throwing themselves into hedegrows at every corner but this does mean that the spirited driver is having some of their fun compromised. We specialise in getting some of this fun back by sharpening up the handling of the car. With standard suspension we're of course limited by what we can do (we're not miracle workers) but we can get some more fun out of these chassis' for just a bit of time.
 |
We have a complete four wheel lazer alignment rig at TMS complete with specialist four poster, self levelling ramp so we can adjust the whole range of BMW's in the same way as a dealership. However what we can do is adjust the settings to adjust the handling more akin to what you want from the car. For the Z4 this means we can get rid of some of the understeer and get a bit more feel to the back when under power.
After any suspension changes we recommend (insist in many cases) on a full geometry alignment, no point in getting it lower if you screw up the tracking at the same time. We have access to our own four wheel alignmet set up. We specialise in track preparation and set up for all the Motorsport BMW's so can adjust the handling to suit your needs, from benign safe set up to full track performance the choice is yours.
For real handling upgrades then you need to look at adjustable shock set ups and in this respect there are a variety of options to go for. We supply and fit all the available kits from Bilstein, KW, Leda and Nitron so the World really is your oyster. We can of course advise which kit to go for depending on your requirements and budget - give us a call.
Thorney Motorsport Handling Upgrade Stage 1 - Eibach lowering Spring kit
Normally just changing the springs on a car tend to make the ride unacceptably harsh but the Eibach Pro spring kits seem pretty good at avoiding this. A lowered look is achieved and the handling improved slightly with the lower ride height. A useful cost effective handling upgrade, ideally combined with a change in geometry set up can improve the car by quite some margin. If you're looking for a lowered look and some improvement in handling then this is your best bet.
Eibach Pro Lowering Kit - £190 supplied £350 fitted
For real changes to handling you need to replace the entire suspension unit. Suspension works in unison (spring and damper) so replacing these together will give a perfect mixture of both. We explain more fully the whole process of suspension in our guide here.
Suspension choices rest on what level of adjustability you need, height, damping, seprate damping and rebound and full race. The more adjustability you have the more you can fine tune the handling to your needs, suspension after all is about personal choice.
