I've searched the boards but to no avail. I was thinking about getting H&R springs for my SE. I don't want a harsher ride. Everyone seems to think that H&R are softer than Eibachs. But are these people with SE's or GLE/GXE's? The guy at my local performance shop seems to think that Eibachs are the best choice. If I get Eibachs, will the ride be a lot more harsh than my stock SE setup? I kinda want the BMW feel with a good combination of ride comfort and handling. He says Eibachs will do that. I'm so confused.

 

I had H&Rs on my 4th gen and I have Eibachs on my 5th. I like the Eibachs better, it's not harsh like people have said. But I will say H&Rs are softer, but that's not always good. And as far as the BMW feel comment goes, I guess he's the expert but I'll add that the ride does seem more European Hate that stock floaty suspension.

 

what did you go with for struts? My bro has eibachs on his 4t gen, and you feel everything and the steering wheel jolts a little on good bumps. Is this normal?

 

on my '01 SE a few weeks ago I can tell you the ride is indeed a tab firmer -but its a nice firm...not harsh in any way, just well-damped firmer -but that's more a result of the shocks than the springs.

Having sold a Bimmer (540 six-speed) in my home country before relocating to the US and buying my Max here I can tell you some philosophical differences in suspension setups between European and Japanese manufacturers you can compensate (improve) somewhat with the Eibach/Tokico (or Koni) combo but not with the springs alone.

Typically, Euro cars have soft springs and tight shocks -particularly tight on rebound...when the shock is extending/recovering after a jounce. Japanese performance cars tend to be more heavily sprung but softer damped, that's why they ride harsh but still 'float' a bit sometimes. On a BMW E39 (5-series) the front suspension is mounted on a subframe so..that's another reason why the 5-series are so 'buttery' in ride.

For ride as well as handling, the ideal setup which would more closely approximate a BMW-like ride would be same rate springs as OEM (or just a tad stiffer) and then good shocks such as Tokicos or Konis -particularly the Konis.

Sadly, all lowering springs are stiffer than the OEM spring; some more than others. But, since neither Eibach nor H&R will give actual spring rate data (lbs/inch of compression) we're stuck with subjective impressions & the various opinions u see on this forum.

Bottom line: going to either Eibachs or H&Rs WILL stiffen your ride from the current setup -particularly since you dont drive an SE now. But, this stiffness will be mitigated somewhat by changing shocks...just a matter of how much $$$ you wanna spend