BMW F80 M3 / F82 M4
Suspension Secrets BMW Handling Packs
From our experience of setting up hundreds of BMW M3s and M4s, we have compiled a series of bespoke handling packs for all M3/M4 applications.
We’ve compiled a range of Handling Packs for the BMW F80 M3 and F82 M4.
Comprised of a mix of our own high quality custom-designed components, and parts from other market leaders such as Eibach, Nitron and Ohlins, our kits offer varying levels of upgrades, from an improved road handling kit, all the way to an uncompromising track-only setup.
Our kits are designed to get the best out of the BMW M3/M4, and are far cheaper than buying all the components individually.
We offer full installation and setup services to help you make the most of your upgrades.
Coilovers
Standard BMW suspension is a very diverse item that has been designed to work in multiple environments, on many different types of terrain, weather and surfaces. If you are using your BWW mainly for fast road use, track days or racing then you will certainly benefit from upgrading to a good set of coilovers.
Installing the coilovers will provide damping adjustment, allowing you to fine tune the handling characteristics of the car and will also provide a stiffer spring rate to control the car when being pushed to its limits through the corners. With a sophisticated coilover, the stiffer spring doesn’t mean you will have a much harsher ride than stock too as the spring rates are carefully designed around your use of the car.
Camber Plates
One area that can be drastically improved on BMWs is the lack of camber adjustment for the front wheels. Particularly once coilovers or lowering springs have been installed, the lower, stiffer car will be trying to use more of the camber of the tyre through corners. Without the correct camber setting, you will have less grip from the tyre than before. With the installation of a camber plate you are able to increase negative camber and fine tune the settings to ensure you are getting the maximum grip possible, and more even wear from your tyres.
Adjustable Suspension Arms
When lowering your F80 M3 or F82 M4, adjustable suspension arms and drop links are an important component to install to set the best geometry possible for the car. Once lowered, the standard adjustment bolts do not have enough range to set the optimum settings for camber and toe and therefore require adjustable arms with enough range to achieve all settings. Drop links are also required when lowering the M3 / M4 to set the anti roll bar back to the standard positioning to prevent any contact between suspension components. They are also required when corner weighting to remove any tension from the roll bar when in resting position.
Lowering Springs
Installing lowering springs to your F80 M3 or F82 M4 is a good first upgrade to make when looking to improve the handling of your BMW.
Lowering springs make the car sit lower. As a result, they offer several dynamic improvements to the car. Most importantly, the centre of gravity is reduced. A lower centre of gravity is beneficial in terms of accelerating, cornering and braking. Sitting the weight low in the chassis is one of the most important fundamental changes that you can make to improve how a car handles.
Anti-Roll Bars
Uprated anti-roll bars help to keep your car’s chassis flatter when cornering, and also alters the distribution of lateral load transfer between the front and rear axle, which in turn gives you more grip in the corners, and reduces understeer in the chassis.
They are an excellent choice for making your BMW faster and more direct through the corners. Direction changes are really where upgraded anti-roll bars shine, but their positives will be felt during all cornering.
Despite adding stiffness to the car’s chassis, anti-roll bars do not impact the ride comfort, making them a useful, but not overly compromising upgrade. They are an excellent fit for a fast road or more track-focused setup.
Wheel Spacers
Not only do wheel spacers improve the aesthetics of your vehicle, but they also offer performance enhancements. It is very important to ensure that you get a high-quality wheel spacer that is hub-centric and made of the correct material.
Some of the performance benefits offered by wheel spacers includes widening the track width of your vehicle, and improved rear axle stability. A wider track width allows for more lateral load transfer. Increased lateral load transfer allows you to go around corners at higher speeds.
Wheel spacers installed on the rear axle of a car can help to reduce oversteer. The addition track width on the rear axle makes the whole axle more stable during cornering, and again allows for more lateral load transfer.
Spacers are a quick and effective way of improving your car’s handling and its aesthetics. We sell Eibach’s high-quality hub-centric spacers for a variety of BMWs.
Solid Subframe Bushes
Solid Subframe Bushes transform how your BMW handles and communicates when driving. During a corner you turn the steering wheel, which turns the front wheels. Subsequently the tyres flex as the wheels turns, which generates a force back through the wheel and the suspension arms. This force moves the bushes, which then moves the chassis. By installing a solid bush, you remove the flex from the bushes, which speeds up the speed at which the chassis reacts to cornering forces.
Solid Subframe Bushes also prevent the occurence of unwanted geometry changes during heavy braking and cornering. During heavy brake applications, a softer bush can cause the toe angles of the front wheels to change as the car dives forward on the brakes. Soft bushes also flex during cornering which also causes understeer.
Our Solid Subframe Bushes tackle all of these issues and transform how your BMW feels and performs.