Some pics/vid of the new ST Suspension XTA Kit from ECS Tuning on my M3

[Grant318is]

So a couple months ago after getting rid of the M5, Miata and finding my M3, I decided I was going to replace the Bilstein/H&R springs with a coilover kit. On my previous cars, I had Ground Control, BC, H&R, FK and the original ST Suspension. This time around, I was considering just going with another set of Ground Controls, but because the car may only get limited high performance driving use and will mainly be commuter car, I figured I would see what the other options were. I wanted a couple things:

- Decent Quality (not china)
- Under 1500 Bucks
- Dampening Adjustment
- Camber Plates
- Good ride quality at a slightly lowered height

With this in mind, I made some calls to ECS and after some back and forth with them, I settled on the new XTA kit and had it in the mail.

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E36-M3-...ers/ES2800200/

These are currently $1427 with a $75 gift card promo. I would recommend buying spacers with your gift card if you have OEM wheels.

They are height and dampening adjustable, feature galvanized bodies, include camber plates and new swap bar endlinks. They also have a 5 year warranty from KW/ST.



Some pics out of the box:













Getting ready for the install:






Install in progress:






After the install, I noticed that the OEM wheels would NOT fit without spacers. Bummer!




Called up ECS, and they overnighted me a set of 10mm Spacers for the front with extended lugs.




Rears going on:


Picture of a properly installed AKG RSM. Note the use of the OEM washers and hardware. I was pretty disappointed that AKG did not include ANY instructions with these as it would be easy to assume that you would not need the OEM hardware.




After letting them settle for a week and some short trips to and from work, I got it aligned and took some pics. The camber plates work great and provided the shop with enough adjustment to dial out the negative camber induced by lowering the car.









So yeah, after everything I am very happy with my purchase. Here are my early (3 weeks in) impressions:

- These coilovers are stiff even on full soft. If you expect to have a stock like ride even raised up, it's not going to happen. I love them that way. On full soft, they are at the perfect setting to be able to daily drive the car and commute without it being overly harsh, but at the same time you feel the difference.

- These are designed to go low. I have them spun up about 2/3 to the top (20 threads). This compresses the helper spring and may contribute to a stiffer ride. Since I plan to run more aggressive wheels in the future, and be lower, this should work out perfectly.

- I feel like this kit is the perfect medium between many of the cheap non adjustable coilover kits on the market without camber plates and full race/track setups. One thing I have noted in the past is that GC and other kits use spherical bearings in their mounts and camber plates which can lead to a lot of noise when turning the wheel and driving a low speeds. This is all great, but for your average user who is not building a full track car, it can be a nuisance.

- The price is very reasonable on this kit at ~1400 bucks for what you get considering that KW V2s are another 400 and DO NOT include camber plates. Now that said, KW V2s have the stainless steel bodies which I would consider if I lived in a harsher climate than South Florida...

Last, I want to thank Nathan at ECS for helping me pick these out and for his great support when I needed spacers. As a matter of fact, when I called about whether or not I would need spacers, he personally called ST Suspension and found someone who owned this kit. I really can't stress enough that if you are in the market for suspension (or anything for that matter) for your car that you call them or check out their site. They are one of the few parts retailers that "get it." They treat there customers great, have reasonable prices and have an awesome website that makes it easy to shop. I have been ordering from them for the last 8 years and have never had an issue that wasn't solved on the first email or phone call even if it was my fault.

[bmw325e30]

Very nice. High quality parts = high quality car.

[MINIz guy]

I like how these are basically KW V2's at a great low budget price.

[notMpowered]

So whats your opinion on the stiffness? I'm looking at upgrading from my FK coils, and was considering these. I need some dampening adjustment and camber plates in my life.

[SkiFree]

I'm sure that AKG kind of expects you to know how to turn a wrench. Its like including instructions with how to heat and eat your ramen.

[Grant318is]

So whats your opinion on the stiffness? I'm looking at upgrading from my FK coils, and was considering these. I need some dampening adjustment and camber plates in my life.

Updated the post with ride quality/impressions.

I'm sure that AKG kind of expects you to know how to turn a wrench. Its like including instructions with how to heat and eat your ramen.

That's not really an excuse. Obviously I know how to work on my car. Anyone could assume that when you buy their shock mounts that everything is included. Instead, it is a guessing game as to which factory parts to keep and which to throw away.

[ECSTuning]

Looking good! Glad you're loving your new XTAs!

-James

[Frank@AchillesMotorsports]

great write up and review, we are glad to see KW/ST start catering to different markets, looks like the nailed it with this setup.

[poncho1015]

Hey so the question I have is the ride bouncy? you are not too low so that may be a factor but I has Status Gruppe coils on my 99' M3 and it was stiff yes there is performance but the ride can be bouncy if your are not on a glass flat road. I however was pretty low.

A friend of mine with a similar coil also has a bouncy ride (sorry I forgot the name will edit later)

My Status Gruppe, friends, and original St's however were in the $1k category, wondering if these more expensive (assuming more quality) coils have eliminated the bounce?

[Grant318is]

Hey so the question I have is the ride bouncy? you are not too low so that may be a factor but I has Status Gruppe coils on my 99' M3 and it was stiff yes there is performance but the ride can be bouncy if your are not on a glass flat road. I however was pretty low.

A friend of mine with a similar coil also has a bouncy ride (sorry I forgot the name will edit later)

My Status Gruppe, friends, and original St's however were in the $1k category, wondering if these more expensive (assuming more quality) coils have eliminated the bounce?

These have zero bounce. They are very flat in the corners even with some bumps. KW does a great job matching the dampers to the spring rates.

[ReganM3]

I now it's an older thread, but would love to actually see the pics if you're able to update the Photo Bucket account.

GREAT thread, thanks for the info!!

[pDubs]

Photobucket is requiring you pay to share pictures on third party websites.

http://nypost.com/2017/07/05/how-pho...own-its-users/

https://thenextweb.com/apps/2017/07/...#.tnw_CePOL5sX

https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/4/15...sy-paid-update