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-   -   Installed: M-Sport Suspension in my BMW 330i GT (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/199931-installed-m-sport-suspension-my-bmw-330i-gt-2.html)

Thank you for the wishes :)

They performed ride height alignment and wheel alignment as part of the installation, but I do not have details if the castor, camber and toe values are different for the M sport suspensions.

Great install graaja, the black dusted wheels will complete it ;) Its a shame that BMW doesn't offer this as a install option at the time of buying.

Hi sir,
from your reply I realised that the term ride height alignment was new to me!!! so looked it up and found a link describing it in brief. Posting it for other members benefitstupid:.
https://www.pro-align.co.uk/are-you-...-an-alignment/


regards,

Thank you for the kind words.

Ha ha. Yes. The black dusted wheels are going to be more common hereafter :D

Thanks a lot for sharing this! This is very useful info.

I like the wheels the way they are. A staggered set-up is a must though. :thumbs up

The 330i M Sport comes with a staggered setup - 225 in the front and 245 in the rear.

I and Kraft.Wagen meant these black (brake) dusted wheels :D

Oh, I didn't know that. That's great!

:thumbs up Looks really good but probably makes sense after a couple of years. Just my opinion.

Actually these are the wheels on my car only. After a long drive, they are usually covered in brake dust and look like painted wheels. A wash brings out the original silver :)

So, it is a joke in our Coimbatore TBHP group that they are powder coated wheels. I have no plans for changing the wheels or getting them painted anytime in the near future. I too like them a lot in the OE form.

Really? :Shockked:

Then you already got both the options without changing wheels. :uncontrol

This was the main reason why I was asking so many questions on brake pad replacement interval and cost to decide on BSI+.

Exactly. As most of my drives are 500+ kilometers, the car sports this black alloy look most of the time :D

Dear graaja,

Its been a few months that you got the m-sport suspension installed. You must have done several more kms now, compared to when you posted the initial reactions to the new suspension. Any other observations?

I ask because I am considering the same and have following concerns:

1) Original comfort suspension is factory installed. Is the workshop able to install the suspension as well as the factory? Could this lead to any issues (balancing or anything else that I am not aware of) in the long run?

2) I live in a city where roads are not very good. BMW told me that in their experience M-sport is uncomfortable on bad roads compared to the comfort suspension. I read in your initial note that you did not find too much difference in the comfort. Is it still the same?

3) How much difference do you feel in the drive quality? If you were asked to quantify the difference, what would you say?

4) Ground clearance was one important reason why I chose 3Gt over 5 Series. You reported no issues with GC in your initial observations. Is that still the same?

Thanks!

I have driven about 5000 kilometers with the M Sport suspensions, and am loving it. I consider this as one of the best upgrades one can do to a 3GT. The car is very well balanced between comfort and sportiness. It is not a go-kart (which would be a totally harsh ride), but it is very stable in the corners, with almost zero body roll, no bobbing of the rear in undulating roads, and I don't feel the ride comfort sacrificed at all. It is still quite comfortable going over speed breakers and small potholes in city speeds. Answers to your questions below.

1) I don't think we need to worry about the installation of suspensions. As suspensions are wear and tear items and would need replacement, the mechanics should have experience in changing suspensions.

2) Even I got similar feedback from a couple of BMW guys. But their point of view was with the M Sport suspensions on the 3 sedan, not the GT. I don't consider the ride to be harsh at all. In fact, I am even fine if the ride were a little more stiffer.

3) If I were to rate the M Sport suspensions on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of comfort, 1 being my Polo GT with KW coilovers which crashes into potholes and jumps over speed breakers, but handles as if on rails, and 10 being the GT with the original suspensions which is super soft on potholes and speed breakers, but rolls in corners and bobs on undulations, I would give the M Sport suspensions a 5.

4) I have driven the M Sport suspensions in some of the worst roads - the section between Hassanur to Chamrajnagar, Mullayangiri near Chikmagalur, and no body scraping issues. The GT, to begin with has a very good GC of 168mm. The M Sport suspensions result in a 10mm drop. But on full load, the regular suspensions have a sag of 25mm, whereas the M Sport has a sag of 10mm. So, the lowest point of travel is almost the same for both the suspensions. That should be the reason why I have not faced any GC issues. Of course, under light load conditions, the M sport will be lower than the regular suspension, but still the GC would be higher than the 3 series sedan on regular suspensions.

When it comes to comfort and handling, it mainly depends on the user's perspective. One person's comfort may be another person's harshness. One person's go-kart feel maybe too soft for another person. But if I were to just compare the regular GT suspensions and M Sport suspensions, I will definitely say the M Sport brings a good balance between comfort and sportiness.

As there aren't many examples of M Sport install in a GT in India, I would say take the leap of faith. It will not disappoint :)

Thank you very much @graaja!

I have decided to go ahead and get the msport suspension installed. I shall connect with BMW soon and figure out the next steps.

Since, I am a Newbie on Team-bhp I am unable to send a PM to you. Wanted to ask you if you can share a copy of the final invoice (part numbers and cost and service charges that you paid). It will give me a reference when I deal with BMW.

Hi, As I am on travel, not able to share the original invoice. Will do it once I am back from travel.

Here you go!