If you're looking in that price range and are considering the KW V1, which doesn't come with camber plates, I would be looking at Ground Control.

 

Cole, either buy the Ground Control street / school kit for $1899 plus prob $50 for shipping or buy the Rob43 / Ground Control setup that costs $1290 (iirc) which includes shipping. Both will work great.

 

Bilstein and KW's are both warrantied for the life of the product (to the original purchaser).

KW's are great as well as Bilstein. Not a huge fan of Status Grupppe or Fortune Auto.

You might want to consider ST's as well. They are identical to the KW V1 (same spring, spring rate, valving, etc) with the exception of the strut body. ST's use a galvanized strut housing vs. KW's being stainless. ST's for your car should be about a grand (https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-210920-st-suspension-coilover-kit-bmw-e46-m3/) which would leave you money to invest in camber plates and/or new mounts, etc. Given that you are in SoCal, you don't have to worry about salt and corrosion.

 

Konis are also warrantied for life.

 

Hey guys I just want to chime in Our Status Gruppe RS Coilovers are european made and have a lifetime warranty . They have a big following on M3 Forum, Multiple successful group buys and 100s of kits sold. Swift spring option available as well. Feel free to pm any questions you might have . Thanks!

 

Agreed that Status Grupppe or Fortune Auto are far from a first pick, BC is also in this category.

While i am generally a fan of Billstein coilovers, KW coilovers, and ST coilovers, i am not a fan of the Bilstein PSS, KW V1, or ST (90223) coilovers because all of these are entry level coilovers that don't have adjustable dampers.

I would recommend only looking at coilovers that offer adjustable damping, having the ability to actually adjust your front struts and rear shocks is a definite plus when buying any quality coilover setup. Having the ability to make quick adjustments has far more pros than cons.

 

While I would probably not buy them, I ran across posts from a guy that works over at Fortune Auto. He knew what he was talking about, posted shock dynos, discussed valving options that they offer, and pointed out some nice things about the internals of the Fortune Auto coilovers (like using Ohlins shims).

 

i just looked them up again based on your post because you wrote it well.

Once i re-read their warranty i am back to my original thinking, they're a pass in my opinion.

"Fortune Auto North American products are covered by a 1 year limited manufacturers (non-transferable) warranty (from purchase date).

Generation 4, 5, & 6 products are covered by a 5 year limited manufacturers (non-transferable) warranty limited to the United States and Canada. This limited warranty covers hard parts such as mounts, top hats, camber plates and shock bodies for 5 years from the purchase date. It also covers consumable parts such as seals, shafts, fluids, pillow ball mounts and leaking shocks 1 year from the purchase date. Parts and labor are covered however shipping is not covered."

A 1 year warranty sucks,,,

 

You are definitely right about that.

 

Status Gruppe support has been great! The adjustments are very easily felt, ride is good, and they offer a very good warranty. I bent a sway link by accident, my fault, they still replaced it with no questions asked. I recommend them to everyone.

Their main guy has training from the best suspension companies around and these shocks are tailored for the e46. E46 is even engraved in the bottom to show the valving has been set for our model. No China parts here either, all quality. Plus the black is sleek.


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Super, but you haven't even owned them for a year. You plan on tracking them, report back two years from now when you have a blown strut or shock, then inform all of us on the their support when you're fully outside of the warranty process based on your tracking related failure.

Status gruppe warranty;

"This warranty extends only to product(s) installed in such vehicle model as specified for the respective product(s) and does not extend to any product(s):

a)Which have been used or operated inconsistent with its intended use
b)Has not been properly installed by a qualified auto mechanic experienced in the installation of the product(s)
c)Installed in a vehicle that has been used for racing or off road use
d)Which as been modified or repaired by anyone other then Status Gruppe personnel or authorized service representative
e)Damaged because of misuse, neglect, accident or improper installation or service"

A, B, and C gives them the right to deny any warranty service to anyone at anytime. i like lifetime warranties with no strings attached.

 

They have already cleared that up in my thread, it's all covered. Not sure why you bring this up even after they responded and said they covered it. You were in that thread, so not sure why your ignoring this. On top of that they covered my sway link without question. No reason to believe they won't cover the shocks.


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I and everyone else will be a believer when status gruppe changes their warranty page. As of this moment, it reads exactly as i copied it.

 

Just tested the status gruppe coilovers on track, was on pace with a m3 that has full super expensive remote reservoir MCS dampers. The gruppes had no issues at all over the course of two days. We finished third in class...by less than a second. So +1 for the gruppe


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Another +1 for the Status Gruppe.

Run away from KW / ST V1s, they've given me nothing but headaches & were the most unreliable product I've put on my car to date.

BC coilovers are another option if you're on somewhat of a tighter budget.
They come with camber plates and are dampening adjustable.

Buy from FCPEuro and you get a lifetime warranty on anything.