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12-24-2009, 02:01 AM | #1 |
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"Moton's on a budget"- JIC/Cross Coilovers.
I know most people here get the KW's or move up to the Moton's. The Cross coils are priced similarly to the KW V3, but are a monotube desige and come with camber plates. They are single adjustable vs. double adjustable with the KW's and Moton's.
I had some JIC Majic/Cross coilover installed about 2 month ago. I've read on Porsche sites that the Cross coils are suppose to be "Moton's on a budget." This set was suppose to be the first set up made for the E9x M3's. I bought it from 08M3 who got Moton's instead and never installed them; he bought the Cross kit from Ron at Mod Bargains- who I've updated with the install issues since they are selling the kit. Apparently this kit was made in Japan since the US guys didn't know anything about it initially. The only reason I was willing to be the first to get this kit is because Cross' North American Headquarter's is somewhat local in Alhambra- about 30 mintues from my home... and it was a good thing they were local because the kit didn't fit out of the box. The rear shock lower mounts were made for the 335 with adaptors for the M3, BUT the adaptors didn't fit so Bryan (the main installer/tech) had to machine different lower mounts. A small spacer was also needed for the rear shock to clear the rear axle boot. The front sway bar links in the kit didn't fit either, but they found that the one's from the R56 Mini bolted right in. The big plus was, Bryan and Jon (head of Cross NA), were able to drive the car stock and they felt the springs that came with the set were too soft (10Kg fronts and 12Kg rears). The original buyer had requested stiffer springs than the 335 set-up but they recommended even stiffer springs up front after driving the stock set-up. I ended up with 14kg/mm fronts springs and 12kg/mm rears. I think this works out to 780 lbs/in fronts and 670 lbs/in rears, which would seem very stiff compared to the Moton's, which are suppose to run around 350 lbs/in. I don't know if each company measures their spring rates a little differently? I was generally pretty happy with the ride of the stock suspension. I rides better than the Sport suspension on the wife's 335, which is kinda rough and sloppy at times. Bryan, on the other hand, thought the stock suspension was "rough and had a lot of body roll." I was a bit concerned about the ride quality given the recommended spring rates, but the ride with the coils is VERY close to stock for comfort, and in some ways the ride is better, since it seems to soaks up the mild to moderate bumps with less up/down body motion when compared to stock. You will notice it's a little stiffer if you hit a pretty bad bump/pot hole, but nothing jarring. I have 18" stock wheels for now so that helps with the ride, though the RAC wheels should be here soon. I have to remind myself I have coils on during daily driving; it's that livable despite the drop. There is now also very little body roll, and turn in is very precise- but that likely has something to do with the alignment too. My wife doesn't even notice a difference. The car is lowered about 1" in front and 3/4" back. There is a lot of room to go up or down. The camber is set at -2 on both sides up front, with 0 toe front and back- which was a bit of a concern since some people were not able to zero the rear toe when lowered. The passenger side camber plate would not allow any less camber. I'd have to get a different plate if I wanted less camber; our target camber was -1.75. I'm going to try it out and see how the tire wear is since many here have said toe will affect tire wear more than camber. I also do 3-4 HPDE a year, so they would likely help even out tire wear. I was surprised to hear Bryan does the alignement by hand. He said all the race teams he's worked at did it this way. They have no plans for a E9x M3 specific kit but could piece together this set-up if people wanted it, and I know Ron is selling this set-up and you can specify the spring rates. I think a major concern for Cross is that most cars have the EDC, and they don't have a fix for the malfunction light. They were very happy when I told them I don't have EDC. I haven't tried another coil over set-up, but am very impressed with this kit so far for daily driving and during the single track event I've gone to so far. My instructor also loved the way the car drove, though it was his first time in an E9x M3. I also have not had any noise issues thus far. More pic's of their shop here: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=334190 .
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Let me get this straight... You are swapping out parts designed by some of the top engineers in the world because some guys sponsored by a company told you it's "better??" But when you ask the same guy about tracking, "oh no, I have a kid now" or "I just detailed my car." or "i just got new tires."
Last edited by aus; 12-24-2009 at 05:35 PM.. |
12-31-2009, 08:59 PM | #3 |
Just call me J.J. McClure
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Space grey is not rare at all. Well, in comparison to the amount of AW M3's, then maybe you're right. It is rare.
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MODS: Meisterschaft GT Racing Exhaust / BMC Air Filter / UUC SSK & DSSR (Modded)/ RPI Scoops / Passport SRX Hardwired / Custom Wrap 3M Clearbra / 20% Tint / 50% Windshield Tint / Key Hole Delete / Matted Out Accessories / VRS Type II Diffuser / Smoked Reflectors / Euphoria 6K LED Interior Lights / Rear Fog Light Mod / 6000K HID's / 6500K LUX H8 Angel Eyes / RDash License Plate LED Kit / LED Xenon Reverse Lights
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01-02-2010, 01:53 AM | #4 | |
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Maybe he meant Sparkling Graphite, which is similar, but has a hint of purple in it. I like it a lot, but BMW stopped making the color.
And in case anyone missed this great explaination between mono-tube coils (Cross) vs. twin tube coils (KW) by "Cleveland" http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showp...7&postcount=14 Quote:
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Let me get this straight... You are swapping out parts designed by some of the top engineers in the world because some guys sponsored by a company told you it's "better??" But when you ask the same guy about tracking, "oh no, I have a kid now" or "I just detailed my car." or "i just got new tires."
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01-05-2010, 01:44 PM | #5 |
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I know what you mean, but now that I've been the first, I'm sure **********s can piece together the right set-up, and Bryan at Cross definitely know's what's needed.
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Let me get this straight... You are swapping out parts designed by some of the top engineers in the world because some guys sponsored by a company told you it's "better??" But when you ask the same guy about tracking, "oh no, I have a kid now" or "I just detailed my car." or "i just got new tires."
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01-15-2010, 01:59 PM | #6 | |
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Location: 1721 E. Lambert Rd #C, La Habra, CA 90631
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To other guys if you need help in getting a kit similar please just contact me. Aus- great job again |
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02-16-2010, 01:50 PM | #7 |
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I just went back yesterday for some more negative camber in back, and they plan on making a kit for the car in a few months.
Everything will be produced in the USA. It seems CROSS in Japan has not been supplying the US guys with parts on a regular basis and so they're going to start making them here.
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Let me get this straight... You are swapping out parts designed by some of the top engineers in the world because some guys sponsored by a company told you it's "better??" But when you ask the same guy about tracking, "oh no, I have a kid now" or "I just detailed my car." or "i just got new tires."
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