FK Konigsport Coilover Suspension for the BMW 5-series (e34)

[Qube]

http://www.beastpower.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=FK-BE34-CO&Category_Code=&Store_Code=BMI

http://www.beastpower.com/products/fkinfo.jpg

I can get the above set for approximately $600 CAD imported (not from that site). Does anyone have any comments about them... or even see them before?

Going through that site makes me wish I had an e39 to play with! :)

[632 Regal]

no clue but they look cool, cant really tell but are the front also adjustable?
http://www.beastpower.com/products/fk/fke34-product.jpg

[jjdickm]

would you be able to get more of these?

[genphreak]

These are the good ones from Germany. I think there are no probably 3 kits available that are good, and maybe 2-3 that are bad for selling on eBay only. (these are for selling to ricers that bought the wrong car)

The good ones go from 2-4x the cost of a sashs kit. It is not cheap, but not expensive either. I think the FKs are about double the value of a sash kit. The question is, how is the ride in comparison- and what are the shocks like- ie do they adjust too... Don't Bilstein have a kit for it too, or something like that? I think someone is doing it for them, so it might be more of a mod kit made from parts for other cars, rather than a real engineered setup. :) Nick

[fkong777]

600 CAD? really? If you can get a set for 540i.. I'll buy them from you and give you 700 or 800 USD.

[Scott H]

had a high quality set of custom coilovers on his E34 M5 and said they were nothing but a pain in the ass. Unless you can corner weigh the car and set everything exactly the way it needs to be to precision, then you are not extracting the last ounce of performance out of the setup. He also said that unless you are taking it to the track all of the time and eeking out that last ounce of performance, then >cost + >hassle does not equal >performance. Couple that with the fact that many people are reporting leaking Konis and the limited experience/feedback regarding this particular kit would personally leave me discouraged from forking over the dough and the time necessary to obtain it. The bubble typeface and color of the springs make me think they are subbed to H&R


http://www.beastpower.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=FK-BE34-CO&Category_Code=&Store_Code=BMI

I can get the above set for approximately $600 CAD imported (not from that site). Does anyone have any comments about them... or even see them before?

Going through that site makes me wish I had an e39 to play with! :)

[Espen]

This is the "high end" supension kit, here in Norway, costs about $2000USD.

Never tried it, so I cant tell you much about it.

[Boom n Zoom]

Thanks for that Scott H,

I was looking at the Koni/Eibach set-up, when I saw this post for the Konigsport kit I thought "Now that would be great, is exactly what I am looking for"

Then I read your post.

It makes perfect sense.

Now I don't want to damper anyone's enthusiasim for the kit but due to the 'ability' of it it could become very frustrating. :)

My take on this Kit, (to answer your question Regal) with it's abilities for adjustment (especially that ride height adjustment/spring preload) you would want three things, Time, patience and the ability to keep a consise log of every change and adjustment you make to the set-up.

Just to go a little deeper, for example you would have to set-up a 'Neutral' Spring/Preload setting and rebound setting Front and Rear. This you then make as your baseline, from there you begin to make adjustments to 'Fine Tune' the set-up, problem is, if you get in too deep you have to have a 'wet' set-up as well. ;)

So yeah, it's hard core.



















































But if you were going to go down that path you should also go here!

And get this:

https://secure11.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=ireland&BusType=BtoC&Count1=840206325&Count2=757346749

And these:

https://secure11.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=ireland&BusType=BtoC&Count1=840206325&Count2=757346749

There are other goodies there!

[Boom n Zoom]

Qube,

Have a look at G-Power, some nice stuff there for the E34 as well :)

http://www.gpower.de/gpower.php?z1=4&og=40

[Scott H]

I'd REALLY like to try a set on the touring when I need to replace the Boge Turbo Gas that came with the Sachs kit sitting on it. Aside from the Koni failures we have seen cropping up, there are many shock dyno tests out there of these shocks not being entirely accurate in terms of damping/rebound. Each shock has 2.5 turns to it. I gather that the last 1.5 turns is where the adjusments begin to cause exponential change. What appears to be "0.5 turn from full stiff" could actually be 0.45 on one side and 0.55 on the other. The shock dyno will reveal this difference to be significant. Now I know I'm being very picky here in many of your eyes, and I'm really not trying to ruin it for everyone either, but in the context of adjustable springs AND adjustable shocks, a very minor change at this end of the spectrum could end up making drastic changes to the car's behavior. Front to rear differences are one thing, but this could also cause side to side differences that could really leave you scratching your head in the infield/outfield of the freeway off ramps, or facing backwards in traffic on a rainy day.

A very fun kit in the hands of someone who has the right equipment to set it up properly and gather data on it at the track. An ultimately frustrating kit for the daily driver just trying to get his car a bit lower or a bit stiffer. I personally have come to enjoy the standard suspension mods that have been used over and over....and am still trying to figure out how to lift the tire of a E34 5er using them (I think my problem is in the tire at this point) :)

Sachs kit (Eibach springs & Boge Turbo Gas tuned shocks) + RD sways on the 535iT

Dinan springs + Dinan valved Bilsteins + RD sways + Ireland fixed camber plates + RD strut bar on the M5


Now I don't want to damper anyone's enthusiasim for the kit but due to the 'ability' of it it could become very frustrating. :)

My take on this Kit, (to answer your question Regal) with it's abilities for adjustment (especially that ride height adjustment/spring preload) you would want three things, Time, patience and the ability to keep a consise log of every change and adjustment you make to the set-up.

Just to go a little deeper, for example you would have to set-up a 'Neutral' Spring/Preload setting and rebound setting Front and Rear. This you then make as your baseline, from there you begin to make adjustments to 'Fine Tune' the set-up, problem is, if you get in too deep you have to have a 'wet' set-up as well. ;)

So yeah, it's hard core.

[Qube]

So in a nutshell... too many adjustment possibilities = bad (complicated to get right) for standard road. Simple ;) Ok then.

[fkong777]

Non Sense.. More adjustment the better.

I had Tein HA Coilovers on my lexus.. it was the best upgrade I ever did. it had 1 way height adjustment and 16 damper settings.

Height adjustment. You just need to do it once. You can adjust the car to the perfect height and leave it. Springs will never give you the height just the way you prefer.

Damper adjustment. This is soooo important if you ever get on a track.. I ran full firm at at track session but that was not the ideal setting. I ended up with oversteer or "Loose" as some call it.. Soften the rear damper 3-4 clicks tighten up the rear end completely.

My setup on a nut shell
- Street - full soft for comfort.
- track - full firm front and 4 click from full firm in rear
- drift - med firm in front and full firm in rear.

Coilover will be the most dramatic performance upgrade you can do to your suspension.. but also be known Tein are great coilovers.. I havent experienced FK. But if they are Koni dampers.. They should be fine. I run Konis on my NSX. They are great dampers with good ride. Koni usually will not fail unless the car is dropped to low. Also Koni's are lifetime guarenteed.