Keep EDC? Or ditch it?

Firstly, I know, this is a topic that has been discussed on here a ton. But the posts aren't all that new. So I am looking to see if there are better options out there.

Currently, I am running B6 EDC shocks on stock non ZCP springs. The wheel gap is absolutely horrendous. They still feel great to me. But they are old. Nearing 7 years of age and close to 100k km. (62k miles) so I assume they will either fail on me soon or start to leak.

So in preparation for a future suspension refresh, I am curious as to what I should do.

Do I keep the EDC function? Go with something like Evolve/B6 with Swift or Eibach lowering springs? Do I go with B16 coilovers with EDC? Or should I just go KW V3 or Ohlins R&T and just delete EDC? I heard that the Ohlins need to be rebuilt often. If that is the case I rather not get them.

This car will be 90% used for street. Not much track maybe 2-3 times a year. That is all.

Is it worth it to put coilovers? I really don't want to sacrifice a ton of comfort as the roads here in Canada are pure garbage and the last thing I want is to take a soft setup and turn it into a bumpy one.

Any help is appreciated
Thanks

I would keep EDC for sure. You can get aftermarket suspension that retains EDC functionality that performs probably 80% as well as a dedicated track suspension. It's one of those things that unless you're tracking the car or going in the canyons regularly, it's not worth it IMO. Other things in that category for me would be rear seat delete and bucket seats. Just ruins your daily QoL (it is a luxury car at it's core) for a 10-20% gain in those rare situations.

ee90 wrote

Firstly, I know, this is a topic that has been discussed on here a ton. But the posts aren't all that new. So I am looking to see if there are better options out there.

Currently, I am running B6 EDC shocks on stock non ZCP springs. The wheel gap is absolutely horrendous. They still feel great to me. But they are old. Nearing 7 years of age and close to 100k km. (62k miles) so I assume they will either fail on me soon or start to leak.

So in preparation for a future suspension refresh, I am curious as to what I should do.

Do I keep the EDC function? Go with something like Evolve/B6 with Swift or Eibach lowering springs? Do I go with B16 coilovers with EDC? Or should I just go KW V3 or Ohlins R&T and just delete EDC? I heard that the Ohlins need to be rebuilt often. If that is the case I rather not get them.

This car will be 90% used for street. Not much track maybe 2-3 times a year. That is all.

Is it worth it to put coilovers? I really don't want to sacrifice a ton of comfort as the roads here in Canada are pure garbage and the last thing I want is to take a soft setup and turn it into a bumpy one.

Any help is appreciated
Thanks

ee90 Can you show pics of your current setup, on wheel gap? The B6's do have that gap, which are unfortunate. I am the same, with nonZCP M3, and put on the B6's initially with Dinan springs. Then switched to Eibach Pro-kits to reduce it as much as possible.

It's a slippery slope, as I then got wheel spacers to tweak the look even more. You can see my journey here:

https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=31734754&postcount=10 (B6 w/ Eibach, 18/12 mm spacers)

And my current setup, which I'm relatively happy with:
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=31790096&postcount=30 (B6 w/ Eibach, 18/10 mm spacers)

If I had to do it over, I probably would have just bit the bullet and done the Bilstein B16 EDC coilovers, but was wary if those would require rebuild. But I have gone from driving my car 12K mi annually to just 2K/yr now, so probably should have done the B16.

kimiraikkonen wrote

ee90 Can you show pics of your current setup, on wheel gap? The B6's do have that gap, which are unfortunate. I am the same, with nonZCP M3, and put on the B6's initially with Dinan springs. Then switched to Eibach Pro-kits to reduce it as much as possible.

It's a slippery slope, as I then got wheel spacers to tweak the look even more. You can see my journey here:

https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=31734754&postcount=10 (B6 w/ Eibach, 18/12 mm spacers)

And my current setup, which I'm relatively happy with:
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=31790096&postcount=30 (B6 w/ Eibach, 18/10 mm spacers)

If I had to do it over, I probably would have just bit the bullet and done the Bilstein B16 EDC coilovers, but was wary if those would require rebuild. But I have gone from driving my car 12K mi annually to just 2K/yr now, so probably should have done the B16.

The car is away for winter storage so I can't take pics but literally, I feel I can fit half my head into the wheel well that is how big the front gap is. The rear is fine.

I was going to get lowering springs just as a temporary solution, but since the shocks are so old, I have a feeling that as soon as I put them on, they will blow in a few KMs and I will be stuck with a car that rides like dirt.

I made the same mistake with my 335i E90. I put lowering springs on old shocks and a few KMs later they blew and leaked fluid. Another thing I am concerned about is that if it goes too low then what do I do?

B16 seems to be good and I really want to keep EDC it seems like I can do that with those but if I need to rebuild them I am not too sure if I want that.

I am not aware of anyone on this site that has had to rebuild their Ohlins, and you don't seem to drive a great deal with your M3(62k mi in 7 years), so I am not sure how much concern is valid there. It wouldnt make my decision for me though. EDC can also be coded out, you dont have to buy the emulators for $500.

Honestly, I am struggling with the same decision as you, but leaning towards the Ohlins because I have always used a lowering spring and like the idea of having a proper coilover this time(especially at such price parody).

It's a really tough choice, I dont think you would be unhappy going either way as they are close in price and close in comfort from what I have read.

I dont even use my EDC either, so I wont miss the buttons/functionality.

The one factor I think about is eventual resale. The Evolve B6 is true OEM+, much more appealing to a larger segment of people.

GOFAST M3 wrote

I am not aware of anyone on this site that has had to rebuild their Ohlins, and you don't seem to drive a great deal with your M3(62k mi in 7 years), so I am not sure how much concern is valid there. It wouldnt make my decision for me though. EDC can also be coded out, you dont have to buy the emulators for $500.

Honestly, I am struggling with the same decision as you, but leaning towards the Ohlins because I have always used a lowering spring and like the idea of having a proper coilover this time(especially at such price parody).

It's a really tough choice, I dont think you would be unhappy going either way as they are close in price and close in comfort from what I have read.

I dont even use my EDC either, so I wont miss the buttons/functionality.

The one factor I think about is eventual resale. The Evolve B6 is true OEM+, much more appealing to a larger segment of people.

I should have clarified that was the previous owners mileage. I bought the car just about a year ago and I plan to use it as a daily in summer.

Yeah I ran a traditional shock and lowering spring setup and it was ok. But I kind of kicked myself for not going coilovers and having that adjustablity and extra performance.

I think either way I go will be an upgrade regardless I just want to preserve the car to be as original as can be because the previous owner babied it and it is fully original apart from a super sprint exhaust. Which is very cool to me.

EDC is still a pretty cool feature to have but I think it’s cool because the car is still somewhat new to me.

Yeah that’s the other thing if I sell it I most likely will need to return it to stock and sell off the parts separately but I don’t see myself getting rid of the car anytime soon. Usually I keep them for a minimum of 5 years and with the E90s going up in value each year I kind of don’t want to get rid of it lol.

I think I’ll monitor the suspension see if anything fails and just use it this summer and do some more research.

Thanks!

GOFAST M3 wrote

I am not aware of anyone on this site that has had to rebuild their Ohlins, and you don't seem to drive a great deal with your M3(62k mi in 7 years), so I am not sure how much concern is valid there. It wouldnt make my decision for me though. EDC can also be coded out, you dont have to buy the emulators for $500.

Honestly, I am struggling with the same decision as you, but leaning towards the Ohlins because I have always used a lowering spring and like the idea of having a proper coilover this time(especially at such price parody).

It's a really tough choice, I dont think you would be unhappy going either way as they are close in price and close in comfort from what I have read.

I dont even use my EDC either, so I wont miss the buttons/functionality.

The one factor I think about is eventual resale. The Evolve B6 is true OEM+, much more appealing to a larger segment of people.

I really question the opinion that Evolve B6 is true OEM+. Bilstein is an OE supplier for some companies, yes - Evolve is a small shop in England. There is nothing "OEM+" about that setup, it's just Bilsteins that have been tweaked for comfort with additional lowering springs. Maybe it's more appealing to some people, but likely that is because of marketing.

Keep the EDC. You will regret removing it if you have bad roads in your area!

I’d look into the Nitron Roadsport OGSM-spec EDC plug-n-play setup. The OGSM-spec version is only available from OG Shark Motorsports.

I have the Evolve Bilsteins, put them on last month, stock ZCP springs. Upgraded from stock EDC dampers. They're great! I recommend them over the regular EDC Bilsteins and OEM. They do pair well with the lowering springs you mentioned, Comfort is nicer for daily driving and rough roads, and it gets really tight on Sport. Normal is unchanged I believe. They fixed the strut body in front so you don't get that funky wheel gap (affects ZCP more), so it's more than just Evolve's tuning of the valving. If you want to keep your EDC and want that OEM+ action, it's the way to go for sure. I'm 100% street but it's awesome for the twisties and I'm sure it'll do well on the track.

Don't forget to get the EDC module adaptations reset when you install them.
I'd also recommend getting the strut tower caps to clean up the look. The wiring for the struts will come out of the bottom rather than the top, so it'll look like a non-EDC setup from the engine bay.

As someone with b6 with edc and eibach springs, if you're going to change suspension go ohlins R/T. You won't miss EDC. The ride will be comfortable depending on your settings. Generally people driving on the street seem very happy with this setup.

Or if you really like the current setup but feel you must upgrade, the Evolve b6 with eibach is a good choice.

I ditched the edc setup a long time ago, I dont really mind the ride of coilovers even in new york. I do frequently drive the car daily in the summer and its fine.

bipp wrote

I really question the opinion that Evolve B6 is true OEM+. Bilstein is an OE supplier for some companies, yes - Evolve is a small shop in England. There is nothing "OEM+" about that setup, it's just Bilsteins that have been tweaked for comfort with additional lowering springs. Maybe it's more appealing to some people, but likely that is because of marketing.

OEM+ doesnt mean it is made by an OEM supplier. It simply means the modification is subtle, and improves on OEM functionality without completely changing it.

Keeping EDC with an upgraded shock, again retaining factory functionality, is a very good example of OEM+......

M3SQRD wrote

I’d look into the Nitron Roadsport OGSM-spec EDC plug-n-play setup. The OGSM-spec version is only available from OG Shark Motorsports.

First I'm hearing of a OGSM spec Roadsport kit. Maybe it's available just for EDC cars, because when I recently spoke with Jason he said the Roadsport kit isn't tweaked because it's good out of the box, but again that may have been specific to non-EDC.

a5m wrote

First I'm hearing of a OGSM spec Roadsport kit. Maybe it's available just for EDC cars, because when I recently spoke with Jason he said the Roadsport kit isn't tweaked because it's good out of the box, but again that may have been specific to non-EDC.

They finalized the Nitron Roadsport OGSM EDC pnp last year and just received some sets in January. Jason is holding off on releasing them until they test the R1 OGSM and R3 OGSM EDC pnp kits just in case they want to implement any final damping changes based on R1/R3 final development to the Roadsport OGSM EDC pnp rather than release the Roadsport OGSM and then a few weeks later have an improved version of the Roadsport OGSM EDC pnp. Basically, he doesn’t want to potentially sell a version Rev- to a customer that’s then OBE just a few weeks later with the release of Rev1. I have no idea whether OGSM has developed a non-EDC OGSM version of the Roadsport kit. I suppose they could tweak the damping of the non-EDC Roadsport kit based on modified damping curves used in the non-EDC R1 OGSM kit.

ee90 wrote

Firstly, I know, this is a topic that has been discussed on here a ton. But the posts aren't all that new. So I am looking to see if there are better options out there.

Currently, I am running B6 EDC shocks on stock non ZCP springs. The wheel gap is absolutely horrendous. They still feel great to me. But they are old. Nearing 7 years of age and close to 100k km. (62k miles) so I assume they will either fail on me soon or start to leak.

So in preparation for a future suspension refresh, I am curious as to what I should do.

Do I keep the EDC function? Go with something like Evolve/B6 with Swift or Eibach lowering springs? Do I go with B16 coilovers with EDC? Or should I just go KW V3 or Ohlins R&T and just delete EDC? I heard that the Ohlins need to be rebuilt often. If that is the case I rather not get them.

This car will be 90% used for street. Not much track maybe 2-3 times a year. That is all.

Is it worth it to put coilovers? I really don't want to sacrifice a ton of comfort as the roads here in Canada are pure garbage and the last thing I want is to take a soft setup and turn it into a bumpy one.

Any help is appreciated
Thanks

My vote ==> Retain EDC since it's 'daily' type use.

Opted for B16 Damptronics coil over kit [~2yrs ago] coupled with 100% upgrade replacements to all suspension components [monoballs, links, arms, bushings, etc]...game changing performance & pleasure.

With spirted street, canyon, and occasional autocross, the config w/EDC is spot-on, versatile, and plain ole fun to drive

MikeHawk7
I just installed the Evolve/Bilstein with Swift Springs this weekend. How did you do the EDC reset?

S65Hunter wrote

MikeHawk7
I just installed the Evolve/Bilstein with Swift Springs this weekend. How did you do the EDC reset?

You'll have to use an OBD device/software with BMW specific functions like ISTA, Foxwell NT530, BimmerGeeks ProTool, etc. Or take it to a shop that specializes in BMWs that has one of those devices.

MikeHawk7 wrote

You'll have to use an OBD device/software with BMW specific functions like ISTA, Foxwell NT530, BimmerGeeks ProTool, etc. Or take it to a shop that specializes in BMWs that has one of those devices.

Protool unfortunately don't include the feature yet, but have after enquiry realized and confirmed the service function is available and will release updated sw version...some year.

S65Hunter wrote

MikeHawk7
I just installed the Evolve/Bilstein with Swift Springs this weekend. How did you do the EDC reset?

The EDC count time (not mileage for some reason) and stiffening the chocks up to compensate for wear over the years.

Helmsman wrote

Protool unfortunately don't include the feature yet, but have after enquiry realized and confirmed the service function is available and will release updated sw version...some year.

Ah, I didn't check if my Protool did it, I assumed it would. I did it on my Foxwell 530.

MikeHawk7 wrote

Ah, I didn't check if my Protool did it, I assumed it would. I did it on my Foxwell 530.

Thanks, yes I heard that Foxwell managed this, maybe should have gone for one of those instead but will wait for a bit more...

Ps. Did you reset with original dampers?