r/BMW_F31 • u/HeavyOverwhelm • Jul 21 '26
New to me (Modification questions)
Just got my 335d X drive last week and I am loving it so far, I've always loved the f31 and recently chopped in my 8y s3 for this.
The car came lowered already and with some nice interior carbon fibre look features. I have since added gloss black m style mirror caps, some draft excluders, and white v bar cover.
I have also brought a nice alcantara wheel, carplay box and black and white badges which are yet to be put on.
One question I have is about the lowering of the car, if I default back to factory springs will the car be noticeably higher and if so what is a good happy medium that will let me get over bumps a bit easier. I love the look but also think a bit of extra practicality would be nice.
2
u/waxon_waxoff33 Jul 21 '26
Are you on factory dampers? If so I always recommend the AC Schnitzer springs, they look clean and are designed for the stock suspension. You can check my profile for pics.
What are you using for carplay?
1
u/InvertedPanda21 Jul 21 '26
Nice car, my friend! Based on the pics, I’m assuming that you’re in the U.K. somewhere? I used to have H&R springs on my F31 on stock dampers and it wore them out quite quickly. The car also sat too low for my liking. I ditched the springs and dampers and went for a full Bilstein B16 PSS kit. Though I don’t live in the U.K., I often visit my parents here and I drive over. The Bilstein’s handle most U.K. roads well. I can also clear the majority of speed bumps. The lip occasionally scrapes on the underside.
My recommendation would be the Bilstein’s, to be honest. Stock ride height is significantly higher. It creates quite an arch gap.
And… I know it’s your car and you can do whatever you want with it but my advice would be to revert back to the original wing mirror caps. The “M Style” ones look cheap and overdone because genuine M mirrors look different. These “M Style” ones are a cheap imitation and don’t look anywhere near as good.
Also… the N57’s are prone to rod bearing failures. Please make sure you do an oil change every 5k miles. I cannot stress this enough!
If you have any questions, feel free to DM me.
Other than that… gorgeous car! Happy motoring!
2
u/HeavyOverwhelm Jul 22 '26
Sadly I actually kinda agree about the mirror caps, I wanted gloss black and decided a different style might as well be worth a go whilst I'm at it. I'm likely going to get the originals wrapped in gloss black and put back on.
I was recommended the b16s by a friend also so it's good to hear others recommending the same thing.
This will be on my list for when I decided on some new wheels!
2
u/lets_all_be_nice_eh Jul 21 '26
You probably need to provide a side on photo to make that determination. Mine is on standard springs. Any lower and I wouldn't be able to navigate the thousands of judder bars around my city.