handling improvement ideas?

[Jon 640]

Hi all. I have had a E39, E60 and now a F06.

All of them had reasonable mileage when purchased (40-50k) and they all handle from what I recall similarly. I live in the UK and adaptive drive, VDC , ARS etc is rare on 6's here.

I have 20 inch wheels and have had the suspension checked out by several garages as normal. Essentially its a wallowy ride. Easiest test is to do a virtual elk test, left and right turns in succession at say 15-20mph, the front left and right corners really sink before biting and the car turning.

Is this what you'd expect? Yes its a heavy 1900kg car, still though, id of thought dampers would of kept the body in better control.

Body roll is reasonable but its perhaps more than Id of expected. I mention the E39 and E60 as both drove in a very similar fashion.

I asked a garage re bilsteins or other suspension set up and he recommended against it as it might hurt the resale of a car which is expected to be softly sprung.

Has any one changed the standard suspension and were you happy with it after? Presumeably both shocks/springs were changed as some are integrated together from what I see (clearly i have no clue about this).

thanks

[Walt White Coupe]

Buy a Corvette.

[CardinalFlyer]

The 6 is not a sports car, although many try to make it one. For what it is (a grand touring car), I think it handles pretty well in stock form. I won't be changing mine.

Echoing Walt's comment, if sports car handling is what you want, buy a sports car. I'd go with a Porsche instead of the 'Vette though. ;-)

[Chaos236]

I went from a 15 435i rear wheel drive coupe to my f06. The 4 handles 100x better.

[JBF650]

Originally Posted by Jon 640

Hi all. I have had a E39, E60 and now a F06.

All of them had reasonable mileage when purchased (40-50k) and they all handle from what I recall similarly. I live in the UK and adaptive drive, VDC , ARS etc is rare on 6's here.

I have 20 inch wheels and have had the suspension checked out by several garages as normal. Essentially its a wallowy ride. Easiest test is to do a virtual elk test, left and right turns in succession at say 15-20mph, the front left and right corners really sink before biting and the car turning.

Is this what you'd expect? Yes its a heavy 1900kg car, still though, id of thought dampers would of kept the body in better control.

Body roll is reasonable but its perhaps more than Id of expected. I mention the E39 and E60 as both drove in a very similar fashion.

I asked a garage re bilsteins or other suspension set up and he recommended against it as it might hurt the resale of a car which is expected to be softly sprung.

Has any one changed the standard suspension and were you happy with it after? Presumeably both shocks/springs were changed as some are integrated together from what I see (clearly i have no clue about this).

thanks

our 6 series are not 'sports cars' in a 'go cart Porsche Boxster sort of way'... instead think large, comfortable continent crushers ie GT's Grand Tourers.
on occasion I flick my car into sports + mode and give it some right foot and its great fun but most of the time i leave it to what it does best, go very fast with great comfort and safety while being able to whip up a B road on occasion with reasonable handling but you always know its a heavy car..... I like it like this and wouldn't change anything with the suspension.
if you want a 'sports car' drive and handling you need to look at lighter cars... whatever your preference for make is they are about.

cheers

[simpleM3]

Every response to the OP's inquire is clearly taken out of context. OP asked about handling improvements and did not say he was looking for sports car type of handling. Not to mention, it's mostly subjective when it comes to suspension and handling. And IMO he is asking a very reasonable question, because the GC handles like a ship in a rain storm. I don't think it's unreasonable for someone to inquire about options or alternatives to help reduce the floaty feeling of the suspension.

[TGrits10]

I too find the front damping notably softer than the rear, presumably this is on purpose and contributes to the smooth ride and stability we love but...in addition to the low-speed roll at turn-in, it also makes the nose bound/float over bumps at higher speeds, which is the opposite of stability! I find I don't like Comfort+ on the highway, and tend to go into Sport at higher highway speeds just to keep the nose pinned down.

So with that said, I would be interested if there was a coding option to stiffen up the variable dampers a notch in the front, i.e. when in Comfort, the front shocks would be at the Sport setting, Sport would put them in Sport+, etc. The rear I'm happy with, the front is what feels too soft/loose.

Different angle, the front/rear ride heights also look slightly off, like the rear is squatted down a bit, car always looks like there's a dead body or two in the trunk. I wonder if dropping the nose just a little, stiffening it just a little, might be a good thing visually as well. Though of course the nose is plenty long and low as it is, maybe the answer is to bump the rear up a touch LOL.

I'd be curious to know if any adjustments like this are possible within the confines of the adaptive dampers / variable suspension (Whatever it's called) system, or if you'd have to retrofit to something aftermarket ($$$$ therefore nevermind!)

[Chaos236]

Tires first, coil overs second and sway bars if available third.

[simpleM3]

I started to look into a coilover option from KW, but the info I found was conflicting on whether or not a full KW coilover option was available. However, I believe H.A.S are, but also uncertain about those.

[Chaos236]

Alignment also can improve handling.

[Chaos236]

Tires,always start there.

[Boss330]

I have a 640i GC with the adaptive dampers, rear wheel steering and basically every option (ie heavy).

Recently put a set of H&R non adjustable lowering springs on the car. Best mod ever on this car if you are looking for a firmer ride and a more sporty driving experience.
Changed the front caster arms for M6 versions with harder bushes and got rid of the usual shimmy under braking as well as a bit more steering feel.

Also have 20” rims with PS4S 245/35 front and 275/30 rear. As well as 15/13mm spacers front/rear.

Lowering the car gained a bit of camber on the front axle and the car now has 1.21 degrees negative camber front.

If you don’t have the adaptive suspension then you can also swap the front sway bar for one from a M5/6, preferrably a Comp model as that is thicker (stiffer) and a rear sway bar from the M550d (M5/6 won’t fit on the non M rear axle).

Have had the car both on local trackdays as well as on the Nürburgring several times, both before and after the mods. Definitely better post mods 👌

Of course it’s still a heavy car, but it handles very good and it rotates quite nice in sharp corners as well. Very predictable and neutral with very little to no understeer. Rear steps out on track if you want to.

On a wet track day on a twisty track the car was able to hang on for a full 15 min session to a Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrofoglio that was giving it the beans (I also got a passenger ride in the Alfa so I know he was driving as fast as the car could). Of course the Alfa would have destroyed me on a dry track, but the 6 is actually a quite capable car even on track (with the right mods).

Not a regular 6 so of course not directly comparable, but this M6 GC seem to be quite capable handlingwise on track 😉

https://youtu.be/N2Xyg9wrMNI

[FlyinLowSD]

That was a fun ride to watch. Thanks for posting!