E-24/28 Spring suggestions/story

["Kevin & Dianne Miller" <knmlr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have two 535i's, both have modified.  The Black 5 spd
has Dinan springs and rear shocks.  It's front shocks are
regular Bilstein HD's.  I traded Dinan's front shocks in because
of the abuse my body (and car) was taking. Dinan sways and
Idler arm, and BMW decamber towers round out suspension mods.
This car is well controlled and mildly firm over bumps. There's minimal
lean in sharp corners, but some whiplash on diagonal approaches at
low speed. The car is lower all around, but no clearance problems
unless early optional BMW air dam installed:(.  Also front mud guards
ever so lightly scrape speed bumps at a crawl, or at speed in the 
Hairpin at Sebring:).
At O'Fest 98 the car had stock anti-sways instead of Dinan's, and at the
Driver's Safely school, all felt the car handled very well, and didn't need
the thicker bars.  But it handles much better without the
roll-lift-oversteer 
with them in place!

The other 535 is a Cirrus Blue auto.  I wanted a softer, but well
controlled
ride for Dianne and myself.  Korman's suggested street/sport package is
in this one-H&R's progressives and Bilstein HD's. RD's front sway and ST
rear
sway, and BMW decamber front towers round her out.  Definitely softer, and 
even lower than Dinan's.  The rear camber gets out of spec when loaded
for a 4 wheel alignment!, but it grips in the corners!  Who cares if it's
not in spec, right!?;)
Dianne thinks the rear's a little skittish when braking hard.  With mild
drainage
valleys at intersections, the car bobs a little more than I want. 
No bobbing with Dinan's, only an occasional head to ceiling impact!   I'm
70.5 inches
tall with a big-no thick head:)  One small-little-thing else.  With the car
being
3/4" lower in front, and the springs being progressive in nature, well I
tore
the oil pan a new hole the Saturday before Christmas, on a manhole cover,
while bobbing down a cobblestone street!!  Well Merry Christmas!

Well it did give me another reason to get under the car again, but
a new-used oil pan from Ken's in NC, was not the X-mas present I was
expecting!
A new shiny SS Stebro exhaust and the oil pan arrived X-mas Eve, and
now all is as it should be.  And the neighbors, if they listen real hard,
can
now here me coming-n-going. The exhaust silencers "are in the mail"!

But I am a little leery of the Blue car's suspension setup now!  Would I
have been
better 'protected' with Bilstein Sports?  Or Dinan's linear springs?  Or 
a different combo, other than stock of course.  Hey! I'm looking for that
AMC
AWD sport look either!;)

Any comments/suggestions can be E-mailed to me directly.  I sometimes
cannot
keep up with the 'daily life' of the Digest!
Kevin Miller Sunshine Bimmer Chapter