THE BEST HANDLING F80 M3 TRACK MODS [AST 5100 COMPETITION COILOVERS, SPL PRO, SUSPENSION SECRETS]

Introduction

Is your BMW F80 M3 ready to handle the demands of the track? A recent customer made a transformative personal choice by upgrading from the Evolve lowering springs to the AST 5100 Competition coilovers, revolutionising the car's handling and performance. Let's explore why the AST 5100 is the ultimate choice for track preparation.

Enhanced Negative Camber with Adjustable Top Mounts

One of the biggest benefits of the AST 5100 Competition coilovers, other than the more advanced dampers and optimised spring rates, is the adjustable top mount. Unlike the factory top mounts, which lack camber adjustment, the AST mounts allow for precise negative camber tuning by offsetting the damper's mounting angle. This adjustment increases tyre contact during cornering, providing greater grip, control, and stability on the track. Another advantage is the solid mounting system. Factory top mounts rely on rubber bushings to reduce noise, harshness, and vibration, or ‘NVH', but these rubber components allow deflection, allowing for the toe and camber to change dynamically, negatively impacting handling. The solid AST mounts eliminate this deflection, making camber and toe more consistent under load, establishing a firmer, more direct connection to the car.

Inverted Strut Design for Reduced Deflection and Increased Strength

The AST 5100 coilovers feature an inverted strut design, a key enhancement for minimising deflection under cornering loads. During high-speed turns, performance cars fitted with McPhearson suspension, with a lot of traction, like the F80 M3, experience significant bending loads on the damper. The inverted cylinder construction adds improved strength and reduces deflection, keeping the suspension geometry stable and maintaining alignment, especially under aggressive driving. This design provides more consistent handling, durability, and reliability that serious track drivers need.

Optimised Droplink Mount and Improved Rebound Adjustability

The AST 5100 coilovers also include an adjustable drop-link mount, replacing the factory droplinks that are often too long, and preloading the roll bar. By providing the correct drop-link length, AST's mount promotes a more balanced suspension setup, reducing unwanted sway bar preloading and enhancing maximum performance. Another significant advantage is the 12-click rebound adjustment system. Many coilovers offer 20 to 30 adjustment clicks, often making each increment feel indistinct. The AST 5100's 12-click system, however, delivers clear, meaningful changes with each click, allowing you to dial in your car's response with precision.

Advanced Tuning with Optional Multi-Way Dampers and Remote Reservoir

For drivers seeking even more control, AST offers optional two-way or three-way damper adjustments. This upgrade enables independent tuning of high and low-speed compression and rebound, tailoring the car's response to different track surfaces and speeds. The remote reservoir expands fluid capacity, maintaining consistent damping even during long, intense track sessions. This combination of adjustability and fluid capacity sets the AST 5100 apart for drivers who demand fine-tuning at all levels.

True Rear Coilover Design for Complete Control

 

The AST 5100 Competition coilovers use a true coilover design in the rear, where the coil spring is mounted directly on the damper, as in the front. This design enables comfortable ride height adjustments, giving you full control over the car's centre of gravity and stance. Additionally, the rear dampers feature solid bushings that replace the factory rubber bushings, eliminating deflection and improving the driver's feel of the road.

Other suspension upgrades

As part of installing AST 5100 Competition coilovers, we have to align the vehicle. As the suspension has been disassembled and the ride height is different, the toe and camber need to be adjusted back to the desired specifications; otherwise, the customer could experience uneven tyre wear and even unpredictable, unsafe handling. To resolve this, we carry out a 4-wheel alignment. Unfortunately, on this vehicle, the adjustment for the toe and camber adjustment arm had failed, requiring replacement.

Instead of simply replacing the bolt or arm with stock items, the customer chose to upgrade to Suspenson Secrets adjustable toe arms, lockout kit, and camber arms. These arms not only replace the factory items but also offer several improvements. Firstly, they have a larger adjustment range than the standard arm. This is beneficial because when the car is lowered, the toes and camber change unfavourably as part of the factory suspension kinematics, and because of the poor adjustment range, we can't enjoy a lower ride height without unfavourable alignment settings. The larger range of toe and camber adjustment allows us to add the proper camber and toe, with the desired ride height. As well as this, other improvements like spherical bearings replacing the factory rubber bushes eliminate deflection. The deflection from the factory rubber bush allows the alignment to change dynamically, making handling under load less predictable.

Whilst improving the rear, the customer also opted for a combination of the MOTON control arm bush upgrade, replacing the factory rubber bush. This dramatically improves the front-end feel under braking and cornering loads, and the SPL tie-rods were added to reduce the bump-steer which can be induced by lower ride heights.

Conclusion

The AST 5100 Competition coilovers are an essential upgrade for BMW F80 M3 owners who want to optimise their cars for track use. With adjustable camber control, an inverted strut design, a more balanced drop-link setup, precise rebound tuning, and advanced multi-way dampers, the AST 5100 offers stability, precision, and flexibility. If you're ready to unlock the full potential of your M3 on the track, Regal Autosport’s AST 5100 Competition coilovers are the ultimate solution.

Contact us today at 02380558636, and our team will answer any questions you have about any of the parts and upgrades we have covered today.

Purchase the parts from the links below:

AST 5100 Competition coilovers for BMW F8x

MOTON Control Arm Bearing kit for BMW F8x

SPL Pro suspension parts for BMW F8x

Watch the installation of the whole package in the video below: