Family member has a f30 with b8s and I've had countless cars on stiff coilovers. I ended up doing koni orange (str.t) and Hr springs. Feels like a click above fresh factory suspension. Tight and responsive but never jarring. Iirc koni yellows on a lower setting can achieve the same feeling.
I have the entry level E46 Ground Control setup that includes Koni shocks. It's a vastly superior ride to the bilstein PSS kit I had before this but the kit is not perfect
Koni yellows are adjustable to suit your preferences. Bilsteins are not. Both are high quality and arguably an improvement over the stock (Sachs probably) dampers. I run my Koni yellows on full soft and they’re very comfortable.
I love my Koni yellows but I do drive them on their softest setting.
I struggled with the same decision for my 2002 325i, We've used Bilstein sports for many years but always for sportier cars +/or track use. On the E46 decided to go with Koni Sports (yellow) which are adjustable. Ride is less harsh the Bilsteins, more comfortable and well controlled - no regrets. I also installed H&R sport springs FYI.
I love my Koni active reds, swapped to them from bilstein b8s and won’t look back, smoother ride and 4 years on them they haven’t sagged or blown. I run them on my daily e92.
I installed it on my RF and there are no issues.
I'd consider the KONI STRT if available for the 2012.
I swapped them into my 2018 performance and the difference was extremely subtle.
Replacing the shocks with Konis voids your drivetrain warranty. I had a local shop do this same swap on a new 24 MYLR. A month later the front motor stripped the splines off of both half shafts. Not only did Tesla rule that just the presence of the Konis voided the motor/half shaft warranty, they wouldn't do the repair unless they replaced the Konis with OEM shocks. I appealed up the chain but no luck. An $8K learning experience. Really rides well, though.
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