Suspension Refresh Options

[gmurphy]

God recently reclaimed his chariot.

I know really unfortunate. He had a beautiful Ultimate Driving Machine.


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[gmurphy]

Okay, here's what I would recommend:

Koni Yellow all around. They are having a sale right now.
H&R springs, sport or race (up to you).
Strut reinforcement plates.
AKG RTABS + limiters
AKG FCABS
AKG steering coupler
OEM diff bushings
M3 transmission bushings
OEM engine mounts
New RSM (OEM or AKG or solid aluminum)

New control arms if necessary.

OR

Everything in that listen minus the Koni's and the springs and replace with coilovers. KW, ST, Bilstein, or Ground Control are great brands that will blend comfort and performance well.

Thank you.


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[gmurphy]

hey garry,

i haven't done anything with mine yet, but based on previous chassis tuning experience (a lot), and research i've done on the E46 suspension thus far, here's what i would do for my own car for a great daily driver:

- OE ZHP springs
- koni yellows with external adjust rears
- front strut brace
- front and rear strut tower reinforcements
- new rear strut mounts (upgraded units)
- new lemfoerder front LCAs
- poly FCABs
- poly swaybar bushings front + rear
- new swaybar endlinks front + rear
- spherical RTABs
- OE M3 RCABs
- poly rear subframe mounts
- poly rear diff mounts (softest durometer available)
- AKG 'street' trans mounts
- replace guibo
- rebuild shifter linkage

that oughta do it for about 10 years.

peter

Excellent list thank you.


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[gmurphy]

So as far as shocks go I think I have decided on the Koni Yellows. They seem to be a nice compromise between better than OE sportiness and everyday usability. I am torn between the springs though. However, I am leaning towards H&R Sport springs..plus all of the other stuff everyone has suggested. Thank you again.


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[LivesNearCostco]

I like Slater's list but not sure you need spherical RTABs in the back. I haven't tried them but they seem to be something only a racer or hard core time trial/autocross car would need. I would do OEM M3 RTABs with limiters that you can get from Vorshlag, Ground Control, Turner, AKG, etc. Somebody (Turner? BimmerWorld?) recently came up with a new RTAB that is really a sealed OEM control arm ball joint in a special carrier -- basically a spherical joint that is sealed for low maintenance. At least the theory behind that sounds good to me.

Anyway, If you're so hard-core that you want spherical RTABs then you could also upgrade all the control arm bushings to ball joints or bearing. Normally the 4 inners are bushings, the outer uppers are ball joints and outer lowers are bushings (outer lowers are ball joints on E46 M3). Slater's list includes upgrading the outer lowers to ball joint. The outer bushings are around $15 each and the ball joints $40 each for Lemfoerder ($60 each for genuine BMW). The inner bushings have no OEM ball-joint equivalent, so upgrading those to bearings costs at lot more. [Edit: I recently bought new control arm bushings and ball joints and am thinking of changing outer lower bushings to ball joints for an extra $80.]

It's also my opinion that the front strut brace offers only a small improvement in handling, but it is the 2nd-most visible suspension mod (after a drop), so it has good bling factor (and can help protect the strut towers).

hey garry,

i haven't done anything with mine yet, but based on previous chassis tuning experience (a lot), and research i've done on the E46 suspension thus far, here's what i would do for my own car for a great daily driver:

- OE ZHP springs
- koni yellows with external adjust rears
- front strut brace
- front and rear strut tower reinforcements
- new rear strut mounts (upgraded units)
- new lemfoerder front LCAs
- poly FCABs
- poly swaybar bushings front + rear
- new swaybar endlinks front + rear
- spherical RTABs
- OE M3 RCABs
- poly rear subframe mounts
- poly rear diff mounts (softest durometer available)
- AKG 'street' trans mounts
- replace guibo
- rebuild shifter linkage

that oughta do it for about 10 years.
peter

[tkundhi]

Garry,

I think you should consider one other option, coilovers. There are several cost effective ($1000) and well made coilovers these days. BC Racing, ISC are two plus Dario mentioned CaTuned in different thread. These kits generally come with camber plates and all the necessary hardware. Price wise these kits are about the same or less than traditional springs and struts. Plus they are much easier to DIY as you won't need a spring compressor. For the rest of the suspension, I say just replace your bushings with new OE stuff. No need to deal with the potential downsides of poly bushings for your intended use. Finally get a proper alignment after the parts are replaced. Discuss your driving and objectives with whomever is doing the alignment. You would be surprised how small adjustments translate in different car behavior.

In addition to picking out your parts consider the install. Do you have the tools and skills to do it? If not consult the shop you plan to use before you go buying parts. While some shops will allow you to supply parts they typically want to know they are quality parts. Parts they would install themselves. Most shops will not put their reputation on the line by installing a product they think you may not be satisfied with down the road. A messy situation gets created when the customer complains about the car after install. The shop says that is the product and of course the vendor that sold the product says something is wrong with the install or the part was damaged.

Another thing to consider is the install cost. There is a local guy that bought a bunch upgraded bushings for his 135. Basically he wants it to be a 1M. Turns out a factory tool is required to replace some of the bushings. The tool is several thousand dollars. So no local independent has it. The independents aren't willing to jerry rig something that could damage the bushings or the carrier. The dealer is qouting $1500+ labor to do the job. I have no idea what this guy's going to do. Whatever he decides is the right decision for him. But I can think of much better ways to spend $2k than for some 1M bushings.

t.

[Newjack]

For reference, RTAB's for the Z4M fit the ZHP like LivesNearCostco mentioned. I have them on my car. I also have RTAB limiters from Vorshlag.

You can buy both limiters and bushing from Vorshlag HERE


Also just another point of information. I made a thread HERE when I did redid my suspension. There was a lot of good input from other members here and I linked the items that I ended up going with on my car. Hopefully this can help you make a decision.

[gmurphy]

For reference, RTAB's for the Z4M fit the ZHP like LivesNearCostco mentioned. I have them on my car. I also have RTAB limiters from Vorshlag.

You can buy both limiters and bushing from Vorshlag HERE


Also just another point of information. I made a thread HERE when I did redid my suspension. There was a lot of good input from other members here and I linked the items that I ended up going with on my car. Hopefully this can help you make a decision.

Thank you


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[JupiterBMW]

Hey Garry!! Just wanted to drop into this thread and leave some info... I got your PM but this was easier.. Anyway, for those curious, Garry asked about my setup because he liked my stance. As for refresh options, what others have said are great recommendations. For me, I actually have a 100% stock setup except for H&R Sport front springs. Why only the fronts? I wanted to just level out my wheel gap for the time being. I am still unsure of what stuff I want to install as well, and now that the fronts are on lowering springs, I can feel the bounce in my stock struts. That is to be expected as OE shocks aren't meant for stiffer lowering springs, but for now its ok. I do so little driving and Florida roads are so nice where I am, its not a big deal.

Anyway, my planned setup will most likely be all OEM bushings and whatnot, with only the addition of a new set of struts. I will most likely do the Z4M FCABs and RTABs as people seem to be saying they're a great 'upgrade' for an OEM part. I don't want the squeakiness of poly bushings, so I'll stick with rubber. Struts? I'm leaning towards Bilstein, but someone told me his car was bouncy, so perhaps I'll just get a full H&R cup kit...

Anyway, good luck and hope my input helped a little...

[gmurphy]

Hey Garry!! Just wanted to drop into this thread and leave some info... I got your PM but this was easier.. Anyway, for those curious, Garry asked about my setup because he liked my stance. As for refresh options, what others have said are great recommendations. For me, I actually have a 100% stock setup except for H&R Sport front springs. Why only the fronts? I wanted to just level out my wheel gap for the time being. I am still unsure of what stuff I want to install as well, and now that the fronts are on lowering springs, I can feel the bounce in my stock struts. That is to be expected as OE shocks aren't meant for stiffer lowering springs, but for now its ok. I do so little driving and Florida roads are so nice where I am, its not a big deal.

Anyway, my planned setup will most likely be all OEM bushings and whatnot, with only the addition of a new set of struts. I will most likely do the Z4M FCABs and RTABs as people seem to be saying they're a great 'upgrade' for an OEM part. I don't want the squeakiness of poly bushings, so I'll stick with rubber. Struts? I'm leaning towards Bilstein, but someone told me his car was bouncy, so perhaps I'll just get a full H&R cup kit...

Anyway, good luck and hope my input helped a little...

Good stuff thank you sir!


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