Materials to Maintain Your ZHP IIIII Hand Protection IIIII Tools to Maintain Your ZHP
Page 2 of 5 FirstFirst 1234 ... LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 44
  1. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Charlotte, NC
    Posts
    3,130
    Here is the dope spring compressor. It's actually very safe and works great with our suspensions.

    https://www.amazon.com/8MILELAKE-Mac...dp/B01DP2CDJU/

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Fairfax, VA
    Posts
    13
    Thanks, @ZHPizza - appreciate the quick response. Will check it out.
    2003 330i ZHP | Schwarz 2 | Alcantara & Cloth | Black Cube | Slicktop | 6MT

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Posts
    879
    The dampers arrived today and already there is a problem.

    First, read this:

    Name:  Screenshot (116).png
Views: 1148
Size:  23.4 KB

    Then, look at this:

    Name:  photo_2020-08-14_19-34-45.jpg
Views: 1118
Size:  117.2 KB

    Name:  thinking-face.png
Views: 1087
Size:  26.5 KB

    At least the rear shocks are heckin beefy.
    330i Base | Mysticblau | Slicktop | 6MT

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Austin TX
    Posts
    7,606
    No bueno.
    2005 IR / black / 6MT
    157,000 miles

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Posts
    879
    Someone over at the German forums was able to solve the mystery.

    Looks like we can throw out most of this thread. Sachs straight up got rid of all their shocks, both Super Touring and Advantage, and replaced all of them with white sticker shocks that have all sorts of different valving combination. That took one mess and created an even larger, worse mess. I've really lost a lot of respect for the company.

    This also means that ZHP shocks don't exist anymore (the blue sticker ones).

    That being said, I was told the new white label fronts should perform similarly to the old ones and possibly even be identical. As previously discussed, the rears are the only problem, but I addressed that with my beefy E36 M3 dampers.

    If anyone reading this isn't from America or Canada, you also get the option of TRW JGT439T​ rear shocks. These are supposedly closer to the performance of the old Advantage rear shocks. So definitely get those instead of the 556 882 if your country has strict aftermarket laws or M3 shocks are too expensive. On a side note, several countries don't receive updated E46 shocks anymore. It seems we have entered the time period where the age of our cars is starting to show. You can use this link to look at the parts list yourself. Just choose dampers and then select show parts. The 330i is pre-selected.

    As for my project, I'll carry on with the current setup. I think it's still a interesting alternative, even if we don't get hotboi red stickers anymore.
    330i Base | Mysticblau | Slicktop | 6MT

  6. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Galapolis View Post
    Hi everyone,

    Over the past few days I've been doing a ton of research on shocks. Obviously this topic has been discussed to death, but I believe I may have pieced together something new. The backstory is that I replaced my aging suspension on my 330i with Koni STR.T and H&R sport springs. This was the biggest mistake I have ever made on my car. Ride is horrible and handling is just meh. I also moved to Raleigh recently where the roads are awful, so I've been longing for more ride height.

    While taking my sweet time and not rushing anything, I have slowly been collecting parts for a second attempt. Having already refreshed my suspension, my budget was low, but I knew I couldn't cheap out on parts this time either. Luckily, everything seemed to fall in place.

    I found $80 Eibach Pro-Kit springs on FB marketplace in great shape. Unlike H&R, these are consistent in their lowering and much less aggressive. They won't be much lower than ZHP springs and will pair nicely with my Eibach sway bars (it's important to match springs and sway bars for optimal handling).

    Thanks to ZHPizza, I also got some super cheap E36 M3 strut mounts. This will help dial in a healthy amount of front camber, even after raising my car. Add to that some Bimmerworld RSMs that were on sale for $30 and I've got a full set of upgraded mounts. Since I wanted my stance to be similar to the Alpina B3, I bought a double set of front spring pads to stack them.

    Attachment 36989

    Everyone runs stock bump stops on aftermarket spring/shock setups for our cars. But even after cutting mine, I was riding the bump stops (cursed be thee, H&R springs!) I did some research and found that the E36 M3 front bump stops were sold by Dinan as part of a complimentary package for using lowering springs on various BMWs. They are wider but only 2/3 as tall as the stock units. Combined with the expected ride height increase, they should be ideal for maintaining both performance and ride comfort. Fun fact: The Alpina FE 3 suspension uses these bump stops as well.

    Attachment 36990

    Not the cheapest at $19 a piece but absolutely worth it after my horrible experience. I also added some 6$ Üro rear shortened bump stops from Turner.

    But one question remained: WHICH DAMPERS TO GET?

    Reusing my terrible Konis was out of the question. B8s, Yellows or even new Special Actives were out of budget. ZHPizza offered his old FSDs since he wants to go yellow, but then a discussion about the stock M package shocks on our cars came up in a for sale thread here. I did some research, using the German forums as my resource, and pieced together this information:

    http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showt...017#post598017

    The TL;DR version is: M package cars (and by extension ZHPs) were praised for their amazing handling and ride quality, in part because they had Boge Turbo and Sachs Advantage shocks. The annoying part is that these shocks aren't made anymore! Well, sort of. The fronts became Sachs Advantage with the same part number and similar performance. Nice. But the rears became low performance Sachs Super Tourings. Yuck. They are 30% softer than the old ones according to ZF. So no good for my performance goals. ZHPizza also warned me against the FSDs for the same reason of lackluster performance.

    Attachment 36995

    Regardless of the downgrade, what's worse is that ZHP owners won't even find the M package shocks because due to how the part numbers are allocated, searching for ZHP (facelift car) parts will direct you to the post-2001 regular sport suspension for non-ZHP peasants. This is the case for pretty much all sites, be it FCP or Turner.

    But if you search for the PART NUMBER as opposed to compatible parts, you will find that the current M package shocks, or MTech dampers as they are usually called (Advantage + Super Touring), are sold in America. On FCP, they only cost $330 for a full set!

    Attachment 36993
    (Pay attention to the red stickers, which denote the Advantage line, the high performance line for Sachs shocks. Low performance will have blue or white stickers.)

    Using more German forum knowledge will shine some light on what I was going for. Here, stock shocks are usually avoided for lowering springs. But over in Germany, you will be surprised to hear that Bilsteins are built to a different (worse) standard and considered to be absolute trash that barely lasts 30k miles, while Koni is considered to be ricer garbage (they have no idea what they are missing out on, typical German narrow-mindedness). People still buy B8s and some people even buy Koni, the former out of necessity for performance and the latter because they might just want to be different.

    Generally though, the number one recommended shocks over there for lowering springs are in fact the MTech dampers. Both for price and longevity (since Bilsteins don't last and Koni is very niche). Regardless of opinions, we can all agree that Sachs produces high quality parts. The Advantage dampers also have the short shock body as opposed to the standard length body of the Koni FSD/Special Active, making them a better fit than you might imagine for lowering springs like the Eibach Pro-Kit. According to some posts I've read around here, even the stock Super Touring dampers perform better than FSDs, so the Advantage shocks definitely have the performance pedigree. Fun fact 2: The Alpina FE 3 suspension is composed of Eibach springs and Sachs dampers. Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty good about my proposed Eibach Pro-Kit/Sachs combo.

    The only issue are the rears, which are no longer Advantage line, having been replaced by softer Super Touring units. Then I came across this thread on E46F, talking about using the beefier E36 M3 rear shocks on the non-M E46. Compared to the E46, the E36 M3 rear shocks are about 9mm thicker (50mm vs 41mm) and the shock body is supposedly shorter too. Then it hit me. If E36 M3 shocks fit our cars in the rear, why not use the stock Sachs shocks from the M3 to replace the soft Super Tourings that we were given?

    A quick check and they are only $8 more than the Super Tourings! I don't know how stiff they are, but they can't possibly have less performance than the thinner non-M shocks.

    So here I am, about to pull the trigger on some Sachs Advantage struts with E36 M3 rear shocks. At $346 with higher promised performance than the FSDs and better lowering spring compatibility, how could I not? I will update the thread with more links and pictures in the near future. Stay tuned.
    Really intereresting and i have contacted ZF to try to get some answers on the new combo Sport/ZHP shock they sell. I am really interested in these M-Tech shocks. I don't recall the original BMW ZHP ones I removed to shorter but I didn't actually measure them. I can say this though. The Super Touring are really, really good. I own two ZHP sedans right now. One I refreshed the whole suspension with everything stock and Sachs Super Touring for Sport/MTechnik. The second one is also all stock except for Koni FSDs. Side by side, the car with Super Tourings is outstanding and feels perfect to me as the right blend of firmness yet not as firm as hard as my 1M Coupe. The other ZHP has a 1 year old set of Koni FSDs. These have no place in a ZHP in my humble or not-so-humble opinion. They are floaty and i just spent 4 days driving 1500 miles down the oregon and california coast line in that car. I don't see any point to the FSDs except maybe a non-sport E46. I had a previously an E46 325i Sport and it was also more composed in the twisties than these FSDs.

    So I guess what I'm saying is that I would be very interested in the M-Tech but if I can't find them, the Super Tourings are really, really good and I think they are excellent. Conversely, the FSDs neuter a ZHP and the only way I can understand how so many are happy with them is perhaps they had completely blown shocks and then, maybe then, the FSDs might feel like an improvement. I have been a huge Koni fan for years, but everyone lays and egg every now and then and these FSDs are it.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Posts
    879
    Quote Originally Posted by NachoB View Post
    Really intereresting and i have contacted ZF to try to get some answers on the new combo Sport/ZHP shock they sell. I am really interested in these M-Tech shocks. I don't recall the original BMW ZHP ones I removed to shorter but I didn't actually measure them. I can say this though. The Super Touring are really, really good. I own two ZHP sedans right now. One I refreshed the whole suspension with everything stock and Sachs Super Touring for Sport/MTechnik. The second one is also all stock except for Koni FSDs. Side by side, the car with Super Tourings is outstanding and feels perfect to me as the right blend of firmness yet not as firm as hard as my 1M Coupe. The other ZHP has a 1 year old set of Koni FSDs. These have no place in a ZHP in my humble or not-so-humble opinion. They are floaty and i just spent 4 days driving 1500 miles down the oregon and california coast line in that car. I don't see any point to the FSDs except maybe a non-sport E46. I had a previously an E46 325i Sport and it was also more composed in the twisties than these FSDs.

    So I guess what I'm saying is that I would be very interested in the M-Tech but if I can't find them, the Super Tourings are really, really good and I think they are excellent. Conversely, the FSDs neuter a ZHP and the only way I can understand how so many are happy with them is perhaps they had completely blown shocks and then, maybe then, the FSDs might feel like an improvement. I have been a huge Koni fan for years, but everyone lays and egg every now and then and these FSDs are it.
    Read my last post, I already got an answer from ZF.

    Super Touring doesn't exist anymore. They stopped production of the blue sticker. You can't get them anymore. You can't get Advantage (red sticker) anymore either.

    ALL Sachs shocks are going to be white sticker from now on.

    The info I posted in that other thread is basically useless.
    330i Base | Mysticblau | Slicktop | 6MT

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Austin TX
    Posts
    7,606
    My suspension was refreshed 5 months ago with Sachs. I'm very happy with the results. You can see the new parts here, shocks and struts have white labels.

    Name:  sachs.jpg
Views: 1128
Size:  121.8 KB
    2005 IR / black / 6MT
    157,000 miles

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Austin TX
    Posts
    7,606
    Quote Originally Posted by fredo View Post
    From my research, the ZHP came from the factory with these shocks & struts:

    31312282459 = Left front
    31312282460 = Right front
    33522282461 = Rear (x2)

    Maybe someone on original suspension can confirm. Mine was refreshed earlier this year.
    Quote Originally Posted by Galapolis View Post
    Those are the BMW part numbers that take me to the standard sport package shocks. Would be interesting to know the actual manufacturer part number.
    Mafia member d-rod posted this pic when he replaced the OE struts. The P/N is 31312282459 with prod date 12-05-04. Now I'm sure the ZHP shares struts with standard sport package. Original pic is in post #50.

    http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showt...Imola-sedan-DD

    Name:  Strut-Number.JPG
Views: 1103
Size:  80.3 KB
    2005 IR / black / 6MT
    157,000 miles

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Posts
    879
    Quote Originally Posted by fredo View Post
    My suspension was refreshed 5 months ago with Sachs. I'm very happy with the results. You can see the new parts here, shocks and struts have white labels.

    Name:  sachs.jpg
Views: 1128
Size:  121.8 KB
    Can't wait to get mine in! The crystal pizza ball says Sept. 5 so stay tuned everyone.

    Quote Originally Posted by fredo View Post
    Mafia member d-rod posted this pic when he replaced the OE struts. The P/N is 31312282459 with prod date 12-05-04. Now I'm sure the ZHP shares struts with standard sport package. Original pic is in post #50.

    http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showt...Imola-sedan-DD

    Name:  Strut-Number.JPG
Views: 1103
Size:  80.3 KB
    Thanks for finally solving this mystery.

    Looks like MTech dampers must have been reserved for other countries. Not that it matters anymore anyway, since all the shocks have been combined into white stickers globally now.
    330i Base | Mysticblau | Slicktop | 6MT

Page 2 of 5 FirstFirst 1234 ... LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 1
    Last Post: 04-27-2020, 07:30 PM
  2. Performance Suspension
    By Remixaflip in forum Suspension
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 02-18-2018, 03:38 PM
  3. For Sale: UUC/Sachs Performance Suspension System (Springs AND Shocks)
    By bimmeryota in forum ZHP-Related Parts & Accessories (no vehicle sales)
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 05-08-2012, 06:06 AM
  4. Best Budget Performance/Handling Upgrades < $500
    By HaloArchive in forum Performance
    Replies: 90
    Last Post: 07-19-2011, 07:56 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •