WANTED Bilstein B4 kit

[Gregory_tolson]

Yeah, sachs are a perfect set to buy if keeping the non-sport springs. I was about to buy them for my car before i discovered my rear coils were cracked. Ended up using that as an excuse to buy the M sport springs and comparable B6 Struts/Shocks. Luckily the Lesjofors coils were very inexpensive since all i could find was originial BMW equipment springs which cost tons of $$$$$ and the H and R springs were way too low for my liking.

[enuff_zed]

What about 900 132? AUTODOC

OK, please ignore certain inputs.
Front end, re-use your rubber dust covers and order just the shorter bump stops Autodoc Febi Bilstein Item 103962).
Rear end, buy the kit including the covers. (Autodoc Febi Bilstein Item number 103828)

[SonnyA85]

Some quotes from this forum

Several folk at least 5-6 have had the OEM shocks absolutely knackered at 40-60K.

"The biggest problem with the Oem sachs shocks is that usually when they're knackered you won't see it till they're off the car. Its only then when separated from the springs that you can actually see how inoperational they are. Folks on here and other forums have had them be knackered on a whole range of Bmws at less mileage than your car is and certainly many years younger. The sach shocks used on Bmws of this vintage are pretty notorious for being crap both in the trade and on the net. Ive seen them literally fall apart when taken off on an 80k car.
Bilstein have a reputation for quality, hence why folks on here (including myself) have opted for them over using the sachs again. Apparently the supply problems are being caused by Oem demand for their shocks putting the aftermarket on the back burner.
As an alternative I did consider koni. They're usually pretty good but I have read recently on some Bmw forums that there have been some issues with reliability.
I've paired tge b4 with eibach springs. Not for the additional 10mm or so of lowering but because their initial spring rate is softer than the Oem M Sport ones, making them a bit more compliant over smaller bumps/ruts in the road."

viewtopic.php?t=105766

"I've seen them knackered at 45,000 on an e46 cab. Initially i was just changing a broken spring but once i took the strut off i realised the shock was kaput. Did the front pair and a few weeks later did the rears. All 4 were screwed to difffering degrees and the car was much better for the new shocks. I've also seen them fall apart on the rear of another e46 cab at 80k. On that one one was leaking but I still didn't expect the thing to separate into two parts when I removed the shock bottom bolt. It literally hit the floor with the car on the ramp.
I understand the disbelief though. You wouldn't/shouldn't expect that on a modern cars, especially premium brands and i totally understand why you woukdnt want to spend serious money on replacing parts on a car you cant tell are screwed. But all i can say based on what ive personally experienced, heard/seen from friends in the trade and seen/read on the net about sach stuff on bmws of this vintage is why I switched to bilstein. mine came in at circa £300 which I seem to remember is what euro/gsf/andrew page etc all wanted for sachs on and that was trade as well."

I can't find the post now because i looked through about 30+ threads but one guy switched his out after 40K miles for B4's as they were knackered. He drove the car 30K miles before selling it to a mate who then also drove it for 30K miles before selling it on and they were still okay. So he reckons B4's do around 100K miles and that is normal for a shock absorber. OEM however are crap and the numerous reports of them on here failing after 40-60K but they have no idea how long they have been knackered for because the only way to know is to take them off the car so they could have been knackered for years.

Also SACHS Advantage is no longer made and that is the OEM replacement for M Sport suspension. The SACHS you are all buying is for standard suspension.

B4 is also for standard suspension you should be buying the B8 but lots go for B4 for more comfort the B8 is stiffer.

[enuff_zed]

FROT

[Zedebee]

Don’t make the mistake I just made by googling what FROT means

Spell it out Martin

[enuff_zed]

Don’t make the mistake I just made by googling what FROT means

Spell it out Martin

Slight technical hitch. Apologies to anyone who's wife was looking when they googled it.

F*** Ri**t O** Tr**l (or Tw**)

[Zedebee]

Don’t make the mistake I just made by googling what FROT means

Spell it out Martin

Slight technical hitch. Apologies to anyone who's wife was looking when they googled it.

F*** Ri**t O** Tr**l (or Tw**)

got it thanks

[True-Blue]

I can't find the post now because i looked through about 30+ threads but one guy switched his out after 40K miles for B4's as they were knackered. He drove the car 30K miles before selling it to a mate who then also drove it for 30K miles before selling it on and they were still okay. So he reckons B4's do around 100K miles and that is normal for a shock absorber. OEM however are crap and the numerous reports of them on here failing after 40-60K but they have no idea how long they have been knackered for because the only way to know is to take them off the car so they could have been knackered for years.

So;

Some bloke on the internet (who you don’t know) replaced his knackered Sachs with B4’s drove it for 30k miles, then sold it to another bloke (who you don’t know) who then drove it for a further 30k miles, and he then sold it to a third bloke (who you don’t know) and the shocks where still fine….

Despite the fact that the third bloke didn’t remove the B4’s to test them? But with Sachs shocks you have to remove them to see if they’re knackered or not?

Is that about the size of it

[Rockhopper]

If you've driven one with knackered shocks and then one with good shocks the difference is night and day. Even my Mrs could tell the difference.

[enuff_zed]

If you've driven one with knackered shocks and then one with good shocks the difference is night and day. Even my Mrs could tell the difference.

Exactly! Hardly need to remove them from the car to tell.

[Gregory_tolson]

do you people daily these cars over in europe? I wouldnt be caught dead driving these cars in the winter. Pretty sure itll take me like 5+ years to even put 30,000 more miles on my z4.

[Rockhopper]

Yes, I drive mine all year round.

[enuff_zed]

do you people daily these cars over in europe? I wouldnt be caught dead driving these cars in the winter. Pretty sure itll take me like 5+ years to even put 30,000 more miles on my z4.

My E89 is a bit of a garage queen, so doesn't go out in the winter. Wifey's E85 2.5i auto lives outside and gets used almost daily.
Whichever project I have on the go gets used as much as I am able assuming it's not up on jacks.

[Gregory_tolson]

Yes, I drive mine all year round.

Average temps for me in the winter are below freezing and when it snows we get usually over a foot, and the snow usually sticks around most of the winter. these things dont do snow and ice well with being RWD lol

[enuff_zed]

Yes, I drive mine all year round.

Average temps for me in the winter are below freezing and when it snows we get usually over a foot, and the snow usually sticks around most of the winter. these things dont do snow and ice well with being RWD lol

You've obviously not grown up with Ford Capris.
However, in my neck of the woods we hardly ever get snow, though we do get lots of rain that then freezes overnight.
Overall unless up in the North of the UK I don't we suffer with extreme weather too much.
But of course there is a little bit of common sense involved.
With an X-Drive 1-series on the drive it's a no-brainer if the weather is crap.