BROKEN SPRING ! ALTERNATIVE REPLACEMENTS ?

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easty027

Senior member
 South Manchester & East Yorkshire
My car had its Inspection 2 & annual brake fluid & antifreeze service at the weekend, all courtesy of Autologic in Hessle East Yorkshire.

They reported that i have a broken spring which i sort of suspected anyway. They also told me that the car had the MSport suspension fitted when new. On that basis i have a few queries as follows:-

1. How much lower does the MSport suspension sit than the standard suspension ? I seem to recall 10mm ? when they refer to MSport suspension are they just refering to the springs ? are the shcoks the same as the standard Z4 ?

2. I was considering giving it a slightly lower stance anyway using aftermarket springs, nothing drastic - just a subtle drop. Has anybody fitted aftermarket lowering springs to a car that has both MSport suspsension, and 19" alloys with wider rears ?

My tyre sizes are (F) 235/35/19 & (R) 265/30/19 if that helps...

Apologies for so many questions, any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance... :thumbsup:
 
easty,how do autologic price wise for servicing compare to a main dealer?in our case stratstone.i had my zm in yesterday for a 2nd rear coil replacment under warranty :thumbsdown: the two went within 2 months of each other and the cars only done 15000!!the thread is on the m///section.
 
etedlm said:
easty,how do autologic price wise for servicing compare to a main dealer?in our case stratstone.i had my zm in yesterday for a 2nd rear coil replacment under warranty :thumbsdown: the two went within 2 months of each other and the cars only done 15000!!the thread is on the m///section.
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Sorry to hear about the spring probelm on your M.

As for Autologic, i have used them many times before for one simple reason. They come across like actual BMW enthusiasts who can talk to you about cars and provide an excellent friendly service, rather than a programmed robot at a main stealership trying to fleece you of your hard earned cash who doesnt actually care.

The did the Inspection 2, Annual brake & anti-freeze fluids and checks for £380.00.
This included a 3 series hire car and they re-coded my spare key for free...
 
cheers for that easty,sounds fair to me :D i'll look out for you :thumbsup:i have an 07 in shapphire black.
 
Hi easty027, I am currently running M Sport Suspension fitted with Eibach pro springs they lower the car another 10 -15 mm along with the same tyre sizes you are and have had no clearance problems as of yet but I guess if the offsets of the rears is wrong then there could be issues.

Hope that helps.
 
easty027, please post your car/spring info: http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9219. As you can see this is not a rare problem.
 
I can give you a direct comparison between MSport suspension and Eibach Pro springs: the Eibachs are exactly 14mm lower than the MSport setup. I did fairly precise measurements on mine before and after changing mine.

Not sure on the height difference between standard and MSport suspension, or your other Q's though.

I'm on standard 18s so no help there either...
 
Hi easty - I went through this exact same issue when my 2 rears broke a few weeks back. all 3.0i have m sport suspension.
Roughtly it sits 15mm lower than standard and all aftermarket are another 15mm lower than that. Biggest consideration is that extra 15mm will make you more likely to hit speed bumps, etc. but that's the trade off. You'll also without doubt affect the geometry, albeit slightly, so that would need resetting.

Bottom line is I discovered that for the sake of £150 for a pair of OEM springs I would be into 4 new springs, way more costs, possibly too low a car and a full geo set up required.
 
peddy said:
how can i know if there's an issue with my springs? change in ride, etc?
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Sometimes they creak, groan or click. Only sure way is on a ramp and look

I know my Zed inside out and only found 2 broken at MOT time as they broken portion was so well hidden
 
Yep, the (rear) springs usually break at the lowest point where they sit into a cup on the rear arms. Quite difficult to see but you can feel the broken bit if you stick the car up on a ramp.

I've always wondered if this "cup" that the end of the spring sits into collects water and has an effect on corroding the spring (when mixed with road salt etc)...
 
RichardG said:
Hi easty027, I am currently running M Sport Suspension fitted with Eibach pro springs they lower the car another 10 -15 mm along with the same tyre sizes you are and have had no clearance problems as of yet but I guess if the offsets of the rears is wrong then there could be issues.

Hope that helps.
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Thanks !

Do you have an image of your car 'side on' that i could have a look at to look at your ride height ?

As for the rear offset, mine seem ok as they dont stick out of the wheel arch at all, so hopefully wouldnt have any issues. How much where the Eibach springs if you dont mind me asking ?

Many thanks
 
easty027 said:
RichardG said:
Hi easty027, I am currently running M Sport Suspension fitted with Eibach pro springs they lower the car another 10 -15 mm along with the same tyre sizes you are and have had no clearance problems as of yet but I guess if the offsets of the rears is wrong then there could be issues.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Thanks !

Do you have an image of your car 'side on' that i could have a look at to look at your ride height ?

As for the rear offset, mine seem ok as they dont stick out of the wheel arch at all, so hopefully wouldnt have any issues. How much where the Eibach springs if you dont mind me asking ?

Many thanks
Click to expand...

None that are properly side on I'm afraid, I have attached 2 that were taken at the same time although where they were taken was not the most level place in the world sloping towards the drivers side.
IMG_1758.jpg

IMG_1760.jpg


The springs were about £150 for the pair with a 5 year warranty, Bmw's is only 2.
 
thats great thanks, the stance on the drivers side image is what im looking for....the car looks great !
 
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