Dampers - M Sport Suspension - Are there differences?

S

Sigmaf

Member
Hi All,

Just looking to order some new dampers now, as the service history suggests only 1 was changed recently!

Car is an SE with the 704 option (M Sport suspension).

This looks like a lower (shorter) spring - but, is there a specific damper tune too?

Or, will the OEM Sachs dampers (or B4s) do the job?

Thanks!
 
Hi, I currently have a 2.5si on Sport suspension and a 3.0i on SE suspension.
I ordered one complete set front and rear suspension from Autodoc, with the idea that if one car didn't need them then they'd go on the other.
I got Sachs shocks, Lemforder top mounts, Lemforder drop links, Febi Bilstein ARB bushes and Febi Bilstein bump stops.
Obviously I spent a fair bit of time comparing all the part numbers etc., and out of all those items, the only things I found that were any different were the bump stops. The Sport ones seem to be a bit shorter, but honestly, unless you intend to corner it on the stops I don't think you'd notice any difference at all.
However, when I finally got round to fitting all this kit to the 2.5si, I did find to my great satidfaction that the springs, being shorter, were much easier to compress to rebuild the front legs.
For your info, the Sachs dampers are listed for both models on Autodoc as:
Front left: 317551
Front right: 317552
Rear 312468 (both sides the same)

The bump stops are likely to have crumbled on yours, so get new.
The rear bump stops can be bought with the dust covers already fitted.
The front bump stops, just buy them without the dust covers, as these are now plastic and you're better off cleaning and re-using your original rubber ones.
You should also budget for a pair of new front knuckle joint bolts as the old ones are likely to be quite corroded.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175141185140
 
Many thanks! - lots of useful information!

Do you have a link/part numbers for the other bits? I'll just copy and paste the bits to order!

Thanks!
 
Sigmaf said:
Many thanks! - lots of useful information!

Do you have a link/part numbers for the other bits? I'll just copy and paste the bits to order!

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Are you looking at Autodoc?
First step is to put your car reg in which should filter it down for you.
Not sure if the numbers I have are from the manufacturer or Autodoc's own. But these are what I noted from my invoices:

Rear end-
Shock absorber (Sachs) - 312 468
Top mount (Lemforder) - 25853 01
Bump stop - with dust cover (Febi Bilstein) - 103828
ARB Drop link (Lemforder) - 27123 02
ARB bush (Febi Bilstein) 19mm - 44277

Front end-
Left Shock absorber (Sachs) - 317 551
Right shock absorber (Sachs) - 317 552
Top mount (Lemforder) - 27309 01
Bump stop (Febi Bilstein) - 103962
ARB Drop link (Lemforder) - 17981 02
ARB bush (Febi Bilstein) - 33377

NB. If you're going to Autodoc, use the app on your phone as it is usually more discount than the online store.
Also, if you log into it every day you build up daily bonuses for checking in. Not a huge amount, but if you can remember it for the full 30 days you get £5.50 off.
The best discount I've seen since Xmas was 37% on the app, which should get you all the above for a shade under £400 delivered.
So watch it every day and be ready to jump when the price is right.
 
I was looking into this recently.

RealOEM does show different part numbers for the dampers for vehicles with M Sports suspension (S704A=Yes), both front and rear.

So the dampers are different with the M Sports suspension, as well as the springs and bump stops.

I assume the OEM for the M Sports dampers was also Sachs, but they don't seem to be available?

You can look up the BMW part numbers on RealOEM and search for them on Autodoc.
 
Msport suspension is 15mm lower than standard. This is done by using a shorter spring. In theory you need matching dampers but in practice Bilstein B4’s will do fine on both cars.
 
E86 said:
I was looking into this recently.

RealOEM does show different part numbers for the dampers for vehicles with M Sports suspension (S704A=Yes), both front and rear.

So the dampers are different with the M Sports suspension, as well as the springs and bump stops.

I assume the OEM for the M Sports dampers was also Sachs, but they don't seem to be available?

You can look up the BMW part numbers on RealOEM and search for them on Autodoc.
Click to expand...
Well interestingly, I ended up fitting all that Sachs kit to the 2.5si with the MSport suspension.
The old shocks were the originals, all dated 2006. Having still got the old ones I took off the 2.2i SE a while back (again, originals), I noted that they are all the same?
Wonder if there is actually any difference or whether they gave them a separate part number for accounting purposes?
 
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