E46 coilovers on z4?

Beetlegav

Senior member
Nelson, Lancashire
Anyone know If they're the same?

Would love to know if they would fit, price differences are huge!

Cheers
 
Don't know, but if you do some research on Realoem.com you can find the parts like springs and wishbones which fit the Z4 then cross reference on the look-up facility which other models they fit. If anything is different then you have a problem.
 
If you look at tech data from a brand like KW, they have an extra low coilover set (40mm-75mm lowering) for the e46 (330i) that has a spring lenght of 200mm, and the z4 coilover set (15-40 mm lowering) has a spring lenght of 170mm. (front springs)

So it looks like the e46 coilovers are much longer?

On realoem they certainly have diffent part numbers. axle load is different too.

Get a pair of decent coilovers/shocks, they dictate how your car handles.
 
Budgets are like £600 it's stupid money for something potentially shite!
Where as e46 are £200 was hoping it to be one of the secret shared parts :(
 
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This guy might help mate
 
I know a guy who gets a good discount on gaz suspension. So do you, Gav. Ask him to price them up, althougb I very much doubt they'll be 200 quid :(
 
Beetlegav said:
Where as e46 are £200 was hoping it to be one of the secret shared parts :(

Talksthetorque said:
Price is normally more dependant on unit volumequality.

Trust me, you don't want to drive around with £200 shocks in a rwd car that does 0-60 in under 6 sec and has a 155mph top speed :headbang:
Get something from a decent brand that has been building shocks for a longer time, not some no name china brand.
 
GuidoK said:
Beetlegav said:
Where as e46 are £200 was hoping it to be one of the secret shared parts :(

Talksthetorque said:
Price is normally more dependant on unit volumequality.

Trust me, you don't want to drive around with £200 shocks in a rwd car that does 0-60 in under 6 sec and has a 155mph top speed :headbang:
Get something from a decent brand that has been building shocks for a longer time, not some no name china brand.

Even a no-name brand might be fine for a driver with no particular demands from it. No track driving for example. They might not last as long as reputable brands but if money's short it's a decent solution for lowering and/or added stiffness.
 
The thing I was meaning on the price front is the s**t ones are £600 quid. So a lot of money for something crap
Where as decent ones for an e46 are less than £600
Not that I wana buy shite coilovers
 
The thing I was meaning on the price front is the s**t ones are £600 quid. So a lot of money for something crap
Where as decent ones for an e46 are less than £600
Not that I wana buy shite coilovers
 
I had cheap coils on my e46 330 for a while lets just say i changed them after 2k cheap s**t never works lol
 
Beetlegav said:
The thing I was meaning on the price front is the s**t ones are £600 quid. So a lot of money for something crap
Where as decent ones for an e46 are less than £600
Can you give an example?
An e85 coilover set from a still decent but cheap brand like weitec (=owned by kw) is just as expensive as one for the e46. :idunno:
 
A s**t set of coilovers for the z4 made by spax is £600.
A s**t set of coilovers for the e46 is £200

I wasn't comparing decent prices. Skys the limit with that!
 
Beetlegav said:
A s**t set of coilovers for the z4 made by spax is £600.
A s**t set of coilovers made by no name china brand for the e46 is £200

I wasn't comparing decent prices. Skys the limit with that!

ftfy

why do you think spax is bad? Have you tried them on your z4?
The only thing i've 'heard' is that they can be quite stiff in general; more track oriented.

If you buy a £200 coilover set, be prepared that after 4 weeks the chrome starts to bladder off the piston rods etc. I don't think you realise what can go wrong if you buy really really cheap shocks. :rofl:
And be prepared for irratic road behavour, like soft bump/hard rebound settings; you know, inherent design flaws.

So... don't buy cheap shocks for a car that has this kind of performance. If you want to lower your car and don't want to spend money: buy lowering springs.
 
I'm not wanting cheap coilovers! I'm wanting better coilovers for that sort of money!
I had spax shocks on my corsa, they ain't the greatest.
I was just meaning that a decent pair of coilovers for the e46 is much less than it is for the z4. Not due to lack of quality but popularity.
 
I have spax coil overs on my zed. They are 100% better than stranded suspension and infinitely better than the fk springs i had on before them.

They are a bit harsh but its a weekend fun toy and I like them. I just need to do a few jobs and get the alignment sorted and hopefully it will be great.
 
Beetlegav said:
I was just meaning that a decent pair of coilovers for the e46 is much less than it is for the z4. Not due to lack of quality but popularity.
No it's not. spax coilovers are just as expensive for the e46 as for the e85.
Same goes for weitec, kw, vogtland, h&r etc etc. There is no single quality brand that has a range of shocks where the e46 ones are half the cost of the e85 ones.

The difference is that for the e46 some really cheap coilovers are available, but all of those are not of recommended brands, and of questionable quality.
You keep pointing at 200quid coilovers for the e46, but they are piece by piece crap.
They make these things because the e46 is 'just an old car' thus a giant market for persons on low money who think they can drive a fast premium car. Those types of persons are willing to cut corners. But as you go 'upmarket' the cornercutting gets less, so really cheap s**t becomes less interesting to produce. Nobody is going to make 200quid coilovers for a ferrari, because a ferrari owner only wants the best thing for his car. If you cant afford that, dont buy such a car.

Cheap coilovers generally have really bad valving, bad seals, and thin cheap chromium plating. They also are more likely to corrode (cheap non passified zinc coating), especially in that nice wet uk climate.
But most of all you risk the chance of crappy design (as I said totally wrong bump/rebound settings), so that will result in bad handling (e.g. loss of grip after every bump). That is not something you want in a sportscar. Buy something from a brand that knows how to build a proper handling shock, not some chinese no-name manufacturer with '3 years of experience'.
600quid is not much for coilovers; changing all 4 shocks and spring for the same OEM (sachs) bmw parts is probably more expensive.

If you want cheap stuff, buy an e46, or better buy a vw golf. You wouldn't believe what kind of cheap crap you can buy for those cars. Don't get mad if your shocks will be leaking after 5K miles..

Quality costs money because it requires more expensive materials and more intellectual attention, it's as simple as that.
 
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