E86 SE suspension on E85 SE?

[Coley3159]

Hi everyone, I have the opportunity to buy genuine BMW front and rear suspension assembly from a E86 SE at a good price and was wondering if it would be a straight swap with my E85 2.5i SE?

When putting the E86 part numbers (picture below) into auto doc as well as my car details im given parts results that are compatible with my zed.

Also when looking at the comparable oem numbers for the parts i can see the specific oem numbers for my car parts that i found on RealOEM.

This leads me to believe that they would fit and possibly its a superseded part number or maybe im dreaming.

Does anyone know if it will fit? Im not 100% and dont fancy wasting money on parts that wont fit.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Coley3159]

For example if i search for the E86 left front spring strut (31316785585) in auto doc with my car details applied i get 9 results that apparently fit.

And if i look at the comparable oem numbers for lets say the SACHS left front spring strut then i can see the oem part number that real oem gives me for my specific car (31316761893)

so are they the same? hmm

 

[Rockhopper]

My first question is why? The E86 stuff is likely to be as worn out as the stuff you already have.

 

[Zedebee]

They will all “fit”. The springs on the coupe are rated differently, but that won’t make much difference in ordinary driving conditions. As above, any second hand suspension parts would need to be in really good condition to justify buying instead of new. With careful buying you should still be able to do all four corners for less than £500.

 

[enuff_zed]

They will all “fit”. The springs on the coupe are rated differently, but that won’t make much difference in ordinary driving conditions. As above, any second hand suspension parts would need to be in really good condition to justify buying instead of new. With careful buying you should still be able to do all four corners for less than £500.

Agreed! If you just bolt the front struts on, you won't know how good or bad they are. So to be certain you would need to dismantle them and check the dampers. If they are shot, or even if one compresses and extends at a different rate to the other then you are looking at buying two new ones, and they are the single most expensive item.

 

[Coley3159]

Thanks for the replies guys, I've taken the gamble and purchased the E86 assembly as it's in a lot better condition than what's currently on the car and it was only £140 for all 4 corners! This is the story of the parts from the seller:

The previous owner had fitted SE suspension to it (non Motorsport), he wanted to make the cars ride more compliant. So he imported the SE suspension from Germany (please see pic of invoice). Because non Motorsport suspension lifts the car by 15 m/m, the bump stops are different as well. These were changed along with the concertina gaitors. He owned the car for 4 years but hardly did any mileage in it, probably maximum mileage is about 5,000. That's why he sold it to me. I bought in 2023, and I wanted the car to be standard, a hard ride doesn't bother me. So I purchased all new shocks and springs from BMW, so it is now standard. He bought the car with 33,000 miles on it, and I bought it off him in 2023, it then had 38,000 on the clock, hence the suspension only being fitted for 5,000 miles.

Worth a shot for £140 and the pictures look.

 

[Coley3159]

Here are the pics

 

[enuff_zed]

Probably got yourself a good deal there.