Eibach B4 and lowered springs - sooo uncomfortable!

[thecremeegg]

So I had some B4s and eibach pro springs fitted a week or two ago and a full wheel alignment, however I'm considering getting them taken off - the ride is FAR worse than before on the 140k shocks and m-sport springs!

Anyone else had similar thoughts? It's like the back end has super high rebound, whilst at the same time crashing over big bumps. I'm assuming they're all installed correctly as it sits as it should, it's just a very uncivilized ride. It handles well that's for sure, feels planted round corners, but every little bump seems t send the back end bouncing about.

Now I know the lowered springs would have a firmer ride, that's to be expected, however it feels like I've chopped some springs on a Civic or something! I had coilovers on my old MX5 and they were much more comfortable...

Is this just to be expected? If so, I'll be changing the springs back to standard M-Sport as I presume the B4 dampers should be fine as they're like oem?

Am I just being a snowflake or is something maybe wrong?

 

[Capa]

Jolly interested to see how this pans out.

I imagine they will need to settle a bit, but... The above isn't glowing praise...

 

[Phoenixboy]

So I had some B4s and eibach pro springs fitted a week or two ago and a full wheel alignment, however I'm considering getting them taken off - the ride is FAR worse than before on the 140k shocks and m-sport springs!

Anyone else had similar thoughts? It's like the back end has super high rebound, whilst at the same time crashing over big bumps. I'm assuming they're all installed correctly as it sits as it should, it's just a very uncivilized ride. It handles well that's for sure, feels planted round corners, but every little bump seems t send the back end bouncing about.

Now I know the lowered springs would have a firmer ride, that's to be expected, however it feels like I've chopped some springs on a Civic or something! I had coilovers on my old MX5 and they were much more comfortable...

Is this just to be expected? If so, I'll be changing the springs back to standard M-Sport as I presume the B4 dampers should be fine as they're like oem?

Am I just being a snowflake or is something maybe wrong?

am sure its not always the case, but this is the reason I wont start lowering my car, and messing with the suspension.
a lot of these set ups are good, if your on track, or nice smooth road surfaces, which we do not have.
I agree that the car can look better when lowered, but a lot of the time its just not useable on our roads.
call me old fashioned, but I prefer to be able to drive on our crap roads without concern for the car bottoming out or bouncing me all over the road.
hope you get it sorted op.
feel free to ignore me. :roll:

 

[patriot66]

I recently fitted new B4s all round and removed the M - Sport springs that I had been running for a couple of years (and never liked !) and changed back to the standard SE springs I had originally. Much, much better. The car feels more compliant and comfortable but also better planted and better handling than before. The car is sitting possibly half an inch higher now....do I care ? No...because it's so much more driveable.

Your original shocks on 104k must have been absolutely shot. My original Sachs were on 73k and the rear two had more air than oil in them and the fronts were possibly less than 50% effective.
I think you may have just become accustomed to driving on the M - Sport springs with useless shocks.

 

[Simon 3.2M]

I drove a coupe recently with that setup and it was beautiful to drive! That said, I have raised my roadster too (slightly higher at the rear) to accommodate the British roads - I'm lucky enough to run coilovers but as previously mentioned, messing with the original suspension and geometry whilst looking good, isn't always the best option.

 

[philbo909]

I agree with you op, bilstein b4 and Eibach 30mm do not work wel together on British roads, I went back to standard very quickly

 

[thecremeegg]

Your original shocks on 104k must have been absolutely shot. My original Sachs were on 73k and the rear two had more air than oil in them and the fronts were possibly less than 50% effective.
I think you may have just become accustomed to driving on the M - Sport springs with useless shocks.

Actually the shocks that came off were pretty good! They were clearly the originals, however they still sprung back up nicely - amazing really!

Whilst it's good to hear I'm not alone in not liking the ride, it's a shame as I love how it looks and goes round corners now! I've seen nothing but praise for this setup on here so it's just proof don't believe all you read on the internet!

Anyone got some M-Sport equivalent springs for me

 

[thecremeegg]

am sure its not always the case, but this is the reason I wont start lowering my car, and messing with the suspension.
a lot of these set ups are good, if your on track, or nice smooth road surfaces, which we do not have.
I agree that the car can look better when lowered, but a lot of the time its just not useable on our roads.
call me old fashioned, but I prefer to be able to drive on our crap roads without concern for the car bottoming out or bouncing me all over the road.
hope you get it sorted op.
feel free to ignore me. :roll:

You're quite right, however I'm used to MX5s whereby some nice coilovers and the car is a proper weapon with better than standard ride comfort for the most part!

 

[adam1985]

I thought that B4s are supposed to be used with OEM springs and that for lowering you should use B6 or B8?
The B12 kit on mine is B8 shocks with Eibach lowering springs. it is a firm ride but i dont get any bouncing at the back end.
On a nice bit of resurfaced road it is great.
Edit - looking at the Bilstein website they only list B8s as for lowered springs

 

[MACK]

Your original shocks on 104k must have been absolutely shot. My original Sachs were on 73k and the rear two had more air than oil in them and the fronts were possibly less than 50% effective.
I think you may have just become accustomed to driving on the M - Sport springs with useless shocks.

Actually the shocks that came off were pretty good! They were clearly the originals, however they still sprung back up nicely - amazing really!

Whilst it's good to hear I'm not alone in not liking the ride, it's a shame as I love how it looks and goes round corners now! I've seen nothing but praise for this setup on here so it's just proof don't believe all you read on the internet!

Anyone got some M-Sport equivalent springs for me

Each to their own and all that, but I'm genuinely surprised by this thread and not really sure whats going on with your setup here. My B4 Eibach combo is definitely an improvement over my tired 80K m sport setup. All my existing shocks were knackered to some degree so I have to question if yours have actually been replaced at some point. How long have you owned the car? Is it possible they have actually been changed in the last 20-30K?
Dont get me wrong, the Z4 is never going to be a comfy cruiser, but I would have expected an improvement over what you started with to your current setup.

Eibach wise, my rationale for fitting these had nothing to do with the lower ride height, I was more than happy with the existing m sport stance. I was (like you) lured in by reports on here of a more comfortable ride. I did look into this with Eibach before buying and they confirmed that their springs start off at a lower spring rate than the m sport ones rising to about the same. This is why they give a better ride over the small bumps/undulations etc. The B4 shocks are valved to be the same as the SE suspension so in combination with the Eibachs should feel softer riding so I'm not sure why your experience is different.

I did think of a few things that may have caused this that might be worth checking;

1) Are your springs actually fitted the right way up, because of their progressive nature they do need to be fitted a certain way up (writing the right way up). Eibach do insist on this and I can confirm it makes a noticeable difference as I initial got one of my rears the wrong way up. (that'll teach me to burn the midnight oil fixing my car!) I noticed the next day when driving it that one side felt harder than the other and when I looked into it I realised why. Once switched both sides were the same.

2) Are your springs definitely for the ordinary Z4? or could you have been supplied with the heavier Z4M ones in error?

3) Did your car definity have M sport shocks/springs fitted or could it actually have had SE spec stuff, especially if its been replace at some point etc.

I have to admit I've toyed with idea of trying SE springs, just to see what their like and I would expect them to be comfier than the Eibachs but I'm currently trialing different tyre sizes instead.
When I went from standard 18" to M spec sizes it made a considerable difference to the ride quality, but the sidewalls looked a bit agricultural. I'm currently running 245/40 rears as a halfway house option and they're also much comfier than the standard 255/35 but as you'd expect not quite as comfy as the m spec 255/40. But the sidewalls do look better.

 

[MACK]

I thought that B4s are supposed to be used with OEM springs and that for lowering you should use B6 or B8?
The B12 kit on mine is B8 shocks with Eibach lowering springs. it is a firm ride but i dont get any bouncing at the back end.
On a nice bit of resurfaced road it is great.
Edit - looking at the Bilstein website they only list B8s as for lowered springs

As I'm sure you've seen for yourself, Bilsteins literature is as clear as mud. However they do state the B4's are the equivalent of SE spec shocks but can be used with lowering springs upto 40mm. Eibachs give 30mm lowered over SE spec hence why folks have been pairing them together. According to Bilstein your B8s are about 25% uprated over the B4s so if anything it should be you saying my rides worse than M Sport not the OP.

 

[ben g]

My ride is ok. Maybe you're just an old foggy?

It's never been the most comfortable car ever. That's why it got panned by journalists when it was first released.

 

[DaveD]

I’ve kept the SE springs but put B6s on. Ride is firm but there is no slop, and the way it deals with dips in particular is amazing- eg off a jump/drop in the road. Body control in hard cornering is much improved - feels really tight. The benefit of the SE/B6 set up is that you can go faster and the car has the travel to deal with bumps, which are much more tightly controlled by the B6s. I’m v happy

 

[Ewazix]

Wheel/tyre combo will make a big difference, particularly the devils own work aka Bridgstone RFT's if you have them?

 

[thecremeegg]

Each to their own and all that, but I'm genuinely surprised by this thread and not really sure whats going on with your setup here. My B4 Eibach combo is definitely an improvement over my tired 80K m sport setup. All my existing shocks were knackered to some degree so I have to question if yours have actually been replaced at some point. How long have you owned the car? Is it possible they have actually been changed in the last 20-30K?
Dont get me wrong, the Z4 is never going to be a comfy cruiser, but I would have expected an improvement over what you started with to your current setup.

Eibach wise, my rationale for fitting these had nothing to do with the lower ride height, I was more than happy with the existing m sport stance. I was (like you) lured in by reports on here of a more comfortable ride. I did look into this with Eibach before buying and they confirmed that their springs start off at a lower spring rate than the m sport ones rising to about the same. This is why they give a better ride over the small bumps/undulations etc. The B4 shocks are valved to be the same as the SE suspension so in combination with the Eibachs should feel softer riding so I'm not sure why your experience is different.

I did think of a few things that may have caused this that might be worth checking;

1) Are your springs actually fitted the right way up, because of their progressive nature they do need to be fitted a certain way up (writing the right way up). Eibach do insist on this and I can confirm it makes a noticeable difference as I initial got one of my rears the wrong way up. (that'll teach me to burn the midnight oil fixing my car!) I noticed the next day when driving it that one side felt harder than the other and when I looked into it I realised why. Once switched both sides were the same.

2) Are your springs definitely for the ordinary Z4? or could you have been supplied with the heavier Z4M ones in error?

3) Did your car definity have M sport shocks/springs fitted or could it actually have had SE spec stuff, especially if its been replace at some point etc.

I have to admit I've toyed with idea of trying SE springs, just to see what their like and I would expect them to be comfier than the Eibachs but I'm currently trialing different tyre sizes instead.
When I went from standard 18" to M spec sizes it made a considerable difference to the ride quality, but the sidewalls looked a bit agricultural. I'm currently running 245/40 rears as a halfway house option and they're also much comfier than the standard 255/35 but as you'd expect not quite as comfy as the m spec 255/40. But the sidewalls do look better.

Hi Mack,

Not sure if they're the right way up, that's something I'll have to check! I would have hoped the garage would have but like you say, it's possible. How can I tell if the springs are correct and not the Z4M ones - is there anything on them that says this?
As for having M-sport before, pretty sure they were as the height was lower than SE.
Tyres wise, I'm running PS4's on it, stock sizing - don't want to change them really tbh!

My ride is ok. Maybe you're just an old foggy?

It's never been the most comfortable car ever. That's why it got panned by journalists when it was first released.

I'm not old hah! Like I said, I've had a few old MX5s on the original bilstein Japanese shocks that are notoriously hard - they were nothing compared with this!

 

[MACK]

Each to their own and all that, but I'm genuinely surprised by this thread and not really sure whats going on with your setup here. My B4 Eibach combo is definitely an improvement over my tired 80K m sport setup. All my existing shocks were knackered to some degree so I have to question if yours have actually been replaced at some point. How long have you owned the car? Is it possible they have actually been changed in the last 20-30K?
Dont get me wrong, the Z4 is never going to be a comfy cruiser, but I would have expected an improvement over what you started with to your current setup.

Eibach wise, my rationale for fitting these had nothing to do with the lower ride height, I was more than happy with the existing m sport stance. I was (like you) lured in by reports on here of a more comfortable ride. I did look into this with Eibach before buying and they confirmed that their springs start off at a lower spring rate than the m sport ones rising to about the same. This is why they give a better ride over the small bumps/undulations etc. The B4 shocks are valved to be the same as the SE suspension so in combination with the Eibachs should feel softer riding so I'm not sure why your experience is different.

I did think of a few things that may have caused this that might be worth checking;

1) Are your springs actually fitted the right way up, because of their progressive nature they do need to be fitted a certain way up (writing the right way up). Eibach do insist on this and I can confirm it makes a noticeable difference as I initial got one of my rears the wrong way up. (that'll teach me to burn the midnight oil fixing my car!) I noticed the next day when driving it that one side felt harder than the other and when I looked into it I realised why. Once switched both sides were the same.

2) Are your springs definitely for the ordinary Z4? or could you have been supplied with the heavier Z4M ones in error?

3) Did your car definity have M sport shocks/springs fitted or could it actually have had SE spec stuff, especially if its been replace at some point etc.

I have to admit I've toyed with idea of trying SE springs, just to see what their like and I would expect them to be comfier than the Eibachs but I'm currently trialing different tyre sizes instead.
When I went from standard 18" to M spec sizes it made a considerable difference to the ride quality, but the sidewalls looked a bit agricultural. I'm currently running 245/40 rears as a halfway house option and they're also much comfier than the standard 255/35 but as you'd expect not quite as comfy as the m spec 255/40. But the sidewalls do look better.

Hi Mack,

Not sure if they're the right way up, that's something I'll have to check! I would have hoped the garage would have but like you say, it's possible. How can I tell if the springs are correct and not the Z4M ones - is there anything on them that says this?
As for having M-sport before, pretty sure they were as the height was lower than SE.
Tyres wise, I'm running PS4's on it, stock sizing - don't want to change them really tbh!

My ride is ok. Maybe you're just an old foggy?

It's never been the most comfortable car ever. That's why it got panned by journalists when it was first released.

I'm not old hah! Like I said, I've had a few old MX5s on the original bilstein Japanese shocks that are notoriously hard - they were nothing compared with this!

Hi,
IIRC the individual part numbers are the writing on the Eibach springs so you can cross reference then with Eibachs website etc. The Billsteins should be black and have a sticker on with their part numbers to check those as well.
I think your right about having the M Sport stuff on already if it was sat lower than the SE stuff, but again you can double check this by the three colour markings on the rear springs. IIRC SE were a couple of colours with M Sport a few different ones, although I cant remember which was which off the top of my head, sorry.

 

[R60BBA]

I thought that B4s are supposed to be used with OEM springs and that for lowering you should use B6 or B8?
The B12 kit on mine is B8 shocks with Eibach lowering springs. it is a firm ride but i dont get any bouncing at the back end.
On a nice bit of resurfaced road it is great.
Edit - looking at the Bilstein website they only list B8s as for lowered springs

Have you got a pic of the B12 stance?

 

[adam1985]

I thought that B4s are supposed to be used with OEM springs and that for lowering you should use B6 or B8?
The B12 kit on mine is B8 shocks with Eibach lowering springs. it is a firm ride but i dont get any bouncing at the back end.
On a nice bit of resurfaced road it is great.
Edit - looking at the Bilstein website they only list B8s as for lowered springs

Have you got a pic of the B12 stance?

Only one I have to hand

 

[adam1985]

Found another one for you

 

[Matt308]

I saw a YouTube video of them being fitted. Apparently Eibach is printed on and needs to be right way up