Hard ride issue

[danielr637]

Hi guys

Had my z4 for about a month on the road now. It’s a 2004 3.0 and I’ve noticed the ride has become a lot harsher, I thought maybe it was down to the new tyres and that the garage had put on run flats on but checked and not.

It seems to be coming from the rear and I know these are common to have rear spring issues. The car has 125 k on it so would have presumed they’d been replaced at least by this mileage/age or maybe it’s due to get its springs replaced for the second time ?

Question is what are the symptoms for failed springs and what is the way of checking without removing the rear wheels ?

 

[ChrisGUK]

Hi.
Sadly, I wouldn’t presume they’ve been replaced as maintenance on these is very variable!

Usually if a spring is cracked I think it will become broken promptly and after that it’s pretty obvious - they need a few hundred kilos to compress. One thing you could do is jack the car up so the weight is off the wheel and then have a good look?

There are loads of YouTube videos on Z4 suspension, these obviously have very variable quality but you should be able to figure out what it’s supposed to look like if you don’t already know.

 

[Rockhopper]

More than likely to be knackered dampers and struts. Broken springs won't show those symptoms.

 

[enuff_zed]

Exactly what I just replied on the similar thread about 108s.

OP, try to keep all your discussion about one issue on one thread. Otherwise you will get lost and people trying to help will give up trying to work out which thread they are supposed to be on.

In this case I would definitely suggest you look into the age and condition of the dampers.
MOT testers only look for visible signs of oil leaks from the dampers. If all the gas has escaped there will be no visual sign