OEM suspension

B

Beemingallover

Member
I have a ZMR on the original suspension set up and it seems fine, apart from harshness and wobble on some rough tarmac roads, so why do people replace OEM with other set ups?
 
mmm-five said:
Because it's harsh and jumps all over the place on rough roads.
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So the alternative would be a softer set up but doesn't it lose the sharpness and feel. I find that on smooth tarmac on Continental back roads the present set up superb, pin sharp placement through corners, accurate steering feel. I'll forgive the rough road ride for that.
With the alternatives, say Bilstein, would I lose that smooth tarmac sharpness. And if alternatives are better why did BMW set the car up the way it is.
BTW I run on Michelin PS4 shod 18".
 
I think the reason people move away from oem is because the original sach dampeners are only available from bmw and they are expensive. The bilstein’s b6 shocks are an up grade on oem and compare favourably with regards to price. I have driven both and both ride and handling are improved with the b6.
 
I had a similar post. My car runs on m-sport suspension and I was wondering whether to stick with OEM or go over to Bilstein. I am currently favouring replacing with OEM shocks but may buy (slightly) shorter springs.

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=125072
 
Should you go Bilstein B12 pro kit, the rear Eibach springs are softer & have 90% cured the skipping mmm-five mentioned above on my ride.

However, found the front Eibachs too harsh for U.K. roads, so following a recommendation reverted to stock springs with Bilsteins
 
Beemingallover said:
mmm-five said:
Because it's harsh and jumps all over the place on rough roads.
Click to expand...
So the alternative would be a softer set up but doesn't it lose the sharpness and feel. I find that on smooth tarmac on Continental back roads the present set up superb, pin sharp placement through corners, accurate steering feel. I'll forgive the rough road ride for that.
With the alternatives, say Bilstein, would I lose that smooth tarmac sharpness. And if alternatives are better why did BMW set the car up the way it is.
BTW I run on Michelin PS4 shod 18".
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Not softer, just more controlled & compliant. So it absorbs some of the bumps without being squishy, and doesn't act as Buckeroo.

You'll find plenty of owners on here who have replaced OE stuff with decent kits from KW and Bilstein, and the road manners improve significantly on the softer bump/rebound settings, whilst allowing them to crank it up for tracks.

Mine is on Bilstein B16 PSS10, and is run at 3-4 for the road, and 8-10 for the track.
 
I run KW V3’s after running OEM up until recently - if funds allow it is worth investigating. My car now feels completely transformed and far more compliant in all conditions.
 
I went from OEM to Eibach Pro springs (more compliant and comfortable on motorways) to KWV3 (in softest setting: even more comfortable and also more control. Needless to say prob outstanding on track too.)

:driving:
 
I will be going to BC Racing when I need to change the shocks. They have worked very well for me on other cars.
 
mmm-five said:
Not softer, just more controlled & compliant. So it absorbs some of the bumps without being squishy, and doesn't act as Buckeroo.
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This ^

A good quality set of coilovers (eg KW) will ride better than OE suspension.
 
BMWZ4MC said:
£2 - 2.5k dependent on specific set up
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That’s crazy because I paid £1,050 for my V2s which were bought brand new from a KW supplier.

Shame they only offer V3s and Clubsports for you guy’s platform.

For £2,000 I would be tempted to go Öhlins.
 
R60BBA said:
BMWZ4MC said:
£2 - 2.5k dependent on specific set up
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That’s crazy because I paid £1,050 for my V2s which were bought brand new from a KW supplier.

Shame they only offer V3s and Clubsports for you guy’s platform.

For £2,000 I would be tempted to go Öhlins.
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I didn't think there was an Ohlins kit for the Z4M anyway. There is an e46 M3 Road & Track kit (BMW MI30) at about £2.2k, but I'm not sure it fits the ZMR/ZMC. Same goes for the track kit (BMV MU00) which is more like £5k.

My B16 PSS10 kit was just under £2k when I bought it, but is available at about £1.7k now.

KW V3s are under £2k. KW Clubsports are over £2.5k.

You can also go for ACS stuff at over £3k if you wish.

But if you look hard enough, you do see the occasional offer on at one of the tuners (not necessarily BMW-specific tuners).
 
I think I paid about £2400 for my Clubsports back in 2013. Camber / castor plates made up about £500 of that total.
 
Beemingallover said:
I have a ZMR on the original suspension set up and it seems fine, apart from harshness and wobble on some rough tarmac roads, so why do people replace OEM with other set ups?
mmm-five said:
Because it's harsh and jumps all over the place on rough roads.
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Click to expand...

lol, yes exactly. :lol:

Very happy with my KWs. Wouldn’t call it a B-road monster, but it can handle poor surfaces without getting unstuck, which hasn’t been the case for any E85/E86 I’ve ever driven on stock suspension. Ride height goes pretty much up to OEM levels too, so no issues with speed bumps etc.

I was thinking that it would be nice to have the option of switching to some softer springs as I make progress with the diet (the car, not me) but, then again, people seem to find the V3s a bit soft for track work, so perhaps there’s a fair margin there before they become oversprung.
 
What's the difference in kerb weight between a ZMC and a ZMR? Some of the posts on this thread are from a ZMC perspective, so I'm wondering whether a weight differential comes into it.
 
Beemingallover said:
What's the difference in kerb weight between a ZMC and a ZMR? Some of the posts on this thread are from a ZMC perspective, so I'm wondering whether a weight differential comes into it.
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About 33lbs/15kg extra in the m-coupe over the m-roadster (3230lbs vs 3197lbs) - according to the BMW brochure.

I think the ZMR rides better on OE suspension than the ZMC because the coupe has twice the torsional rigidity of the roadster (due to the additional bracing the roof provides).

But the coupe is closer to 50:50 than the roadster...50.2:49.8 vs 49.3:51.7...so you could say the coupe is a little 'nose heavy' :P

The roadster is also more 'draggy' having a drag coefficient of 0.38 vs the coupe's 0.35.
 
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