Owner recommendation - suspension

Gwest44

Gwest44

Senior member
 Sheffield
Had the suspension checked out today on the Z4MC and the verdict was that most components had been renewed but the shock absorbers were original and the springs were lower than stock.

Was advised to look at the Bilstein B12 kit by way of an upgrade with the Eibach springs.

If you haven’t already guessed I’ve know idea what I’m talking about the car is effectively daily but not used every day and only on the road despite an unfulfilled desire to take it on a track day.

So my question is simple and I appreciate to a limited audience - based on you’re experience of owning the ///M which suspension setup would you recommend?
 
Looks like I missed these but would welcome any advice on the subject based on personal experience
 
I fitted kwv3 and they transformed the car inspiring a new level of confidence while giving a great ride, highly recommended :thumbsup:
 
I put Bilstein B6's on my first Z4MC at about 40k miles, with stock springs. It was an excellent combo.

The B12 kit uses those same B6 dampers. In your situation, I think that's the direction I would take. Those shocks are bulletproof and warranted for as long as you own the car. I've had them on a bunch of cars over the years and they will easily do 100k+ miles and still not be worn out. If they do wear out or fail, Bilstein will replace (or rebuild) them for the original purchaser. At least here in the states.
 
I've got the b12 blisteins and it's a nice bit of kit. Handling is definitely improved. It seems to absorb some bumps better than stock but is still very crashy over pot holes. I thought it was also fantastic on track days, very capable. Overall a great upgrade - while your doing this I'd suggest you replace the rear trailing arm bushes with the limiter kit and get the uprated top mounts for the rears.
 
Appreciate that - definitely think that’s the way I will go and will keep my eyes peeled for some coming up for sale on the forum :thumbsup:
 
Don't mean to hijack the thread but as one of my rear springs have cracked, I believe I'm in a similar situation to the OP.

My initial thought is to just replace the springs all round with the Eibach Pro kit. I believe these are around £200 and around £150 to fit? However I've heard that original (assumed) shock absorbers and aftermarket springs aren't always a great idea.

However I'm not sure whether I should fork out a bit more and just go for coilovers all round. I've seen sets up for sale at around £600 with a fitting cost of around £300?

I intend to get a full alignment done regardless of the route I go down. I only do about 2-3k miles per year and haven't really had any complaints about the OEM suspension, I'm more after a reliable, long term fix.

Any help would be much appreciated, please let me know if any of my estimates are off!
 
+1 for the Billy kit

If you’re a novice track or want something firm yet controlled for the road, highly recommend the B12 kit.... full adjustable coil overs is another £1.5k ish

You then have 2 fitting choices
1. Cut down the front bump stops by about 15mm or fit some shorter ones,
2. REUSE the OEM front springs, but use new rear springs
as found it can annoyingly crash every so often.

Otherwise, feels like it’s been sucked into the tarmac, write up here https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=109057
 
My bad, I seem to have got myself confused between coilovers and aftermarket shocks + springs! Coilovers would definitely be overkill for me as I'd max be doing one track day a year, if at all.

How much do the B12 + oem springs lower the car by? Ideally I wouldn't want the car too low in case of speed bumps and steep driveways, which is why the 20/10mm drop from the stock shocks + eibachs seem quite appealing. I'm also a bit worried that I'll get some rubbing on the arches as I've got CSL reps with 12mm spacers on.
 
zomby said:
However I'm not sure whether I should fork out a bit more and just go for coilovers all round. I've seen sets up for sale at around £600 with a fitting cost of around £300?
Click to expand...

You can't get decent coilovers for that price - el cheapo coilovers would be a far worse choice than some quality B6's. I'd far sooner get the B12 kit than waste money on some questionable coilovers. A worthwhile set will cost you more than the B12 kit. And yes, do get a full alignment afterwards. Good luck!
 
zomby said:
My bad, I seem to have got myself confused between coilovers and aftermarket shocks + springs! Coilovers would definitely be overkill for me as I'd max be doing one track day a year, if at all.

How much do the B12 + oem springs lower the car by? Ideally I wouldn't want the car too low in case of speed bumps and steep driveways, which is why the 20/10mm drop from the stock shocks + eibachs seem quite appealing. I'm also a bit worried that I'll get some rubbing on the arches as I've got CSL reps with 12mm spacers on.
Click to expand...

If don’t want springs, then forget the B12 kit and just buy the Bilstein shocks. However, replacing the rear springs is almost essential maintenance from my book
 
Thanks for all the advice, I think for now I'll try the Eibach springs with stock shocks and see how I get on. That should hopefully surpress the modding bug for the next few months at least!

Here's a pictures of the old springs...
IMG_20190209_144312.jpg
 
That spring looks like the end has cracked and fell off - a standard end would be smoother, complete a full, flat loop at the bottom and not be rusty.

s-l1600.jpg
 
zomby said:
Thanks for all the advice, I think for now I'll try the Eibach springs with stock shocks and see how I get on. That should hopefully surpress the modding bug for the next few months at least!

Here's a pictures of the old springs...
IMG_20190209_144312.jpg
Click to expand...

If your paying someone to install it might work out better to replace the shocks as well in the long run.... just a thought.
 
Viren said:
If your paying someone to install it might work out better to replace the shocks as well in the long run.... just a thought.
Click to expand...

Without a doubt. Those original stockers MUST be shot by now. Would be a shame to go through all the labor/cost of replacing the springs and leaving them in place, only to need to turn right around and do the job over again to refresh the shocks. Well worth biting the bullet and doing the whole job properly now, IMHO.
 
I ran Eibachs with OEM shocks and CSLs for a while and the car really struggled with tramlining on rough surfaces. The size of the wheels and lots of negative camber made things worse than they would have been if I’d stuck to the 18” 224s and standard geometry, but in your position I’d still consider the b12 kit given the positive reviews of others here.

My set up was for track purposes and it certainly reduced understeer despite the poor road manners. I’ve moved on to KW Clubsports and the track performance is now incredible but I’d only recommend them for a track-focused car unless you know a good dentist who can fix all the teeth you’ll break from potholes :D
 
KevinC said:
Viren said:
If your paying someone to install it might work out better to replace the shocks as well in the long run.... just a thought.
Click to expand...

Without a doubt. Those original stockers MUST be shot by now. Would be a shame to go through all the labor/cost of replacing the springs and leaving them in place, only to need to turn right around and do the job over again to refresh the shocks. Well worth biting the bullet and doing the whole job properly now, IMHO.
Click to expand...
Couldn't agree more :thumbsup:
 
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