Shocks are shot, Bilsteins time?

[Mittens]

I bought BMW oem new mounts for front and back. Fitted the kit myself and took it to Blackboots and had the 4 wheel laser alignment done. Also fitted an Ali strut brace to the front struts. Car handles nice. All it needs now is the supercharger.

I'm a bit worried that my struts will damage the (apparently thin) top mount area of the chassis.

I also replaced the top mounts at the same time - rogue were a good option for the rears For the fronts it depends on budget, but with adjustables you'll get more ability with the 4-wheel alignment

It was your thread that put me onto them . I'm looking at uprating the top mounts to prevent damage to the car rather than anything else. It looks like oem and reinforcement plate (link below) comes in at half the price, decisions, decisions..

http://www.elite-d.co.uk/bmw-e36-e46-z3-z4-bolt-in-rear-top-mount-reinforcement-plates/

 

[Mittens]

I bought BMW oem new mounts for front and back. Fitted the kit myself and took it to Blackboots and had the 4 wheel laser alignment done. Also fitted an Ali strut brace to the front struts. Car handles nice. All it needs now is the supercharger.

I'm a bit worried that my struts will damage the (apparently thin) top mount area of the chassis.

I also replaced the top mounts at the same time - rogue were a good option for the rears For the fronts it depends on budget, but with adjustables you'll get more ability with the 4-wheel alignment

It was your thread that put me onto them . I'm looking at uprating the top mounts to prevent damage to the car rather than anything else. It looks like oem and reinforcement plate (link below) comes in at half the price, decisions, decisions..

http://www.elite-d.co.uk/bmw-e36-e46-z3-z4-bolt-in-rear-top-mount-reinforcement-plates/

 

[Steve84N]

If you run a strut brace you shouldn't need plates as well. I can't get enough thread for the nuts if I ran both. For the rear you may as well put the plates in, I found some on eBay for £10.

 

[DMC63]

I bought BMW oem new mounts for front and back. Fitted the kit myself and took it to Blackboots and had the 4 wheel laser alignment done. Also fitted an Ali strut brace to the front struts. Car handles nice. All it needs now is the supercharger.

I'm a bit worried that my struts will damage the (apparently thin) top mount area of the chassis.

I also replaced the top mounts at the same time - rogue were a good option for the rears For the fronts it depends on budget, but with adjustables you'll get more ability with the 4-wheel alignment

It was your thread that put me onto them . I'm looking at uprating the top mounts to prevent damage to the car rather than anything else. It looks like oem and reinforcement plate (link below) comes in at half the price, decisions, decisions..

http://www.elite-d.co.uk/bmw-e36-e46-z3-z4-bolt-in-rear-top-mount-reinforcement-plates/

Strut brace at front, no plates and plates on rears.

This is the strut brace I bought If you buy this strut brace tell DC Perfomance that you need the nuts from Weichers to fit it otherwise you won't have enough thread in the OEM nuts which are currently on the car.
https://www.dcperformance.co.uk/cheap/1174866/BMW/wiechers-sport-strut-brace/gw067034.html

 

[Mittens]

Right, firstly thanks all for the help picking what to buy.

Secondly, I've finalised on getting Bilstein B12 kit (arriving tomorrow) and new OEM top-mounts (I'm going slow and steady with changes to the ride).

I'll try and get up a before and after shot of the car (in profile) for future reference.

 

[Ed Doe]

Hi chaps, apologies for the brief diversion of the thread but what's the point in the plates? Surely if it's below the mounting bracket it'll just raise the ride height a little like a lift kit on a 4x4 ?

 

[Steve84N]

Front plates do fractionally increase ride height but it stops the strut tower from mushrooming. The rear plates go above the strut tower anyway and are again to stop deformation of the metal skin.

 

[Mittens]

What do people do with/for bump stops? Do I need to get shorter ones, or are they integrated in the B8 shocks?

Hi chaps, apologies for the brief diversion of the thread but what's the point in the plates? Surely if it's below the mounting bracket it'll just raise the ride height a little like a lift kit on a 4x4 ?

As Steve said, it's to stop mushrooming. I found lots of talk about it on 3 series cars, but no much luck finding examples on Z4s, which is good I suppose.

 

[VRSteve]

What do people do with/for bump stops? Do I need to get shorter ones, or are they integrated in the B8 shocks?

My new bilsteins have them integrated on the front and I'm using new stock ones on the back.

 

[Scooba_Steve]

As above.

I've not heard of any issues with Z4s so didn't reinforce when I put my B12 kit in.

 

[TomK]

There's really no need to use the front strut tower reinforcement plates unless you are using something like intrax or nitron with a much smaller surface area top mount. Bilstein B12 uses the OEM top mount so no reason to reinforce.
This is what an intrax solid top mount looks like, you can see why reinforcement is advised.

 

[Ed Doe]

As above.

I've not heard of any issues with Z4s so didn't reinforce when I put my B12 kit in.

Same - never heard of that issue before? Meh I've not noticed any issues with my mounting turrets, shan't worry about it!

 

[Steve84N]

The American guy who makes repair videos seemed to have some, (igeak?)

 

[Mittens]

Hi everybody,

The shocks (B12 kit) are now in and I've put a few miles on them, my word, what a difference!

The old front shocks were in a right state, one of them had about 15mm of slop and very little resistance. Unsurprisingly the car feel much more composed and even goes over speed bumps better than before.

The biggest change is how much smoother the car is going round corners. I don't know if it can corner better now or, if it's just giving me reassurance that it will be able to do what I'm asking it to - previously it felt like it should be able to pull in tighter, but wasn't willing.

The ride is firmer, but not as much as I'd feared, and feels communicative rather than uncomfortable (I am "young" at (very, very) early 30s though). The car feels much more like a bolted together unit (especially noticeable over speed bumps) than it did before, which in hindsight was a sloppy, crashy mess.

Once again, thanks for your advice, both for and against. I'm certainly happy with my choice.

:driving:

 

[Scooba_Steve]

Glad you went with the B12, a very capable middle ground. They do make a lot of difference to the car.

 

[markplant]

Hi everybody,

The shocks (B12 kit) are now in and I've put a few miles on them, my word, what a difference!

The old front shocks were in a right state, one of them had about 15mm of slop and very little resistance. Unsurprisingly the car feel much more composed and even goes over speed bumps better than before.

The biggest change is how much smoother the car is going round corners. I don't know if it can corner better now or, if it's just giving me reassurance that it will be able to do what I'm asking it to - previously it felt like it should be able to pull in tighter, but wasn't willing.

The ride is firmer, but not as much as I'd feared, and feels communicative rather than uncomfortable (I am "young" at (very, very) early 30s though). The car feels much more like a bolted together unit (especially noticeable over speed bumps) than it did before, which in hindsight was a sloppy, crashy mess.

Once again, thanks for your advice, both for and against. I'm certainly happy with my choice.

:driving:

Other than the b12 kit which other parts did you change upgrade or replace at the same time.... Glad you good result

 

[Mittens]

Other than the b12 kit which other parts did you change upgrade or replace at the same time.... Glad you good result

The top mounts (Lemforder), the two in the front had a nice visible crack (under load), the rear bump stops and a drop link which needed doing.

The reinforcement plates would not fit in the end since there is a welded bit to do with the roof which wouldn't let the plate sit flat.

 

[markplant]

Thanks

 

[Steve84N]

The rear plates only fit on a coupe unfortunately.

Can you recall what size the nuts are at the top of the rear dampers, I think it's M10 but could be M12?

 

[ScoobyR1]

I've just fitted the Bilstein/Eibach kit with Meyle HD wishbones and revised alignment, a massive improvement all round. It's lost the initial smoothness of the ride, but doesn't suddenly jerk on the second rate, like it does on the originals, which I prefer.

Hi Guys

Quite interested in this thread as I am looking to potentially change my shocks in the near future, to match the lowered springs I got off of Smartbear. Can I ask Sandy why you chose to change out the wishbones? I thought that the wishbones were a non wear item? :?

Cheers