What have you done to your E89 today
- Thread starter Bombur
- Start date
South Lanarkshire
Whitchurch
Scottish Borders
And has it had any effect?Treated all the rubber seals with the SWISSVAX seal feed - under the bonnet, in the boot, around the doors and obviously the roof seals. Thats a lot of rubber but hopefully now the cabin will be quieter and it does smell nice
View attachment 291112View attachment 291113
The eternal struggle for nirvana on the suspension continues..
After some initial outings the suspension has settled in places.
So now I have enough room to reinstall the lock rings and jack the rears up a bit..
So both rears jacked,,the right rear I overdid so backed back 3 turns from the 7 I tried.
Left rear is up 5 turns up..now both rears are around 5-8 mm higher than the fronts.
The front left stays obstinately high as there's buggar all weight on that side..
(N54 engine sits lop sided to the right)
After some initial outings the suspension has settled in places.
So now I have enough room to reinstall the lock rings and jack the rears up a bit..
So both rears jacked,,the right rear I overdid so backed back 3 turns from the 7 I tried.
Left rear is up 5 turns up..now both rears are around 5-8 mm higher than the fronts.
The front left stays obstinately high as there's buggar all weight on that side..
(N54 engine sits lop sided to the right)
Previously it has but I can't testify to that in this case until I get out in it again - that said it definitely looks much better with all the external rubber seals looking much better.
The best result I ever had was on a Titanium Silver 23i which was evidencing signs of a roof issue with the usual bongs a red light of death - neither of which reappeared afyer I treated all the seals with the SWISSVAX.
The stuffs not cheap and a damn sight more expensive than Gummi Pfledge but it does the job very well and lasts for ages - I've had that bottle since I started buying Zeds which is around 8 years and 34 cars
I stand by for the definitive report.. if you haven't sold it by then..Previously it has but I can't testify to that in this case until I get out in it again - that said it definitely looks much better with all the external rubber seals looking much better.
The best result I ever had was on a Titanium Silver 23i which was evidencing signs of a roof issue with the usual bongs a red light of death - neither of which reappeared afyer I treated all the seals with the SWISSVAX.
The stuffs not cheap and a damn sight more expensive than Gummi Pfledge but it does the job very well and lasts for ages - I've had that bottle since I started buying Zeds which is around 8 years and 34 cars
United Kingdom
Strange that I was doing some looking and thinking about the suspension on mine today and noticed the exact thing that the front left sits higher than the other 3 corners. Factory M sport springs all round and soon to be replaced OE dampers (by Bilstein B4’s in case anyone is looking to sell a new set).
The real thought pattern was around the rear suspension linkages though. I read that on the E89, the linkages are all pressed steel and there is a possibility that the stronger and crucially stiffer Aluminium linkages off the M3 of the era could well be a direct replacement. That is the case on the 3 series for sure but I may also have read that the Z4 has a model unique bushing on some of the rear linkages. Could any of the long term experts on here shed any light on this as I would love to do that upgrade and reduce some of the rear end squish.
The real thought pattern was around the rear suspension linkages though. I read that on the E89, the linkages are all pressed steel and there is a possibility that the stronger and crucially stiffer Aluminium linkages off the M3 of the era could well be a direct replacement. That is the case on the 3 series for sure but I may also have read that the Z4 has a model unique bushing on some of the rear linkages. Could any of the long term experts on here shed any light on this as I would love to do that upgrade and reduce some of the rear end squish.
Just looking at your collection of brake bits and contemplating my own upgrade with a bit of advice please.I could sell him one of my F10 5 series based rear BBK kits!-View attachment 291015
For my needs, the stock front rotor size at 300mm is spot on. I do mainly touring drives with some spirited driving out in the countryside but no track stuff with this car. The stock brakes are nicely modulated and feel nicely progressive so, apart from the looks, not much needs changing.
I’m going to fit 300mm Zimmerman drilled rotors all round and I was looking to see what nice 4 pot calipers would fit absolutely plug and play in place of the stock calipers. Would also upgrade to braided hoses to enhance the feel along with a stiffer caliper. Would rather not modify the splash guards if possible too.
Any thoughts ? Thanks
Uprated RTAB and associated mounts with uprated rubber bushings on the knuckle with uprated camber arms…
M3 parts don’t really work on E89s..
Heavier E89s benefit from uprated arbs
Decent suspension makes a very big difference..
Off course premium tyres is the first stop..
Thanks for the speedy response.
1 Are you saying that a rotor size increase is a must to do this. 330mm? Would they still be 24mm thick in that case or do they need to increase to say 30mm?
2 To be clear on “plug n play”, using an adaptor is not a problem for me if necessary so I wonder on that basis if there is a Brembo (or similar) caliper off another brand that may work. The Brembo off the top spec MX5 springs to mind or maybe something off a RenaultSport model.
Wilwood may be another possibility.
Nice ST-3 FiST in the background tooAfter the breakfast meet yesterday morning, thanks to the typical Scottish weather, the car was the dirtiest it's ever been since I bought it, so gave it a good clean today. Ocd now back to an acceptable level
It's my daughters. It's a little rocket!Nice ST-3 FiST in the background too
Most folks (all?) go for plug n play solutions on E89s usually without any adapter brackets…
So usually either the BMW performance brake option 6 pot or the F series 340/380mm options 4 pot
Of course there are dozens of other permutations but I’ve never personally seen any of them on E89s apart from the high end Chinese /Taiwanese versions..
Well…people often rave about ‘racing’ brake pads…
Found a ‘nice’ issue with some Ferodo DS2500 I fitted on the front to the Shelby Mustang calipers…
After 3 days in relatively warm garage after being put in there wet the front pads had welded themselves to the front discs…
Two folks applying 150nm each to the wheels had no affect…
Only solution was to remove the wheels and use a screwdriver to pry off the pads..
You can see the rust mark where the pad sat..
Found a ‘nice’ issue with some Ferodo DS2500 I fitted on the front to the Shelby Mustang calipers…
After 3 days in relatively warm garage after being put in there wet the front pads had welded themselves to the front discs…
Two folks applying 150nm each to the wheels had no affect…
Only solution was to remove the wheels and use a screwdriver to pry off the pads..
You can see the rust mark where the pad sat..
No its just been warm and damp..very very big pad..so a little bit of stiction goes a long way