[SaMirakle]

Hey everyone, hopefully someone with more knowledge than my stupid ass dealership can help me out on this:

For a while my e92's been riding pretty rough and bumpy..swaying a little bit. I mean even on the highway it sucks. I know this isn't normal because my best friend has a 335i with the sport suspension like mine and his rides WAY smoother. He even complains about how bumpy my car rides when we take mine.

Anyway, so I took it up to the dealer 2 days ago and my service advisor leaves me a voicemail yesterday saying that the suspension seems fine but that my 2 front tires need to be replaced and it needs an alignment???

First of all, my tire pressure is fine and I honestly don't think "bad" tires can cause my car to be THAT rough of a ride. I frequently get lifted out of my seat a little bit (not too much) and my head bobs up and down a lot especially on shitty roads. Second of all, I got my alignment done a YEAR ago when I bought my car at that same dealership and my car doesn't have a significant pull to either side..


Can anyone shine some insight on me or am I just stupid and my tires and alignment are my problems???? THANKS!

[sle39lvr]

what size wheels and what kind of tires you have?

[SaMirakle]

Not sure off the top of my head. It's still at the dealership right now. Gonna pick it up after work. I just know my rims are 18". Tires are low pros and not sure the exact size...

What difference would it make though? They're low pro's which means there isn't much space to make the car bounce the way it does... I'd understand if they were thicker but even then it's probably be a smoother ride than low pro's.

[luckyu]

Originally Posted by SaMirakle

Hey everyone, hopefully someone with more knowledge than my stupid ass dealership can help me out on this:

For a while my e92's been riding pretty rough and bumpy..swaying a little bit. I mean even on the highway it sucks. I know this isn't normal because my best friend has a 335i with the sport suspension like mine and his rides WAY smoother. He even complains about how bumpy my car rides when we take mine.

Anyway, so I took it up to the dealer 2 days ago and my service advisor leaves me a voicemail yesterday saying that the suspension seems fine but that my 2 front tires need to be replaced and it needs an alignment???

First of all, my tire pressure is fine and I honestly don't think "bad" tires can cause my car to be THAT rough of a ride. I frequently get lifted out of my seat a little bit (not too much) and my head bobs up and down a lot especially on shitty roads. Second of all, I got my alignment done a YEAR ago when I bought my car at that same dealership and my car doesn't have a significant pull to either side..


Can anyone shine some insight on me or am I just stupid and my tires and alignment are my problems???? THANKS!

From your description of swaying and getting lifted out of your seat, it sounds really similar to what I had, which I'm pretty sure was due to riding on bump stops. This means, there is so little space between shock and bump stop, that you're hitting it all the time, and in large bumps you compress the bump stop considerably, and then the bump stop launches the car back.

All of this body movement overcomes the shocks, and so you experience floating, bouncy body movement.

If that sounds like what you have, there are different OE bump stops that may help a great deal. For how long was your suspension OK, and when do you think it started behaving bad? Have you noticed / measured a change in ride height?

I would steer clear of dealers if I were you. Find an honest shop.

[SaMirakle]

Hmm yeah that sounds like what I'm experiencing here... The dealership is pretty stubborn and they're not going to take any of the shit I plan on giving them for it. I'm pretty sure it's not my tires or the alignment... That sounds very ridiculous.

Anyway, I've had the car for a year now and when I first got it it wasn't noticeable but it was probably not as smooth as it could've been. I just figured it was supposed to be that way because of the tighter sport package suspension. As the year went on it's gotten noticeably worse and for the past 4-5 months it's been VERY ANNOYING.

I guess there's no use in arguing with the dealer about it. I'll just have to take a loss on the diagnostic fee they're charging me and try some suspension shops to get their opinions.

[luckyu]

Originally Posted by SaMirakle

Hmm yeah that sounds like what I'm experiencing here... The dealership is pretty stubborn and they're not going to take any of the shit I plan on giving them for it. I'm pretty sure it's not my tires or the alignment... That sounds very ridiculous.

Yes, it is ridiculous. That's exactly what it is.

Anyway, I've had the car for a year now and when I first got it it wasn't noticeable but it was probably not as smooth as it could've been. I just figured it was supposed to be that way because of the tighter sport package suspension. As the year went on it's gotten noticeably worse and for the past 4-5 months it's been VERY ANNOYING.

I think what's happening is that you are now very close to riding on your bump stops, and the reason the symptoms have come on gradually is that your springs are sagging slightly over time, or, something else in your suspension is "settling" causing your ride height to lower slightly. Loss of ride height brings you closer to the bump stops, and will cause a bouncy, undamped ride.

The kind of bouncy I'm talking about is not hard road texture. I'm talking about low frequency body movements that are not harsh they're just really annoying and stupid. If that's what you're experiencing, I think you can fix it by changing to shorter bump stops.

I guess there's no use in arguing with the dealer about it. I'll just have to take a loss on the diagnostic fee they're charging me and try some suspension shops to get their opinions.

If you want I can give you part numbers for bump stops to get, front and rear. Total parts cost will be about $60, install though will be more, maybe $300. If you possibly can, find an independent BMW shop, that is, someone that specializes in BMWs or a small number of models. Not a suspension place.

Maybe you can visit the BMWCCA web site, I think they show a list of member independent shops. Most of them are very good.

No matter where you go, you're going to have a tough time finding anyone who is knowledgable about these kinds of performance issues.

For the alignment and tire stuff, I would go to tirerack.com, look at their list of approved installers, they are rated by customers. Look for the highest rated ones in your area. Tire installers often do alignments and suspension upgrades, and they may even have something to say about your situation.

Hope this helps. And please let us know what happens!

[edirtaynine]

Originally Posted by SaMirakle

H... and my head bobs up and down a lot especially on shitty roads.

hahahahha reminds me of my old honda days lol

[cvc 22349a]

How many miles on the car? If the suspension hasn't been modified, it sounds like you need new shocks.

[luckyu]

Originally Posted by cvc 22349a

How many miles on the car? If the suspension hasn't been modified, it sounds like you need new shocks.

I agree, and this is more likely than the bump stop theory, too.

[darebornsolja]

Plus the stock sports package wheels with run flats are never going to be as smooth as a diff setup. I went with BBS LM's 19's on low pros and its like night and day.

[Tpzoso]

Hey guys. My expertise is not suspension. I can rebuild and reseal a lot of things, but the mechanics of this cars suspension is something I have yet to really dive into.

My 07 328i is having a very similar issue. Rough ride, on the freeway I can feel every little bump and potholes make a head banging thud. My wife have had driven the car nearly 100k miles in 5 years. It is currently at 145k miles. We have never serviced the suspension. I change the oil and tune up the motor/tranny according to the service schedule, but have never touched the suspension. We recently changed the tires for the first time ever. Idk how, but the bridge stones it had lasted nearly 100k miles and still had tread when replaced. We are very easy drivers and hardly ever press the gas any more than necessary.

It seems the ride height has sagged and is lower than before. Again I’m not expert at this, but the car recently made a scraping noise when it went over a hump at the exit of a parking lot. Iv had to approach humps and bumps at an angle to prevent scraping. I really do not remember this ever being an issue. It started a few months ago and has gotten worse IMO.

Is this a result of sagging springs? Do I need to replace anything other than springs? I don’t want anything special, aftermarket is fine, I just want it to ride like it did when we bought it. I can follow the manual to replace them, but I want to confirm this is the fix, and whether I should purchase any other parts.

Thank you all for your help and knowledge.

Best,
Chris H, PE(CA,AZ,TX)

[bmw_solid]

Originally Posted by Tpzoso

Hey guys. My expertise is not suspension. I can rebuild and reseal a lot of things, but the mechanics of this cars suspension is something I have yet to really dive into.

My 07 328i is having a very similar issue. Rough ride, on the freeway I can feel every little bump and potholes make a head banging thud. My wife have had driven the car nearly 100k miles in 5 years. It is currently at 145k miles. We have never serviced the suspension. I change the oil and tune up the motor/tranny according to the service schedule, but have never touched the suspension. We recently changed the tires for the first time ever. Idk how, but the bridge stones it had lasted nearly 100k miles and still had tread when replaced. We are very easy drivers and hardly ever press the gas any more than necessary.

It seems the ride height has sagged and is lower than before. Again I’m not expert at this, but the car recently made a scraping noise when it went over a hump at the exit of a parking lot. Iv had to approach humps and bumps at an angle to prevent scraping. I really do not remember this ever being an issue. It started a few months ago and has gotten worse IMO.

Is this a result of sagging springs? Do I need to replace anything other than springs? I don’t want anything special, aftermarket is fine, I just want it to ride like it did when we bought it. I can follow the manual to replace them, but I want to confirm this is the fix, and whether I should purchase any other parts.

Thank you all for your help and knowledge.

Best,
Chris H, PE(CA,AZ,TX)

Most-likely your suspension is on its last legs.

Springs could be sagging and shocks could be leaking, bump stops could be broken or control arm bushings could be shot.

If shocks are gone, they will show obvious sings of oil leaks.

If springs are gone they will either have a crack or be highly rusted - a good idea will be to check vehicle ride height on a flat surface from bottom of fender to centre of wheel cap.

Bad bump stops will be obvious to spot - they will be broken or easily compressible. (front bump stops would be hard to see as they are not easily visible.

Arms: Could be a in-direct cause of the bad ride but not the sole reason for the symptoms you describe. Check for play in the wheel by shaking it from 9 o clock to 3 o clock for bushing play and 12 o clock to 6 o clock for ball joint play.

Bad tyre pressure: Fill the tyres with air as specified on the door card ONLY WHEN COLD (car not driven overnight). In my E92 330d, even a 1 PSI decrease in pressure or increase causes the ride to become really bad, very uncomfortable and thudy. + Remember the tyre pressure increases ~1 PSI for every 10 degrees Celsius increase so adjust your tyre pressures as often as you can, however, this is more important for BMWs with 18" and higher wheels.

Did this problem start after you replaced tyres? Cheap budget tyres on a BMW is not the best of decisions! Should always go for a decent to premium tyre make and always ensure you buy identical tyre specs to the original wheels. Cheap tyres and wrong tyre pressures can make embarrassing changes to the way a BMW drives.

[Hoody007]

Originally Posted by Tpzoso

Hey guys. My expertise is not suspension. I can rebuild and reseal a lot of things, but the mechanics of this cars suspension is something I have yet to really dive into.

My 07 328i is having a very similar issue. Rough ride, on the freeway I can feel every little bump and potholes make a head banging thud. My wife have had driven the car nearly 100k miles in 5 years. It is currently at 145k miles. We have never serviced the suspension. I change the oil and tune up the motor/tranny according to the service schedule, but have never touched the suspension. We recently changed the tires for the first time ever. Idk how, but the bridge stones it had lasted nearly 100k miles and still had tread when replaced. We are very easy drivers and hardly ever press the gas any more than necessary.

It seems the ride height has sagged and is lower than before. Again I’m not expert at this, but the car recently made a scraping noise when it went over a hump at the exit of a parking lot. Iv had to approach humps and bumps at an angle to prevent scraping. I really do not remember this ever being an issue. It started a few months ago and has gotten worse IMO.

Is this a result of sagging springs? Do I need to replace anything other than springs? I don’t want anything special, aftermarket is fine, I just want it to ride like it did when we bought it. I can follow the manual to replace them, but I want to confirm this is the fix, and whether I should purchase any other parts.

Thank you all for your help and knowledge.

Best,
Chris H, PE(CA,AZ,TX)

Your struts / shocks are most likely blown. The springs are most likely fine.
For a stock-level ride, install Bilstein B4s. They’re $300 for the entire set and are well worth it. There are different lengths for sport pack vs. non sport pack, so double check before ordering!

If you want a more performance oriented ride, the Bilstein B6 (standard suspension) or B8 (Sport/M-sport suspension) are an excellent choice, but the car will become more stiff in the process.

Either selection will present a marked improvement in ride quality and stability at speed.