[Qu8storm]

I'm going to upgrading/replacing my shocks and struts to bilstein b4 sport, I was just wondering what all needs to be replaced for an 09 e92 335i with 95000 miles?

[tlow98]

There are a lot of answers to this question. You just need to look around and identify worn items on your particular car then order those parts. Pretty hard to tell what you need without seeing your car.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

As the above poster said, nobody would know the condition of other components.

Unless you get in there and look, roll the dice or just replace all the bushings if you want to be pro-active.

I'm assuming since you are going with B4 that you are not a track enthusiast therefore I'd just replace any obvious bushings that are worn and leave the rest.

Always replace in pairs though. So if you do something on the right, do the same on the left side, for example.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by Qu8storm

I'm going to upgrading/replacing my shocks and struts to bilstein b4 sport, I was just wondering what all needs to be replaced for an 09 e92 335i with 95000 miles?

Probably looking at :

Front -

Strut Bearings
Bump stops
Dust sealing gasket
Strut carrier gasket


Rear -

Upper/ Upper Shock Mount
Upper/Lower Shock Mount
Lower Shock Mount
Rear Bump Stop Support Cup

Look for Lemforder parts - they are the OEM Supplier, unless you want to pay the BMW tax (the little BMW sticker).

In terms of bushings, I dont know that I would replace any of them unless you clearly see that they are toast. In such case, its best to replace in 2's. In other words, if the left, rear ball joint is bad, you should replace the right, rear ball joint even though its ok, at the moment.

If your unsure of which bushings are good or bad, take the car to a front end speciality shop you trust and has a good reputation. For around $25.00, they will do an inspection of the car's bushings, control arms etc., and should be able to tell you what is good, bad or marginal. They should also be able to tell you how long (ballpark) you have on marginal items before you really need to replace them.

You will need a 4-wheel alignment after you change out your shocks and struts. Perhaps consider letting the new suspension break in and settle a little bit for about 1500 miles before getting this alignment.

Also, if you go with a Bilstein B6 or higher, I "think" Bilstein gives you the bumpstops. Check into that. I know when I bought my B12 kit, I got the bumpstops as part of the package. In the front, the bumpstops are built into the strut. This is not true on B4 struts.

[jwebb335xi]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

Probably looking at :

Front -

Strut Bearings
Bump stops
Dust sealing gasket
Strut carrier gasket


Rear -

Upper/ Upper Shock Mount
Upper/Lower Shock Mount
Lower Shock Mount
Rear Bump Stop Support Cup

Look for Lemforder parts - they are the OEM Supplier, unless you want to pay the BMW tax (the little BMW sticker).

In terms of bushings, I dont know that I would replace any of them unless you clearly see that they are toast. In such case, its best to replace in 2's. In other words, if the left, rear ball joint is bad, you should replace the right, rear ball joint even though its ok, at the moment.

If your unsure of which bushings are good or bad, take the car to a front end speciality shop you trust and has a good reputation. For around $25.00, they will do an inspection of the car's bushings, control arms etc., and should be able to tell you what is good, bad or marginal. They should also be able to tell you how long (ballpark) you have on marginal items before you really need to replace them.

You will need a 4-wheel alignment after you change out your shocks and struts. Perhaps consider letting the new suspension break in and settle a little bit for about 1500 miles before getting this alignment.

Also, if you go with a Bilstein B6 or higher, I "think" Bilstein gives you the bumpstops. Check into that. I know when I bought my B12 kit, I got the bumpstops as part of the package. In the front, the bumpstops are built into the strut. This is not true on B4 struts.

Thats looks like some good advice. For what it's worth, I just replaced struts and shocks on my 2008 335xi. It had 86k at the time and I used Bilstein HD, which do come with bump stops.

So, in the rear, I purchase shocks and both upper and lower mounts. I replaced upper mounts consistent with general recommendations to replace them with shocks, but I used the "upgraded" Dinan mounts. I understand Monroe has a similar, lower profile and more durable mount for less money Dinan. You could check that out. I also replaced lower mounts with new Lemfoeder (spelling?) mounts simply because I don't want to disassemble anything down the road if those need to be replaced. My general theory is replace wear items in the path of any work I do if I'm not otherwise planning to go back into that area in the near term. Call it proactive - or lazy... Anyway, they were not in terrible shape and if I was trying to minimize cost - versus time later on - I could have left them intact.

In the front, I replaced struts, upper and lower spring pads AND upper strut mounts. Given that it's a PITA to take this stuff apart and that I despise spring compressors, i wanted all new hardware around the struts because I don't intend to replace them for a very long time - if ever. In retrospect, the spring pads could have been saved, but they only cost a few dollars. I'm convinced that my upper strut mounts (which contain bearings) were worn as they spun unevenly and a bit roughly. I live in an area with plenty of pot holes, however, so my experience may not be like yours.

I had previously replaced sway bar end links as mine were shot last year; and, i just ordered and will install front control arms as one appears to be bent. That seems related to the same pothole that destroyed one of my front wheels, however, and does not likely represent normal wear. My suspension otherwise looked pretty good. Both the alignment shop and my local indy who had to do a quick repair for me confirmed suspension is otherwise solid..Again, my experience with my car that I do not track. My other cars that had been tracked would have received basically all new parts with struts/shocks because they were all under constant abuse and its nice to get everything fresh, aligned once and be done.

good luck!

[Qu8storm]

Thanks for the reply, i was just wondering if i needed to replace the mounts and such. I'm not looking to replace bushing just yet.

[Murf]

I would (and did recently), mounts are cheap and the rubber does degrade with time.

[jwebb335xi]

Originally Posted by Murf

I would (and did recently), mounts are cheap and the rubber does degrade with time.

good point..

[GreaseMonkey]

Is there any performance improvement with the Bilstein B4s, or are they just a better quality piece that performs identically to the factory setup?

[Gohan335i7]

I'm pretty sure it's just as good as stock. Bilstein has a great rep. I got B8s and its 1000x better than my stock setup. Smoother IMHO. B4s are still just as good , I don't think they lower the car either which is great if u want to stay stock height.

[Murf]

B4's are an OEM replacement and are maybe 10-15% stiffer than stock, at least the sport versions are.

[chris@strutmonkey]

We sell suspension kits that are already fully assembled with all the new parts and hardware that you need. No need ot try to figure it out yourself. They are easy to install, so you can save shop install costs. I would recommend the Koni STR.T kit for a nice, budget friendly upgrade from your stock suspension - similar to the Bilstein B4 - a bit more performance oriented. You can choose either an Eibach Pro kit or H&R Sport spring. Let us know if we can assist!

[Carlman3]

I know this is a 5 year old post. But I bought a 2009 e93 w/ m-sport suspension (704A option). It has 65,k on it. I figured out the front left shock wasn't working well after noticing road undulations would turn the wheel out of my hand sometimes. It also felt less planted than other BMW's I've owned. The 'pothole explosions' were insane. I had a bulge form on 1 tire from previous owner (I think).

My mechanic replaced the shocks/struts with the Bilstein B4's. 3 things surprised me:
1- 3 out of the 4 shocks had no resistance at all
2- How well it handled given how shot they dampers were
3- How well it accelerated w/ new shocks

The car obviously handles better than it did. I don't know what it was like new and I don't have a lot of experience with e9x suspension comparisons.. But it is reasonably firm now... Bilsteins have a certain feel to them, and this is no exception. Hard to describe.

The front is a good inch or 2 higher than it was, the back is a little higher too. It felt like I was sitting on the ground before, and rubbed on my driveway/curb every time, at any speed or angle. Now it clears, but barely.

The wheel still has a slight pull over some holes/ruts in the road but it is very minimal. Just after the shocks were in, reduced it 70% or so, then got an alignment, another 10-15% reduced due to toe adjustment. So, I'd say it's 85% better than before... which is pretty good!

The rake of the car looks good and it's more level along the rocker panels/below the doors.

I can't believe how completely shot the shocks were at 65,k. It was driven around DC by the previous (and only) other owner so maybe not so surprising. (I lived there for years too.)

I'm really enjoying the drive now. Too bad I have almost no reason to drive these days. But it's a real pleasure and safer now.

I'm pasting the parts you'll need to do this job if you want. Everything is from FCPeuro.com. That's where I buy everything for this car and my X3/e83.

BMW Strut Assembly
Bilstein logo14 4c- SKU: BIL-22136602

BMW Strut Assembly
Bilstein logo14 4c- SKU: BIL-22136619

BMW Shock Mounting Kit
Lemforder logo- SKU: KIT-517023

BMW Strut Mount Kit
Lemforder logo- SKU: KIT-31306775098KT
In Stock

BMW Shock Absorber
Bilstein logo14 4c- SKU: BIL-19303581

BMW Mini Strut Bump Stop
Rein logo- SKU: CRP-AVZ0286

Also, my wheel speed sensor on the front right decided to quit after this install, so had to get this:
BMW ABS Wheel Speed Sensor
Ate logo- SKU: ATE-360141

I went ahead and got 2 and replaced both myself... easy to do.

Overall the installation with a convertible is a little weird/challenging for the rears but not terrible. My mechanic had some frustrations with it, took him about 5 hours. He was working on it in the street in front of my house. On a lift or even in a shop this would be a little easier.

I was 50/50 on doing this but he only charged me 4 hours and I didn't have time to do it.. so worked out for me.

The alignment was $200, labor was about 400, and parts 700, so $1300 for everything.. oh, 2 sensors were $80 with overnight shipping if you want to count that.. There's always a chance you'll break something... consider that cost too.

I didn't get a quote for the dealer but book time is 7 hours. Same place that wants $500 to change spark plugs... 1300 would likely have covered labor only... so I feel good about the repair cost.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this. Have fun!