[E60525d]

I have a LCI E90 330d M sport. I am looking at ways to improve the ride quality. Maybe I am getting older and finding it too crashy.

The front coil spring snapped so its a good time to look at my options.

A couple a years ago I replaced the shocks all round with OEM Sachs M Sport along with new top/bottom mounts. It did make an improvement but not as much as I hoped. Since then I have done 50k so may also look at shocks again.

One key thing is I dont want to lower the car more than 10mm. What are my options?

Use existing dampers and fit Eibach pro - Ive read mixed reviews with this setup. Some say ride is more comfortable than OEM, some say is slightly firmer. Plus others say it lowered by 20mm, others say 10mm max.

Bilstein B4 dampers and fit Eibach pro - Yes this may seem like a 'downgrade' as these are standard replacement dampers and not M sport. But my thinking behind it is, this setup will be softer than above and also will not lower the car much. Thoughts?

135 springs - According to this, 135i springs have softer spring rate - https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=235797 So this will improve the ride.

Thank you

[Silver Streek]

Bilstein B4 dampers and fit Eibach pro - Yes this may seem like a 'downgrade' as these are standard replacement dampers and not M sport.[/QUOTE]

Depends which B4 dampers you buy there are two versions, the standard B4 suitable for SE and the B4 for Msport suspension. I have the B4 for Msport with Eibach pro, and the ride on my E91 is not crashy. Firm yes crashy no.

[E60525d]

Originally Posted by Silver Streek

Bilstein B4 dampers and fit Eibach pro - Yes this may seem like a 'downgrade' as these are standard replacement dampers and not M sport.

Depends which B4 dampers you buy there are two versions, the standard B4 suitable for SE and the B4 for Msport suspension. I have the B4 for Msport with Eibach pro, and the ride on my E91 is not crashy. Firm yes crashy no.[/QUOTE]

I was looking at the B4 for SE suspension as these are softer.

No point getting the B4 for M sport suspension as these are equivalent to the Sachs M sport dampers which I already have.

[Phil325i]

You get what you pay for. I opted for Ohlins Road and Track coilovers. Sounds like a receipe for rock-solid, race track ride. But in fact it's creamy smooth. Ride is fully adjstable and you can set the ride height where you want it. Not cheap, but will give you great handling and smooth ride.

[DriverLDN]

I recently overhauled my suspension back in October last year due to leaky dampers. I spoke to Eibach directly, one thing I wanted to improve was the ride quality, but I didn't want to lower the car much more than it already was on M Sport suspension. I also have a 2 year old and an 8 month old so kind of wanted to keep the car friendly for speed bumps etc.

After chatting chatting to the guys at Eibach they recommended replacing the dampers with OEM Sachs instead of Bilstien B4S which I was looking at and going with Eibach Pro Springs as they have a minimal drop. I have to admit, I do prefer the ride with Eibach Pro springs over the old M Sport ones, the car feels overall smoother and more composed. Although if you're on poor roads with loads of small potholes and damage, you'll feel it, I just slow down a little if it's like that.

Here is what my car looks like on OEM Sachs with Eiback Pro Kit Spings. My car is a 330i.

Hope this helps.

[E60525d]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

You get what you pay for. I opted for Ohlins Road and Track coilovers. Sounds like a receipe for rock-solid, race track ride. But in fact it's creamy smooth. Ride is fully adjstable and you can set the ride height where you want it. Not cheap, but will give you great handling and smooth ride.

Yes that would be great, but unfortunately i cannot buy a suspension kit that costs 50% of the car!

[E60525d]

Originally Posted by DriverLDN

I recently overhauled my suspension back in October last year due to leaky dampers. I spoke to Eibach directly, one thing I wanted to improve was the ride quality, but I didn't want to lower the car much more than it already was on M Sport suspension. I also have a 2 year old and an 8 month old so kind of wanted to keep the car friendly for speed bumps etc.

After chatting chatting to the guys at Eibach they recommended replacing the dampers with OEM Sachs instead of Bilstien B4S which I was looking at and going with Eibach Pro Springs as they have a minimal drop. I have to admit, I do prefer the ride with Eibach Pro springs over the old M Sport ones, the car feels overall smoother and more composed. Although if you're on poor roads with loads of small potholes and damage, you'll feel it, I just slow down a little if it's like that.

Here is what my car looks like on OEM Sachs with Eiback Pro Kit Spings. My car is a 330i.

Hope this helps.

I presume you went with the M sport version of OEM Sachs? As mentioned, i did a full suspension (exc springs) a couple of years ago using OEM Sachs parts.

Like yourself I dont really want to lower the car than it is today. I am getting conflicting info, some say EIbach pro has lowered there car and others like yourself say its minimal

But what does concern me is the firmer ride on poor roads that you mentioned. I am looking to improve it, dont want to make it worse.

[DriverLDN]

Originally Posted by E60525d

I presume you went with the M sport version of OEM Sachs? As mentioned, i did a full suspension (exc springs) a couple of years ago using OEM Sachs parts.

Like yourself I dont really want to lower the car than it is today. I am getting conflicting info, some say EIbach pro has lowered there car and others like yourself say its minimal

But what does concern me is the firmer ride on poor roads that you mentioned. I am looking to improve it, dont want to make it worse.

Yes I did go for the OEM M Sport Sachs dampers, with bump stops, mounts etc from Cotswold.

With the Eibach Pro Kit, I think they are the best springs that you can go for without going too low and keeping things as stock as possible. I've used them on previous cars as well. The overall feel of the car is better than it was with M Sport springs, it's just noticeable on really poor roads, however even with M Sport springs I would have driven slower. I suppose it all depends on how much you want to spend. Maybe coilovers could be a better option for you

[E60525d]

Originally Posted by DriverLDN

Yes I did go for the OEM M Sport Sachs dampers, with bump stops, mounts etc from Cotswold.

With the Eibach Pro Kit, I think they are the best springs that you can go for without going too low and keeping things as stock as possible. I've used them on previous cars as well. The overall feel of the car is better than it was with M Sport springs, it's just noticeable on really poor roads, however even with M Sport springs I would have driven slower. I suppose it all depends on how much you want to spend. Maybe coilovers could be a better option for you

Do you know roughly how much the car was lower by after?

[DriverLDN]

Originally Posted by E60525d

Do you know roughly how much the car was lower by after?

You know I'm not 100% sure on the actually drop, Eibach say its 30mm on the rears and 20mm on the front, not sure if it's actually gone down that much at the front especially.

This is a side shot a week before I had the work done:

[stevesingo]

Might seem obvious, but have you changed to non-run flat tyres?

I swapped to Bilstein B12 kit when re-bushing everything and replacing all bearings and ball joints.

The ride quality is better than with my old stock M Sport. Firm-yes. Crashy-no.

[Rich_D]

Ditch the runflat tyres, the difference is night & day, one of the best things I've done on both my E90's!

[E60525d]

Originally Posted by stevesingo

Might seem obvious, but have you changed to non-run flat tyres?

I swapped to Bilstein B12 kit when re-bushing everything and replacing all bearings and ball joints.

The ride quality is better than with my old stock M Sport. Firm-yes. Crashy-no.

Run flats were removed years ago.

Originally Posted by Rich_D

Ditch the runflat tyres, the difference is night & day, one of the best things I've done on both my E90's!

Surprising the difference was not night and day for me. Some RFT's are much better than others.

[rasa bmw]

yeh thse cars are still crashy,,nowt compared to my 640d sport with 20 inch runflats though,,i fitetd suplex front springs when mine snapped,,it already had sachs shocks 2 years ago,,the suplex springs are as close as you can get to stock for the e90 330d,,i think i got mine from autodoc/mr auto or summit..all same company,,alongwith buycarpartbuy and couple others,,just different names all from germany

[Tambohamilton]

Suplex...not Sachs? Aren't Sachs OE for the springs (as well as the shocks)? Sachs are also available from autodoc etc.

[Rich_D]

Originally Posted by E60525d

Run flats were removed years ago.

Surprising the difference was not night and day for me. Some RFT's are much better than others.

True, plus some non RFT's are better than others, but in my case the difference was very noticeable, I hated the car before the swap.

My LCI seems more compliant than my pre-LCI as well, both E90 330d M Sports, think they revised the suspension on later cars, although it's still firm Looking at the history mine had new front shocks in 2019 so that will also help.

Be interested to hear the outcome when you do decide what path to take next.

[Maxlude]

Had koni fsd/epk for 40k miles. Beautiful combo for UK roads. The only criticism I would say is slightly bouncy in high speed depressions. But for the £ I'm not complaining at all. Best thing i've done to the 330d no doubt. Kept it fresh for another 5 years

[gIzzE]

Also, you could consider using the Alpina set up.
That car rides wonderfully and uses the SE damper with sport springs.

Front Springs: Sachs Number 22704313. ECP Part Number 627112830
Front Right Shock: Sachs Number 311404 ECP Part Number 635110810
Front Left Shock: Sachs Number 311403 ECP Part Reference 635110500


Not sure on rear parts, I will have a look and see if I can find the part numbers.

[E60525d]

Originally Posted by gIzzE

Also, you could consider using the Alpina set up.
That car rides wonderfully and uses the SE damper with sport springs.

Front Springs: Sachs Number 22704313. ECP Part Number 627112830
Front Right Shock: Sachs Number 311404 ECP Part Number 635110810
Front Left Shock: Sachs Number 311403 ECP Part Reference 635110500


Not sure on rear parts, I will have a look and see if I can find the part numbers.

Not quite correct.

E90 Alpina B3 uses M Sport shocks and springs. Check the Alpina parts catalogue which shows this. I also emailed Alpina with an B3 VIN who confirmed this.

[gIzzE]

The B3 may do.

The diesel uses an SE damper and M-sport spring. This has been discussed many times on the alpinaregister.

[billabong02]

I swapped out my run flats for Michelin PS4 last week in the quest for ride quality and although the difference is not night and day as some people suggest, but it's certainly an improvement in terms the impact the tires are able to absorb which the run flats never did and always felt crashy even over minor road imperfections.

[Karlos20945]

Originally Posted by billabong02

I swapped out my run flats for Michelin PS4 last week in the quest for ride quality and although the difference is not night and day as some people suggest, but it's certainly an improvement in terms the impact the tires are able to absorb which the run flats never did and always felt crashy even over minor road imperfections.

This is what I’m hoping for when I ditch my run flats. I’ve got a set of four Michelin CrossClimate+ tyres ready to fit in the autumn and I was hoping to stop the crashy ride and constant flashing DSC light.