[gde061]

Howdy - I did a lot of research into which coil-overs to get, and decided to go with the B14. They arrived and dropped the box off with my car at the mechanic about a week ago. He was pretty backed up, but today he called to tell me that the kit doesn't have the necessary mounting hardware and he needs to order a strut bearing (pretty sure he said "bearing" and not "mount") and a strut bearing seat for the fronts.

Does this seem correct? The kit I bought was the Bilstein P/N 47-269095.

If you happen to know what specific parts the mechanic was talking about and can reply with a link, that would help me get my head around this better. The car is a 2008 E92 335xi.

Thanks for the help!

[nicked8]

Originally Posted by gde061

Howdy - I did a lot of research into which coil-overs to get, and decided to go with the B14. They arrived and dropped the box off with my car at the mechanic about a week ago. He was pretty backed up, but today he called to tell me that the kit doesn't have the necessary mounting hardware and he needs to order a strut bearing (pretty sure he said "bearing" and not "mount") and a strut bearing seat for the fronts.

Does this seem correct? The kit I bought was the Bilstein P/N 47-269095.

If you happen to know what specific parts the mechanic was talking about and can reply with a link, that would help me get my head around this better. The car is a 2008 E92 335xi.

Thanks for the help!

I believe the B14s don't come with the top hat for the front struts (similar setup to how the KW V1s come).

A lot of people reuse the factory hats and put them on the coilovers but this requires you to compress the stock springs and remove the hats before transferring them over.

The hats do contain a small bearing in them to allow the strut to spin as the front wheels are moved side to side during turns. I assume this is the reason the mechanic referred to them as "bearings".

[gde061]

That's what I had though (prior to mechanics call) was that you can take the mounts from the old front assembly and put the on the new coilovers.... that appears to be what they did in this video: https://youtu.be/zSbiqEVbIRc?t=504

Based on your reply, it sounds like that is what they did reuse by compressing the spring. Is there any benefit to not doing that and getting a new "hat"... (other than not having to wrangle with the spring compressor)? Trying to understand what gives... need to go down to shop to talk to mechanic later today, so time is of the essence.

Thanks!

[nicked8]

Only reason to replace them other than to avoid the always fun task of compressing the springs is if they're not in good shape.

How many miles on the original suspension? The hats/mounts are likely fine if the rubber is in good shape and if that bearing that we mentioned spins smoothly. I believe those bearings are packed with grease.

I've taken mounts off where the bearing was completely shot - it was a bit gritty to turn and there was excessive play. In that case you'd definitely want to replace.

[gde061]

Thanks for the info, just what I wanted to know.... I'm going down there and will have a look at the old hardware. The old mounts have around 75K miles, but there is a lot of salt corrosion, and part of the reason for doing the coilovers now was that I needed to replace 2 hubs as well as my shocks. So I'm not gonna be terribly surprised if the olds ones don't look good. But now I know what I'm looking at in the video is what he was talking about. So thanks again!

[Xrygrl23]

Originally Posted by gde061

Thanks for the info, just what I wanted to know.... I'm going down there and will have a look at the old hardware. The old mounts have around 75K miles, but there is a lot of salt corrosion, and part of the reason for doing the coilovers now was that I needed to replace 2 hubs as well as my shocks. So I'm not gonna be terribly surprised if the olds ones don't look good. But now I know what I'm looking at in the video is what he was talking about. So thanks again!

I made the mistake in not purchasing the front strut bearings and found out that they were making a horrible sound after installing. Thankfully Orileys had a set and saved the day.

[gde061]

I went down and had a look at the old set... the caps were pretty rusty actually to the point that there were some pin holes, so gonna go with replacing them as well. Unfortunately also mechanic discovered that there is way to much play in one of the rear control arms, so that's now getting repaired as well. I guess like fixing up a house, I should have budgeted an extra mark-up for surprises.

[sunbun]

Hey how did the install go? I'm looking to buy the same coilovers. Is it true that the front is too low on the max setting?

[whyzee125]

Originally Posted by sunbun

Hey how did the install go? I'm looking to buy the same coilovers. Is it true that the front is too low on the max setting?

I don't have these but Dinan camber plates get two birds stoned at once. A little increased camber and about 8mm more ride height. At the max setting, this should put you just right, at least for my tastebuds