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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > All-Wheel-Drive (Xi / xDrive) Talk > Bilstein hd Shock upgrade only? (No springs)



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      09-06-2018, 02:41 PM   #1
Herakles
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Bilstein hd Shock upgrade only? (No springs)

Thoughts on bilstein hd (b6) shocks upgrade ?

My 2011 has 40k miles and not sure want to do entire spring thing -

Imagine just the hd shock upgrade alone will transform the otherwise wiallowy floaty 335 xdrive Highway feel....
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      09-06-2018, 06:58 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Herakles View Post
Thoughts on bilstein hd (b6) shocks upgrade ?

My 2011 has 40k miles and not sure want to do entire spring thing -

Imagine just the hd shock upgrade alone will transform the otherwise wiallowy floaty 335 xdrive Highway feel....
I did the shocks only (with Bilstein HD) a year ago. But I had 110K or so on the car. Settled things down a bit, no major difference.
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      09-06-2018, 08:47 PM   #3
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I did Koni yellow sports on OEM springs and didn't observe a significant improvement in daily driving, although it was more composed when driving hard. The biggest bang for the buck suspension mod is poly rear upper strut mounts with poly front thrust arm bushings: they make a significant improvement to the floaty XI handling. The only drawback is creaks from the thrust arm bushings if I park with the wheels turned which does go away after a few turns. Along with my M3 rear end parts, the XI now handles amazing. I'm sticking with OEM springs for now because I don't want to deal with the NVH from doing lowering springs.

If you want a noticeable improvement over stock, I would recommend doing the poly bushings first. If you find yourself craving more, then open up the wallet for the other mods (which are significantly more expensive).
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      09-06-2018, 09:03 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kenmar View Post
I did Koni yellow sports on OEM springs and didn't observe a significant improvement in daily driving, although it was more composed when driving hard. The biggest bang for the buck suspension mod is poly rear upper strut mounts with poly front thrust arm bushings: they make a significant improvement to the floaty XI handling. The only drawback is creaks from the thrust arm bushings if I park with the wheels turned which does go away after a few turns. Along with my M3 rear end parts, the XI now handles amazing. I'm sticking with OEM springs for now because I don't want to deal with the NVH from doing lowering springs.

If you want a noticeable improvement over stock, I would recommend doing the poly bushings first. If you find yourself craving more, then open up the wallet for the other mods (which are significantly more expensive).
Thanks- would you have a link to the parts list for the poly bushings!!??

Would be great to do them with some bilstein hd -
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      09-07-2018, 09:30 PM   #5
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Powerflex rear upper shock mounts:
https://www.bavauto.com/bmw-shock-mount-pfr541612

Strongflex front thrust arm bushings:
https://www.strongflex.eu/en/e90-e91...553503470.html

The shock mounts were installed by myself but I had a shop install the thrust arm bushings because you need a big-ass press to push the bushings into place. As I mentioned, I do have minor creaking from the Strongflex after being parked but it's minor and bearable. If you want something OEM-like quiet you have to pay over $500 for real bearings: https://syncrodesignworks.com/collec...ro-thrust-arms. I'd love to do the Synro arms, but the cost is a big deterrent since I could R&R Strongflex bushings half a dozen times for that cost !

Doing these poly mods made noticeable improvements, but it was only after I installed M3 rear end parts (rear subframe bushings, antisway bar, upper control arms) that made the car feel rock solid under hard driving. But this last mod is the most expensive at somewhere around $2k. The poly bushings are a bargain in comparison

Last edited by kenmar; 09-07-2018 at 09:45 PM..
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      09-17-2018, 11:06 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Herakles View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by kenmar View Post
I did Koni yellow sports on OEM springs and didn't observe a significant improvement in daily driving, although it was more composed when driving hard. The biggest bang for the buck suspension mod is poly rear upper strut mounts with poly front thrust arm bushings: they make a significant improvement to the floaty XI handling. The only drawback is creaks from the thrust arm bushings if I park with the wheels turned which does go away after a few turns. Along with my M3 rear end parts, the XI now handles amazing. I'm sticking with OEM springs for now because I don't want to deal with the NVH from doing lowering springs.

If you want a noticeable improvement over stock, I would recommend doing the poly bushings first. If you find yourself craving more, then open up the wallet for the other mods (which are significantly more expensive).
Thanks- would you have a link to the parts list for the poly bushings!!??

Would be great to do them with some bilstein hd -
[QUOTE=Herakles;23691495]
Quote:
Originally Posted by kenmar View Post
I did Koni yellow sports on OEM springs and didn't observe a significant improvement in daily driving.....Along with my M3 rear end parts, the XI now handles amazing. I'm sticking with OEM springs for now because I don't want to deal with the NVH from doing lowering springs...


Would be great to do them with some bilstein hd -
What is NVH?

Thank you for your responses here. I too have an e90 AWD and am in the process of gutting the BC Racing coilovers for something OEM-like but tighter and lower.
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      09-18-2018, 03:37 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by pizza_nightmare View Post
What is NVH?
Noise, Vibration, Harshness.
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      09-18-2018, 09:38 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Herakles View Post
Thanks- would you have a link to the parts list for the poly bushings!!??

Would be great to do them with some bilstein hd -
You can also get rubber monroe ones for cheaper then poly for the rear shock mounts. about 20 bucks
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      09-25-2018, 09:28 PM   #9
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Some have reported that Bilstein HDs really help with harsh impacts like potholes. Anyone comments on this aspect?
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      09-26-2018, 01:12 AM   #10
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Quote:
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Some have reported that Bilstein HDs really help with harsh impacts like potholes. Anyone comments on this aspect?
Haven't noticed a big change. A bit better, perhaps, but not a total fix.
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