[tlow98]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

~20 years ago, I spent weeks ripping apart the suspension on my E30 (on jackstands/gravel, ugh) to replace the bushings because it was a cool thing to do. I also was going to do the diff bushing.

It ended up being a total waste of time, everything was still perfectly solid, but I put in the poly bushings I bought anyway since I had gone that far. The poly diff bushing was horrible, it was actually *softer* than the stock one and didn't fit properly (ended up redoing that one again later with a Z3M diff cover swap). Probably all it did was make the car overly harsh, and add a bunch of clunk sounds I could never make go away due to aftermarket parts not fitting perfectly. I'll not be making that mistake again on the E90 or any future cars..

BTW, my suspension is still original, at "only" 155k. The only thing that needs done really are the front struts, which have started to leak - I'll be replacing them with stock parts.

More and more I'm moving in this direction. I can't seem to give up my love of Koni yellows, tho, so on they will go.

I've never messed with any of the subframe bushings on my cars except the E91 and all I did was put the Whiteline subframe inserts in as the wagon springs are stiff enough it causes the rear end to feel terribly soft. Feels much more predictable now. Given the E91 rear springs are 25% stiffer maybe the E90 doesn't need the inserts even!

[hassmaschine]

Konis are great - I went through like 4 different strut setups on the E30, after starting with Konis (that finally wore out after 10 years of hard use and abuse). Each setup had issues -the worst was the custom valved Bilsteins, it was like having 2X4s for suspension. I ended up going back to what I started with, I won't use anything else now.

But on the E90, stock will be fine, the sport suspension is pretty nicely tuned IMO. I just hope I get to it before the shocks go NLA, if they haven't already.

[Pohsib]

Originally Posted by jwalker87

Yes, loosening the bolt (inner, chassis-side) for the lower control arms is required (at least was for me) to allow the knuckle to drop low enough to remove the strut. I also removed the outer tie rod ends, but not sure it was necessary. I was replacing them anyway so there was no reason not to.

Also, use a 1/4" socket extension to free the strut from the knuckle. The gap is just big enough to insert a small (3" or so) 1/4" extension on a drive ratchet, and if you rotate it 45*, voila, it's spread just enough!

I think it may be necessary for me too. I have 18" wheels and sport suspension. I tried turning the wheel but it was not nearly enough.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

Konis are great - I went through like 4 different strut setups on the E30, after starting with Konis (that finally wore out after 10 years of hard use and abuse). Each setup had issues -the worst was the custom valved Bilsteins, it was like having 2X4s for suspension. I ended up going back to what I started with, I won't use anything else now.

But on the E90, stock will be fine, the sport suspension is pretty nicely tuned IMO. I just hope I get to it before the shocks go NLA, if they haven't already.

Thoughts on rear upper shock mount bushings? I'm waffling between stocker sponges vs the Monroe ones which ware similar but slightly softer than the Dinan units.

Just trying to find some balance between road warrior and comfort!

[hassmaschine]

On E30s they were known for failing due to the bushing being pulled through the metal mounts. The solution was to use heavier duty ones from the E46 or E36, and sometimes sandwich plates. I actually have aftermarket ones with replaceable bushings in the E30 but they're not super necessary.

On the E90, I don't think RSM failures are much of a concern. If replacing the shocks, I'd get new mounts, bump stops, dust boots, etc. But only because that makes it easier to unbolt the whole shock and then bolt a brand new assembly, instead of screwing around trying to swap over the mounts, dust boots, etc. from the old to the new.

[Pohsib]

Originally Posted by jwalker87

Yes, loosening the bolt (inner, chassis-side) for the lower control arms is required (at least was for me) to allow the knuckle to drop low enough to remove the strut.

I have removed my struts. Loosening the two control arms on the chassis side was the ticket. My passenger side strut was stuck in a position almost 2" lower that the driver side strut. Seems like this could possibly be the reason for my super shitty handling...

I was not able to find a safe way to compress my spring in order to swap them over. I tried various ways and could not come up with anything that would work. I think it may have been extra challenging because it's a sport spring. I dropped the struts and springs at a local shop for them to do the swap over.

[Pohsib]

I think I may have found the root of the problem. Hopefully my upload will work.

[bobbytomorow]

One looks way older than the other one....I mean aside from also being shot

[Pohsib]

I took my car to get it aligned and the shop is telling me they can't align the front due to the inner and outer tie rods needing to be changed. They also mentioned the front was pretty out of alignment.

Also, since I've put everything together, I've gotten the stability control error message along with the ABS light. Furthermore, the alarm keeps going off a few minutes after I stopped the car. It's weird and super annoying.

Just spittballing but is it possible that overtightening the control arms would affect any of this?

[freakystyly]

Question kind of related to this, does anyone else seem to be going through sway bar end links at an unusual rate?

I have stock sport springs, M3 arms, Koni sports, whiteline 27mm? FSB/bushings, possibly original tie rods.. I can't pinpoint the cause, possibly the mounting holes became too slotted in the konis? I'll try taking a pic sometime but I'm almost positive the bar sits neutral at 3/9 o'clock.

The balls start clunking around after a year or so. Tried a couple different brands.. Meyle, lemforder and now some whiteline adjustables on order.

[Boosted12a]

Originally Posted by freakystyly

Question kind of related to this, does anyone else seem to be going through sway bar end links at an unusual rate?

I have stock sport springs, M3 arms, Koni sports, whiteline 27"? FSB/bushings, possibly original tie rods.. I can't pinpoint the cause, possibly the mounting holes became too slotted in the konis? I'll try taking a pic sometime but I'm almost positive the bar sits neutral at 3/9 o'clock.

The balls start clunking around after a year or so. Tried a couple different brands.. Meyle, lemforder and now some whiteline adjustables on order.

I'd say the larger sway bar may be the problem......

[Mantraxalos]

Pohsib what was the condition of your front bump stops? I was just doing my front and rear struts 06 330i 226k mi and there were no front bump stops to pull out. Part number 31336767333. I called the local dealer and they said those parts should be on my car.
Realoem has them listed as Additional shock absorber, front.

We had such a difficult time removing the spring from the old strut using a wall spring compressor. I ended up renting the portable spring compressors from autozone and those worked out fine.

[Aj6543]

My 06' 330i also needs a suspension refresh. It feels a little bouncy.

I will be buying new front sport struts from Bilstein. Should I also buy the strut mount kit?

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...-31306775098kt

[Boosted12a]

I would just by the upper mounts and bump stops. At 112k my bump stops were like new but my upper mounts had some play. Bumpstops are cheap so if you don't use em, no big loss.