Noisy/thumpy suspension

[fancyfl1ght]

Originally Posted by CharlieX

After totalling my wife's '09 C300 Benz (!), she wanted to get a convertible.

So we ended up with the the 2010 128i. We're loving it. It's got PLENTY of performance, is surefooted, great looks/materials, and it's perfect for zooming around on sunny SoCal days. It's hard to keep that car under 80 on the freeway - it just sneakily keeps on adding mph and sits down like a battle tank.

But man is the suspension noisy! It's a pronounced "thumpy" set of noises that comes through the floor whenever you're on uneven rough roads (so basically all of LA!). Mostly at lower speeds.

We don't have the sport package, BTW. I'm chalking it up to convertible rigidity issues, the size of the car vs weight, and possible the run-flat tires?

Is this the same for others? It's just a bit of a sore issure because the Benz was much quieter and my Tacoma is, well, a truck.

Glad to be in the Bimmer family!! (wife always swore she would never own one....)

that a coupe or sedan as the roof is an essential component that promotes rigidity. I think on the 135i, the vert is quite well behaved. I have driven my father's 335i vert as a comparison.

I have to agree with the other posters on the this forum that the run flats do pose a problem from a ride quality perspective.

This is not to mention that run flats only comprise less than 3% market share as of 2011.

I plan on ripping through my run flats until I need to change the tires. When that time comes, I will replace with conventional tires. This isn't an option if you are leasing.

Congrats on your vert purchase. On a cool morning or evening drive, there is nothing like the experience of a drop top motoring. Perhaps you should consider the drive near Griffith observatory. That is the ideal drive for a vert in LA.

[CharlieX]

Originally Posted by fancyfl1ght

Congrats on your vert purchase. On a cool morning or evening drive, there is nothing like the experience of a drop top motoring. Perhaps you should consider the drive near Griffith observatory. That is the ideal drive for a vert in LA.

Thanks. Will check it out - been meaning to visit the observatory for a while now. We live down by the beach and the top pretty much stays down except for car washing day.

oddly, I do find myself getting vexed with other vert drivers who have their tops up. Summer just exploded in Socal

[MikeinAlexandria]

Originally Posted by fermat1313

Coming from a Mini Cooper S running on non-RFTs, my 135i (2011) with RFTs is significantly quieter and smoother. The MINI was pretty bad for road noise, so my 135i feels like a cathedral in comparison.

I'm doing a 2800-mile road trip in a couple of weeks, and when I get back I'm replacing the RFTs with new summer tires. Going from RFTs to the summer tires on my MINI made a huge difference in road noise, and I'm looking forward to an even better ride.

I traded my R56 MINI Cooper S on a 2011 128 convertible. The new run flats (Goodyear NCT) are definitely ok, not thumpy or noisy at all. I have the M Sport package, so lower and stiffer springs, yet the car rides very smoothly, even on DC area crappy roads.

I might eventually get some summertime performance tires like Yokohama AD08 or Michelline Pilot Sports, but for now, the car is working well. I would say that a dealer should check all the suspension links, and also the shocks. Sometimes, suspension noise is caused by a failing shock.

[M34lnch]

Originally Posted by ulrichd

If it's a new car make sure the dealer didn't leave the shipping blocks in the suspension. They are bright yellow. Very unlikely but it's happened.

Can we do a fact check on this? I thought the shipping blocks are white.... MarkR171, you have a 2011, right? Do you see yellow things in your struts? I do on mine, but I think the yellows are bumpstops and should be there...