Replacement Shocks - 135i

[JBT2]

So I just found that one of the rear shock bump stops is broken - the plastic sleeve and the rubber stop have separated. The car has done 164,000km and it's on original suspension.

What is the collective wisdom on replacements (stops and shocks) for street use? Any price guides would be greatly appreciated too.

Cheers.

[JBT2]

Well, upon further inspection, one of the front bump stops has split. I will be replacing the lot so, the question now is: Do I go OE style or MCA coilover.

OE Style:
1. Pedders have quoted to do Bilstein shocks and stops. Mounts front and rear would be extra and need to be assessed after removal/inspection.

2. Fulcrum use Sachs but couldn't find bump stops and will get back to me with a quote....

Coilover:
I'll call MCA tomorrow and see what they recommend.

[John_01]

BMW bump stops will work with OE style shocks, such as koni or the Bilstien (only B4 type Bilstien). B6 and B8 Bilstien are supplied with bump stops from Bilstien.

Given the Km of the car, IMO it would be smart to replace the front and rear upper mounts. Especially the front one that include the strut top bearing is a no-brainer. I guess you are due for a number of OE style parts. Probably the rear lower shock mount is the single most durable rubber part, but I'm not sure how they hold up after 166 thousand k.

If you have some extra $ to spend, it would be better to replace the rear subframe bushings instead of spending the money on coilovers. That's the single biggest improvement for handling that you can make.

[Dackelone]

A lot of people upgrade the rear bump stops to Z8/6er units. Dinan sells these as a kit for 1er's. I think it retails for around $100. I've also heard of people using the 6er rear spring perches(made out of rubber)pad under the rear springs.


Personally I am in the same boat as you... IDK if I should go with Bilstein B12 kit or with a KW street kit.

[JBT2]

Thanks for the input John_01 and Dackelone, greatly appreciated.

After much thought last night and today, along with a couple of chats with Josh at MCA, I have decided to replace everything and go for MCA Street Essentials. https://mcasuspension.com/suspension Should work for me as I don't need it set up for motorsport and will only do the occasional track day with it - have an MX-5 with Tein Flex for that.

My reasoning for the choice:
1. Given the state of the three partly remaining bump stops (had a better look last night) and the 164,000 km on the car, I reckon the shocks must be very tired.
2. Pedders were not sure which Bilstein would be going in but, I suspect B4 - they said they are OE equivalent shocks and bump stops. Their price with fitting and alignment was excellent. No front or rear mounts were quoted.
3. Fulcrum were quoting on Sachs (they think) and OE bump stops. Their price fitted and aligned was not competitive. No front or rear mounts were quoted.
4. The MCA coilovers with fitting and alignment by MCA include everything except the rear shock mounts. The bonus with the MCAs - we get fully adjustable suspension (ride height and shock stiffness) and camber adjustable front top mounts!

If I factor the price of replacement OE front top mounts into the Pedders and Fulcrum quotes, the MCA quote fits in between them - makes the MCAs an even better proposition IMO.

I had been seriously considering replacing the rear subframe bushes with M3 ones. However, after discovering the current mess, that project will have to go on hold for now.

Anyway, the little fella is booked in for next week. I'll post my impressions after a couple of drives.

[JBT2]

I picked up the car yesterday and took it for a 140km drive on twisty roads over hill and dale today.

Springs are 200mm 6kg front and 200mm 11kg rear. Shocks were set at roughly mid by MCA and, after today's drive, I have no desire to make any adjustments.

Very impressed with the ride - far better than OE. Soaks up the bumps and no more suspension "crashing".

Turn in is remarkable! The car stays well planted and holds a flat attitude through the bends. I anticipated the first couple of tight turns to allow for the way it used to handle (dip and plough) and had to immediately back off the steering input or run the risk of cutting the apex.

I pushed it fairly hard and found the understeer tendency has gone. The rear end is well tied down and, even under power through rough surfaced corners, it keeps gripping and is not skittish.

I didn't get a TC warning on the run.

The ride height (may need a tweak yet) is pretty much back at OE - my car had sagged by about 10mm at the front. I have to get it on a smooth, level surface to check but MCA will adjust if required.

I took some measurements at each end of the sill and there is a 7mm difference - to be confirmed when I can get the car on a smooth garage surface. It equates to about 0.2 degrees rake (nose down attitude).

A couple of phone photos from today.

[ansch]

Looks good.

[RadiuM]

Nice, My car is approaching 130kkms and I've been thinking about upgrading the suspension all around as in the last 10kkms I've noticed the rears scuff the guards more often and it doesn't feel as good as when it was new. I'll certainly use this as a guide.

[JBT2]

164,000km original struts. Note the wrecked bump stops.

[Caduceus]

The car looks terrific. Like new. Nice write up on the MCA suspension work.

[JBT2]

Yeah, still being well cared for.

[johnny135]

Nice work, looks great. I had the MCA X-R series installed last year with same spring rates (X-R series would be equivalent of the street performance series now) and am pretty happy with it. At the same time I put in the M3 LCAs, 1M strut brace, e93 M3 front sway and full Whiteline subframe bushings which tightened it all up even more.

If you can, in the meantime get the rear subframe inserts - I had them in mine previously and they did make a noticeable difference.

[JBT2]

PM sent to you.

[zestyfesty]

Thanks for sharing your situation and solution JBT2.

I'm not surprised to hear the change to MCAs from OEM have vastly improved the car's composure. I get the crashing and ploughing description well.

I fitted MCAs to my track car (old Evo) and remain tickled pink with the improvements. The body control and newfound composure at speed on tricky roads is great. And it's terrific being able to back high quality local engineering too. Good call, and money well spent

[JBT2]

For those following this mini saga, here are a couple of very good links for bedtime reading about alternative suspensions for the E8x:

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/t-c-k...sus-1728922301

https://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=956039

Spring rate conversions here:https://www.redline360.com/garage/sp...-kgmm-to-lbsin

A dead strut for reference:

[JBT2]

Out for a run with about eleven of his older cousins today.
Covered 370km of all sorts of roads including some very bumpy, twisty back roads on the way home.
This car is now transformed into the sports coupe it should be and stayed completely composed through the worst I could throw at it.
I highly recommend the MCA Street Essentials product.

Next job....fix that leak/weep from the oil filter housing.