Better ride quality in my daily 128i

[Noh]

I’m looking to improve the ride quality of my 128i, I would also like to learn more about the suspension, any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Almuliman]

You could start with posting what you have in it now and how you use it (40 mile r/t commute on freeways, bumpy/potholey (is that a word? <shrug) roads or not, occasional HPDE day, ...).

[Noh]

Thanks for the response! The car sits completely stock, with factory base suspension. I some what frequently go as far as 50 mile r/t on freeway, no major trips, but I do not plan on tracking the car any time soon, I’m just a highschooler who wants a cooler car. I think it might be good to also mention the car has 110k on the odometer, and I am not sure if the suspension has been touched by a previous owner.

[Almuliman]

Unfortunately, I can't help a lot with specifics, but I suppose I can ask some questions that may help others who know more about what's available out other: What's your budget? Is ride height a concern? Adjustability?

[Noh]

My budget would probably depend on how long whatever I get would last. I would say maybe $1,500, at the very most.
About ride height, I don’t want to be someone who goes sideways on speed bumps, but some reduction(from stock) would be nice I think.
I think having the option of adjustability would be great, I wouldn’t know what to do for camber, caster, toe, etc. but maybe if I could improve the fitment that could be nice.

[spidertri]

In the thread title you say you want better ride quality, can you explain what the car is currently doing that doesn't feel good?

At your mileage, if everything is still original, then you probably have a handful of bushings that need to be replaced. Once bushings are shot, the shocks and springs aren't able to control the motion like they're designed to.

The biggest culprit are the rear subframe bushings. New ones will lock down the rear end so that the rest of the suspension can do what it's supposed to. On the front end, the thrust arms make a difference as do the upper strut mounts.

[Noh]

There are a few roads that I frequently use where I can feel the different height in the pavement, every 100 feet or so the pavement changes height slightly, and the car doesn’t smoothly take on the change, it’s more of a sudden fall instead.

[Blau]

Originally Posted by Noh

There are a few roads that I frequently use where I can feel the different height in the pavement, every 100 feet or so the pavement changes height slightly, and the car doesn’t smoothly take on the change, it’s more of a sudden fall instead.

Do you still have runflat tires? If so, start there. A non-runflat tire on this car feels like an upgraded suspension.

Otherwise, I think you're describing the driving traits of a 1 series. They're not super plush and you're going to feel bumps on any suspension they make for this car.

[Noh]

Originally Posted by Blau

Do you still have runflat tires? If so, start there. A non-runflat tire on this car feels like an upgraded suspension.

Otherwise, I think you're describing the driving traits of a 1 series. They're not super plush and you're going to feel bumps on any suspension they make for this car.

Sorry if this is really trivial, but how would I know if my car was still on run flats?

[fast1eddy]

Koni Special Active shocks along with new strut mounts , upper and lower rear shock mounts should do it for you. I’d highly recommend replacing the rear subframe bushing too with something stiffer. I went with Whiteline. Do all of that and it will be like a new car.

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by Noh

Sorry if this is really trivial, but how would I know if my car was still on run flats?

I could be really snide by way of reply, but why don't you just tell us what kind of tires you have and what is written on their sidewalls?

[golfer23rm]

first step is definitely to get rid of the run flats.
check the side wall of your tire....will indicate if its a run flat.

[AshwinLB]

Rear subframe bushings seem to be the general consensus on one of the things that will net the most gains for a smaller amount of money. I’m in the process of installing a set of condor speed shop rsfb in my 135i rn.

I’d probably also do m3 front control arms since they do go bad fairly early compared to the rears

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by Noh

I’m looking to improve the ride quality of my 128i, I would also like to learn more about the suspension, any help would be greatly appreciated!

The OE springs are adequate. One option is to upgrade the stock struts and shocks to Koni STR.T, valved for less compression damping to improve ride quality but more rebound damping for control.

PM us with any questions or a quote.

[Noh]

Sorry for not responding to the thread in a while, I’ve had some battery issues so I haven’t had the car for some time and suspension hasn’t been on my mind. Today however, I went out and checked what tires were on, (please let me know if i’m giving useless information, I don’t know much about tires) In the front I have bridgestone “drive guard” tires, and the internet is telling me that those are in fact run flats, and the rear is michelin “radial x tubeless” (I’m not sure about these). Once again, sorry for not updating the thread, but any information would be great, and I would love some advice on what tires I should be thinking about running. I would also appreciate if someone could explain the basics of different tire compounds and what not!

[Almuliman]

Those are not the tires you're looking for.

I don't know where you live, but living in the PNW I chose all season performance over all out summers + winters (don't want to have to store another set of winter wheels plus we have other vehicles for seriously cold / snow duty), so I'm running Michelin Pilot Sport 4 AS and am super happy with them.

You can get a ton of tire education on tirerack.com and YouTube.

I'd start with the tires. The run-flats are a known bad when looking for comfort, as I understand it (thankfully never having experienced them).

Edit: Just noticed your budget again. If *you're* OK with the tires as-is and don't believe they're a major contributor to your issues with the ride quality, you may want to start with the suspension and see what you have left for tires (which can easily eat a lot of your budget on their own).

[Noh]

I am in the DFW area, so winter shouldn’t be a huge issue, in your opinion, what should I do? Not necessary worried about budget. At this point i’m not sure what I want! I know I’m thinking I want a tiny drop in ride height now, maybe 15mm, but I don’t know how many components I should be upgrading while I do that, I’ve heard bushings, control arm, and such, what components should I do while I upgrade? Other than the tires of course, I will probably look through other threads in the meantime for optimal tire selection.

[Almuliman]

As I hinted at above, I don't know enough specifics w.r.t. suspension, but you have some good advice above to start with to do your own research, and hone in on what will best suit you.