E34 M5 Suspension

[Baddie]

Yes, that thorny issue of paying daft notes for some unreliable shocks. However, I was a bit surprised to find the shock have gone up £300 in 3 years - that borders on immoral! So does anyone have experience of fitting the 3.8 car with non-EDC shocks? My previous LE on its EDC's was the only car not to make the wife feel sick, so I'd like to get a more reliable set up without destroying the ride. Tried a Dinan kitted car, quite harsh.....

[Baddie]

Thanks guys, I'd seen the thread about the rebuilt EDC dampers, and its very cheering just to be able to put one over BMW who ought to be doing more for their classic owners. My thoughts are these:

Wait for rebuilt EDC dampers and hope they prove a good long term outcome, but keep risk that ECU for the suspension may one day go kaput or the SLS will cause problems.

Fit Bilsteins, Birds seem to be able to do the whole car for about £2k, and rate the dampers higher than EDC's for performance and ride. Also get the benefit of eliminating ECU/SLS/all the lines which corrode under the car and cost a fortune to refit. My car doesn't have the Nurburgring option. Only problem here is I don't know the performance of the system - certainly the EDC's on my first M5 were wife-friendly on body control and ride, if a little soft in direction changes. I quite like the idea of conventional shocks - seem future proof, but the car would be non-original. Anyone got experience of adjustable Bilsteins?

I'm in reasonably urgent need of a solution though as I can't lean on the front end at all at the mo.

[Baddie]

Sounds like a good plan overall. I know what EDC can do when working well, and it is quite impressive, not to mention the only car never to make the wife feel sick. If the rebuilds come at a resonable price and soon then I'll give them a go. If not does anyone have any opinion on Birds?

I know a lot of guys on m5board rate EDC and reckon its part of the car, but the thought of spending all that money on a system that may not last two years is a triffle troubling. I dont mind spending £3k to put a problem out of sight and out of mind, but that isn't the case with EDC. The conventional shocks should provide 90-110% of the performance of EDC, yet cost 60% in the short term, while proving much more reliable in the longer term. I don't mind spending money on the M5 cos it really is my "lottery car", which, makes me a very lucky man, but EDC can feel like throwing good money after bad, which is a guilty thought with a daughter on the way. One of the rear shocks on my last car leaked in less than two years. Then, in 5-10 years, if EDC costs less not more, I may return to it. If not, i'm well established to upgrade to the latest Koni etc. Though I'd be interested to hear what people think of the ride on KW.... Or Ground Control, who look like they provide the entire strut for very resonable money.

[Baddie]

The appeal of Birds was their facility to machine the struts to accept other dampers, avoiding replacement of the struts. BMW say the 3.6 struts will not fit the 3.8 car, and 540/535 items give diferent geometry.

When I had Nurburgring suspension I didn't often use the Sport mode as I feared the greater forces would shorten the fragile damper life even further!! Though it was nice to have the option.

If I go for KW do I need to buy new struts? I like their adjustability, to taylor a wife friendly ride!

[Baddie]

Thanks very much, I might look into the 3.6 struts, though i think new ones might be prohibitive. One of the guys on m5board used 540 struts which meant he could re-use his 3.8 hubs and fittings. He says the geometry is the same.