e39 M5 suspension 'upgrade' - advice appreciated please

[RWDKurt]

Hi All,

As per title - 2001 facelift car - the original shock absorbers are past their best (110K miles).

There are various upgrade options - Bilstein, KW, Schnitzer, new OE and some ebay specials. Would consider kits or coilovers.

The car is a daily driver and family transport, so I need to sacrifice as little ride comfort as possible. As close to standard ride height as poss would also be best. At the same time as making it handle better of course.....

Personal experience of living with upgrades would be very helpful

Thanks in advance

Kurt

[belleair302]

e39m5board.com is where you will find people's opinions and also deals on suspension parts etc.

[M5Tom]

People will disagree with me here but your best option...............
New OE suspension.

I know too many people who have bought Bilstein or KW's and they've enjoyed it for a while but then missed OEM and put the kit up for sale.....Someone of M5Board is selling his Bilstein for exactly this reason.

It depends what you want from the car but OE suits the car in my opinion better than the Bilsteins or KW stuff. Yes it will handle better with them but it's sacrifice in terms of comfort.

[naefeart]

Have to agree with Tom, new OEM will be a big improvement on tired suspension.

If the rest of it is original too, you should look at replacing your bushes/tie rod ends/center drag link etc. Not much point putting new shocks in then have the dreaded clunk appear.

I'm doing this as we speak.

You could also look at slightly uprated springs with the oem dampers, but I haven't tried this on the M5.

c3bmw.co.uk have good priced replacment shocks for the M5, Boge - not sure if these are OEM though.

[RWDKurt]

Thanks for the advice so far guys. Similar advice on M5Board, which is reassuring.

[Cemesis]

I bought KW V3 and regretted it. Bought new OEM shocks and it was much better. Its a heavy car and there is no solution to it.

I would suggest you replace the springs with OEM as well, they apparently do make a difference...

[s62]

I have the KW V3's and love them.

People comment alot that my car rides very well despite being
lowered and stiffer.

[Mr Bimmer]

Another strong vote for OE suspension here too.

[RWDKurt]

Thanks all - have gone down the OE route via C3bmw.co.uk.

[derestrictor]

indeed: definitely as per the maker intended.

[CarbonM5]

I only have exp of the PSS9 kit which yeilds a taugter not harsher ride and gives more road feel.

You cant go wrong with the OE stuff though,but given the choice I would not go back.

[cosworth330]

I e-mailed C3bmw a few weeks back about these shocks as they are £300 cheaper per side for the fronts they assured me they were suitable for the M5. I'm convinced the ones they are selling are the same as the 540 ones, i thought M5'ones were valved differently. I've been re searching for weeks on what shocks to get as my M5 is on 113k & the front shocks are making a noise so need replacing.

Post up on what you think of your shocks when fitted.

Thanks
Simon.

[RWDKurt]

Hi Simon,

According to Real OEM there were three options on the 540, one of which is the same part number as that listed for the M5 (so called M Sports suspension II via the link below)

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=DN52...

So if he's using 540 units on the M5, there's only a 1 in 3 chance that they are correct...

...so thanks for raising the issue. I'll attempt to clarify before they are fitted, and let you know how it goes.

Out of interest, what's the noise you're getting from your front shockers?

Kurt

[cosworth330]

Its a pshhh noise like air coming out of the front shocks on the rebound. Its been doing it for the last 2 yrs ! In the summer with the windows down the noise drives me mad. I also have a slight clonk from the n/s/f very slight most people wouldn't notice i guess but i've changed the droplink, arb bushes and brackets and the control arm bushes were done about 20k ago. i know the shocks are past their best so going to renew anyway along with top mounts. I would like to keep it standard though if i can thats why i thought i could ask you what difference you notice with new shocks from C3.

Thanks
Simon.

PS i don't know if you buy BWWCAR mag but mine was the Silverstone blue one in the August edition where it was tested against the F10 550i.

[RWDKurt]

Simon - your noise(s) are almost identical to mine, and like you I've replaced all the other likely culprits. I'll let you know how I get on with the shockers.

I haven't seen the mag but will try to get sight of a copy - sounds like an interesting comparison!

[naefeart]

I'm interested to know the outcome too, as I am looking at replacing my shocks with OE at somepoint in the future.

Mine aren't leaking or making noises, but I figure @71k they are probably due replacement.

[RWDKurt]

A quick update. The shockers have arrived from c3bmw and I've cross-referenced the part numbers with the Boge website and Real OEM. It appears from the numbers that those supplied are for the 540 with M-Tek suspension option and are therefore not the same as the M5 units....

I've emailed C3 for clarification, and will keep you posted.

[RWDKurt]

A further update. Having doubts about the units supplied by C3bmw I ordered a set from my local BMW dealer.

The OE supplied units look identical but have significantly more bump stiffness. So the units from C3bmw are not the same as the OE units. Which is a shame, as they are about half the price.

Thanks to Simon for raising this issue - much appreciated.

Incidentally, if you do order some OE units from BMW, it's worth asking for a discount. My local dealer gave me 10% off.

[naefeart]

Sorry to hear the items from C3bmw were not correct, I wouldn't have mentioned them in my earlier post had I known.

So the original parts from BMW are Boge too then, what does BMW charge for them, if you don't mind me asking?

[cosworth330]

As i suspected, the units from C3BMW will fit ok but are softer. Good job i didn't buy them !
Can't remember the exact price but when i asked for a price at my local dealer it was around £450 each for the fronts.

I'm almost certainly going to buy Koni adjustable shocks as fitted by Dinan for their suspension upgrade. Retain the stock springs. After speaking with people on M5Board who run this combination they all say its very close to stock ride when set at 1/4 to 1/2 turn from full soft. They are £246.95 each inc vat from Europerformance. I've read that the Bilstein shocks give a harsher ride,many people have said this on M5board from the States. Koni is considered an upgrade from the stock shocks. Only pain is the rears, you need to set them correctly 1st time as you can't adjust them without removal.

Let me know how you get on with the noises you were getting and if the ride is improved with the new shocks. I would bet that when you remove the old shocks & push down on them without springs they won't come back up on their own, i renewed my old M3 shocks with stock items and the old ones didn't come back up when i pushed them in yet the car still felt tight with the old shocks. The ride was much more comfortable with the new shocks,soaked up the bumps better.

Are you renewing any other bits with the shocks like top mounts etc ?

Cheers

Simon.