E39 M5 shocks oem or alternative?

[timster]

Hi folks I'm changing the suspension on my car and noticed the shocks are a bit soft. BMW for all four are over 1k or there's bilstein b8 and koni's as alternatives.

Has anyone lived long term with the bilsteins or koni's? Given how great our road surfaces are? Or just bite the bullet and go oem? Thanks

[helix402]

I put B8s on my E46, fronts are great, better ride than standard. Rears were terrible, ride was too hard, so I put Boge standard dampers on. I'd still recommend B8s, or go for Sachs/Boge standard replacements. Don't forget top mounts too.

[Depthhoar]

Went through this decision-making a little while ago. OE is stupidly expensive but gives compliant ride/handling balance and of course the original ride height. Konis come near OE but there have been quality control issues reported from some US owners who made this choice + warranty claims. Bilsteins get mixed reviews compared to OE: some very good, others not so impressed + the ride height will be different to OE on original springs.

I coughed up and took the OE option (riding on OE springs) for both front and rear. Very happy with the results; it is a lot of money though.

[chris116]

Mine is running B8 dampers with Intrax springs, the previous owner went through a few different set ups for some reason before leaving it on this set up.

It can be a bit harsh on really poor surfaces but ok otherwise. I like the way it looks with the slightly lower ride height as well.

Haven't driven one with a standard set up so haven't got anything to compare to, would be interesting to hear from anyone who have had both set ups on their car.

[Welshbeef]

Originality on these cars means a lot especially as now they are starting to creep up in value.

After market instead of OEM will put some buyers off as they search down the holy grail.

[Depthhoar]

Welshbeef said:

Originality on these cars means a lot especially as now they are starting to creep up in value.

After market instead of OEM will put some buyers off as they search down the holy grail.

That's a very good point and worth bearing in mind if the OP has an eye on future resale. Keeping mine utterly stock for this very reason.

[SebringMan]

Genuine may be expensive but it is the way I would go ; On other cars, albeit dailies I have had so so performance from stuff like Bilstein B4s and Boge in comparison to the original stuff and new genuine stuff fitted later to the same car. Are these the electric dampers or just the normal items?

Bilstein PSS10 not an alternative?

[timster]

Thanks for the advice folks, they're normal items non electric

[Welshbeef]

Depthhoar said:

Welshbeef said:

Originality on these cars means a lot especially as now they are starting to creep up in value.

After market instead of OEM will put some buyers off as they search down the holy grail.

That's a very good point and worth bearing in mind if the OP has an eye on future resale. Keeping mine utterly stock for this very reason.

Plus OEM parts are excellent - they have lasted OPs vehicle XK miles to date so new replacement parts will see the same again/probably last the car out as these are no longer daily cars.

[Vanden Crash]

I've just gone B8s and ordered some Intrax, will report back.

The car is otherwise as close to OEM as you can get but rather than fork (sorry) out on new OEM, I decided to go B8's and have the originals rebuilt, that way should I chose to sell the car I can sell it complete with the very originals (but as new).

With the 25%+ savings on offer at the minute from Bilstein it helped with the decision.

[Depthhoar]

Vanden Crash said:

I've just gone B8s and ordered some Intrax, will report back.

I decided to go B8's and have the originals rebuilt.

Interested in who's re-building the original Sachs units. Can you pass on the details?

[Vanden Crash]

Depthhoar said:

Interested in who's re-building the original Sachs units. Can you pass on the details?

I haven’t looked yet but gkn and other places used to do rebuilds