Z4M Suspension Help

[Billy_Whizzzz]

Also posted on Z forum... but am keen to solicit help from here too!

So I'm at my wits' end with what to do with the suspension on my Z4M... and it's now unloved, forlorn and undriveable.

My Z4M has done 42,000 miles on original suspension and like many others find it too hard, imprecise, floaty and a bit understeery...

On the advice of this and other forums I put on an Bilstein B12 kit on it that has ruined the car. It's too low, but worse, it's trashy to the point where it just feels broken and the smallest pothole makes it feel like theres no suspension. It's impossible to drive fast as the smallest imperfection will unbalance the car and make it unpredictable. The crashyness is awful - and frankly I loathe the car. Yes, it's been back and checked, and yes I've had an alignment done...

All I want is for the Z to be as good as any of my M3s. I never want to do track days - it's simply for fast B and A roads, and is solely a weekend car.

I'm really not sure what to do - I'm not going to persevere with the B12 kit any more and am going to ditch it on eBay to some other poor unsuspecting M owner and put the original suspension back on. Short of selling the car (which I'll probably do as after 4 years I've had enough) - any last resorts as regards suspension fixes...?

[mikeyscott]

Do Birds do a kit?

[NorthernSky]

Eibach springs improve the ride and eliminate *some* of the crashiness over rough surfaces... But hopefully someone will come along with a more detailed piece of advice for you.

[pvogue]

Whats your budget? B12 is known to be abit firmer, coilovers? Eibach Pro kit maybe better

I had B12 kit on my 130i which was more comfortable than my brothers boggo M Sport 125i!

[Billy_Whizzzz]

mikeyscott said:

Do Birds do a kit?

No - phoned Kevin Bird earlier and he agreed B12 kit is rubbish on Z4Ms and recommend putting original set up back on, which isn't great either...

[gareth h]

mikeyscott said:

Do Birds do a kit?

I wouldn't bother if they did.

[gareth h]

Billy_Whizzzz said:

No - phoned Kevin Bird earlier and he agreed B12 kit is rubbish on Z4Ms and recommend putting original set up back on, which isn't great either...

Give Ray West a call, West tuning Thruxton, he will probably recommend KW, he really knows his stuff, and doesn't mind giving advice.

[Billy_Whizzzz]

gareth h said:

Give Ray West a call, West tuning Thruxton, he will probably recommend KW, he really knows his stuff, and doesn't mind giving advice.

Great, will do

[CrouchingWayne]

I’ve got H+R springs on stock dampers and it feels OK, certainly think it’s a little nicer than the Eibach’s I had before. Might be selective memory though.

[MBeemerman]

gareth h said:

I wouldn't bother if they did.

Why's that then ?
I have Birds suspension on my 1M and it's brilliant !

[AW10]

Consider raising the car's ride height? I can very much recommend taking the car to Center Gravity in Atherstone; they will road test the car with you to understand what's happening and can make recommendations from there.

[shibby!]

+1 for raise the height.

On mine i just got Eibachs, i thought they worked well. No real crashiness and did not get unsettled when used properly. But it is a Z4 and not an M3. The M3 is a very comfortable car in my opinion, the Z4 is more of a sports car so will be stiffer. Not only that there is a lot of stiffness built into the body of the car which might be what you feel?

[MBeemerman]

I would give Rossiters a ring and have a word with Lorcan about ac Schnitzer rs suspension.
It pulls off that trick of still being firm but very compliant and comfortable.

[AW10]

MBeemerman said:

I would give Rossiters a ring and have a word with Lorcan about ac Schnitzer rs suspension.
It pulls off that trick of still being firm but very compliant and comfortable.

Any idea what the basis for that suspension is? Schnitzer tends to rebrand other people's shocks and springs and sometimes the valving or spring rates are tweaked to their requirements.

[MBeemerman]

Pretty sure it's kw based that they have then developed.
Obviously a lot more expensive than kw but your paying for the R&D work that's gone into it.
From my own experience with Schnitzer suspension I've always been very happy with the results.

[Olf]

I've solved this problem by driving my Z4M on the continent where it's an absolute pleasure. No ride problems or crashiness at all. Just shows how fking awful UK roads are.

[ian in lancs]

Olf said:

I've solved this problem by driving my Z4M on the continent where it's an absolute pleasure. No ride problems or crashiness at all. Just shows how fking awful UK roads are.

I’ve driven my Z4M over 62000 miles and the OE suspension is fine so I agree

[cerb4.5lee]

ian in lancs said:

Olf said:

I've solved this problem by driving my Z4M on the continent where it's an absolute pleasure. No ride problems or crashiness at all. Just shows how fking awful UK roads are.

I’ve driven my Z4M over 62000 miles and the OE suspension is fine so I agree

Mine nearly bounced me off the road on a dual carriageway once, so I'm not a fan of the chassis or suspension. I suppose it depends on what you've been used to though. I've had a few Bmw's and its not a high point for me by any stretch.

[mikeyscott]

Olf said:

I've solved this problem by driving my Z4M on the continent where it's an absolute pleasure. No ride problems or crashiness at all. Just shows how fking awful UK roads are.

Same with my 135i and R32. Great to drive down to Le Mans and then horrible when UK side again

[Mitch911]

The original suspension is also crap so don't go back to that.

I had KW v3 on my 1M and that was superb on the road; ultra compliant, smoother than the standard setup, but with control and adjustability if you wanted to stiffen it.