Talk to me suspension bushes, shocks and springs - E90 M3
Discussion
In the not-too-distant future I'm tempted to give my E90 M3 a full suspension refresh. Shocks, springs and bushes.
I asked Bilstein what kit they'd recommend for shocks springs for an M3 that is comparable to OEM and not too harsh, but that will still provide good quality handling. They recommended their B12 kit - has anyone any thoughts on this?
https://www.bilsteinsuspensionstore.co.uk/bilstein...
If not, what would you recommend as a close to OEM spec in terms of ride quality, but even better in the handling department.
If I'm doing that, I may as well replace all of the old bushes whilst I'm there, right?
So....if doing a COMPLETE suspension refresh, what bushes would I need? I've heard lots about powerflex, are they good? Or is it worth just sticking with OEM?
Many thanks.
I asked Bilstein what kit they'd recommend for shocks springs for an M3 that is comparable to OEM and not too harsh, but that will still provide good quality handling. They recommended their B12 kit - has anyone any thoughts on this?
https://www.bilsteinsuspensionstore.co.uk/bilstein...
If not, what would you recommend as a close to OEM spec in terms of ride quality, but even better in the handling department.
If I'm doing that, I may as well replace all of the old bushes whilst I'm there, right?
So....if doing a COMPLETE suspension refresh, what bushes would I need? I've heard lots about powerflex, are they good? Or is it worth just sticking with OEM? Many thanks.
Edited by E90_M3Ross on Sunday 30th April 22:08
I've started to look into similar work for my E92.
I was looking at Bilstein B6 damptronics (I have EDC and the cost isn't far away from OE) and the reviews were good.
Springs wise I was looking at H&R with a 25/15mm drop. I've read differing opinions about the ride so not 100% if I'm going to go down that route.
Bushings wise, for road use I've seen a fair few people recommending the rear subframe to floor bushes are replaced with solid alloy and the remaining bushes are replaced with OE rubber.
This apparently gives a more solid rear end without any increase in NVH. You'll probably experience increased NVH if you decide to go full poly bush
At the same time it would be best to have your subframe blasted and powder coated. It seems that the rear subframes like to corrode and in a few cases they have rotted holes through the metal.
For suspension arms TRW are the OE supplier, if you can get the TRW ones then you will find the BMW logo has been ground off.
I haven't looked into the front end too much yet.
There is a tonne of info on M3 cutters. One thread in particular is about upgrading to uniball instead of bushes however it does contain a lot of good info
I was looking at Bilstein B6 damptronics (I have EDC and the cost isn't far away from OE) and the reviews were good.
Springs wise I was looking at H&R with a 25/15mm drop. I've read differing opinions about the ride so not 100% if I'm going to go down that route.
Bushings wise, for road use I've seen a fair few people recommending the rear subframe to floor bushes are replaced with solid alloy and the remaining bushes are replaced with OE rubber.
This apparently gives a more solid rear end without any increase in NVH. You'll probably experience increased NVH if you decide to go full poly bush
At the same time it would be best to have your subframe blasted and powder coated. It seems that the rear subframes like to corrode and in a few cases they have rotted holes through the metal.
For suspension arms TRW are the OE supplier, if you can get the TRW ones then you will find the BMW logo has been ground off.
I haven't looked into the front end too much yet.
There is a tonne of info on M3 cutters. One thread in particular is about upgrading to uniball instead of bushes however it does contain a lot of good info
Edited by disco!!!! on Wednesday 3rd May 20:58
Thanks for this. My indy noted that the level of corrosion on my subframe is pretty good, but there is some there but nothing to worry about. I need to decide whether the car is a long term keeper. If it is I'll get it done soon, if it's just 3-4 years then probably not. Depends on how much it'd cost to do that (remove, sandblast and paint.....?).
Gassing Station | M Power | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff