Too soft front Bilstein fronts getting a revalve

[CarlfromBoston]

After a year and a half of hard front bottoming, I finally took the time to send the front strut inserts back to Bilstein for a revalve. I asked for a lot more bottoming control, heavier dampening all around and also 1" less free length. I am running H&R springs, and it's a '95 540i/6 with 150k miles.

If they are great when I get them back, I will post the info so others could get the same changes done to theirs as well.

Going to full coil overs is just a little beyond where I want to go with the difficulty of cutting and welding the front tubes. I am optimistic and think Bilstein can come through with some dampening specs that will work. It may take 2 weeks to get them back and on the car, I will post info when it happens.

The oem Boge sport inserts are $738 each, if they were cheaper I would have just bought new ones- that's how frustrated I have been with the front Bilsteins...

[jehu]

I put Koni adjustables on the front after having Bilsetin Sports on the other and found them much nicer when dialed at least one half turn toward firm.

I don't understand why you're bottoming out.. Do you actually hit the oil pan on objects? I've never bottomed my 540's before.

I also have found that my front Bilstein sports having perhaps 200,000 miles on them over many of the same New England "roads" show no signs of failure ..

They were just too harsh and so I gave the Koni's a shot..

Unfortunately that car was totaled just two weeks afterward so I only put around 2,000 miles on them..

Some shop techs advised against Koni's claiming an early failure rate but as they also have a lifetime warranty I figured if the ride was superior I'd live with the consequences.

[Mark185]

Carl, how old are your H&R springs? The only time I experienced hard bottoming with Bilsteins was with old springs with > 100K miles on them. I tried changing out everything else before the springs because I did not believe they were the problem. New springs and the problem went away. I installed factory M Tech springs which are softer than the H&Rs. It might not be a common problem to have springs that have lost their strength but it happens.

Jehu, I have run Bilstein or Konis on all of my cars for the past 20 years. The only early failure I have seen in Konis was due to the installer over torquing the top nut with power tools. I am currently running Konis up front on my touring and I installed with hand tools. No problems in 50K miles and they still work great. I had an earlier pair of Konis in another E34 that I paid to have installed. They failed right away and started leaking oil out the top. Koni blamed it on over torquing the top nuts and did not honor the warranty. The installer claimed he did nothing wrong. I install them myself from now on.

[T444E]

A CR500! That thing must Haul N Oats!

[CarlfromBoston]

Mark: the springs are from '09, and they are the right part # from H&R. They are stiffer than the M tech that came off the car. One of the Bilsteins was coming apart with the bottom cap blown out and the bottoming bumpers hanging out, and thrashed. They have maybe 10K miles on them and have felt just as bad the whole time. Soft, underdamped, and no bottoming control.

Garrett: I have a lot of time on 500's, and it's as not stock as possible. Absolute beast, the 4th like it I built and raced vet expert mx with. I am getting back to the track in '12. Been away toooo long.

[CarlfromBoston]

Just installed. The pic shows a date code that if you wanted the same valving you would just give them the numbers and they look up the file on these shocks.

I gave it a test drive, and while not as stiff as I'd expected, I think I will have no complaints. Bottoming seems to be gone, and you can really haul with how it is now. They should have came this way in the first place.

I asked for a $hitload more bottoming resistance, and heavier dampening both comp and rebound. Also I asked to shorten the free length an inch (I think this will help with body roll and handling, just a very subjective guess that this will be better).

The next step would be coilovers... Hopefully I am done f'ing with this for a while.

[Schneider]

I hate how my front shocks bottom out as well. But I always thought the Vogtland springs are at fault, and I was just about to buy a pair of H&R's.

[GumbysE34]

How much did the revalve job run you, if you don't mind me asking?

[Schneider]

How much did the revalve job run you, if you don't mind me asking?

http://www.bilsteinus.com/products/search-service/service.html

[jgdynamics]

i talked to them a while back about revalving my sports, but i didnt have any idea of what i wanted done. Did your revalving have any extra costs? or just the straight $75 ea?

[CarlfromBoston]

i talked to them a while back about revalving my sports, but i didnt have any idea of what i wanted done. Did your revalving have any extra costs? or just the straight $75 ea?

I have H&R springs on the 540 and they seem pretty soft to me even though they are stiffer than the M techs that came on the car.

I needed a new shaft, mine was messed up from bottoming so that was extra. The revalve should be $65 or 75 each, and I do think I'm on to something here. The dampening specs were very light to begin with (a senior guy at Bilstein "Lou" agreed with me about that after looking up the specs). I have driven on a few other cars (e38 and Porsche 928) with off the shelf Bilsteins and they were well damped, but on the e34 they were just terrible; too soft, and bottomed too easily. The guy that does the revalving for the last few years is "Ramone".
I'm a little spoiled, my 928 is very firm with 600/400lb springs replacing the oem 285/185lb springs and valving changed to work with the heavier springs. The 540 is not in the same ballpark as that, but it is firm enough to drive ok. The 928 has really beefy sway bars too, the 540 is pretty spindly. Lots of 928 guys go straight for stiffer sways, but the car needs more spring, not sway bar.

I also have polyurethane bushings in the lower control arms instead of the oem rubber ones.

[jfj707]

http://www.bilsteinus.com/products/search-service/service.html

So I could send my Bilstien HD's in that are starting to show some age in front and get them rebuilt for $65 each? How does a rebuilt shock compare to just getting a new one? I've never even heard of this.

[CarlfromBoston]

So I could send my Bilstien HD's in that are starting to show some age in front and get them rebuilt for $65 each? How does a rebuilt shock compare to just getting a new one? I've never even heard of this.

They should be as good as new. They replace any small parts that are worn in that $65 charge. Big parts are extra.

[moroza]

That's real good to know. I too talked to them years back but never got around to doing it.

[moroza]

That's real good to know. I too talked to them years back but never got around to doing it.

[moroza]

That's real good to know. I too talked to them years back but never got around to doing it.

[jgdynamics]

there are only certain bilstein struts and shocks that are rebuildable, from what i remember when talking to them. Just in case, you might want to call them and have them run your model make and year and cross reference the numbers and models to make sure they are rebuildable. All Sports struts are rebuildable in every year and all rear shocks are the same and rebuildable.

so OP, i have eibach springs on my 540iA, would you recommend your valving to me?

[CarlfromBoston]

there are only certain bilstein struts and shocks that are rebuildable, from what i remember when talking to them. Just in case, you might want to call them and have them run your model make and year and cross reference the numbers and models to make sure they are rebuildable. All Sports struts are rebuildable in every year and all rear shocks are the same and rebuildable.

so OP, i have eibach springs on my 540iA, would you recommend your valving to me?

As far as I know, the eibachs and H&R's are pretty similar, so I would definitely recommend it.

[CarlfromBoston]

Just a final word on this:
I have had more time to flog the 540 properly and I would have to say that the whole character of the car has been changed. The car can be pushed now and it doesn't complain. It is much, much more fun to drive. I would say at this point the suspension is "very good". I may see what stiffer springs I can get based on diameter and spring rate (which I will have to find out).
The 540 can be driven properly now (speed limit x 2) and it is happy to go fast. Bumps, dips, etc are no longer slowing me down.

Again, they should have come this way from Bilstein...

[jgdynamics]

sounds good... im still trying to find some stock struts for my parts car, so i can remove my sports from there and send them in for your valving. I just threw in the rears with new mounts and new pitman arms and the ride and performance is just great over stock shocks. Thanks for putting the time into this!

[crazyrobbery]

Just installed. The pic shows a date code that if you wanted the same valving you would just give them the numbers and they look up the file on these shocks.

I gave it a test drive, and while not as stiff as I'd expected, I think I will have no complaints. Bottoming seems to be gone, and you can really haul with how it is now. They should have came this way in the first place.

I asked for a $hitload more bottoming resistance, and heavier dampening both comp and rebound. Also I asked to shorten the free length an inch (I think this will help with body roll and handling, just a very subjective guess that this will be better).

The next step would be coilovers... Hopefully I am done f'ing with this for a while.

Where are you located in MA PM me. I would like to see how our cars compare. I am also running billy's stock config but with Ebiach springs. The ride is terrible. Perhaps you have found a solution.

-Robbery

[CarlfromBoston]

Well, at this point I think GC coilovers are the next step in the evolutionary process. While the revalved Bilsteins are very much OK, I want something firmer than this. When I have a couple more $ I will be doing the coilovers.

Have I learned anything? Yes, that e34 Bilstein sports are way soft in valving, and that e34 H&R springs are nothing to write home about...

[crazyrobbery]

i agree way to soft. I think i am riding on the bump stops. It seems like my car does not have suspension at all.

Which is weird because i used billy sports on my 530 with stock springs and it rode perfect with stock sways

now i have eibach springs and billy sports with racing dynamic sways and it is literally ruins your back....

Perhaps the 530 billy sports are valved different? :eyecrazy

[K Fox]

Perhaps the 530 billy sports are valved different? :eyecrazy

Nah, it was the extra height of the stock springs that did the trick. In my experience Billie's are simply too long for using low springs with - you end up with no travel and are riding around on the bumpstops. I've got 10 years of tooth rattling over this issue, and it's why I don't like Billie's anymore (that, and the fact that they suck over expansion joint type bumps).

Fox (good handling doesn't have to break your back - I agree with James May)

[TGreene]

Carl,

Thanks for the info. I have somehow accumulated a full set of blown Bilstein sports and my brother is going to use them on his 540i. I will try and use the same specs that you used since it seems that you know what you are doing.

Did you all discuss the rears? I don't have any idea of how the "stock" Bilstein sport rears ride.

[CarlfromBoston]

Carl,

Thanks for the info. I have somehow accumulated a full set of blown Bilstein sports and my brother is going to use them on his 540i. I will try and use the same specs that you used since it seems that you know what you are doing.

Did you all discuss the rears? I don't have any idea of how the "stock" Bilstein sport rears ride.

I left the rears alone, but if you are sending them in with the fronts ask for more compression dampening to match the firmer fronts. How much more? 40% I would guess. The rebound seems fine for H&R's.

[TGreene]

Thanks for the advice.

[GnarMachine]

Just to confirm what Carl is saying, I've got his old suspension setup on my car now, and it's great. It is firm, but not overly stiff. It rides well, corners well, and is very comfortable over most road conditions (unfortunately the roads where I live are such garbage that nothing is smooth over them).

Either way, I've gone through a ton of suspension setups and configurations on my other car and this is as good as any of them in terms of daily driving. It's definitely a big step above the OEM bilstein replacements and bavauto springs I had before.