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Thread: Suspension options for lowering the E39 Touring

  1. #76
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    Quote Originally Posted by bigMphan View Post
    I'm a little troubled at how sexy those fortune shocks look. You're using them with Billy sports in the front?
    Using fortune m5 coilovers up front, fortune m3 rear perches with 200mm 8k springs and those custom built fortune rear shocks. I had the bilsteins in the rear prior.

  2. #77
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    Quote Originally Posted by jp5Touring View Post
    I dont have any full side shots. The car has a bit of a rack to it. More than I like .The rear is closer to stock height.. The front is lowered more than a inch I would think,never have measured it..I think there are better options out there..
    If you have the bags in the back - easily adjusted - esp w the links although they arent necessary since you can do it all in software... Have you just not gotten around to it or waiting to change over to something else? Agree hard to say how good/bad if the Billy's are blown out but $200 springs don't exude confidence.

    Can't wait for my ST's to land. En route I hope...
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  3. #78
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    Quote Originally Posted by geargrinder View Post
    If you have the bags in the back - easily adjusted - esp w the links although they arent necessary since you can do it all in software... Have you just not gotten around to it or waiting to change over to something else? Agree hard to say how good/bad if the Billy's are blown out but $200 springs don't exude confidence.

    Can't wait for my ST's to land. En route I hope...
    The PO installed the Bavauto setup. The springs are good I think but the rear links look pretty cheap and are starting to rust. I will make my own links but would use the software to adjust ride height..

    The car had a ton of issues when I bought it So I haven't touched the suspension yet... This will be the cars last winter So in spring I plan on Complete Suspension refurb and Coilovers.. Anything left $$ New 19's or 20's


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    Quote Originally Posted by jp5Touring View Post
    I dont have any full side shots. The car has a bit of a rack to it. More than I like .The rear is closer to stock height.. The front is lowered more than a inch I would think,never have measured it..I think there are better options out there..
    Do you know if your touring originally had the sport suspension? I think it looks perfect....IMO....

    Thanks. I think I'm going to get the Bav kit.
    Last edited by wheelgarage; 02-05-2013 at 10:29 PM.

  5. #80
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    Smile Rear springs

    I'm re doing my suspension. I have a 2000 528i touring and I want to use OEM
    struts but want to lower it. It has standard struts and springs in the rear no SLS
    or any funny business. I was going to get the Eibach pro kit but don't like the pitched forward look. I called H and R and their springs aren't made to support the weight of the tourings in the rear end. I also don't want to use coil overs. Looking for just spring suggestions that will lower my car and support the weight and are a good compliment to OEM struts or shocks.

  6. #81
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    Quote Originally Posted by gmobile View Post
    I'm re doing my suspension. I have a 2000 528i touring and I want to use OEM
    struts but want to lower it. It has standard struts and springs in the rear no SLS
    or any funny business. I was going to get the Eibach pro kit but don't like the pitched forward look. I called H and R and their springs aren't made to support the weight of the tourings in the rear end. I also don't want to use coil overs. Looking for just spring suggestions that will lower my car and support the weight and are a good compliment to OEM struts or shocks.
    I've heard of the issue but don't know much about it - how off is the rear for the Eibachs? Could you have a machine shop tweak or mod or fab the stock perches just enough to take care of that for you?
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    Probably but I'm not sure about compromising the integrity of the shock and possibly bottoming out or having poor ride quality. The eibachs drop the front but don't change the rears much giving that pitched look I'm trying to avoid. Coil overs will do the trick but are just too expensive ($1000-$2000)
    There is a member that claims he is running stock struts with h and r springs
    I PMed him and am waiting for a reply

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    B&G sells a full spring kit for the touring. I am currently running their rear springs with BC Coilovers up front.
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    Bump for someone who can't find this thread.

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    I bought my kw street comforts for $1680 new shipped plus the cost of spacers during their 20% off Christmas sale. Great customer service and great deal.

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    I noticed ST has a $100 rebate till end of June. puts them under $900 for a set. I think I need to call Fortune and see what my options are ?? Fortune front with Koni rear ? or ST or FK,,, My fronts are a bit scary,,


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    I tried the H&R springs in the rear with Bilsteins and using the Fortune's up front. It sucked having mis-matched stuff. I don't advise that you go that route. Fortune still won't have a complete set until my car has been road tested. Good news is that should be next month
    Last edited by RVAE34; 06-21-2013 at 03:24 PM.

  13. #88
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    Quote Originally Posted by jp5Touring View Post
    I noticed ST has a $100 rebate till end of June. puts them under $900 for a set. I think I need to call Fortune and see what my options are ?? Fortune front with Koni rear ? or ST or FK,,, My fronts are a bit scary,,
    FWIW Im happy w the STs so far,really firmed up and w a bigger rear sway handles MUCH flatter on corners.... But not super firm aggressive either which was good for me - i was worried about it being too harsh and losing some of the nice ride compliance but seems like a great all around setup for street for my purposes. Ride height is still settling a bit in front, and shocks are breaking in and so seems to still be getting better w break-in, which i find normal w suspensions. If you want a super rock hard aggressive setup you prob want to go another way...

    One thing to know is the ST (and i presume KW) setup requires E36 top mounts for their E39 kits. That isnt made clear in the doc by KW, which kinda sucked, as had i known in advance i would have gone for an adjustable camber plate mount but my shop ordered the oem E36s to get the job done before it occurred to me. Id advise anybody else to scope out a camber plate solution when doing the KW/ST for sure.
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  14. #89
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    Quote Originally Posted by geargrinder View Post
    FWIW Im happy w the STs so far,really firmed up and w a bigger rear sway handles MUCH flatter on corners.... But not super firm aggressive either which was good for me - i was worried about it being too harsh and losing some of the nice ride compliance but seems like a great all around setup for street for my purposes. Ride height is still settling a bit in front, and shocks are breaking in and so seems to still be getting better w break-in, which i find normal w suspensions. If you want a super rock hard aggressive setup you prob want to go another way...

    One thing to know is the ST (and i presume KW) setup requires E36 top mounts for their E39 kits. That isnt made clear in the doc by KW, which kinda sucked, as had i known in advance i would have gone for an adjustable camber plate mount but my shop ordered the oem E36s to get the job done before it occurred to me. Id advise anybody else to scope out a camber plate solution when doing the KW/ST for sure.
    geargrinder

    thx for the response I was going to pm you on them,good timing
    Im not looking for the rock hard street racer,, been there done that.
    I would like to be able to adjust ride height. It is a daily driver. So a comfortable ride is important.
    I would also like to be able to adjust damping, That appears to be only KW,BC Racing fronts and I was hoping Fortune .
    KW Quite a bit more $1500
    BC Front Coilovers are only available
    Fortune are still not available for touring.

    Really not many choices,,


  15. #90
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    Quote Originally Posted by jp5Touring View Post
    geargrinder

    Really not many choices,,
    LOL. Welcome to our world.

    It's all about the SLS really... if you have it, your choices are, as you've figured out:
    - a few non-coil-over type suspensions from the usual suspects (Eibach etc)
    - ST/KW
    - Buy one of the other front sets (ex: BC) and roll-your-own for rear dampers and hope they match up well
    - Start at ground zero and do a custom setup

    I kinda wish I'd chased the last option a little bit more but then probably you're into the KW V2/V3 arena for $$$ anyway. I do wish they offered at least the V2 single adjustable in the ST line but they don't for marketing / product laddering purposes sadly.

    That said, eventually I will probably try and buy some Koni SA inserts for the ST setup and get there, but right now I'm happy and no reason to throw away the brand new inserts that are in there and pay for more labor... if I still have the car in a few years maybe I try that route.

    Another ST/KW tip to add to the E36 top mount thing:

    • With the front C/O's not set super aggressively low (I have a few pics posted in other threads, assume you've seen... not brilliant photos but get the idea...) the ST rear height adjusters are maxed out at full low and matched up exactly right.
    • As the fronts are settling a bit (like every new spring setup typically does) I am ending up with a hair of rake I believe. Not a ton and not enough to be a problem (hint of hot-rod look to it... not entirely bad).
    • If it settles much further, OR, should I want to lower the fronts even more, I'll need to either mod the KW/ST adjusters to be even shorter, or, do it in software. Not a biggy but good FYI to know for anybody buying one of the KW/ST products
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  16. #91
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    For those with SLS, isn't simple to just run front only coilovers and then re-program the rear? On my former Touring, I ran BG Springs in front which gave a generous drop and then just programmed the rear with a bit of rake for the entire car.



  17. #92
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    Quote Originally Posted by AquilaBMW View Post
    For those with SLS, isn't simple to just run front only coilovers and then re-program the rear? On my former Touring, I ran BG Springs in front which gave a generous drop and then just programmed the rear with a bit of rake for the entire car.
    Its all about getting quality matched damping for the new setup. For a slight drop and somebody totally happy w OEM shocks your approach is prob fine. But to drop a bit more the shock valving can get out of kilter, and moreso if your whole intent is way more about improved damping than drop (thats me) then its all about matching good shocks/inserts up F/R.
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  18. #93
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    Quote Originally Posted by geargrinder View Post
    Its all about getting quality matched damping for the new setup. For a slight drop and somebody totally happy w OEM shocks your approach is prob fine. But to drop a bit more the shock valving can get out of kilter, and moreso if your whole intent is way more about improved damping than drop (thats me) then its all about matching good shocks/inserts up F/R.

    Are we talking about cars with rear SLS? As far as front goes, any front Coilover Kit or good springs and shocks like Eibach w/ Konis or DINAN w/ Bilstein Sport should do the trick. If you need to go lower, again any decent to high end coilover fronts should do the trick. With a lowered front end, it is better to get a short strut or sport shock that can better handle the reduce length of travel of the shock.

    As far as the rear, I suppose re-programming the rear with a sport shock would do the trick. My drop was right around 2' in the front on stock shocks (Not the greatest idea of course). I might experiment with the KIDO Coilovers in the front down the line with 8 - 10KG springs for more compliant suspension up front. Not sure what the option would be for the rear with it lowered. The Bilsteins tend to be a really firm ride in my experience and I don't know if someone like Koni makes a shock that would fit the rear of the Tourings. For now, I will re-use the BG Springs up front.... when I eventually get around to it! LOL!



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    I ordered the ST kit...uses adjustable length links on the rear airbag height sensors. Simply and easy to install. By the way my car had the sport SLS suspension, and I replaced the rear bags at the same time.
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  20. #95
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    does the kit come with new rear shocks too? or is it just front coils and rear links?

  21. #96
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    Quote Originally Posted by ToastelStruder View Post
    does the kit come with new rear shocks too? or is it just front coils and rear links?
    Yep - the ST/KW for SLS include front coilovers (require YOU buy topmounts), and include rear shocks and links.

    Same general price as a kit for another car w rear springs so they really cash in on not havin to give you the springs but giving you a little stupid cheap linky thing instead.
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    how much lower can the fronts go? I'm stuck between the ST kit for SLS, and BC Racing fronts with some sort of rear shocks.

  23. #98
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    Quote Originally Posted by ToastelStruder View Post
    how much lower can the fronts go? I'm stuck between the ST kit for SLS, and BC Racing fronts with some sort of rear shocks.
    If you mean from my sig pic - lots. Thats stock Sport Package.
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    I put this thread together for the Fortune Auto coilovers.

    http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...7#post27221497

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