Yesterday came out after hard cold night and right rear was down on the ground for first time. I've had super rare slight sags in the morning, not noticeable except hearing the pump run when you unlock/open a door. Guess its gonna be time for bags soon.
Based on price and general reputation and everything else... think I'll prob go with the Arnott's... unless somebody has some new radical information on that front. The fact that they come with their own new hose clips and everything adds to the value there.
Gotta say pretty impressive that the factory bags lasted 120k and ~16years. I'd have no hesitation to go factory again except the $160 price difference and the new clips / hardware that come w/ the Arnotts...
2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)
Former:
1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)
I got the Arnott ones. The hardware was all great, and the bags seem to be very well constructed. The hose clips in particular are a much stronger design than the original BMW version.
Glad to hear it. Lot of guys have been putting them on and don't see any posting back w/ issues - I think one person last year was having issues, but he had a lot of issues anyway seemed like something was up w the system otherwise.
Yeah Arnott is known for making small improvements to OEM designs when they make their reps so I'd hope for that to be the case (that they are better) - famously if you break the factory stuff you can't get the parts separately and have to buy the reservoir tanks etc. so its nice to know you're renewing the clips at least.
2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)
Former:
1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)
Yes that was me having many other problems as well as the bags. Put Arnott bags in to replace the 193k mile oem bags. One side was down every morning. The bags fixed the peoblem for about 3 weeks then both side started lossing and after 12-14 hours the rear end was sitting on the ground. That eneded up being the solenoids attached to the pump. Got a replacement out of Germany deleivered for $150. Compare that to an entire pump assembly wich is all you can get here in the USA at over $300.
Good luck the bags are really easy to change, it just takes time to get the floor removed to get to the top of the bags.
2003 525iT Automatic, Topas Blue Exterior, Gray Leather Interior, Sports Suspension, Sports Seats, M 3 spoke Steering Wheel.
2008 328xi E91 (wagon) Automatic, Barberatot Metallic Exterior, Terracotta Leather Interior.
ha ha sorry brother I forgot who it was but I knew it was a regular.
Yeah floor is no issue for me. My whole custom whacko amp setup is down there and I have had it out a million times. Hell often I’m driving around without the forward cargo hooks screwed in because I’m going in and out. Even if they are screwed in I have the routine down and the cordless driver to zip em right out.
Hmmm that makes me think tho. Might have to unsettle my amp install... can’t remember if the v.3.0 setup is obscuring bag or lines in any meaningful way... Hmmm.
2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)
Former:
1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)
I have Arnotts on my Touring with “low slung sports” height.
They perform their job without issues.
The new hardware was perfect. I can’t think of a reason not to use them.
51FB24DF-5D12-4CF9-829E-02D2AD2E900F.jpg
Change of plans, I'll just get these.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-Rear-A...i/162621082245
After reading their descrption:
I'm sure they'll be great.Product Description
- This air spring is new and fits the front and left of vehicle model BMW 5er E39. In the areas of safety, accuracy, durability and quality, this product is similar to the original spare part. The air suspension can compress the air in a elastic closed container so that it can work effectively. It also features in ideal nonlinear elasticity. When added altitude controller in the air spring, the height of car can change with load. This air spring is constructed with high quality material, you can use it for a long time. While when you are ready to install it, professional assembly is highly recommended.
Note:
2-year warranty
Professional assembly is highly recommended
Warning:
The assembly of this article requires expert knowledge! After assembly, however, before the vehicle is lowered from the lift, the control of the landing gear must calibrate the new component. The manufacturer's instructions must be observed. Incorrect installation and disregarding may cause damage.
If you have any questions before or after you buy the air spring, please contact us to solve your questions. Thanks for shopping!
2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)
Former:
1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)
I have been contemplating removing the airbag suspension altogether. I believe this is all that is needed. The BMW part numbers are priced from Gault BMW a dealer in NY. The springs (all four), are on ebay in the UK. Copy that Eibach number into the ebay (Eibach Pro-Kit Touring E39 E2061-140) hit search, and it should show them at around $250.00 to $300.00 shipped. I plan to buy all this over the cold months and then when the suspension fails, it gets removed. Just my 2 cents.
PRING PAD LOWER x2 33531093785, $12ea. SPRING PAD UPPER x2 33531093786, $11.ea Cover x2 33531093787, $6 ea.
EibachPro-Kit Touring E39 E2061-140 Lowers about 30mm all round
Oh boy, should have been waiting for that... GTFO of my thread son, you picked the wrong place to talk that stupid stupid crap. DELETE THE SPRINGS!!!! is 90% of the time an ignorant smallbrain knucklehead approach based on total stupidity and ignorance. Just "IMO" of course.
OK - are you setting your touring up for Autocross or something? Great. Go springs.
Otherwise, factory system is overall:
- Extremely effective in providing a great ride, and, ride height adjustment
- Relatively easy to diagnose once you learn what's there and what the common failure items are
- Extremely low maintenance
- Relatively cheap and easy to fix when it goes wrong the vast majority of the time...
The exceptions are going to be
1. if your trunk wheel well flooded and took the pump out (tho there's some info out there on rebuilding pump assemblies, and a junkyard pump is always an option), or, possibly,
2. if your reservoirs truly rusted out...
3. a car that a PO totally hacked and made a mess of so you have a whole pile of plumbing / wiring / mess problems (often this seems to be some idiot PO who thought spring replacement was a great idea then after tearing the SLS out found it wasn't so easy...)
Short of that, or, building a true dedicated track car, deleting the SLS is ignorance on display IMO and almost always comes down to some dumb combo of "mah gut just don' like that eeeelectronic complicated stuff! yank 'er all out!!!! ima gunna delete all mah ABS and EEEEEmissions parts next week too!!!!! how can I convert to crank up winnows!?!?" and/or a complete misconception that "it's complicated and expensive and unreliable!!!!" usually coming from some vague impression that comes from mercedes or Audi systems that are... complicated and expensive and unreliable...
2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)
Former:
1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)
Yes, that is how I feel. I always look forward to your responses.
From reading all of the posts where you do something properly and don’t take shortcuts, it surprises me that you would consider the ebay el-cheapo parts.
It may save you ~$150 over Arnotts, or it could cost you $90 more plus the time it took to swap.
Depending on the failure mode (from small annoying leak, to outright blowout) it could cost you more.
To me, it would seem that the ~$150 would be worth it when considering the alternatives.
There is nothing in the ebay listing that gives me any warm and fuzzies that these springs aren’t simply a short-term “fix it enough to sell it” part that a “buy here pay here” lot would install to make a quick buck.
...but that’s my 2c.
Furthermore:
If you were to sell the car with Arnott springs opposed to no-name ebay parts, it would be a selling point that would help support your asking price.
Last edited by simmsled; 11-20-2017 at 09:46 AM. Reason: *furthermore
2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)
Former:
1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)
"two wrongs don't make a right...only three lefts do...."
'79 Euro 635csi - gone and regretting it...
'89 gsxr-750 - former traffic knife
'97 528i sedan - holding on strong...(just sold after 16 years of ownership - sad day)
'03 Euro 525it - something about a famous dolphin.....
'06 Mercury Grand Marquis (don't ask....it gets the job done....)
'84 Specialized Allez - full Campagnolo Super Record
'99-ish Cannondale CAAD4
"Stinky" - Kona Stinky Five
'86 528e
2008 E70 X5 3.0
The Arnott's have the good rep (except for poor schatzy's experience...he was really suffering on that one...) but for the most part, you never hear anyone complain about them which speaks volumes.
I wound up using Aerosus on mine. They are the only ones that claimed to sell a sport spring besides Bilstein and oem....and the Billy's were mad money. I didn't have the most favorable experience when I bought them but most of that may just have been a bit of buyer's uncertainty on my part coming out.
So far I like them...car rides great, and the rear feels stiff and planted on these backroads....but what do I know really. I'd be interested in understanding just how the difference between the sport and std bags really feels....
I'd have to go back to my thread...but I think I came in under $275 shipped for both. (???)
Looking up Aerosus bags for yours, I see $117 each, 10% discount on a pair, and free shipping....
"two wrongs don't make a right...only three lefts do...."
'79 Euro 635csi - gone and regretting it...
'89 gsxr-750 - former traffic knife
'97 528i sedan - holding on strong...(just sold after 16 years of ownership - sad day)
'03 Euro 525it - something about a famous dolphin.....
'06 Mercury Grand Marquis (don't ask....it gets the job done....)
'84 Specialized Allez - full Campagnolo Super Record
'99-ish Cannondale CAAD4
"Stinky" - Kona Stinky Five
'86 528e
2008 E70 X5 3.0
I should have seen that coming. Lol
Hahaha that's some great trolling, GG! Not sure if I'd trust any eBay suspension parts, especially for under $100.
I'm also tired of hearing people whine about the touring SLS. It's not the same as a Range Rover air suspension, get it through your heads, people! Mine has been pretty trouble-free despite being mostly original at almost 200k miles and 18 years. All I've replaced so far has been the right height sensor, which was an inexpensive fix.
I love that I can load up my touring full of stuff and not have the rear end sag. When I was moving from one house to another, I did 90% of the moving with the touring (did like 20 trips) and it handled about the same when it was loaded up to the ceiling with stuff. I could probably transport an engine in the back pretty easily, though I haven't tried that yet.
Of course one of my friends started talking about going to springs on his recently-purchased 2002 540it... I was very quick to shut him up.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Glad the aerosus worked out and glad to hear a review after a while. I'm a little skeptical about some of the offbrands ($85 for two!?!?) but Aerosus certainly isn't 'fly by night' and good to have a real member using them with good success.
Just googled and very cool thing Aerosus are now selling solenoid valves for the pump, which of course BMW never would bother doing ("GOTTA BUY THE WHOLE THING!"). Also an entire pump assembly for $309 (factory one is like a grand!) That gives even fewer situations where the "derrrr just put springs in instead!" argument holds water.
The Aerosus are indeed $210 a pair which is 'nothing' really in the scheme of things! (and $195 a pair for non-Sport)
I think I"m still aiming Arnott because of the good rep they have in the Audi community, and cuz the whole price tag is still 'negligible' but if it was more than a $90 difference I might think otherwise.
Still an unsolved mystery seems to be what's the actual dang difference between the 'Sport' and 'Normal' bags anyway?! Are they truly different dimensions? The factory bags have that black vs white plastic as the identifier but is it even significant?
Would be great if somebody would order one each of those and compare them side by side...
- - - Updated - - -
Ha ha yeah I'm up on my very high horse with a big chip on my shoulder for this one...
The irony is of course the kiddies LOVE to swap bags into cars left and right yet here we have a nice simple reliable inexpensive factory air setup that just works, and when it goes wonky is, with rare exception, easy and cheap to fix... but for THIS, guys are just super bonered up to tear it out, just cuz...
2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)
Former:
1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)
Shucks...the rear air suspension failure was the catalyst for me getting my car ! Orig owner was up against a $4300 p&l quote to replace the air pump (and an airflow meter was in that figure..) and threw in the towel. I bought it broken while having no clue what I was doing at the time...haha
I had two of the thee 'exceptions' GG mentioned. Spare tire well filled with water on the original owner, which wiped the pump out. I removed it, went through it completely (as I had absolutely nothing to loose at this point...), dried it, contact-cleaner and wd-40'd it, lubed all sealing points, and reinstalled it. Worked like a champ after !!
Then...the tanks rusted, so I replaced both tanks. Not a fun job at all on your back in a driveway, but going OEM I was into it for under a hundo a tank and a few beers.
After that...the bags began losing air. So I fit new bags.
These are fantastic systems. I get the reasons to change them over to springs for certain applications. Certainly not for me, the SLS simply operates too well.
We're hijacking your thread...haha...so....what's the verdict judge judy ? which ones are you buying ??????
"two wrongs don't make a right...only three lefts do...."
'79 Euro 635csi - gone and regretting it...
'89 gsxr-750 - former traffic knife
'97 528i sedan - holding on strong...(just sold after 16 years of ownership - sad day)
'03 Euro 525it - something about a famous dolphin.....
'06 Mercury Grand Marquis (don't ask....it gets the job done....)
'84 Specialized Allez - full Campagnolo Super Record
'99-ish Cannondale CAAD4
"Stinky" - Kona Stinky Five
'86 528e
2008 E70 X5 3.0
you answered my question while I was posting....lol.. Yeah, I'm happy with them. We'll find out how this all plays out if I have an issue....I have concerns that it will not be an Arnott-level experience though...!
I think I would go Arnott too if I had it to do over again just for the reasons you stated, and that we all hear, They have a great rep !!!!
"two wrongs don't make a right...only three lefts do...."
'79 Euro 635csi - gone and regretting it...
'89 gsxr-750 - former traffic knife
'97 528i sedan - holding on strong...(just sold after 16 years of ownership - sad day)
'03 Euro 525it - something about a famous dolphin.....
'06 Mercury Grand Marquis (don't ask....it gets the job done....)
'84 Specialized Allez - full Campagnolo Super Record
'99-ish Cannondale CAAD4
"Stinky" - Kona Stinky Five
'86 528e
2008 E70 X5 3.0
Only a hundo for those? Good deal. Looks like they're hovering around $180 now...
So quick rundown on costs for the whole SLS system then... using either OE or known-brand options...
2 Bags - $200-550 Aerosus/Arnott/OE worst case
2 Sensors - $125-200 OEM/OE
Pump assembly - $309-$550-$1k Aerosus / OEM Wabco / OE
2 Reservoir tanks - $200-360 OE
Supply pipes - $25 OE
SLS Module - $570 OE
Other than that there's only a stray nut or bolt or two.
Only the first 2 items really go bad with any regularity, the last 3 are pretty rare...
Honestly at this point the only real single heartbreaker is the module, and those NEVER go bad that I've heard of... though they'd suffer from a tire well flooding event also... and even in that worst case a junkyard part should suffice fine.
2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)
Former:
1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)
"two wrongs don't make a right...only three lefts do...."
'79 Euro 635csi - gone and regretting it...
'89 gsxr-750 - former traffic knife
'97 528i sedan - holding on strong...(just sold after 16 years of ownership - sad day)
'03 Euro 525it - something about a famous dolphin.....
'06 Mercury Grand Marquis (don't ask....it gets the job done....)
'84 Specialized Allez - full Campagnolo Super Record
'99-ish Cannondale CAAD4
"Stinky" - Kona Stinky Five
'86 528e
2008 E70 X5 3.0
I also have a whole parts wagon (facelift silver on black, just like GG's) with a mostly functional SLS system (the bags are bad but everything else works) so I should have enough parts to keep me going for a while. Or I can save somebody else's SLS system with it.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
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