Question for people with lowered tourings

[dannyzabolotny]

Interesting thread. My wagon is lowered, but currently running Biltstein suspension set up front and rear. The ride was actually rather pleasant on this set even though firm. I was happy with the ride with 18' Style 65's on the car. I have recently been running 19' DINAN Wheels and the ride is certainly harsher. I am running 36 PSI up front and 40 PSI on the rears and the ride can now be considered "harsh" on bumps - but more so up front.

There is a difference in gross vehicle weight compared to your's though Danny as my wagon is currently still a 525iT and your's is a 540, so it is possible that has an affect on the ride.

Does your 525it have the self-leveling air suspension? And yeah there might be a weight difference, but that would be mostly up front, the rear should be about as heavy.

[Thrifty S50]

Chiming in here,

99' wagon with SLS, had similar crashy like occurrences over bumps. Car needed Subframe Bushings BAD, so i replaced them with Meyld HD's. Ride improved significantly, but was definitely stiffer than i imagined it to be with the new bushings.

Just threw some arnott bags in, and today is the first day back in the wagon. Car is on Billies F/R, and although i haven't had much seat time since the new bags, it does not seem to be extra harsh, as you all with the Sport (koni) shocks are reporting. I am on 18" Mpars also.

Ill put some mileage on the touring and get back to ya'll, is there a target Speed you guys seem to be noticing this more than others, being that it may have something to do with low speed rebound?. But to sum up --> wagon with 18" wheels, SLS, New bags (arnott),Billies and Meyle HD SF Bushings @ Stock height = Firm but not jarring.

[coolcom]

+1, I just replaced my SF bushings (completely shot) with Meyle HD and bags with the Arnotts. I did not touch rear shocks but did replace front struts (Bilstein) and all other F/R suspension parts with lemforder.

No more crashing going over any small bumps, but still firm. I am on 17” Style 5 at stock sport height.

[SCRSUVS]

I bought my 540iT wagon from forum member speed7 early December in the classified section. "Very," first thing noticed when driving was how hard the car was over bumps. Steve had done a lot of work to suspension, "quote"...

Things I've replaced/upgraded in the last 5 years.

Timing chain guides
New strut bearings & tops?
New fan clutch
Shocks Bilstein sports all 4 corners
Dinan springs (front)
Eibach swaybars front and rear.
New sport rear bags/springs
New bushings for front control arms
M5 brake calipers also rebuilt during install
M5 rotors stop tech Cyro cross drilled
M5 pads Pagid sports in the front/race blues in the rear.
M5 wheels with Continental Extreme Contact DW tires.
New wheel bearings all 4 corners with M5 hubs (done during brake upgrade)

I was actually surprised how hard the ride really was. Steve said because of Bilstein Sport Shocks, not a fan of how stiff it is and sounds exactly like your situation. Have been busy doing other fixes planning on more attention after sorting those issues out. Rear subframe bushings on the list. Could tell the car had been driven hard one sway bar bracket broken and front lower control arm bushings replaced about 10K are in need of replacement again. I was surprised that the Bilsteins @ $650ish not cheap and the ride sucks! Had a 99 540i with Sachs drove much better. IM in the same scenario with rear hard ride as you. IM going to do the rear subframe bushings first, if still have the problem (expect I will) going to look at changing the shocks for a more cushy ride. Frustrating with other issues so the ride comfort on back burner. Hoping 90% is my shocks, I don't recommend the Bilsteins...hoping to replace them solves the problem if not all the responses on your helpful post will be read with attention to detail to solve the problem seems like many of us have...thought I was alone in this dept...

[dannyzabolotny]

I've definitely heard of the Bilsteins being too stiff, which is exactly why I went with Konis. Everybody said they provide a much better ride, but a lot of those people probably had them on their sedans which have a completely different rear suspension setup.

[itsbrokeagain]

I'll chime in as well. 99 528it manual. ST coilovers set pretty much at the same height as your car.

Still running style 19s, 225/45/17 all around. My entire suspension was trashed at 200k miles. Did new arms in the front and replaced the rear subframe bushings with Powerflex poly's. Ride quality got better immediately, but stilll a bit crashy. I know the rear upper arms need to be changed as well as the ball joints.

I may change out my rear shocks for Konis if you report back with good findings.

[blackknight530i]

Any update from anyone after changing their Koni rear settings to 3/4 or above from full soft?

[rjbaren]

I have a 62K mile 528iT with original air bags and shocks. I have had the rear sub frame suspension bushings replaced with OEM bushings. I have 16" rims with new Hankook all season tires and it rides very smoothly on all roads. I just bought a set of 4 Eibach springs from Germany and the mounting pads for the rear springs. When the air bag suspension even gives me a hint of trouble I am going to replace it with the Eibach springs. I got reamed for mentioning this on another post but I am going to try it regardless. I want it to be simple and foolproof. I only want to fool with it one time. If the ride is poor I'll go back to the airbags. If the ride is good with the springs, they'll stay.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

I have a 62K mile 528iT with original air bags and shocks. I have had the rear sub frame suspension bushings replaced with OEM bushings. I have 16" rims with new Hankook all season tires and it rides very smoothly on all roads. I just bought a set of 4 Eibach springs from Germany and the mounting pads for the rear springs. When the air bag suspension even gives me a hint of trouble I am going to replace it with the Eibach springs. I got reamed for mentioning this on another post but I am going to try it regardless. I want it to be simple and foolproof. I only want to fool with it one time. If the ride is poor I'll go back to the airbags. If the ride is good with the springs, they'll stay.

If you're not happy with the rear springs and go back to the bags, let me know, I wouldn't mind getting them. I wagon has the factory springs.

[rjbaren]

Sure thing.

[RVAE34]

When I installed the black poly rear subframe bushings in my touring, I noticed significant improvement over the HD's with no increase in NVH. It really changed the rear characteristics too.

I have had bad experiences with Bilstein's in wagons in the past with my old Volvo 850. They were incredibly stiff. I was amazed how good they felt in the E38 so I put a set in the E53 as well when I converted from air to springs and it rides great. It's weird how hard it is to perfectly dial in the E39 touring suspension. No one has found the "perfect" setup yet.

[Dvbimmerk]

I am dropping car off at my Indy early next week to install Lemforder bushings. I will report back with findings.

For reference, i also have set the rears to mid-way.


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Just got the car back last night. Spent most of day today driving it. The ride is noticeably different. There is no more “crash” when hitting bumps from the rear. I tested with back seat empty and with passengers and still no crash.

The Lemforders are great. One caveat to my setup...I used touring bushings in the rear and M5 bushings up front because I also installed the M5 torsion bars.

Hope that helps...


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[dannyzabolotny]

When I installed the black poly rear subframe bushings in my touring, I noticed significant improvement over the HD's with no increase in NVH. It really changed the rear characteristics too.

I have had bad experiences with Bilstein's in wagons in the past with my old Volvo 850. They were incredibly stiff. I was amazed how good they felt in the E38 so I put a set in the E53 as well when I converted from air to springs and it rides great. It's weird how hard it is to perfectly dial in the E39 touring suspension. No one has found the "perfect" setup yet.

What'd you use for the shocks in your LS wagon? Did you keep the SLS?

- - - Updated - - -

Just got the car back last night. Spent most of day today driving it. The ride is noticeably different. There is no more “crash” when hitting bumps from the rear. I tested with back seat empty and with passengers and still no crash.

The Lemforders are great. One caveat to my setup...I used touring bushings in the rear and M5 bushings up front because I also installed the M5 torsion bars.

Hope that helps...

Good to know! I might switch to Lemforders at some point just to see if it would make a difference, plus I want to try the M5 torsion bars as well, since I do drag racing and plan to do track days in my wagon. I figure I'll do that when I replace my diff bushings, since they're pretty shot on my car. The only easy way to replace them on the touring is by dropping the subframe, so might as well redo the subframe bushings then.

[Dvbimmerk]

What'd you use for the shocks in your LS wagon? Did you keep the SLS?

- - - Updated - - -



Good to know! I might switch to Lemforders at some point just to see if it would make a difference, plus I want to try the M5 torsion bars as well, since I do drag racing and plan to do track days in my wagon. I figure I'll do that when I replace my diff bushings, since they're pretty shot on my car. The only easy way to replace them on the touring is by dropping the subframe, so might as well redo the subframe bushings then.

Good idea. I had every intention of changing mine out but my Indy checked my diff bushings and said they were fine. (The P.O. gave them to me with the car)

Also put M5 rear sway bar on. Prob do bags at some point...


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[dannyzabolotny]

Good idea. I had every intention of changing mine out but my Indy checked my diff bushings and said they were fine. (The P.O. gave them to me with the car)

Also put M5 rear sway bar on. Prob do bags at some point...

My 540it has 203k hard-driven miles, with plenty of mountain roads, burnouts, and drag races done with it. My diff bushings are visibly shot, since they’re probably original.

I also installed the M5 rear sway bar when I did my rear suspension refresh.

[M5 Jed]

No, I bought Grade 10.9 bolts from McMaster Carr. I bought a bag of 100 of them and just opened them, LOL. When they broke on the first set, the screw shanks were sheared off in the arms and I had no way of getting them out, so Koch Tools warrantied them and sent me a new set of arms that have the bolts in them as well. I'll replace all the screws with the 10.9 ones and still have like 90 of them left.

I got tired of replacing the bolts so I just TIG welded the teeth to the arms. Will never ever break again. I should have done this from the beginning.

[M5 Jed]

Those experiencing harshness should consider switching to rear coil springs. Why? Ride quality is 10x better. Second, you can custom pick the spring rate you want to match the front springs or go stiffer. Third, coil springs will never ever leak or break like air springs and leave you stranded. Lastly, you can dial in the perfect ride height. How???

The Unicorn Rear Adjustable spring perches.





I highly recommend the 6” tall Swift coilover Springs, with a 2.5” diameter. 10k-12k will probably be enough for the non-S62 powered Tourings. For those that have SCs or S62 swapped engines, 14k rate at least.

[dannyzabolotny]

Nah, I'd rather figure out my ride issues— my friend's 2002 540it rides perfectly so it's certainly achievable with the stock SLS. Plus I haul a lot of heavy stuff in my touring and plan to tow with it in the future, so I'm keeping the SLS.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Those experiencing harshness should consider switching to rear coil springs. Why? Ride quality is 10x better. Second, you can custom pick the spring rate you want to match the front springs or go stiffer. Third, coil springs will never ever leak or break like air springs and leave you stranded. Lastly, you can dial in the perfect ride height. How???

The Unicorn Rear Adjustable spring perches.





I highly recommend the 6” tall Swift coilover Springs, with a 2.5” diameter. 10k-12k will probably be enough for the non-S62 powered Tourings. For those that have SCs or S62 swapped engines, 14k rate at least.

Hey man, what do those gems go for?

[M5 Jed]

The perch kit sells for $250 shipped.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Hey thanks! I'll order a pair as soon as I get caught up on a couple of bills.

[RVAE34]

I highly recommend the 6” tall Swift coilover Springs, with a 2.5” diameter. 10k-12k will probably be enough for the non-S62 powered Tourings. For those that have SCs or S62 swapped engines, 14k rate at least.

I second this

[ucsbwsr]

I am surprised SLS deletes are so common on the E39T. I have KW V1s and the ride is good, not as buttery as it was with V1s on my M5 sedan and also not quite as dialed as the V3s on my E61 but still very acceptable, pleasant, and unoffensive.

Then again I have never been in a wagon with SLS deleted so I can't comment on the ride quality but for me I would never do that as it severely limits functionality which IMO is the point of the wagon. But to each their own I suppose.

[dannyzabolotny]

I am surprised SLS deletes are so common on the E39T. I have KW V1s and the ride is good, not as buttery as it was with V1s on my M5 sedan and also not quite as dialed as the V3s on my E61 but still very acceptable, pleasant, and unoffensive.

Then again I have never been in a wagon with SLS deleted so I can't comment on the ride quality but for me I would never do that as it severely limits functionality which IMO is the point of the wagon. But to each their own I suppose.

Right? I don't just like the wagon for its looks, I love the functionality. Being able to put engines and heavy parts in the back is like the best part of having a wagon!

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Man, I've loaded the rear end of my wagon to the brim, the rear end functions without bottoming out with the stock springs just fine. Don't need no stinkin' leaky bags.
Spring progressiveness was dialed in quite well, handling is actually really good too.