1995 M3 rock hard suspension?

[RIVARTE]

I've had my m3 for about a year now and the suspension has remained the same stiffness.. hard as a rock. You can feel every bump in the road and botts dots are murder on the passengers. It said on CarFax that both front and rear struts were replaced in 2014 and they look fine from the outside and feel fine when you push down from each corner of the car- quite stiff. I was wondering if this was normal for M3s or if there was some problem with my car specifically.

I had originally just attributed the bumpy ride to the fact that it was an M3 and that the previous owner had put 18/255s with 225/40 tires on it (extremely stretched but the same as stock sidewall width) and with no other basis of comparisons except to my friends 318ti with previously BLOWN suspension and his new suspension feeling like mine when pushing down, I'm not quite sure why the ride quality of mine is so much rougher than his when riding in it.

My solution would just be to get 17 inch wheels with 45 tire sidewall width and a little stretch to make it fit better (somewhere around 225mm tires on 235mm wheels) but of anyone has a better solution, I'm all for not buying a new set of wheels for no reason.

Thanks

[shogun]

Moved from E36 Common Problems and DIY to E36 M3 forum

[sirhodjibob]

Yes, ditch the 18s.

[propcar]

probably the suspension. I've had 18's for about 12 years. Suspension makes more of a difference.

[pbonsalb]

There are about 31 bushings, mounts, ball joints and end links under the car. Replacing shocks and struts leaves the vast majority of those untouched. Replacing those will restore the supple ride your car had 25 years ago. Just buying smaller wheels with cushier tires will also help and is certainly a lot easier.

[bmwstephen]

What you didn’t elaborate on is the setup you have. Stock, aftermarket (struts, springs, poly bushings)?

I refreshed mine with stock everything and it is compliant and comfortable enough to DD

[blckstrm]

What kind of tires, tire pressure, and certainly the size / fitment you've got going are all factors in addition to everything else mentioned already. What kind of shocks, springs? Different shock / spring setups offer different ride quality. You might as well be comparing your car to your neighbor's Honda without some details to help us understand what's going on...

[RIVARTE]

I'm 99% sure they were replaced with the stock shocks and springs, my tire pressure is around 30 which now that I'm thinking about it is a little high, especially for the wheel/ tire ratio that I have

[RIVARTE]

Im fairly sure I have stock shocks/ springs, and I've been looking around for replacement bushings as some of mine are cracked and I doubt they've been replaced within the past decade of ever.

[pbonsalb]

You could check all the bushings to see which ones appear to have been changed and which ones are highest priority to change, but unless you have a lot of experience you may not be able to tell much. It is a really big job to change all of them and I would not want to pay a shop to do that although it is a once in every 100k plus miles and 10+ years type of thing. The car will drive very nicely after replacement.

[RIVARTE]

I was looking at poly bushings and they seem to be a lot easier to put in than the rubber kind. Any recommendations on going either rubber/ poly? I'm leaning towards poly 80a since 95a is more race oriented and I'd like a bit of comfort in going over any bumps instead of being scared my engine will get shook loose.

[pbonsalb]

I recommend stock for most people. I have poly and in some places, certain grades work fine. In other places the compliance is noticeably reduced and they can squeak. You are right that poly is easier to install.

[RIVARTE]

thank you! I'm thinking about getting 80a poly and using whatever grease is generally recommended for most mating surfaces to avoid squeaking. they seem like they're roughly the same price/ a little cheaper from revshift as oem bushings. what brand of bushings would you recommend?

[pbonsalb]

Honestly, I’d go new rubber except maybe in a few places. I have used revshift, Vorshlag, garagetastic, powerflex, and AKG poly on various BMWs over the years. As for locations, I’d say anywhere FCP Euro sells a bushing for is fine and any brand they sell is fine.

[RIVARTE]

I was looking at kits there, thank you! any particular reason why you'd recommend rubber over poly bushings? Also, I saw some kits having ball joint bushings and some not having them. do you know what they are/ what they do and how important they are? I'd assume they're pretty significant from their price.

[h82crash]

I was looking at kits there, thank you! any particular reason why you'd recommend rubber over poly bushings? Also, I saw some kits having ball joint bushings and some not having them. do you know what they are/ what they do and how important they are? I'd assume they're pretty significant from their price.

You were complaining about harshness and lack of compliance. Poly will take you further down that road. That's why he recommends rubber.

[pbonsalb]

Yes, that is why. I went down the rabbit hole of stiffening everything up. Its fine for a toy, a track car, or a young man who likes low and hard and loud and rough. There are certainly a few places where you can use them with minimal downside but having been there and done that, I have to say the car is more supple with fresh stock grade bushings. Don't buy Uro Tuning or complete no name. Try to find the original maker of the bushing and buy that brand. In general anything FCP Euro sells is good.

As others have said, Rogue trans mounts or stock E46M3 or maybe E21 mounts are about the only upgrade to use for that location. Stiffer subframe mounts are great and poly has worked fine for me there. Stiffer diff mounts can cause whine. Poly RTABs can squeak so the safer bet is stock or Z4M plus limiters and weld in reinforcement plates while you are in there. Stiffer FCAB will reduce compliance under some circumstances. Anything more than mildly stiffer motor mounts can add NVH, but a tune with a higher idle speed can help. Bimmerworld makes Group N replica mounts that are still rubber but stiffer. Rogue may as well but they cost more.

Again, I would orient towards stock except maybe the rear subframe and adding limiters to the RTABs. Buy a nice, stiff front swaybar and run shocks like Konis with springs like H&R OE Sport, and use 17 inch wheels. Apex makes great lightweight wheels and runs group buys regularly. But a set of 17" ARC8 during the next one. If you want, square up the wheels -- run 17 x 8.5 front and rear with light 245/40/17 tires like Continental Extreme Contact Sport or Michelin P4S assuming you run summer tires. I think the concave version looks better than the flat face version (I have both versions).

[GG///M3]

Take pictures of the front, and rear springs.

[notMpowered]

Is your car lowered? Bumpstops may be too large? Check if your replacement shocks are bilsteins. They are the worst on these cars.

[pizzaman09]

I have bilsteins on my 99 coupe with 1 inch lowering springs and it is a rather stiff ride. More supple than the R56 Mini I had on JCW suspension, not soft or harsh. I am running 100% stock rubber with all bushings replaced last year, the replaced bushings did a lot to improve the crashieness of the ride and definitely improved the control of the rear end under hard acceleration or drifting.

It sounds like you have a modified suspension or very worn out bushings.