My e39 540i Intrax/Koni suspension Install Thread

[itsmike]

Nice write up!! Anyone know if the instructions for the suspension is the same for a 528i?

[John 540i6]

Nice write up!! Anyone know if the instructions for the suspension is the same for a 528i?

Im pretty sure it should be the same. I have found that the main differences are with the control arms and subframe under the car. The struts and springs should be the same.

[John 540i6]

just added a few new pictures at the bottom of post #1. The is lower now and it is exactly how i wanted it.

[sirtiger]

nice write up!

[Dan]

wow!!

for those with fold down rear seats, i don't think replacing the rears are as involved.

[franka]

There is some mis-information in the above posts. Here is the real, bottom line skinny on lowering springs for the E39, excluding coilovers ......

H&R and all the rest, Eibach, etc, ALL .... ALL of them, measure drop from a non-sport suspension.

A factory sport is 0.8/0.5 F/R lower than a factory non-sport suspension. To determine how much your factory sport will drop subtract 0.8/0.5 from the published drops below.

No one makes springs specifically/exclusively for the factory sport model.

H&R makes 2 different sets one called Sport and another called Race. Race has more drop and is stiffer than Sport.

H&R is the only mfgr that makes 2 different sets.

M5 springs will raise a non-M because the M is heavier.

Dinan's drop is a just bit lower than factory sport.

Below are published drops for an E39 540. They are probably the same for a 530 though I haven't checked.

Vogtland 1.2/1.2
H&R Sport 1.3/0.8
H&R Race 1.7/1.2
Eibach 1.5/1.0
Intrax 1.6/1.2

I suggest you save this for future referance. Happy motoring.

[Dan]

There is some mis-information in the above posts. Here is the real, bottom line skinny on lowering springs for the E39, excluding coilovers ......

H&R and all the rest, Eibach, etc, ALL .... ALL of them, measure drop from a non-sport suspension.

A factory sport is 0.8/0.5 F/R lower than a factory non-sport suspension. To determine how much your factory sport will drop subtract 0.8/0.5 from the published drops below.

No one makes springs specifically/exclusively for the factory sport model.

H&R makes 2 different sets one called Sport and another called Race. Race has more drop and is stiffer than Sport.

H&R is the only mfgr that makes 2 different sets.

M5 springs will raise a non-M because the M is heavier.

Dinan's drop is a just bit lower than factory sport.

Below are published drops for an E39 540. They are probably the same for a 530 though I haven't checked.

Vogtland 1.2/1.2
H&R Sport 1.3/0.8
H&R Race 1.7/1.2
Eibach 1.5/1.0
Intrax 1.6/1.2

I suggest you save this for future referance. Happy motoring.

frank,

this thread is in the Link of all link thread so your input is very much noted and preserved. thanks for the insight.. never knew they measure it from the non-sport level. sneaky sob's!

[BuchbrunnM3]

I am having a hard time deciding which springs to go with. Now that I see this thread I like the drop that the Intrax offers, but I have always been a big Eibach fan, and I have always wanted to try out H&R, ahhh soo many decisions!!! What drop do you all think would be best suited for my car being that it has 20's?

[Dan]

I am having a hard time deciding which springs to go with. Now that I see this thread I like the drop that the Intrax offers, but I have always been a big Eibach fan, and I have always wanted to try out H&R, ahhh soo many decisions!!! What drop do you all think would be best suited for my car being that it has 20's?

with axis, none. you'll end up bending the rim because the suspension is not going to move enough to suck up the pothole.

[franka]

I am having a hard time deciding which springs to go with. Now that I see this thread I like the drop that the Intrax offers, but I have always been a big Eibach fan, and I have always wanted to try out H&R, ahhh soo many decisions!!! What drop do you all think would be best suited for my car being that it has 20's?

From the picture it looks like your wheels stick out quite a bit. If they do you could have trouble dropping it any amount.

What width wheels, what offset and what tire sizes are you rolling on?

[BuchbrunnM3]

From the picture it looks like your wheels stick out quite a bit. If they do you could have trouble dropping it any amount.

What width wheels, what offset and what tire sizes are you rolling on?

Not sure about the offset but I am running 9 inch in the front and 10 in the back.

245/35/20 front, 275/30/20 in the rear.

[franka]

Not sure about the offset but I am running 9 inch in the front and 10 in the back.

245/35/20 front, 275/30/20 in the rear.

I need to know the offset to help. That tells me how far towards the outside the wheel is positioned.

Maybe it's on the paperwork that came with the wheels. If not that then it's marked on the wheel on the inside, usually after the size. Some wheels are marked ETxx.

[Shawn C]

John,

Wow, you did the suspension & brakes yourself! I finally had the Konis installed with OE sport springs yesterday but I noticed something weird:

1) My stereo appears to have lost the bass and yet there are still sound from the rear deck speakers. From your picture above, the one shows the speaker, why were there two sets of wire plugs? I wonder if he missed something or...

2) I ordered to have the shocks adjusted 1/2 turn from full soft, but car seems to bounce a lot quicker and felt stiffer than my OE sport. I wonder if he set it the opposite. Did the shocks come as full soft or hard?

3) The front ended up lower and the rear at middle perch went higher resulting in a slightly rakish stance. My headlights are now aiming to the ground. I will have it put on the lowest perch next week.

Thanks,

Shawn

[kaptom540]

with axis, none. you'll end up bending the rim because the suspension is not going to move enough to suck up the pothole.

would FSD with Eibachs Pro Kit spring be good for this type of set up ... Slight drop with OEM ride ????

[supark]

wow!!

for those with fold down rear seats, i don't think replacing the rears are as involved.

unfortunately it's the same amount of work with fold down vs non-folding seats to replace the rears (there's nothing that folding seats would facilitate towards making it an easier job). The main time consuming part of the rears is removing everything on the rear deck and such. But honestly after doing it once, I could probably do the rears again in not much more time than the fronts - just have to be careful not to dirty up the felt with dirty fingers!

For the OP though, I'm curious what your thoughts are on the setup after about two months riding on it.

[supark]

would FSD with Eibachs Pro Kit spring be good for this type of set up ... Slight drop with OEM ride ????

that'd be an awesome setup - DO IT

[John 540i6]

John,

Wow, you did the suspension & brakes yourself! I finally had the Konis installed with OE sport springs yesterday but I noticed something weird:

etc..........


Thanks,

Shawn

1) you might just want to check all those connections again yourself. Maybe they were left unplugged on accident. I know i almost pinched a set of wires in between the car, stud, and the 13mm nut for the top of the rear suspension.

2)From what I understand, they come pre adjusted to half way between hard and soft. It really doesnt matter since you have to adjust it all the way to soft first. I have my rears adjusted to 1 turn from full soft. It seems about right. Sometimes i think it could be stiffer but not enough to take it all apart again. Not for a while atleast...

3)koni says the middle perch gives you an OEM ride height. IMO its more like, the lowest perch gives you a factory ride height, then you get a higher than OEM height, then an even higher one. Maybe my car was sagging or something....who knows. I would have it on the lowest one for sure.

hopefully you dont go to adjust your headlights up and then discover that every one of the adjusters is broken. Happend to me, twice actually...

For the OP though, I'm curious what your thoughts are on the setup after about two months riding on it.

I have no complaints, well maybe one. Its soft in my opinion but im used to riding in stiff cars. It still handles good. I drive it pretty hard daily and it keeps up. I really think it could be stiffer for high speed runs. It can still feel soft and floaty at high speeds around turns just not as bad as the oem sport suspension. Maybe Im just asking too much from the car... either way i have a lot of fun.

[Shawn C]

Hi John,

Are there enclosures or baffles for the speakers?

What are the correct procedures to adj the rear shocks before install? The website did not say which direction will result in stiffer or softer damping.

[franka]

would FSD with Eibachs Pro Kit spring be good for this type of set up ... Slight drop with OEM ride ????

Koni does sell the FSD shocks with Eibach lowering springs, all in one package.

[supark]

One thing I'd add on the install - when doing the fronts, you'll want to remove the brake calipers. Otherwise you'll stretch the brake line too much and may risk damaging the line. It really doesn't add much time to the install - and much better than having to replace your brake lines as part of the install

[franka]

One thing I'd add on the install - when doing the fronts, you'll want to remove the brake calipers. Otherwise you'll stretch the brake line too much and may risk damaging the line. It really doesn't add much time to the install - and much better than having to replace your brake lines as part of the install

sparkey....

Good for you sparkey. That's a good suggestion. You suprise me.

[John 540i6]

Hi John,

Are there enclosures or baffles for the speakers?

What are the correct procedures to adj the rear shocks before install? The website did not say which direction will result in stiffer or softer damping.

There are small plastic enclosures for the rear speakers. That is what you remove to get to the rear suspension. You dont only take the speaker out. Its very easy and only takes a phillips head screw driver.

As far as the rear struts. I think im going to edit my first post and add that information in. I forgot to include that. That is something that is good to know. The koni directions are a complete waste of time. Ill try to get them up here soon.

As far as the stretched brake line, that is a very good point. I will add that in there as well. I didnt do that. I had the wheel turned in where the brake caliper was closer to the body of the car but Im sure i stretched it a little bit.

Oh, i also forgot to include 1 more good detail to the install for the front suspension. Any guesses?

[DSI49]

Oh, i also forgot to include 1 more good detail to the install for the front suspension. Any guesses?

loosen the 18mm bolt on the front lower control arm to allow the spindle assembly to drop down low enough to get the top of the strut out of the wheel well?

[John 540i6]

no, i was going to mention the little plastic arm that connects to the servo for the headlight aiming. It connects to the passenger side control arm. You have to take that off as well.

Oh, i added in the new section on how to adjust the rear struts and inserted the new info along the post and gave credit where credit was due.....

[supark]

no, i was going to mention the little plastic arm that connects to the servo for the headlight aiming. It connects to the passenger side control arm. You have to take that off as well.

Oh, i added in the new section on how to adjust the rear struts and inserted the new info along the post and gave credit where credit was due.....

Ah - good point - that would be for the front and rear. Very important to note because most often the plastic arm on the servo unit breaks, not the link on the control arm - and the plastic arm is integral with the sensor which cost about a hundred bucks.

This is fresh in my mind because I just got done with an eibach pro-kit install.

One thing that I found useful is to loosen the top of the nuts on top of the struts/shocks before you remove them from the shock/strut towers. Or better yet - invest in a cordless impact wrench. After doing my install and needing to bring my car to a local shop to get one stubborn strut nut off with an impact wrench, it's on my must buy list for tools.