Need advice on suspension for E39

yuin

Well-Known Member
Hi,

I need some advice on a suspension issue for E39 530i.

Car currently fitted with Sachs Performance Dampers and Eibach Pro Kit Spring Set all round. As far as I know, these are not height-adjustable.

Problem is that the front (and the rear to a lesser effect) is too low and the wheels have negative camber (front more severe than rear). In fact, the spacing between front tyres and wheel arch is less than 1 finger spacing.

My question is: What should I do to raise the ride height?

1. Add spring cushions/seats to the Eibach springs.
OR
2. Change Eibach springs to another brand of springs.
OR
3. Anything else you recommend.

If you know estimated cost, please let me know as well.

Thanks a lot.
 
Re: Need advice on suspension for E39

Switch to either Bilstein or Koni Sports shocks. The Konis are adjustable for damping. If you set it hard, it may not drop so low.
 
Re: Need advice on suspension for E39

gabey said:
Switch to either Bilstein or Koni Sports shocks. The Konis are adjustable for damping. If you set it hard, it may not drop so low.

Bro, the hardness does not varies the height. If Im not wrong u mean the car will not sink so much after humps if adjusted hard.

Yuin, change to a longer spring. There are springs for 20mm, 30mm, 40mm drop. Find out your spring height then go for the higher ones.

If you feel like spending money, go for coilovers. PSS9 (spring height and damper adjust) around 4K I think.

If you dun mind cheaper (1.1K) coilovers from Taiwan then go to Fong Kim Exhaust. They carry the brand called BC. Same function as PSS9 but have to check if they have for E39.

Im currently on BC and its value for money!
 
Re: Need advice on suspension for E39

yeah...that was what i meant more or less lah! When i had the SACHS, i noticed the car getting lower and lower as time pass. I had the Koni Sports with Eibach springs after that and the height remained the same throughout but then i set it to hard. I think if the combination is right, then the height should not change much. So, if initially the height is low already and the thingo starts to go even lower, you know what i mean! I asked Ricky previously whether he is bringing in the coilovers for E39 but he said no. Not sure about it. Can call and ask. Oh by the way, BC springs and Koni Sports is a bad combination. Had them for a few hours and then took it out because it does not sit well.
 
Re: Need advice on suspension for E39

The shocks and springs have been on the car for more than 7 months already. Think they may have settled, which is why the gap is so small. Don't really want to spend a few thousand dollars for coilovers, though they would definitely solve my problem. If I'm looking for a quick fix, what should I do? Went to J4C and they mentioned about a spring cushion for Eibach that would raise the car. Costs about $150 each.

I suppose if the dampers are non-adjustable, it comes down to luck on whether the fender gaps are what you want.
 
Re: Need advice on suspension for E39

yuin said:
The shocks and springs have been on the car for more than 7 months already. Think they may have settled, which is why the gap is so small. Don't really want to spend a few thousand dollars for coilovers, though they would definitely solve my problem. If I'm looking for a quick fix, what should I do? Went to J4C and they mentioned about a spring cushion for Eibach that would raise the car. Costs about $150 each.

I suppose if the dampers are non-adjustable, it comes down to luck on whether the fender gaps are what you want.

that's only temporary and will set you back $300! Might as well spend it on a new set of shocks/springs. To the best of my knowledge, your choices for regular shocks/springs are down to Sachs Performance (complete), Bilstein Sports (shocks only), Koni Sports (shocks only) and Eibach Springs. The proven combination is Koni&Eibach (around $1000 to $1200 approximately), and Bilstein&Eibach (not sure of price). If you want some height adjustability, then Bilstein PSS (notice got no 9) (around 2k plus) or KW Variant 1 (not sure of price) is next in line. E39 suspension is a real pain the rear to install. So, if you are gonna do it, make it a good one!!! good luck!!
 
Re: Need advice on suspension for E39

gabey said:
that's only temporary and will set you back $300! Might as well spend it on a new set of shocks/springs. To the best of my knowledge, your choices for regular shocks/springs are down to Sachs Performance (complete), Bilstein Sports (shocks only), Koni Sports (shocks only) and Eibach Springs. The proven combination is Koni&Eibach (around $1000 to $1200 approximately), and Bilstein&Eibach (not sure of price). If you want some height adjustability, then Bilstein PSS (notice got no 9) (around 2k plus) or KW Variant 1 (not sure of price) is next in line. E39 suspension is a real pain the rear to install. So, if you are gonna do it, make it a good one!!! good luck!!

Hi Gabey, what do you mean by "temporary"?

Normally, how do you tell which combo gives you what ride height? Is it purely trial and error? Manufacturer specs always say up to XXmm depending on car, which doesn't help at all.

What if I just purchased new Sachs springs and sell the Eibach ones?

Yuin
 
Re: Need advice on suspension for E39

yuin said:
Hi Gabey, what do you mean by "temporary"?

Normally, how do you tell which combo gives you what ride height? Is it purely trial and error? Manufacturer specs always say up to XXmm depending on car, which doesn't help at all.

What if I just purchased new Sachs springs and sell the Eibach ones?

Yuin

The spring cushions prop up the springs but in time to come, they will still sag! The ride height will drop again. Also, not sure how they will affect the spring rate. Ride height can vary from car to car, i also cannot explain. The SACHS made my car looked slammed but on another E39, it looked more level. One more thing, you will see that the rear right side of your car will sink lower than the left side. Also cannot explain! And if you have lotsa stuff in the boot, it will affect the height also. When i removed my spare tyre, the rear rose by 3mm! Luckily, i cld adjust the height back to normal. The cheapest alternative is the one i PMed to you! But i am not saying it is the best...it all depends on what you want. I've been in your situation before, so i understand. Bite the bullet lah and just buy the PSS or PSS9, i guarantee you that it's money well spent! The local rep is Eng Soon and the forum rep is WILMAN. You can check with them regarding the price....good luck.
 
Re: Need advice on suspension for E39

yuin said:
The shocks and springs have been on the car for more than 7 months already. Think they may have settled, which is why the gap is so small. Don't really want to spend a few thousand dollars for coilovers, though they would definitely solve my problem. If I'm looking for a quick fix, what should I do? Went to J4C and they mentioned about a spring cushion for Eibach that would raise the car. Costs about $150 each.

I suppose if the dampers are non-adjustable, it comes down to luck on whether the fender gaps are what you want.

Need to clarify something here.

It's not spring cushions for the Eibach Springs that we have recommended. What we recommend to do is to install aluminium spacers on top of the shock absorber mountings to raise the height of the suspension by 20mm. This is an original BMW part meant for the E39s. So, in no way it will sag any further.
 
Re: Need advice on suspension for E39

gabey said:
The spring cushions prop up the springs but in time to come, they will still sag! The ride height will drop again. Also, not sure how they will affect the spring rate. Ride height can vary from car to car, i also cannot explain. The SACHS made my car looked slammed but on another E39, it looked more level. One more thing, you will see that the rear right side of your car will sink lower than the left side. Also cannot explain! And if you have lotsa stuff in the boot, it will affect the height also. When i removed my spare tyre, the rear rose by 3mm! Luckily, i cld adjust the height back to normal. The cheapest alternative is the one i PMed to you! But i am not saying it is the best...it all depends on what you want. I've been in your situation before, so i understand. Bite the bullet lah and just buy the PSS or PSS9, i guarantee you that it's money well spent! The local rep is Eng Soon and the forum rep is WILMAN. You can check with them regarding the price....good luck.

The right side of the BMWs is always lower than the left. That's normal. That is because more stuff are on the right side - very different from the left hand drives (for BMWs) which is more balanced.

And gabey, it's very noti of you.... :whipper:

:lol2:
 

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