Struts

The bushings being bad + higher front end= crappier/less stable ride.

Megan springs for $169..boom.

The Bilstein Touring's aren't designed for lowering springs. If you do put them on the car, they won't last as long. You'll need to pick up a set of OEM sport springs to lower the ride height. But honestly I would wait a few days for them to settle in and then see. I have seen a few threads regarding this topic, but that won't hold me back from buying a set. I found all 4 online for $320.

I wouldn't mind seeing a picture of the car with them installed.

Btw, if you hate the gap you can also use these--->http://www.supremepowerparts.com/0/0...me+Power+Parts

So we've got lowering springs and perches to heal that horrendous gap. Hope we can help anyone.

Think about the Bilstein's before you buy them, look !

Damn that is high. Are you sure you mounted the spring correctly? I've decided I'm going to pay somebody to do the fronts because I don't want to risk having issues with it. How is the rear height? I'll do those myself because they are easier to do. When you get a chance, can you take a picture of the entire car for me? I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

The Touring's are going to give you that ride height due to the longer travel. They're meant for comfort, not so much performance. I just didn't expect this. If you can, don't buy them. If I could do it over again I'd go with Bilstein sports or given my budget, I'd go with the oem Sachs.

And yea, I took the struts apart 4 times to inspect them. This sucks.

I'm not sure what to do here. How is the ride quality and handling with the struts? The height on your car is pretty bad and I surely don't want mine to look like a 4x4 either. I might just go ahead and order the Sachs suspension and be done with it.

Please keep it OEM and buy the Sachs. Save yourself the heartache.

The only issue I'm having is the additional cost. I found a set of the Touring's online for $320 shipped, and the Sachs are close to $500 shipped and I don't know if my budget will allow it. There are other things I need to get done to this car as well, so it's just a damn toss up at this point. Did you buy new spring pads for yours?

The stock spring pads are the thinnest bmw offers. They're the 5mm pads, so I left them alone. I don't the car any higher. The only 'extras' I'm considering are the perches in case I want another 15mm drop.

Want*

$500 ? Hmmm...have you looked at BMA parts online? If that's the case why not go for coil-overs ? I hear koni's are the most affordable. $500's already there..

With the mounts and such I'm not looking to spend over $500 on the entire setup. I can get the Bilstein's for $320 and the associated hardware for another $160 and that'll put me $20 under my budget. I've still got to purchase new wheels and tires as well, because both on my car are worn out. I'll probably settle for the Bilstein's and if I don't like them I will buy some OEM sport springs to lower the car a bit.

I'm on bilstein sport/eibach pro kit spring .

My advice is, before new strut/shocks replace any other failed suspension bushing like FCAB, RTAB + transmission/engine bushings and also new sway bars due to the lower car setup with new sway bushings.

E46 costly on maintenance..

I'm still 2k into making it better and might even consider a 135i rather then add extra $ to my money lover e46.


GL

My FCA and Bushings are Meyle HD with less than 7k miles on them, and the engine and transmission mounts are brand new as well. I'm going to replace the RTAB after I install the struts/shocks and then have an alignment at BMW. I'll probably keep it on the stock springs though, unless it has the 4x4 look like UDM's 330i. I would probably stick with the OEM Sport Springs as I'm nervous to lower the car any more than that. We have crappy roads in NC.

Originally Posted by ryannel2003

My FCA and Bushings are Meyle HD with less than 7k miles on them, and the engine and transmission mounts are brand new as well. I'm going to replace the RTAB after I install the struts/shocks and then have an alignment at BMW. I'll probably keep it on the stock springs though, unless it has the 4x4 look like UDM's 330i. I would probably stick with the OEM Sport Springs as I'm nervous to lower the car any more than that. We have crappy roads in NC.

The 4 by 4 part was nice. Thanks, that makes me feel better, lolZ z

Originally Posted by UDM-E46 Enthusiast

The 4 by 4 part was nice. Thanks, that makes me feel better, lolZ z

Haha sorry man. It's really not a 4x4 look, it's just higher than a normal E46. To be honest... it looks like an AWD E46.