complete suspension overhaul

[yng_750 247]

So i have an e39 540i that need a little suspension work doing.

Front control arm bushing are soft which is causing a brake shimmy.

Also notice that there is alot of toe in on the rear wheels and it had a wheel alignment 18 months ago.

So im looking at this

ebay

Firstly is this worth it or are they going to be crap quality. ive bought single items similar before and found them to be as good as oem.

Finally is it worth doing subframe and diff bushings or are these not a hugely wearable item.

[mynbmr 225]

Done the whole front today e34 530 with an kit from ebay $535.00 deliverd,seems ok.

[Eagle 1680]

They probably last half as long as oem but if you not going to keep the car for forever you do save a lot of money.

Ive yet to replace a diff bushing on all the E34's ive owned. Ive only had to do subframe bushes once and wouldn't touch them if they're fine(assuming its a daily driver).

[allan 295]

Hi Jason,

Tread carefully have been through this when I overhauled the front, rear suspension on the 530i. Make sure of the quality of the items warranty returns etc.Pay a little extra for a good known brand with peace of mind and it's not going to stuff out after 12 months and the warranty ran out the day before.

[Michael. 2313]

General consensus is that those ebay kits wear out prematurely so it's more expensive in the long run. I looked into it for my 5 Series a while ago, it seems tempting but word on the net says no no.

Try get OEM only where applicable ex Germany, I see now some 'OEM' parts are ex China from Generic manufacturers too.

[yng_750 247]

Probably not going to keep the car long term, maybe another year.

I realise that OEM quality is better but even on pelican parts the same list of parts tops $2300 excluding freight.

I might investigate warrenty and reviews but it was always going to be. this Vs nothing Vs a couple of bushs done only.

Either way will wait for the e34 to sell before going any further.

[allan 295]

Hi even if you are only going to keep the car for a year. Do the job once and properly plus take pride in that you did the job and that the car is in good shape then sell it with a clear conscience. It is a lot of money yes but to have that nagging thought should I have, could I have would drive me nuts! how about you?. my 2 cents

[Eagle 1680]

I gotta with Jason and say its better to have new bushings(even if they quality isn't as oem) than sell a car old bushings which probably wont last as long anyway

I myself wouldn't care if lesser quality was used in this case, it would still be far better than your average NZ'er who would only replace something because it failed a wof. Burning my hard earned money for feel good factor would make me wonder wtf i was thinking, as from my experience of selling cars the odds are no one would truly appreciate it or give a toss.

[yng_750 247]

yea the main reason i want to do them is i know the alignment changes quite abit under power and braking.

$500 is worth it to save the $1000 of tyres i just put on it.

Ive never been overly impressed by the handling of this car as it always felt to understeer orientated and wallowey, also very little steering feel when cornering hard, though i attribute much of that to poor bush performance

[yng_750 247]

yes obviously the person looking at overhauling the entire suspension is in it for a brand name,

and yes i could go OEM. but if i was willing to waste thousands of dollars doing buying overpriced sh*t i would have bought a more expensive bmw.

I know OEM is (sometimes) better but would i rather buy an aftermarket suspension part for $30 per arm and risk possibly doing it twice in a few years time or just go out and pay $350 per arm from the dealership. seems like a no brainer.

Do you know what tyres i bought? no, so dont comment.

Do you know what i can and do for my car? obviously not, so dont comment.

I have replaced all the cooling system parts, CCV valve, wheel bearings, headlights, window regulators, rocker cover gaskets, coils, Cam position sensor etc etc

All stunning examples of how OEM is top quality as you say.

So please re read the original post and if you dont have constructive feedback please keep your honda forum comments to yourself.

[allan 295]

Pop corn please

[Michael. 2313]

To be honest I think Ron has been pretty fair with his comments here.

[cliffdunedin 8]

OE parts or better always , none of this after market rubbish, but then I don't buy those nasty import cars with 40% local content either.

If you want a BMW pay for it, If you want a badge go to a fashion shop, or buy an import.

A grand for tyres on a 540 they must be nasty sh*t things

And don't complain about the handling when you appear to be too lazy and complacent to undertake basic maintenance with decent parts or fit decent tyres.

Nothing positive or helpful in this post AT ALL!!

The dude's asking for some help and like usual you pipe up with your 'holier than thou' over opinionated attitude.

Why not actually contribute to the guys dilemma without being an uber snob, stating things surely must be sh*t if the ONLY cost 1K or calling someone lazy and complacent... not everyone can be the BMW superhero you make yourself out to be!!

[39KiwiTouring 2]

Reckon grand for tyres never spent that much in my life.

[Eagle 1680]

If hes running 18's then even an average reputable tyre is probably going to cost about 250-350 with higher end ones being $400+. I dont think ive ever spent less than $900 on tyres for all sorts of bmws.

[antil33t 90]

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/c-13-bmw-suspension.aspx

(entire rear kit is $499 USD)

I have no idea how many parts an E39 has but when I looked at kits for redoing my E34, it was going to cost something like 1200 USD For Lemforder.

Then again, Shipping.

Have you had a look on here? General consensus of other BMW forums that Lemforder is the way to go for replacement parts.

The Tyres on my 525i would cost about $300 each. But not staggered.

Maybe I should ask 3pedals if he likes how insurance companies claim that glass manufactured in China is the exact same thing as OEM glass made in Italy.

[BreakMyWindow 1878]

I've heard that some Lemfoder parts are manufactured in China. I'm pretty sure this is the case, as the parts vs original BMW ones are much cheaper through ECS tuning.

[antil33t 90]

I had a suspicion that insurance, and glazing companies are getting kickbacks at our expense. I still haven't got a replacement. It's been over a month now. Because one particular insurance assessor is clearly blind.