windnsea

The Bilsteins that I put on the back of my 530xi Touring work fantastically! They are definitely about 25% more firm than the stock BMW rear shocks that I took off. The BMW rear shocks which go with the air bag springs are gas shocks, but are compressible quite easily compared to the new Bilsteins. Hence, they provide a few more pounds of rear lift, which is dealt with by them and not the rear air bag springs during normal jounce and rebound operations. The car really feels quite capable now of throwing itself around corners more aggressively than before; not like my E34 M5 can, but better than my '71 E3 Alpina!


I shopped on Ebay for quite a while until I found them at a steal of a price. $31 each for the rear shocks (including shipping) and $100 each for the front struts (including shipping).


I also added 1/2 inch hubcentric wheel spacers to the back to add an inch of track to the rear of the car. The stance is great, and putting the tires out another 1/2 inch takes a few % of the increased stiffness out of the rear (new) shocks!

ggal625

windnsea,

What Bilstein part #'s did you put front and back?

According to realoem.com the rear shocks are BMW part # 33526786525.
fcpeuro.com has these BMW shocks for $205.
According to findpart.org the rear BMW shock is equivalent to Bilstein 19-230894.
shockwarehouse has that Bilstein shocks for $105.
shockwarehouse also has Bilstein Touring struts for the front for $108 each.

Part numbers are 22-230867 (left) and 22-230874 (right) according to bilsteinus.com.
I can find several references to folks in UK running the touring shocks that are happy with them. I'm not looking to lower the case. I just want to restore the original ride condition. My front struts are leaking at 93k miles.

downszs

I did both and have had them on for about a year. Purchased from Turner Motor Sport
Part # 35-141792 left front (1)
Part # 35-141808 right front (1)
Part # 24-120708 rear (2)
Went with H & R sport springs Part # 29146-2
Firm ride great handling. Good luck

norsecarnut

For anyone who doesn't know, those he posted above are all the "sport" versions requiring lower springs in the rear.

norsecarnut

Usually spacers are described in mm, not inches, did you get 20mm, 25 (1"), or 30mm ?

Any photos - and what width and offset wheel if you do?