Hello All,
I have started to feel some harshness in the ride, mostly at lower speeds. My 2006 525i has 92,000 highway miles on her. I am getting unreal mileage on my Bridgestone Turanza tires (almost 50,000 with lots to spare). I had a local independent shop check out the suspension and no signs of wear.

The car is in great shape, and while I definitely log a ton of miles, I'd like to regain that new-car BMW ride. I first thought the tires were contributing to the harshness but there is a lot of tread remaining. The shop foreman said that the struts may have a little play that could account for some jitter. However there was no outer sign of any issues, bushings all intact etc.

I don't want to spend for new struts if it is not going to restore the ride, and while it's not life or death, it would be nice if my 2nd 100,000 miles was as comfortable as the first.

Suggestions for determining the root cause of increased harsheness? Ideas and advice on suspension wear and my expectation?

Thanks for your help.

Mark

 

Tire rubber hardens over time - this could be contributing... if your 2006 is like mine, it could be 3 full years old now - and tires that old generally aren't still soft and pliable.

 

That's my opinion. Even if you have tread left, after 50k it's time for new tires IMO.

 

I doubt this, three years for the tires isn't that much.
But it might the the lack of tread.
Renew your tires when the tread is less than 4 mm.

(The Idrive in my car calls the tires "tyre"!?)

Over here the harshness in spring is because of the winter.
The roads are rougher do to winter wear and cars that use spike tires.

Also winter tires (spike less) are made of much softer rubber compound than the summer tires,
i.e. my car runs with winter Nokian's much, much more quieter that with the summer GY's.

 

Thanks for the ideas, the tires are about 18 months old, again with almost 50,000 miles. Sounds like all of the thoughts are around tires and not wear on the struts or other components. I have noticed at different times, such as the other night I entered a very rough parking area, the front week dropped substantially and a mild "clunk" ensued. Not sure if this is also due to general wear-tear at 93,000 miles. So, it seems the opinions are mixed, with 2:1 saying the tires have hardened after 50,000 and are likely responsible for the harsher ride, which is more noticeable at slow speeds...

Any further comments?