Hi All,
Im now the proud owner of a 2008 e61 520d m sport with the 177 bhp engine
It's a huge step up from my 118d !
There's one niggle however - the suspension seems very hard and vehicle is uncomfortable
for rear passengers in the back on A roads and the like - also seems to wander a bit.
I appreciate it is sports suspension, but I've had Porsches and Audi s4s before and
never seemed to be as hard as this
I'm wondering if the runflats may be the problem
Any comments or advise would be very welcome

Also have a problem with rear wiper working when it feels like
Anyone know what the purple / red wire feeds - seems to be hanging loose out of the
hinge on the boot
Thanks
Steve

 

Comfort in the E61, especially the back, is a well-known problem. Funnily enough the worst offender seems to be the "Sports Settings" suspension, which is the middle level between stock and M-sport. However, as the air springs in the back of the "M-sport" and "sports settings" are identical, you have almost the same problem. You can do the following:

1. Runflats are a problem and you can replace the tyres with normal ones.
2. You can reduce the the size of the wheels and increase the height of the tyres. A matter of taste really, especially on an M-sport. But the comfort will definitely improve.
3. Replace the shocks with a) stock ones or b) aftermarket ones tuned for comfort - i.e. the Koni FSD which I have installed. They definitely improve comfort, although you will clearly not reach S-class level. Used stock shocks (salvage car) will be the cheapest option and at that price, if they last 2 years, they'll do the job (although they seem to be really robust).
4. Replace the air springs with stock ones. (not "sport settings" ones, as mentioned they are the same as yours). Ride height won't be a problem as it can be programmed to match the front anyways.

As replacing the springs is a major job, you can combine it with the replacement some tired parts that may cause that "wandering". People have replaced the four subframe mounts and the two ball joints on each side, and that seemed to improve the feel of the suspension.

Let us know whatever you do! I will be replacing springs and mounts/joints in a few months and am interested to hear your experience

 

Hi MMITEV,

Thanks very much for your help...certainly gives me food for thought !

I'm thinking I may start by changing the runflats to normal tyres. If that doesn't work
then I'll replace the shocks for standard ones...replacing the air springs seems a bit of a daunting job !

Thanks once again, and I'll let you know how I get on

Steve

 

We don't even get the adjustable suspension here, so stop bitching and consider yourself lucky!

 

Actually there?s nothing adjustable to it. ?Sports settings? means it?s a bit sportier than stock, but not sporty enough to be called ?M-sport?.

In reality its more like ?Sports illusion?- stiff springs and shocks combined with soft ARBs (all relative to stock and M-sport).

So while you drive in a straight line, your a** feels the smallest bumps and you think ?wow this is a sporty suspension?.. So you get excited, enter the next turn, the whole car leans massively, and you realize ?sh*t, they actually forgot to put the sport in it!?

 

That made me laugh. OK, so I'm not so jealous then.