mmitev

colb666, just fyi - in my understanding Otto Motor is the opposite to Diesel Motor, i.e. with this they mean the 6-cyl. gasoline engines, which have roughly the weight of the 4-cyl. diesel engines.

in other words, if that's true, the springs be for the 4-cyl. diesels. They will definitely a 6-cyl. diesel car as well, but as it is heavier, the car will sit a touch lower and might bottom-out a touch easier.

of course, if your previous set was the same and you drove it on a 6-cyl. diesel car without problems, that will mean there should be no worries in this case as well.

your experience would be interesting for me to know as well, as I've played with the thought of achieving a bit further lowering through an Eibach set meant for 4-cyl. diesels..

colb666

On my last E61 with this set up the handling was greatly improved over standard and rode better which was a bonus.I also found out that if I ran 19" wheels once this set up was fitted it reduced the tramlining effect I'd got prior with 19" wheels.

mmitev

I take it then you used the exact same springs on the last car.
Did you measure what was the lowering, or at least any estimate?

I just had my Eibach Pro-Kit springs fitted last week, instead of my "sport settings" OEM springs. So far:
+ comfort has improved a touch (or two!); comfort is surprisingly high for aftermarket springs
+ handling has improved in the city (no B-road or high speed driving yet)
- disappointing: I expected a 10-15 mm lowering, but there was NONE I hope they will settle a bit over a month or two, but it won't be satisfactory. Its good that the lowering was not a high priority for me. But if this can be improved with the Eibach set for the lighter engines, then this might be the perfect solution.

colb666

TBH I've found most of the quality brands of aftermarket suspension have been better in the comfort stakes than the OEM,I have used Eibach in the past but,the Sportline kit's are the only ones I've found to actually give much difference in lowering the car.

On my last E61 with the same kit fitted it gave me a drop on the suspension of around 30-35mm over standard which suited me perfectly as it didn't make the car silly low that it didn't go over speed bumps etc.The other bonus is with the adjustable rear links I could determine the height I wanted very easily which took minutes to do and I could set it so it looked exactly the same front and rear.

1Animal1

Sorry chaps, haven't been on here in a while....

Col, did you fit the previous springs to SE shocks?

Also once the shocks are off, how easy is it to change the springs, obviously using a spring compressor

mmitev

30-35 mm vs. stock sounds perfect! this is also what it says on the Pro-Kit tin

how exactly are these adjustable links being adjusted? I have the ones from our friend in Norway, but I have to take off one rear wheel at a time to adjust them?

colb666

Both my 61's have been SE's with standard oem shocks,the links the Norwegian makes are exactly the same as ones provided from KW and other aftermarket manufacturers with little adjustable nuts on the links to shorten the bar between the small ball joints.

Once the shocks are off the car it's a simple straightforward job to clamp the spring and remove the top mount and change over the spring. All in about one and a half hours to change out both spring on the front and about an hour to fit the adjustable links on the rear.

Once the cars on the ground again ensure it's on level ground and measure the distance from the rear arches to the ground then jack up the car,remove the rear wheels one at a time and adjust the links to give you the same height on each of the rears.

It's a simple enough job which can be done easily with basic tools and basic mechanical knowledge.

1Animal1

You have a PM Col....

I can't wait to get this sorted, due to my compressor being on its way out, I've lowered the rear using INPA (currently no dash warnings) - So the car at the minute looks like i've got 4 dead bodies in the back! whilst the front looks like i'm going hill climbing!

The plan is to get the front springs on, have it tracked , that'll hopefully make the handling liveable - then i'm going to try and eek out my MPG problems (halfway there)- fit my M sports bumpers (need spraying) and then a new compressor.

Small BMW project has turned into a BIG project (always the way)

1Animal1

update : ok a little late

I fitted these springs to my SE shocks and was left with an ultra low 535D! so eventually bought a decent pair of sports complete with original springs for the front.... a tad higher than i would like, but it handles like a dream with decent comfort too...

I programmed the rear about 15mm higher, so as not to look too daft....