Bump stop use with Koni's?

[bubba966]

Ok, with all of the current talk of bump stop use I thought I'd ask this question.

Just got a set of Koni's for the front of a friend's '95 525iT of off BFC. We're not changing the springs on her car, just installing the Koni's as they were a good enough deal that it would've cost just as much to get a pair of Boge inserts. And really, who'd run Boge when you can run Koni's at the same price.

Anyways, do Koni's need bump stops? Full length factory ones or shortened ones? Remember, I'll be reusing the factory springs so I'd imagine I'd not need to run short stops if I need them at all.

[gale]

If you check Dinan's site, you'll see bump stops in the picture of their Koni's so I say use them. I put Koni's in mine with M-tech springs and re-used the old bump stops with about 1/3 to 1/2 cut off.

[632 Regal]

Check out the X5 bumpstops, about 1.25 inch shorter and no cutting involved.

[BigKriss]

i used some after market items ,, they are about 1.5 inches on thbe front shocks

[Tiger]

Factory height don't need cutting but I'd cut 1" off... due to settling of old spring.

[bubba966]

Check out the X5 bumpstops, about 1.25 inch shorter and no cutting involved.

Cool, what years should I be looking at? I6, or V8?

[bubba966]

Anyone have further input as to which X5 stops I should use?

[Rick L]

I used E46 M3 bump stop. It's about half the height of the stock e34 bump stop. I running Eibach springs and Koni Sports.

[bubba966]

I used E46 M3 bump stop. It's about half the height of the stock e34 bump stop. I running Eibach springs and Koni Sports.

Good to know that those work as well. Did you use the regular E34 parts for the dust boots, mounts, etc?

[Rick L]

Dust boot didn't quite fit. E46 bump stop was very slightly wider and the notch were it holds the boot was different. But I made it fit with little bit of force... ;)


Good to know that those work as well. Did you use the regular E34 parts for the dust boots, mounts, etc?

[CharlesAFerg]

I have the sachs sport kit on my car, and I forget what bump stops I used, but I didn't modify anything and it didn't lower as much as I would have liked. I'm still poppin' a little bit of a wheelie.

[bubba966]

I used E46 M3 bump stop. It's about half the height of the stock e34 bump stop. I running Eibach springs and Koni Sports.

Just ordered the E46 M3 stops along with new spring pads & all of the other stuff that I'll need to do a front suspension rebuild from Tischer. Should be quite nice when I'm done.

Can't wait to do the same on my M-Sport. Someday when I've got a few grand I can do that as well...

[CharlesAFerg]

Just ordered the E46 M3 stops along with new spring pads & all of the other stuff that I'll need to do a front suspension rebuild from Tischer. Should be quite nice when I'm done.

Can't wait to do the same on my M-Sport. Someday when I've got a few grand I can do that as well...

List of parts? I'm curious.

[Rick L]

Let us know how they all works out.

I order all BMW oem stuff from Tischer. Great price and good guys...


Just ordered the E46 M3 stops along with new spring pads & all of the other stuff that I'll need to do a front suspension rebuild from Tischer. Should be quite nice when I'm done.

Can't wait to do the same on my M-Sport. Someday when I've got a few grand I can do that as well...

[CharlesAFerg]

The reason I ask, is because I redid my suspension almost two years ago, and it didn't drop as far as I'd like using the stock bump stops. Could you give me an idea of how much work I would have to do to replace the ones I've got in? Also, the specific parts needed, including the bump stops.

[bubba966]

List of parts? I'm curious.

Parts ordered were E46 M3 bump stops, 3mm upper spring pads, and then parts 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, & 12 in this diagram

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=HJ63&mospid=47414&btnr=31_0128&hg=31&fg=10

Didn't order new mounts as the ones on the car look great. And that's a diagram for a touring, so it's got slightly different stuff than a sedan has.


Let us know how they all works out.

I order all BMW oem stuff from Tischer. Great price and good guys...

Yup, love the pricing & service from them. Haven't been able to find better. Wished I would've known about them when I first got my M-Sport 3 1/2 years ago.

Would've saved me the hassle in not dealing with Pacific BMW. But I think Pacific was having such terrible problems with their mail order service that they no longer do it. Not surprising since it seemed that my dealing with them as terrible as it was was not out of the ordinary at all for them.

Usually look to Tischer & Pelican first. Pelican doesn't always have the best pricing, but when I don't need BMW branding and it's cheaper to order it from them rather than Tischer I usually do. Have had great service with them as well. And the one time I did have an issue I called up the owner and not only did he make sure it was taken care of, but he was a bit proud to tell me that the employee that wasn't up to par (causing my issue) was no longer with the company. So while sometimes I'm able to get things a slight bit cheaper than Pelican I'll still go with Pelican due to the service.

[CharlesAFerg]

Referring to my question above, does anybody have sedan-specific information to give me a little bit stiffer/possibly lower ride with my sachs sport kit? Also, time and mechanical requirements? Will it take long? Do I have to disassemble pretty much everything?

[bubba966]

This will give you stiffer & lower in the front.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1507363

3mm upper spring pads will help as well (instead of the 9mm spring pads you probably have in there now).

Would get new dust boots & bump stops as well. Don't want the bump stops to deteriorate and destroy the shock seals. Old bump stops were found to be the cause of EDC rebuilds to fail after a thousand or two's worth of miles since the bump stops were falling apart and ruining the upper seal on the shock. $20 for new bump stops is better than a few hundred for new strut inserts.

You'd have to pull the strut assembly out, pop the strut mount off & swap the springs them reassemble. You'd change the bump stop, dust boot, & upper spring pad when you had the spring off.

You'd need a strut spring compressor and the basic hand tools requires to pull the strut assembly out and apart.

Should take a couple of hours per side.

[632 Regal]

late reply.

Go with the X5 boots, I think they are shorter and don't get jammed on lowered front ends.

Don't remember what x5 i picked from so I don't have the part number handy. Did a lot of research into it at the time as the shorter M5 stops are like triple stockers cost and cutting the stock ones fail after a short while. The x5 stops cost same or less than stock E34 stops.

Good luck with this!

[Rick L]

Yep, Pelican has a great service. And fast shipping too (always shipped on same day). Recently purchased Motive bleeder through them and that thing works great! :)


Usually look to Tischer & Pelican first. Pelican doesn't always have the best pricing, but when I don't need BMW branding and it's cheaper to order it from them rather than Tischer I usually do. Have had great service with them as well. And the one time I did have an issue I called up the owner and not only did he make sure it was taken care of, but he was a bit proud to tell me that the employee that wasn't up to par (causing my issue) was no longer with the company. So while sometimes I'm able to get things a slight bit cheaper than Pelican I'll still go with Pelican due to the service.