Where would you recommend buying upgraded sway bars from?

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

I've been driving my daughters 535 a lot lately and the darn thing just has too much roll. If you all remember, my 535 has a completely upgraded and lowered suspension and drives like a race car (IMHO). So, after driving my car, the daughters car just seems so soft and rolly. Even my 740 takes turns better, although it does have Bilstein's at all 4 corners.

I have M5 sways on my 535. I don't think I'm really concerned about how thick of sway bars to install, as long as they are thicker than stock. So price prolly is more important than real thick sways. Should I just call BMA and ask what the stock M5 sways will run me? Does anyone know what they would run me?

Thanks all.

[George M]

Hi Ed,
My $0.02 is always put BMW parts on the car if the type of part you want is available. In this case it is....the M-sway bars are a very popular upgrade on many BMW's...even on E-32's both with big six and twelve. I would definitely opt for the M5 bars and not look back.
Say hello to our friends at BMA.
George

[gale]

Hi Ed, I 2nd George's response & you may find the M-Tech bars are cheaper than the aftermarket ones. Stiffer sways are THE best suspension mod you can spend money on in my opinion, & also the most benign as far as impacting ride comfort.

Also, what size/brand tire is she running? What I thought was body roll in my e32 turned out to be sidewall flex in the tires. When I went from the stock 225-60-15 Yokohama AVS db's to 225-50-16 Firestone SZ50's, it made a night & day difference. The latter is a bit small a diameter for mine (bought them used). I'll go with 225-55-16 front & 245-50-16 rear when I get new skins in the fall & that will put them within a tenth of an inch or less from the stock diameter.

[Patrick]

I paid about $300 for the M5t front, t Nurburgring rear sway, plus mounts and bushings from BMA. It 's a worthwhile upgrade over stock imo.
Gale has a good point re: tires. After I did my sways, Sachs kit, and camber plates the ride was stiff/harsh. I needed to replace the tires (on stock rims) and was dreading the ride if I went to 17's. I found a deal on a set of t-stars (already mounted with almost-new Yoko AVS Db's also) I couldn't pass up and was really surprised, and pleased, with the ride quality -it is much improved. The old tires (BF Goodrich TA's -shitty tires imo but that's what the po had mounted) must have been more trashed than I thought regarding sidewall and maybe even roundness.
Hth.

[bahnstormer]

sways actually impact your ride the most.
at least that's the impression i'm currently under =]
stiffer springs, less tire, harder shocks all make the ride
worse, but when u tie both your left and rear together
aren't u sending the shock to both side of the car?
thus 2x as much "hurt" / "roughness"?

so my point is stock car with springs/shocks
versus stock car with sways....the sways car
will ride harder than the former.

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

Bahnstormer, I think you are right, you're sending the shock to both sides, but you're also splitting the impact a bit. Instead of one wheel/spring/strut taking all the impact, the stiffer sway bar absorbs some of the impact and transfers it to the other side. IMHO it is a great mod and should not severely affect the ride quality.

Gale, she's got the stock wheels and tire sizes. I'm sure you're right, much of the roll is sidewall, but I'm not going to spend more on a new set of wheels for her. I think the sway bar upgrade will help enough for me to enjoy her car, yet retain some of the original ride quality so that she does not complain about how hard the ride is (as she does in my 535).

And yes, I'm about to call BMA and get the M5 sways, kewl, and thanks for all your help guys.

[bimmerd00d]

bruno is selling his RD sways for $250, not a bad deal if you ask me

[Robin-535im]

Should I just call BMA and ask what the stock M5 sways will run me? Does anyone know what they would run me?

Thanks all.


http://www.bimmernut.com/wwwboard/e34/messages/55617.html

About the same price as Bruno's... but the honor of having a part of Bruno's car... might be more important. :)

- Robin

[Bobby]

Came of a 535i

[DrewZ]

I've got this setup on my Touring, and love it. Dinan had the front bar on sale a while ago for $130 shipped with bushings. The M5T rear was about $110 shipped from Pacific BMW with bushings. Although the Dinan bar is the same thickness as the M-Tech bar, it's adjustable so you can fine tune the amount of oversteer you want (more for you, less for your daughter :)

My $.02
Drew Zacharda
6-speed Touring
http://members.aol.com/apzjd/newavatar.jpg (http://www.bmwe34.net/ASP/DURegistry/RegDetail.asp?id=100)


I've been driving my daughters 535 a lot lately and the darn thing just has too much roll. If you all remember, my 535 has a completely upgraded and lowered suspension and drives like a race car (IMHO). So, after driving my car, the daughters car just seems so soft and rolly. Even my 740 takes turns better, although it does have Bilstein's at all 4 corners.

I have M5 sways on my 535. I don't think I'm really concerned about how thick of sway bars to install, as long as they are thicker than stock. So price prolly is more important than real thick sways. Should I just call BMA and ask what the stock M5 sways will run me? Does anyone know what they would run me?

Thanks all.