Bavarian Auto Springs and Bilsten HD's??

[an535i]

I've searched to no avail, and the bmwe34.net site doesn't cover this setup. I have a 1990 535iA and I don't know which struts to get, but it would be nice to have the bilstein lifetime warranty... Will the bilstein hd's and bav auto springs work together?

Why are bavarian auto springs so cheap? Any problems with them sagging?

thanks in advance

[bahnstormer]

bil springs are crap.
do not buy them for any reason.
that being said get bil hd's and a set
of eibach lowering springs
it'll work better, be comfy, and look good.

[mholbrook]

I had a 530 with BavAuto springs and Bilstein Sports all around. I finally changed the front struts to Koni and it was fine after that. The Bav Auto Springs are fairly soft. Eibach is a better choice. I recommend using Koni in the front at a minimum if not all the way around.

For what its worth, the HD shocks are for stock length springs. The sports are for short springs. Still the sports will bottom out without having the bumpstops trimmed and for the life of me I can't figure out why Bilstein does not fix this at the factory. It is pretty widely acknowledged that this is a fault.

My current 535 has Eibach / Koni and it is very, very nice and has adjustability. You should seriously look into the Sachs sporting kit available from BMA and others. It works and is engineered for the E34. Comes with special Eibach springs and Sachs gas sport shocks.

[AZ_Jason_S]

Bavauto springs get the job done cheap. They give your car a good stance. But they are soft and if you have alot of potholes, you will bottom out. Also, they don't add any cornering stability because they are so soft. That said, they don't ride harsh either. Alot of people think they are crap, I have them paired with new Boges and I don't hate them. But I didn't want a harsh ride either. I mean, I have a 525, it aint gonna beat noone at nuthin except style.

[aeldk5g]

bil springs are crap.
do not buy them for any reason.
that being said get bil hd's and a set
of eibach lowering springs
it'll work better, be comfy, and look good.

Since you are running the Sach's Kit, do you recommend the Bil/Eibach setup over the Sachs?

[kngpen]

I have a pair of sachs kit performance front struts (from a sachs kit). One is brand new and the other has 5000 miles on it. They retail for $179 each from BMA and I would sell both of them together too you for $125 shipped. You could use those with the eibach lowering springs and get 2 rear struts and have yourself a nice kit with a decent saved amount of money.

[Craig]

No no no no no no. The previous owner of my car put this combo on the car and IT DOES NOT WORK. The car bottoms out constantly and it's really really irritating. If you get the Bav Auto springs get the Sports.

I'll be replacing both this winter/spring.

[JR'Z 525]

My Bil Sports and Bav Auto springs are a big improvement over the stock setup. My car corners with much less body roll with this setup. The only time I encounter bottom out is when I fail to slow down for RR crossings and bad road irregularities. I suspect the Sachs kit is the best way to go based on the board members who have tried several combinations before buying the Sachs kit but I'm quite satisfied with the BA/Bil Sport setup I'm currently using. I guess a lot depends on what one wants from the suspension.
John R :D

[632 Regal]

theres not many people brave enough to admit that it bottoms out too...LOL

[AZ_Jason_S]

When I **** up and hit something I shouldn't. That only happens about once every 2 or 3 months. But my roads don't suck. And, I cut the bump stops in half on all four corners



No no no no no no. The previous owner of my car put this combo on the car and IT DOES NOT WORK. The car bottoms out constantly and it's really really irritating. If you get the Bav Auto springs get the Sports.

I'll be replacing both this winter/spring.

[Craig]

The HDs are not meant to be used with lowered cars, this is not my opinion this is how Bilstein built them. You may not bottom out with yours, good for you, but that doesn't change the fact that HDs are the wrong shocks to be used with lowering springs.

[kngpen]

Get my struts and you wont have a problem with the front bottoming out.

[billy in slo]

I too have the BA/sport setup and am happy with it. It all depends on what you want. They are soft, you basically get about the same ride as stock but with improved look for a reasonable price.

[cary]

I did a lot of research on this before changing the shocks on my wife's 525i and here is what I found:

1) The problem with the bilsteins is that the stops need to be removed. They have an internal stop and apparently shouldn't use the external stop. My mechanic (who is a fabulous fabricator) swears they work great on customer cars when the stops are removed and they have had no complaints (they do not use the Boge's because they wear out again after a short time).

2) Most of the aftermarket springs lower the e34 to much, which has limited travel. The only two that do not are 1) the M-Tech Factory springs that were part of the M-tech package in Europe and are about .75" lower and slightly firmer than stock, and 2) The Dinan springs which also lower about .75" and have a firmer rear rate to help remove some of the inherent understeer in the e34.

3) Koni's work absolutely wonderfully in the e34 application.

In the end, I decide to put in Koni's with the stock springs. I was going to get the Dinan springs, but they were complete pricks on the phone and gave me a bunch of BS that they could only comment on how they would work with Dinian's "custom" valved shocks. The Koni's ride wonderfully and improve the handling by removing all float from the car. They have adjustable rebound, the front being adjusted from the top and the rears requiring the shock be removed to adjust. I set both at full soft and in hindsight wish I had set the rears one click up from full soft to help lessen the understeer the car has. I can get it to rotate by late braking but it still pushes more than I like.

Cary

[Craig]

I too have the BA/sport setup and am happy with it. It all depends on what you want. They are soft, you basically get about the same ride as stock but with improved look for a reasonable price.

Yup, that's the right shock to use.