Shock & bush life expectancy

Robin · Post by **Robin** » Sun 23 Aug, 2009 08:58

I'm finding that my car seems to wallow at the rear end leaving bends more than it used to.
I'm guessing that at 68k miles the shocks may need renewing.
Are OEM ones OK or are there better ones available ?
Has anyone else found a noticeable improvement in handling when replacing shocks after this sort of mileage ?

How about bushes.
Do ///M's have the rubber bush issue or are they nylon to start with ?
What is there life expectancy of bushes in terms of miles?
cheers

Robin · Post by **Robin** » Mon 31 Aug, 2009 08:39

Deano1712 · Post by **Deano1712** » Mon 31 Aug, 2009 10:18

I changed the shocks, springs and all bushes at 65k miles and the old shocks were pretty much knackered. There was no pressure in the rears at all. After fitting new the ride is much better but the real noticeable difference is grip. There feels to be 50% more lateral grip. I would say that its well worth going for. I'm more than happy with the standard setup but I suppose you have a choice of going for a stiffer setup, if your fillings are up to it

Regarding bushes I saw no problems with any of the old bushes so dont see evidence of degradation there. The standard subframe bushes are soft and are worth changing to solid (Ireland engineering). My rear diff mount looked a bit soft on my car so I simply filled the cavities up with silicone rubber. You could try that with the front subframe mounts too, or buy or make plastic inserts which do the same job. Stiffening up the rear subframe is the best thing you can do after fitted a front brace IMO.

Robin · Post by **Robin** » Mon 31 Aug, 2009 11:07

Deano thanks for that info. Much appreciated.
I have Southampton roads to contend with & it's not a track car so for the sake of my fillings I'll stay with standard stiffness. Did you fit OEM or non OEM shocks & did you fit them yourself. If so was it a fairly easy job ?
I'll also take a look at the bushes.

Ian_C · Post by **Ian_C** » Mon 31 Aug, 2009 11:31

Robin wrote:Did you fit OEM or non OEM shocks

IIRC Mark fitted standard S54 suspension

c_w · Post by **c_w** » Mon 31 Aug, 2009 18:51

Bilstein Sportline dampers would be a good upgrade, not too stiff but much better dampers than OEM and will work the factory springs.

Deano1712 · Post by **Deano1712** » Mon 31 Aug, 2009 22:04

Robin wrote:Deano thanks for that info. Much appreciated.
I have Southampton roads to contend with & it's not a track car so for the sake of my fillings I'll stay with standard stiffness. Did you fit OEM or non OEM shocks & did you fit them yourself. If so was it a fairly easy job ?
I'll also take a look at the bushes.

I have OEM as Ian stated and fitting is easy. Rears are easy and front a bit more difficult. I sense on mine that it was the rear shocks that needed changing. If you get near Leeds I will change em for ya

Robin · Post by **Robin** » Tue 01 Sep, 2009 06:57

Deano1712 wrote:If you get near Leeds I will change em for ya

A little too away far but thanks anyway

Mine also seems like the problem is at the rear of the car.
By 'standard set up' I wasn't sure whether you'd meant standard complaince shocks & springs, but not necessarily with 'BMW' stamped on them. They don't make shocks as far as I'm aware. They buy them in & badge them then raise the price no doubt. Anyway you clarified that thanks.

I think I may go for the Bilstein Sportline dampers you mention C-W.
Not sure about springs. Do springs fatigue & become softer ?

henrycrun · Post by **henrycrun** » Tue 01 Sep, 2009 08:01

No, but its wise to periodically check for spring snappage

Mike123 · Post by **Mike123** » Wed 02 Sep, 2009 07:51

I've recently changed to Bilstein B6 (www.bilsteintuning.com £110 each) and Rogue Top Mounts (www.evo-s.co.uk £95) keeping the original springs.
The ride is more compliant, the handling excellent - a noticable improvement especially on bumpy corners - and no more clunks from the broken mount.
The B8s with lower springs will give greater stiffness, and make the car look sexier, but probably make the every day ride difficult to live with, and may even damage the handling on all but a smooth track.
I'm really pleased - great value for money!

Robin · Post by **Robin** » Wed 02 Sep, 2009 10:29

Thanks Mike & C-W. Helped make my mind up. That's a good price too. I've ordered a set of rear B6's from them.

John Boy · Post by **John Boy** » Wed 02 Sep, 2009 11:18

Deano1712 wrote:...the old shocks were pretty much knackered. There was no pressure in the rears at all.

Thats interesting Deano, just wondering if can you elaborate?

What sort of/how much pressure is to be expected?
What would be 'No pressure'? ie easily compressed by hand.
Do shocks return to a neutral position naturally or do they rely on the Spring to force them back?

Cheers, JB

Deano1712 · Post by **Deano1712** » Wed 02 Sep, 2009 11:54

The old shocks could easily be compressed by hand, and would stay compressed. The new ones had some pressure in them and were extended and would return to the extended length after being compressed.

John Boy · Post by **John Boy** » Wed 02 Sep, 2009 11:58

Deano, that's exactly the information I was after.

Thanks.

JB

topfuelking · Post by **topfuelking** » Wed 02 Sep, 2009 13:29

they good for about 50,000 miles thats all

Robin · Post by **Robin** » Wed 02 Sep, 2009 18:23

Mine are 18k overdue & it shows, yet the car sailed through the MOT only a couple of months back

Robin · Post by **Robin** » Thu 10 Sep, 2009 11:04

Replaced rear shocks with Bilstein B6's yesterday. Rear is now much more planted with better grip etc. Hadn't realised how bad the old ones were as they fail gradually & I'd just got used to the situation. I'd assumed it was due to slightly quirky zed characteristics. With them off they just squelched if I compressed them. I think half the oil was gone.
Worth checking them at 50 or 60k miles because as I say they don't always get picked up on MOT !
Thanks again to Mike, C_W & Deano.

c_w · Post by **c_w** » Thu 10 Sep, 2009 13:37

Shock life varies greatly, some will last the lifetime of a car and only lose a small "percentage" of their peformance in that time, but others just fail in a shorter space of time like 50k. Might depend on where and how it's driven I suppose. Both my rear dampers were quite weak so they are probably a common failing damper though.

zroadster.net

Shock & bush life expectancy

Shock & bush life expectancy

Rear Shocks