E46 Mixing Shocks (front-rear)

Gaygle · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:12

Hi all,

Currently looking at getting some new front shocks for my 330i. Now, on the rear it has some 2 month old Sachs OEM shocks. I put these on before i realised i might need front shocks too.

Now my question is, i have seen some Koni STR.T shocks for the front and i was wondering if mixing the Sachs OEM rear shocks with the "uprated" Koni front shocks would create a problem? I'm only looking at the Koni ones because they are £20 more for a pair than the OEM Sachs ones!

They will be used with Eibach springs all round (again, because the Eibach's are nearly the same price as the OEM's and are higher quality than the OEM's.)

Cheers for any help

[TW]Fox · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:15

Why would you want to mix shocks? Just fit the correct ones all round.

Gaygle · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:20

[TW]Fox;17786649 said:
Why would you want to mix shocks? Just fit the correct ones all round.

Not reallllly what i asked, was it?

But to answer your question, because i don't want to bin the 2 month old rear Sachs shocks and if some kind of performance upgrade can be made with the front shocks for the same money as the OEM front Sachs shocks.

[TW]Fox · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:24

I assume the OEM ones you've fitted are the M Sport ones? I don't understand whats so wrong with those. You've already got two newish ones fitted to the rear, match up with the front, job done :confused:

Sin_Chase · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:29

There is no performance upgrade to be had mixing shocks.

Gaygle · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:29

There's nothing wrong with them at all, but the Koni ones are better. And i was just wondering if mixing them would create a problem since they are pretty much the same price.

If putting better shocks on the front makes the car better in the bends and gives no drawbacks - great! I'll go with that.

If putting better shocks on the front makes the car horrible to drive and i WILL end up in a ditch because of it - I'll just buy the OEM ones.

You must have had to replace shocks on yours by now - where did you go to get yours? What make/model were they?

[TW]Fox · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:30

I went for OEM ones - Sachs.

BMW M-Technik knew what they were doing when they set the suspension up on the Sport models. I'm not going to argue with their opinion of the best choice

Gaygle · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:31

Sin_Chase said:
There is no performance upgrade to be had mixing shocks.

Ok cool.

Just purely out of interest, why not? And is their drawbacks to having them different?

I want to keep the car as stock and OEM as possible, but when it's around £15 more for a pair of uprated shocks - i just had to ask.

Gaygle · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:35

[TW]Fox;17786778 said:
I went for OEM ones - Sachs.

BMW M-Technik knew what they were doing when they set the suspension up on the Sport models. I'm not going to argue with their opinion of the best choice

Ok, great.

Yeah i know, i'll just trust in the all powerful M-Technik knowing more than me....as preposterous as that may be.

Where abouts did you get your from? ECP stocked a whole host of shock absorbers 2 months ago when i got my rears and now they don't stock ANY.

Matt82 · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:35

this is gonna sound mad, but do you know what dampers do and if not, why are you trying to "upgrade" them. if you knew what their function was you wouldnt be asking!

[TW]Fox · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:38

Gaygle said:
Where abouts did you get your from? ECP stocked a whole host of shock absorbers 2 months ago when i got my rears and now they don't stock ANY.

I had to import them from a supplier in Europe. Nobody in the UK seemed to sell the correct dampers for M Sport II fitted E39's.

TomO · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:38

mixing dampers well more than likely mess up the handling.

Sin_Chase · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:39

Gaygle said:
Ok cool.

Just purely out of interest, why not? And is their drawbacks to having them different?

I want to keep the car as stock and OEM as possible, but when it's around £15 more for a pair of uprated shocks - i just had to ask.

OEM is matched to the rest of your OEM chassis and suspension components. There is no point uprating these parts unless you are doing it properly, getting a supporting geometry setup for the settings you have chosen for want you want to achieve. You will be miles off even attempting this with mixed shocks and doing all 4 "just 'cus" would be a questionable endeavour.

No such thing as a "bolt on" upgrade in this area really. Not a fire and forget kind of thing.

I would consider changing out parts on my S2000 as part of a lower (Not just springs) and a full geometry/setup with a hope of stiffening up some other parts of the car and trying not to make the ride too crashy or harsh.

Gaygle · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:40

Matt82 said:
this is gonna sound mad, but do you know what dampers do and if not, why are you trying to "upgrade" them. if you knew what their function was you wouldnt be asking!

I'm not claiming to be a shock absorber guru or anything, but i thought "uprated" shocks could offer less body roll and better feeling and stability in long high speed corners?

Sin_Chase · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:41

Define "uprated".

Better construction? I think you are confusing the ability to change various settings on or buy at a certain setting after-market units.

Better construction does not transpire to better handling and feel.

Gaygle · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:45

[TW]Fox;17786848 said:
I had to import them from a supplier in Europe. Nobody in the UK seemed to sell the correct dampers for M Sport II fitted E39's.

Oh right :/

The Sachs ones i got on my rears were listed as for "M-Technik" suspension and were "Sach's Super Touring" - which i am fairly certain were OEM parts.

Did you experience any improvement after you got the shocks done?

Sin_Chase said:
OEM is matched to the rest of your OEM chassis and suspension components. There is no point uprating these parts unless you are doing it properly, getting a supporting geometry setup for the settings you have chosen for want you want to achieve. You will be miles off even attempting this with mixed shocks and doing all 4 "just 'cus" would be a questionable endeavour.

No such thing as a "bolt on" upgrade in this area really. Not a fire and forget kind of thing.

I would consider changing out parts on my S2000 as part of a lower (Not just springs) and a full geometry/setup with a hope of stiffening up some other parts of the car and trying not to make the ride too crashy or harsh.

Ok - thanks for the info!

Gaygle · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:50

Sin_Chase said:
Define "uprated".

Better construction? I think you are confusing the ability to change various settings on or buy at a certain setting after-market units.

Better construction does not transpire to better handling and feel.

Uprated being, for lack of a better word, "sporty"? Ie. the Sach's Supertouring's are listed as being for a more comfortable ride, whereas the "uprated" Sachs' shocks (Sachs Advantage) are listed being set up to deliver a more "sporty" ride/performance.

[TW]Fox · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:52

Mine are Sachs Advantage not Sachs Super Touring.

The Sachs Super Touring range is aimed at drivers who like to do their daily driving without problems and their holiday driving with ease - thus expecting high safety and comfort. In city traffic, on country roads and on the highway. For almost all vehicles.

Sachs Advantage is the alternative for the highest demands in all driving situations. Individually adapted to each vehicle for that decisive plus in handling and driving stability. Advantage combines sportiness with comfort.

In the Advantage series, you will only find single and twin tube gas pressure shock absorbers. Special techniques are employed wherever they can lead to a noticeable improvement to driving performance.

Sin_Chase · 14 Nov 2010 at 14:56

Gaygle said:
Uprated being, for lack of a better word, "sporty"? Ie. the Sach's Supertouring's are listed as being for a more comfortable ride, whereas the "uprated" Sachs' shocks (Sachs Advantage) are listed being set up to deliver a more "sporty" ride/performance.

Indeed, and they were developed for the car no doubt.

TomO · 14 Nov 2010 at 15:09

irrelevant of that having different shocks on front and rear could be pretty terrible. A while back I replaced the suspension on my Audi coupe with a mate and we only got the rears done one evening as we had delays and I drove to work the next day with standard fronts and uprated rears and the car understeered massively!