E46 Suspension

I'm with The Count on this one.

My point is that if the 'rest' of the ride matched the harshness of the suspension then fair enough - you would accept that it's a sports car suspension. 

The thing is though - it doesn't - IMHO there's far too much roll into corners (if the suspension has to be so damn hard then I want it to corner flat), the steering rack is too slow (2001 spec before the 'quicker' rack) - I often have to turn the wheel far more than I expect to when cornering around town (yes the tyre pressures are OK) and there isn't enough 'feel' from the steering (yes I too once owned an XR3i - I admit it, sorry - but it had more feel through the wheel even with the terrible torque steer that it suffered from).  I too have had race day training (although you soon forget what you're taught....)

Having 'hard' suspension isn't always the 'quickest' set up for a car (tyre not being in contact with surfact for the most amount of time, etc).

As ever in life it's a question of compromises and I reckon that the M-Tech suspension is a better setup for smooth Germanic autobahns or long straight Amercian drags rather than the Dick Turpin-esque tracks that are maintained by yer average local council.  I just happen to think that the 'compromise' made by BMW in this instance is slightly out.  Let's not forget - these cars are meant for 30+ somethings (like meself) with a couple of bob to spend (unlike meself) who are passed the STI or EVO7 stage of life but not quite ready for that 40+ something Jag automatic!  We are the demographic (and we probably mostly all have bad backs that BMW should bear in mind!)

Still get excited every time I sit in it though.....

And to be fair, the faster it goes the better it gets.......

Hi Simnew,

As you can see from my previous ppost in this thread I have a 2001 325ci.

I didn't know that there was a difference between 'it' and the 'sports' coupe which I believed was merely 'cosmetically' different.  Are you sure about this?  I know that the suspension is MTech sports suspension.

Exactly what is the difference?  Springs, shocks, dampers, rebound rates?

I am no expert though and I bow to your superior knowledge!  God help the sports coupe if the suspension was any harder!!!

The Oct 2001 saloon and Coupe from the same date had suspension mods along similar lines.  Before this date, the sports suspension was standard on the coupe but optional on the salooon.  But the sports suspension was not too sporty.  It just tightenend up the damping.

There are reviews (Car Magazine) from around this time that describe the ride as pillowy with the sports setup compared to an MG ZT for example.

Now, the coupe still has different damping to the saloon as has 'sports suspension' but it is not the 'M Tech' suspension as fitted to the Sports models (coupe,  saloon and cabrio) .  This uses a similar setup to the M3.  Just to make it more complex, depending on your exact model, ie, 330d, or 318, the suspension will be different again as they make mods to take account of the different weights of the car.  If you have the BMW tow bar fitted you have stiffer suspension at the back !

Still speaking to Birds about the Hartge setup and will get a test drive one of these days and then I will decide what to do.  Maybe the next 3 will have active suspension and that will fix this horrendous compromise they have come up with. Great for the track, crap for British roads. Or buy a suitably optioned SE.  Much the best car all round just because its suspension really really works. Good ride, good handling instead of terrible ride, marginally better handling.

Have you considered the Alpina sport suspension?  Comes in at about a grand fitted by BMW and is sporty and low, but not as harsh as M-Tech.  I had the M-Tech kit fitted to my 328 when I bought it, but have recently changed to Alpina and it is much better. 

This is all about where you drive the car and what car's your used to.

If you drive around the city or on motorways the whole time, then yes the sports suspension is quite harsh. Go for the standard set up.

If you drive on A/B roads a lot, then in my opinion the Sports suspension is not quite stiff enough. If you like to carry a bit of pace (not too much) on the road then you'll regret going for the softer set up. I currently have a big issue with the body roll on my Sports set up and am changing the Sorts springs to Eibach's. The shocks are good but the springs just have a bit too much give in them.

If your used to modified suspension set-ups, then the Sport kit is not even in the same league as good coilover set-ups. The level of grip is phenominal, obviusly at the cost of comfort. However, I think that with some set ups you can change the ride height and rebound rate of the shcoks.

Therefore, if you want some comfort yet a darker side now and then go, for a coilover set up. Ok if you're out of warranty and will cost appx. £850 fitted for a decent set.

I got mine done at Woods in Odiham, Hampshire, bit of a way for you I'd imagine.  To be honest mine took quite a while to get sorted because it is a very rare request, and they had to find out how to order it, they were very helpful though. 

Part No: 91 47 3 100 134      £950 + fitting (about £100 on mine)

A bonus is that Directline told me that it wouldn't effect my premium as it was supplied and fitted by BMW.  Now that doesn't happen often

If only the British roads were like the German ones, maybe then the sport setup would be fine, but our roads are just getting worse.