H&R springs or Eibach springs?

[Maxima SE]

Yeah I'm exactly with you on that - this was why I went with this setup and why other friends of mine who are also in their mid-30's and have either ridden in or driven my car say they also are done with coilovers on their dailies. Let me know if you have any other questions and or if you're ever at ACH I'm happy to meet up if you want to go for a ride - or did I miss understand and you already bought this exact kit?

Thanks ! Yes I bought the Koni/Eibach kit when it was on sale. I ordered new hardware and bumpstops and spring pads etc and waiting to receive those before I install them.

[ChapterM3]

I went through that thread in detail and it was very helpful, especially the pictures posted and the comparison between B12 kit and Koni kit which made me go with the Koni in the end. I expect the ride to be similar to my Z4M on Koni/Eibach. You can actually feel the spring compression and rebound on that car where as on the E46 everything feels stiff and just bouncy. I think I am getting too old for coilovers and just want something more OEM+.

Yeah I'm exactly with you on that - this was why I went with this setup and why other friends of mine who are also in their mid-30's and have either ridden in or driven my car say they also are done with coilovers on their dailies. Let me know if you have any other questions and or if you're ever at ACH I'm happy to meet up if you want to go for a ride - or did I miss understand and you already bought this exact kit?

[dukeofchen]

Konis always seemed best to me at full soft or with just a small amount of slowing rebound down, matched with stock like spring rates. Once trick is to continue to slow them down further as they age and lose pressure.

My Konis are definitely later in their lifespan, I was already at 1.25 turns and added an extra quarter turn on the fronts yesterday. Very noticeable difference, no more bounce up front and feels planted like it should so I'm happy 👍

Now that the fronts are in a better place I can feel that the rears definitely need a little extra too, glad I put in those Rogue RSMs to make the process a little less annoying.

[BL92]

Thanks for the advice K, I changed my post a bit to be more on topic with the UK stuff i found

Here in AUS we got the Euro version, Part numbers for the shocks from real oem - BL92 RHD

- LF 31312283103
- RF - 31312283104

Rears - 33522283105

F+R Springs are NLA via realoem website

[Maxima SE]

Only seeing this post now - haven't read any of the 7 pages but wanted to chime in with my experience on the Koni yellows + Eibach spring setup as I've been running this setup for years now - I still stand by my review I made in 2020, and still love this setup!

https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/m...aily-driven-m3

I went through that thread in detail and it was very helpful, especially the pictures posted and the comparison between B12 kit and Koni kit which made me go with the Koni in the end. I expect the ride to be similar to my Z4M on Koni/Eibach. You can actually feel the spring compression and rebound on that car where as on the E46 everything feels stiff and just bouncy. I think I am getting too old for coilovers and just want something more OEM+.

[Tbonem3]

Why? I considered them but they sit a little higher so I went with the Konis

monotube vs twin
German vs dutch
yellow with nurburging logo vs plain gold

[ChapterM3]

I am currently running Eibach coilovers and ride height is about 13.75 front and 13.5" rear. With the mason X brace and front strut brace the ride is just too stiff and bouncy for street use and car does not feel anywhere near as planted as my Z4M on B12 pro kit. I absolutely love how the Z4M rides. Currently the E46 is just not confidence inspiring. So I was thinking to go with Koni yellow and either Eibach or H&R springs for my E46. I know the Eibach are really popular but seems like H&R sit a little lower and have a more even drop. Does anyone have experience with the H&R and would be able to comment on ride quality? I don't want to end up with a harsh bouncy ride all over again. Need some help choosing between the two springs. I am afraid the eibach will leave too much of a wheel gap otherwise I would pull the trigger on them.

Only seeing this post now - haven't read any of the 7 pages but wanted to chime in with my experience on the Koni yellows + Eibach spring setup as I've been running this setup for years now - I still stand by my review I made in 2020, and still love this setup!

https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/main-forum/e46-2001-2006/71642-my-review-koni-yellows-eibach-springs-on-a-daily-driven-m3

[9kracing]

Why? I considered them but they sit a little higher so I went with the Konis

"Bilstein makes amazing shocks - they are mechanically simple, parts are dirt cheap and readily available, and the innards of their street shocks and their full-race shocks are identical. Crack open a Bilstien street shock, and inside are the same parts as inside their NASCAR shocks. That means that there is a simple conversion process (involving welding a boss onto the shock body to fit a Shraeder valve into the gas chamber) to turn an off-the-shelf street Bilstein into a full-race, user-serviceable, user-revalvable NASCAR Bilstein."

http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets18.html

[Maxima SE]

I'd still take a non adjustable B6 over koni yellow no contest.

Why? I considered them but they sit a little higher so I went with the Konis

[Tbonem3]

Koni yellows, and other mid tier dampers with 1 way adjustment, can only speed up or slow down rebound. There's no stiffening - that's on the spring though speed and vehicle weight are factors too.

You want a damper that releases the springs' energy in a controlled manner, not too fast (bouncy, loss of control) but not too slow either (leads to packing up where full stroke isn't reached before the next bump and thus you have compromised travel).

Konis always seemed best to me at full soft or with just a small amount of slowing rebound down, matched with stock like spring rates. Once trick is to continue to slow them down further as they age and lose pressure. Higher end stuff like MCS and Ohlins, with 1 way adjustment, will have compression affected when adjusting rebound.

I'd still take a non adjustable B6 over koni yellow no contest.

[dukeofchen]

If you're talking about Konis, cranking up the rebound will only make the problem worse, as it will tend to induce jacking down.

I'm going to play with it, but I was thinking the opposite of what you're saying if I'm understanding correctly. i.e., turning them firmer to reduce jacking down and increase damping on compression to make the most of the reduced travel when it comes to massive potholes and the like. I definitely have too much bounce right now, to the point where the throw distance of my headlights is oscillating too much on even mild / moderate road imperfections.

[K-Dawg]

Hi all, im new here, from Australia i have BL92 E46 M3 RHD SMG

just got quoted $4100 AUD for standard replacements,, i found sets on eBay from the U.K, though the seller says this is not suitable for my car ? check my picture

Can anyone assist ?

I need standard replacement shocks and springs, i have 110kmiles on it now

I checked pelican parts, though springs are not showing up!



Just bought the front strut bearings and spring pads, with hardware

I'd get the OE Sachs (not Genuine BMW) or Bilstein B4 (Touring) or maybe Bilstein B6 (HD) shocks/struts. I don't know if Australia cars are Euro or NA market, but I think there is a difference in struts.

Upon further thought I'm going to revisit the settings on my fronts, as perhaps a stiffer than average setting would go a ways to mitigate some of the bouncing and chassis shattering impacts from full compression scenarios. I've been mostly thinking about bump stops and ways to increase suspension travel but that's probably the first place to start. A lot of general advice or discussions in the 20+ years of archives have come from the angle of dialing it towards OE-like stiffness for 99% of drivetime scenarios, whereas the thing that bugs me most is the 1%.

If you're talking about Konis, cranking up the rebound will only make the problem worse, as it will tend to induce jacking down.

And I doubt that Koni or Eibach or H&R or almost anybody else has put much thought into bumpstops for this chassis.

[Tbonem3]

No B8s for E46 M3 though - are you talking about B6s?

[Chas3n]

I've been running the B4's, OE mounts, eibach springs (with hotchkis sways) and PS4S, and it's an acceptable ride quality given how stiff the chassis is. I would suspect OE Sachs would ride about the same.

From what another senior owner has told me, the b8's, lightly trimmed, with the plates do help the crashing. Ive been wanting to order a set of B8's and swap them in with the Turner plates that have been sitting unopened on my toolbox for a year, but I suspect it'll be another year before I get around to it.


I currently daily an S6, and my gosh is it noticeable how stiff the 46 feels when I do drive it. I'm not that old, but at 35 I have no interest in commuting with this old chassis.

[BL92]

Hi all, im new here, from Australia i have BL92 E46 M3 RHD SMG


i found sets of OE sachs on eBay from the U.K,
I also found standard height springs made by Klien on ebay U.K

i have 110kmiles on it now

I checked pelican parts, though springs are not showing up!

I aiming for the 355mm or 14inch all round

Just bought the front strut bearings and spring pads, with hardware