suspension overhaul coming up... suggestions

planning on doing the whole thing the right way, all OE or OEM unless otherwise suggested. i have 525i with sport package @ 125,000k. going with the boge shocks and struts. questions are:


1) looking at these 2 suspension kits on FCP. which would you go with?

meyle ($1000)
http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-...5e3920piece-my

lemforder ($1200)
http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-...25e3918piece-l

the only difference i see is the meyle kit comes with two new ball joint snap rings. i have also gathered (possibly incorrect) that the lemforder is all OE. or OE supplier and the MEYLE is OEM.


2) what other parts are worth replacing while doing this, with this being the list i have already compiled? (and possibly edited with suggestions from people)

front and rear suspension overhaul kit
sub frame bushings
boge shocks and struts
new hardware per the suspension overhaul DIY
added:03FEB13
wheel bearings front and rear
e brake shoes (didnt do them with my brake job)

i know there is a lot of information on these kits on the forums. although they seem to be situation and car specific. i figured i had to make a thread on this to build my confidence on the purchase, this is a huge investment to me. ill take any input on anything. thanks ahead of time.

Lemforder is what you would get at the dealer, which is better quality. Meyle on the other hand is a cheap Chinese brand the only part I would buy from meyle are their HD thrust arms

Good to know.I have heard about the Meyle thrust arm bushings. Although if I were to buy the lemforder kit I would use the OE liquid filled bushings that come with it.

Go you EAC Euro Parts and get the Lemforder (or TRW) thrust arms with the Meyle HD rubber bushings. This will eliminate bushing failure as a concern. It will also tighten up the ride and handling a little bit. Do a search on suspension overhauls to learn why. Note: The FCP kit price is not that great. I paid $1,200 for the entire front end (same parts as listed) using only Lemforder parts (incl HD bushings) & Boge Sport struts buying from various vendors. Shop around and save $$$.

i remember reading about those a little bit back. don't remember reading about them being better performance wise though. i appreciate the advice on shopping around. i figured it would be close to the same price, i will spend the time though and price compare both options. for some reason, no one can compete with pelican as far as the boge shock/struts are concerned.

edit: definitely take that back fcp euro beats pelican by quite a bit on the shock/strut combo. still have some more research. be interesting to see where ill be sitting when all said and done.

I recently had a front end overhaul for my 2003 540i with 137K miles and I used:

All OEM metal parts (this is just safer but a bit more costly)

Struts/Shocks by Bilstein (sports sets)

Bushings by Powerflex -- even though arguably these are not recommended for regular streets, still good enough for daily use in major city areas and road conditions, plus I've had previous experience using them before, so no problems. A few pics below; here's the website: http://www.powerflexusa.com/

Everything else was in pretty good shape, my grand total w/ labour: 2K+

Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by SeanMH-6

i remember reading about those a little bit back. don't remember reading about them being better performance wise though. i appreciate the advice on shopping around. i figured it would be close to the same price, i will spend the time though and price compare both options. for some reason, no one can compete with pelican as far as the boge shock/struts are concerned.

edit: definitely take that back fcp euro beats pelican by quite a bit on the shock/strut combo. still have some more research. be interesting to see where ill be sitting when all said and done.

I went with the Meyle Products on my suspension overhaul and I like it. I didn't think the company was Chinese unless there parts are made there. I was under the impression the parts were German which is why I bought them. I'm happy with the parts and would by them again.



I got my parts from FCPEuro as well and the ride does feel better than stock. You can see FCPEuro's comparison too.

SeanMH-6,

The box those parts can in had Germany written on them unless Meyle is lying to everyone and has their parts outsourced to China. My frontend handles better than it did with the OEM parts.

Originally Posted by SeanMH-6

planning on doing the whole thing the right way, all OE or OEM unless otherwise suggested. i have 525i with sport package @ 125,000k. going with the boge shocks and struts. questions are:

2) what other parts are worth replacing while doing this, with this being the list i have already compiled? (and possibly edited with suggestions from people)

front and rear suspension overhaul kit
sub frame bushings
boge shocks and struts
new hardware per the suspension overhaul DIY
added:03FEB13
wheel bearings front and rear
e brake shoes (didnt do them with my brake job)

.

#2:
include new STRUT BEARINGS, bump stops, and dust boots to go along w/ boge dampers.
With strut bearings, you'd be wise to go w/ OE BMW over the counter strut bearings (vs. OEM). Some pics floating around here shows the OE being dimensionally different than the OEM. OEM strut bearings will raise the front height higher than stock.