In Total Suspense (shun)

[Eric S.]

Here's a photo of the parts I'll be installing on my 1999 540/6 this week:
- Koni Sport struts
- H&R Sport springs
- All front control arms, bushings and ball joints
- Front tie rod ends
- Rear control arms, joints, and bushings
- Front & rear strut mount/bearings
- Front & rear bump stops and spring cushions
- All new self-locking fasteners

I anticipate handling prowess in excess of that of an E39 M5, considering I installed OEM M5 stabilizer/sway bars last year.

It took about a month or so to amass all of these parts (shopping for not only the best deal but also the most correct parts). Once it’s all done, I’ll be getting an alignment at the dealer before putting it on the street.

Of course, I'll provide a complete report out to all!!

[Jamison]

so how much did you drop on all of this?

[Eric S.]

Originally Posted by Jamison

so how much did you drop on all of this?

Here's the approx prices I paid:
- Koni & H&R package from Shox.com - $1040 shipped
- All front control arms, bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends - $315 package from FCP Groton
- Rear control arms, joints, and bushings - about $175-$200 total from a couple of e-Bay vendors
- Front & rear strut mounts & bump stops - $138 from getcoolparts.com
- Rear bump stops, all spring cushions, and all self-locking fasteners - $91 from the dealer

Farm-out of labor for strut spring compression work: $156 for all 4
Alignment labor at dealer when done - about $100.

So there ya go. It all began innocently as a $700 Koni project and grew from that point to where it is now...

[sp0rky]

Looks great - should be a nice handling ride - however if you are open to suggestions, I would like to recommend some camber adjustment plates for the rear. Lowered 5s like to eat tires and the excess negative camber often makes them more prone to losing traction earlier than they should. In many cases, a lowered car has a little less road holding ability than stock although it feels better in almost every other way.

[Eric S.]

Originally Posted by sp0rky

Looks great - should be a nice handling ride - however if you are open to suggestions, I would like to recommend some camber adjustment plates for the rear. Lowered 5s like to eat tires and the excess negative camber often makes them more prone to losing traction earlier than they should. In many cases, a lowered car has a little less road holding ability than stock although it feels better in almost every other way.

Sporky - Thanks for the encouragement! I am a little puzzled by your comment about rear camber plates though. On the E39, rear camber is already adjustable, and in fact the spec is for up to 2 degrees of negative camber. The problem (as I see it) is in the front, which has no adjustable camber, and a spec limit of zero (no negative). Turner Motorsport sells adjustable camber plates for the front, but I believe they're at least $300, plus installation, and I am not real clear on whether adjustable Konis can still be adjusted when installed with these plates.

However, with the H&R springs and resultant little bit o' lowering, I anticipate I'll have at least a small amount of negative camber in the front (maybe 1/4 to 1/2 a degree?). Since the rears are adjustable, those can be re-set to the stock parameters.

[sp0rky]

Yeah, I'm aware of the e39 having adjustable rear camber, but I wasn't sure how much the H&Rs lower the e39s rear - so I wasnt sure if the camber could be brought back into spec. Thats great if its that adjustable, though.

As for the front, I don't think the little bit of negative camber that will be introduced will be much of an issue. From my experiences, tire wear has been a lot more of an issue on the rear. It also depends on how you drive though. However with a setup like yours, you might as well spend the few extra $ and get all four corners in factory spec. Also - on the e39, is the toe adjustable? I know lowering increases rear toe-in and kills tires, too. I'd like to lower my e39 soon, but I'm not as familiar with it as I am my e34s.

Anyway, keep me posted as to how it rides vs stock suspension. You have sport pkg, right? From what I have noticed I think the aftermarket suspension will be as comfy as stock sport.

Can't wait to hear a review, so hurry hurry! I love my Konis, but they are almost on full soft. haha

[LOS]

I want to know how difficult is to replace the front lower & upper arms. Can't wait for your findings and good luck my friend.

LOS