[BoostedBMW]

Hey guys, I have searched and read through a bunch of older threads where people were saying that installing coilovers on an E9X is a huge PITA, and to just bring it to a shop. I wanted to see if I could get some more recent opinions since some time has passed and i'm sure some more people have installed their own coilovers since then.

I'm a DIY kind of person, I hate having anyone work on my car, and I have installed coilovers twice on my last car (s2000). I know that the E92 is more of a hassle since you need to compress the springs while they are still on the car, unlike most other cars where you can just swap them out for the new ones, but is it really that difficult? Basically, i'm just looking for some opinons from people who have installed a set themselves. Thanks...

BTW, I went with a set of KW V2's if it makes any difference.

[S4to335]

I use to do suspension installs on the side...probably 50-60 coilovers installs and de-installs for friends ...over the last 8 years...and I decided to let a friend that owns a shop do my coilovers install on my 335...and I have never heard him complain that much in the entire 7 years I have known him. Maybe its because he took on two coilover installs in one day..some mustang piece of crap..and mine. but he mentioned the friggin ball joints in front. He was very in tune with E36 and E46 M3s...having had multiple race cars especially as E36 M3s...that he build from regular cars...so he knows his stuff. I dunno. Sounds like a pain in the ass to me. So, when it is time to take off my PSS9s...I am gonna get a shop to do it.

[BoostedBMW]

Originally Posted by S4to335

I use to do suspension installs on the side...probably 50-60 coilovers installs and de-installs for friends ...over the last 8 years...and I decided to let a friend that owns a shop do my coilovers install on my 335...and I have never heard him complain that much in the entire 7 years I have known him. Maybe its because he took on two coilover installs in one day..some mustang piece of crap..and mine. but he mentioned the friggin ball joints in front. He was very in tune with E36 and E46 M3s...having had multiple race cars especially as E36 M3s...that he build from regular cars...so he knows his stuff. I dunno. Sounds like a pain in the ass to me. So, when it is time to take off my PSS9s...I am gonna get a shop to do it.

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it... although its not too reassuring.

It seems like no matter what you are working on with this car, there is always something that is a total PITA because of the way that its designed although it should be simple. I guess coilovers on this car are no exception.

[Sniz]

It looks like Spool and myself we be attempting KW V2 install on my car next Wednesday in my garage. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

I think I'm in for a major freakin headache.

[BoostedBMW]

Originally Posted by Sniz

It looks like Spool and myself we be attempting KW V2 install on my car next Wednesday in my garage. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

I think I'm in for a major freakin headache.

I hope all goes well... keep me posted.

My coilovers are being delivered next friday so that would be perfect if you could let me know how it turns out.

Also, if you could snap some pics that would be awesome. All of the DIY's are for an E90 and a spring install, which is close, but not entirely the same either.

[Fraggy]

Im not a DIY kind of guy, but my shop guy installed my PSS9s in about 2 hours, so it cant be that bad if you know what youre doing.

[RetroGamerJP]

It is not hard at al, just plan on a few hours and take your time... just be careful of the headlight leveling sensor on the drivers side rear... disconnect before you remove the rear spring.

[BoostedBMW]

Originally Posted by jp335i

It is not hard at al, just plan on a few hours and take your time... just be careful of the headlight leveling sensor on the drivers side rear... disconnect before you remove the rear spring.

Thanks for the heads up... I was just painting my brake calipers so I was able to check out the suspension setup up close, and the first thing that I noticed were the sensors on the front and rear driver's side. It looks like the front clip can be taken off with the screw driver and the rear looks like a 8 or 10mm socket will take it off. Any other tips that you can think of would be appreciated. I think i'll strip out the liner of my trunk so that I can get to work as soon as they arrive. I also need to rent a spring compressor, hopefully the autozone over here will have one.

[Spool]

Get a buddy to help you...the rear camber arm is going to be a bitch to put back on, you need someone to help guide the arm up and someone to jack it to put the bolt through...you'll see what i mean when you get there...

[BoostedBMW]

Originally Posted by Spool

Get a buddy to help you...the rear camber arm is going to be a bitch to put back on, you need someone to help guide the arm up and someone to jack it to put the bolt through...you'll see what i mean when you get there...

Thanks for the info... I was just thinking about that actually. Would I be able to remove the outer bolt on the control arm (the one closest to the inside of the wheel) or do I have to remove the inner control arm bolt (closer to the middle of the car) to drop down the arm? I was just thinking that it might be easier to re-align it if I removed the outer one when bolting it back up, but i'm not sure if it would allow enough clearance to remove the springs.

[Spool]

Originally Posted by BoostedBMW

Thanks for the info... I was just thinking about that actually. Would I be able to remove the outer bolt on the control arm (the one closest to the inside of the wheel) or do I have to remove the inner control arm bolt (closer to the middle of the car) to drop down the arm? I was just thinking that it might be easier to re-align it if I removed the outer one when bolting it back up, but i'm not sure if it would allow enough clearance to remove the springs.

Yeah just remove the bolt near the whee hub and you can push down on it to remove the springs...i followed the DIY and removed the bolt that was near the exhaust and it was a bitch to put back on, and my camber was all jacked up after...see pic


the bushing inside the wheel hub assembly that is connected to the camber arm moves around, and if you dont' line it up correctly, you can't put the rod through it to tighten it back up...i mean it literally has to go in perfect...so get a buddy to help you..

[BoostedBMW]

Originally Posted by Spool

Yeah just remove the bolt near the whee hub and you can push down on it to remove the springs...i followed the DIY and removed the bolt that was near the exhaust and it was a bitch to put back on, and my camber was all jacked up after...see pic


the bushing inside the wheel hub assembly that is connected to the camber arm moves around, and if you dont' line it up correctly, you can't put the rod through it to tighten it back up...i mean it literally has to go in perfect...so get a buddy to help you..

LOL... I love the comments on the pic.

That is a huge help though, thank you. I know exactly what you are talking about with lining up the bolt exactly right, and I know that will be a PITA to tighten back down. The bolts on my rear swaybar for my s2k were the same exact way. Looks like i'll tell my bro to give me a hand... he should be happy since he hates doing suspension work.

BTW, did you make that pic or is that from another DIY that I haven't seen?

[Spool]

Originally Posted by BoostedBMW

LOL... I love the comments on the pic.

That is a huge help though, thank you. I know exactly what you are talking about with lining up the bolt exactly right, and I know that will be a PITA to tighten back down. The bolts on my rear swaybar for my s2k were the same exact way. Looks like i'll tell my bro to give me a hand... he should be happy since he hates doing suspension work.

BTW, did you make that pic or is that from another DIY that I haven't seen?

I made that pic...with the comments on it, cuz the DIY told everyone to remove that camber bolt...which took me 4 hours to put back on, and i was about to cry...seriously, i thought about crying and just getting the car towed to gas station and have them put it on...but eventually i got it on and then went ahead and finished it...

on the E46, you just had to push down on the camber arm and the spring pops out, u dont need to remove anything...

[BoostedBMW]

Originally Posted by Spool

I made that pic...with the comments on it, cuz the DIY told everyone to remove that camber bolt...which took me 4 hours to put back on, and i was about to cry...seriously, i thought about crying and just getting the car towed to gas station and have them put it on...but eventually i got it on and then went ahead and finished it...

on the E46, you just had to push down on the camber arm and the spring pops out, u dont need to remove anything...

... I feel your pain... I've been to that point before where I have just wanted to take a sledge hammer to the car because something took 30 hours longer than it ever should have.

Alright, i'm glad I posted this then because I would have been screwed if you didn't inform me not to remove the camber bolt. Anything else that you can think of please let me know.

[Mr. 5]

I'm pretty good with cars. I've installed a bunch of stuff including the DPs on my 335, but I would never try to install anything that deals with struts and springs. It just seems to be too much of a pain.

[BoostedBMW]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

I'm pretty good with cars. I've installed a bunch of stuff including the DPs on my 335, but I would never try to install anything that deals with struts and springs. It just seems to be too much of a pain.

Wow, really? When I installed my exhaust, I looked up and saw how tight the space would be to work on the downpipes and I just said forget about it. That job looks like a nightmare on jackstands.

[BoostedBMW]

One other thing... can anyone recommend a spring compressor to use? There are a ton of them FS online for pretty cheap and I know that autozone will rent them out for free, but I have heard that some of them are too tall to use on this car. Anyone have any suggestions?

[Spool]

I used the one that i rented from Autozone and it worked fine

[stressdoc]

The nice thing about DIY is that you can be as anal and perfectionist as you want. Shops are on the clock, bang and slam it together.

[BoostedBMW]

Originally Posted by Spool

I used the one that i rented from Autozone and it worked fine

Alright cool... I just went to harbor freight and bought one for 10 bucks. Its pretty short so it should work.

[BoostedBMW]

Originally Posted by stressdoc

The nice thing about DIY is that you can be as anal and perfectionist as you want. Shops are on the clock, bang and slam it together.

Exactly... although doing work yourself is sometimes a pain, at least I know if it was done correctly or not.

[wj4]

It was a pain, IMO. This was the first mod I did to my car. My friend and I did the job...and we agree that it was the hardest coilover install we've done. Other cars we did coilovers on include A4, CRX, RSX, Evos, STi's,