[tomgwuyn]

Hello folks,

Yesterday I dropped my car for 120K mile service to a reputed Indy Mechanic that specializes in BMW to do the following,

i) Replacement of shocks,(as the shocks were leaking and the car did not handle well). The Struts/water pump/spark plugs/drive belts were replaced earlier at 75K. Is there anything else related to suspension I need to add? i was thinking of bump stops, shock mounts/ inspection of tie rods/control arms etc as the car makes a lot of noise when driving on potholes and the place I am living has another name called potholeville...

ii) Ditching of run flats to non runflat tires. Planning to put 225/40/R18 tires on all fours instead of the existing 225/40/R18 (front) and 255/35/R18(rear) - Michelin Pilot Sport A/S3

iii) Inspection of Clutch Dual Mass FlyWheel/Clutch pressure plate/assembly as the gear slips or unable to be engaged to 1st gear from stop. And I feel some hesitation / stalling / lack of power in between gears.

iv)Transmission Fluid Flush/Power Steering Fluid.

Do I need to change the ignition coil/VANOS solenoids? Welcome any advise / recommendations?

[porsche959]

pads/rotors?

[ctuna]

Redline d4 or d6 for the manual transmission smooths out the
shifts.

[hassmaschine]

the replacement shocks wore out in only 45k miles? what did they replace them with before? Sounds like cheap junk.

Mine didn't start leaking until recently - *one hundred* and 45k miles, original. I think I'm going to just replace them with the original sport shocks. Should last me the rest of the life of the car (as long as I own it anyway).

I would do bump stops, maybe shock mounts (if they seem worn) and spring pads. Otherwise, replace as necessary, re-use if still good. E90 suspension parts seem to be much better than past BMWs.

I would stick to stock tire size on all 4 corners. the car was designed for those tire sizes - it wasn't accidental. and non RFTs are much more comfortable (and cheaper). You gain basically nothing by going narrower in the rear - except even worse traction (especially with the stupid open diff and traction control nannies).

I wouldn't worry about Vanos or coils. Replace as needed when you get codes. you can drive just fine even on 4 cylinders if worst case, you had two simultaneous coil failures (unlikely). If you stick to the CBS oil changes at a minimum, the Vanos will last nearly forever.

[tomgwuyn]

Originally Posted by porsche959

pads/rotors?

I already did pads,rotors, sensors last year.

[Efthreeoh]

I don't think it is a good idea to put a square set of tires on a staggered set of rims; I'm assuming you have the 330i 18" staggered sport wheels. I run Mitch AS3 on my Z4, which are the same 225/40-18 and 255/35 -18 you are considering. Rotating side to side is just as good as rotating crosswise/front-to-back.

My E90 325i runs the stock 225/40-17 - 255/35-17 staggered set up. I ran a square 18" 235/40-18 for about 10 years and 10 sets of tire (fully wore out each set) thinking cross-rotating would give better tire life. Three tire sets a go I switched back to my original sport package 17" staggered rims. My tire mileage data (over 14 sets of tires) shows cross rotation with a square set up is no better or worse than side-to-side rotation on a staggered setup.

If you are going to have 225's on an 8.0" rim and 225 on the 8.5" rim and cross rotate I think you are going to find some ill-handling issues. I say this because three weeks ago, in a rush, and tired, my dumb ass cross rotated by 17" staggered set on my E90 (I just got new tires a few weeks before). For the week following (I drive 175 miles a day) the car felt strange. It finally dawned on me on the Friday of that week I had errantly cross rotated and put the 255's up front. I corrected the issue the on next weekend and put the tires back in the correct positions and the car felt perfect again.

My 2 cents, leave the tires staggered and rotate side-to-side.

[Efthreeoh]

I'll chime in also on the VANOS solenoids. I finally had to replace my VANOS solenoids at 306,000 miles. I followed the BMW CBS oil change schedule up until 221,000 (when the CBS stops reporting oil change intervals - long story google it). Past 221K I've been chaining oil at 10,000 mile intervals. BMW recommends once the CBS stops reporting OCI's switch to a set interval based on mileage; BMW recommends 7,500. I do 10,000 since its easy to remember.


Sorry had to explain that... so, what I did with my VANOS solenoids was clean and swap them about every 50,000 miles or so. I say "or so" because the first time I cleaned and swapped was at 145,000 miles when I got code 2A82. BMW's trouble shooting says to swap the solenoids as a test to figure out of code 2A82 follows the solenoid or stays with the camshaft position sensor. So I figured why not just clean and swap the solenoids; several people follow this practice as well based on my suggestions in a DIY from 8 years ago. I cleaned and swapped again at 195,00; 260,000; 300,000 miles. I kept getting VANOS codes after 300,000, so I dropped in a new set (I haven't cleaned and swapped them yet - LOL). Being your mechanic is doing the work, he'd probably look at you like your crazy if you ask him to clean and swap them; "some dude on the Bimmer Forums says to clean and swap them"... yeah, right... so, just leave the solenoids alone. If you get a SES engine light related to the VANOS solenoids, then change them out. The engine runs perfectly fine with a VANOS solenoid code showing, it's not a big deal and will not leave you stranded.


Now you have 4 cents...

[tomgwuyn]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

the replacement shocks wore out in only 45k miles? what did they replace them with before? Sounds like cheap junk.

Mine didn't start leaking until recently - *one hundred* and 45k miles, original. I think I'm going to just replace them with the original sport shocks. Should last me the rest of the life of the car (as long as I own it anyway).

I would do bump stops, maybe shock mounts (if they seem worn) and spring pads. Otherwise, replace as necessary, re-use if still good. E90 suspension parts seem to be much better than past BMWs.

I would stick to stock tire size on all 4 corners. the car was designed for those tire sizes - it wasn't accidental. and non RFTs are much more comfortable (and cheaper). You gain basically nothing by going narrower in the rear - except even worse traction (especially with the stupid open diff and traction control nannies).

I wouldn't worry about Vanos or coils. Replace as needed when you get codes. you can drive just fine even on 4 cylinders if worst case, you had two simultaneous coil failures (unlikely). If you stick to the CBS oil changes at a minimum, the Vanos will last nearly forever.

Shocks were not replaced at 45K... Only Front Struts were replaced at 75K. Shocks are due anytime now. Planning to go with the BMW Stock Shocks only.

[tomgwuyn]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I don't think it is a good idea to put a square set of tires on a staggered set of rims; I'm assuming you have the 330i 18" staggered sport wheels. I run Mitch AS3 on my Z4, which are the same 225/40-18 and 255/35 -18 you are considering. Rotating side to side is just as good as rotating crosswise/front-to-back.

My E90 325i runs the stock 225/40-17 - 255/35-17 staggered set up. I ran a square 18" 235/40-18 for about 10 years and 10 sets of tire (fully wore out each set) thinking cross-rotating would give better tire life. Three tire sets a go I switched back to my original sport package 17" staggered rims. My tire mileage data (over 14 sets of tires) shows cross rotation with a square set up is no better or worse than side-to-side rotation on a staggered setup.

If you are going to have 225's on an 8.0" rim and 225 on the 8.5" rim and cross rotate I think you are going to find some ill-handling issues. I say this because three weeks ago, in a rush, and tired, my dumb ass cross rotated by 17" staggered set on my E90 (I just got new tires a few weeks before). For the week following (I drive 175 miles a day) the car felt strange. It finally dawned on me on the Friday of that week I had errantly cross rotated and put the 255's up front. I corrected the issue the on next weekend and put the tires back in the correct positions and the car felt perfect again.

My 2 cents, leave the tires staggered and rotate side-to-side.

Thanks Efthreeoh.

[mecheng77]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I'll chime in also on the VANOS solenoids. I finally had to replace my VANOS solenoids at 306,000 miles. I followed the BMW CBS oil change schedule up until 221,000 (when the CBS stops reporting oil change intervals - long story google it). Past 221K I've been chaining oil at 10,000 mile intervals. BMW recommends once the CBS stops reporting OCI's switch to a set interval based on mileage; BMW recommends 7,500. I do 10,000 since its easy to remember.


Sorry had to explain that... so, what I did with my VANOS solenoids was clean and swap them about every 50,000 miles or so. I say "or so" because the first time I cleaned and swapped was at 145,000 miles when I got code 2A82. BMW's trouble shooting says to swap the solenoids as a test to figure out of code 2A82 follows the solenoid or stays with the camshaft position sensor. So I figured why not just clean and swap the solenoids; several people follow this practice as well based on my suggestions in a DIY from 8 years ago. I cleaned and swapped again at 195,00; 260,000; 300,000 miles. I kept getting VANOS codes after 300,000, so I dropped in a new set (I haven't cleaned and swapped them yet - LOL). Being your mechanic is doing the work, he'd probably look at you like your crazy if you ask him to clean and swap them; "some dude on the Bimmer Forums says to clean and swap them"... yeah, right... so, just leave the solenoids alone. If you get a SES engine light related to the VANOS solenoids, then change them out. The engine runs perfectly fine with a VANOS solenoid code showing, it's not a big deal and will not leave you stranded.


Now you have 4 cents...

Do you swap to have them wear evenly?

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by mecheng77

Do you swap to have them wear evenly?

Well that is my theory. The VANOS solenoids are both the same part, but they perform different tasks. Considering one solenoid adjusts the intake cam and the other adjusts the exhaust cam, I figure they run different profiles, so swapping them every 50,000 keeps them from "wearing in". I figure if the rotating valve moves under different profiles, whatever dirt may accumulate at the max and min positions will get distubed when the solenoid moves to the opposite cam location. I'll never be able to prove it, just using engineering logic. I figured it can't hurt.

[mecheng77]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Well that is my theory. The VANOS solenoids are both the same part, but they perform different tasks. Considering one solenoid adjusts the intake cam and the other adjusts the exhaust cam, I figure they run different profiles, so swapping them every 50,000 keeps them from "wearing in". I figure if the rotating valve moves under different profiles, whatever dirt may accumulate at the max and min positions will get distubed when the solenoid moves to the opposite cam location. I'll never be able to prove it, just using engineering logic. I figured it can't hurt.

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Well that is my theory. The VANOS solenoids are both the same part, but they perform different tasks. Considering one solenoid adjusts the intake cam and the other adjusts the exhaust cam, I figure they run different profiles, so swapping them every 50,000 keeps them from "wearing in". I figure if the rotating valve moves under different profiles, whatever dirt may accumulate at the max and min positions will get distubed when the solenoid moves to the opposite cam location. I'll never be able to prove it, just using engineering logic. I figured it can't hurt.

Interesting Watson. You could be correct or it could be the exact opposite as it moves to a different location putting strain on the solenoid

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by mecheng77

Interesting Watson. You could be correct or it could be the exact opposite as it moves to a different location putting strain on the solenoid

Well it kept VANOS codes at bey for 306,000 miles is all I can attest to.

[talisman311]

I'm at 112k miles and just replaced the ofhg, oil pan gasket, vcg, valvetronic gasket, eccentric sensor and gasket. Prior to this I had an erratic idle, hesitation after hitting the accelerator, and it would stall out. It runs like new after all the work.

Your front thrust arm is probably leaking by now and causing some play. I went with Meyle since they're not fluid filled and haven't noticed any additional vibration.