I own a stock 1992 525i. It has 1 billiondy miles on this suspension, and it's shot to heck. I want amazing handling, with a tolerable ride. I will sacrafice ride comfort for really good handling, but not to the point where long highway trips are uncomfortable. Main thing is I don't want body roll, and I want lots of grip.

Suggestions? Function over form. I'd like a significant drop, but if I can get the best performance with no drop at all then screw dropping it.

What do you think? What should I get? For a while I'll have stock 15" bottlecaps, but I don't care how it looks, only how it performs right now.

you, my friend have the same goals as me. I figured that I wouldnt be able to do anything for quite some time, since I need all the money to fix the rust and bring the car to a "showroom" condition. After that's all done, I want to do the wheels, suspension, and chip

knoi adj. shocks for sure, for springs i have the h&r and the setup is amazing. i think eiback will take it a little lower but im not sure on the performance dif. also your rim size/width and tire choice/size will play a bigger part in handling. wider tires hold better traction

knoi adj. shocks for sure, for springs i have the h&r and the setup is amazing. i think eiback will take it a little lower but im not sure on the performance dif. also your rim size/width and tire choice/size will play a bigger part in handling. wider tires hold better traction

Thanks for the input! Also, where should I buy from?

Sport springs, sport shocks (Koni or Bilstein), and stiffer sway bars would be obvious choices for improvements in handling. The Koni adjustable shocks have the advantage of allowing you to tune the rebound rates, which directly affects ride quality. An adjustable front sway bar is a plus. Adjustable camber plates on the front can help with handling at the expense of asymetrical wear on the front tires.

Since the car has a lot of miles on it I'd suggest taking a critical look at all of the various bushings and ball joints in the suspension before fidding with springs/shocks. Wear in those adversely affects handling in ways that spring/shock/sways changes can't fix.

After all of that's been dealt with 17" (or maybe 18") wheels and Ultra Performance tires will do wonders for handling without excessive ride harshness.

When you've done that consider joining BMWCCA (if you aren't already a member) and going to a few Driver Ed events. That will not only help teach you how to get the most out of the car, handling wise, but also help with learning when/how to tune the suspension.

i have weitech schocks, struts and springs on my car and they are amazing. for a real race like application, you can contact road race tech as they have some really nice equiptment.

Koni adjustables, H&R springs, Racing Dynamics 27mm/19mm sway bars (full stiff on rear full soft on front).
If you still want some more bite up front, go with some adjustable front camber plates.
17's or even 16's will salvage your ride comfort and still deliver great handling. 18's will not.

Koni adjustables, H&R springs, Racing Dynamics 27mm/19mm sway bars (full stiff on rear full soft on front).
If you still want some more bite up front, go with some adjustable front camber plates.
17's or even 16's will salvage your ride comfort and still deliver great handling. 18's will not.

Ok, I"ll do the Koni adjustables, and H&R springs for starters. Sways will come later.

Are there different H&R's for the e34 (sport/race?). If so which would you recommend.

I need to know how much I'm goin to spend and where to buy now. Anyone?

I don't know about everyone else, but since I've lowered the car, the back end wants to get loose a lot easier than before. I would suggest something to adjust the rear camber. I don't really have an issue with the front, but the back is horrible - it's all over the place once you start to push it. Just looking at it, I can clearly see too much neg. camber. :(

sways will have the greatest effect (affect? fuck those 2 words and thier tricks) on roll

less/stiffer sidewall will also help kill the roll

teh shocks/springs will help a lot with dive and squat

Price and where to buy?

koni's for sure. i like my eibach pro-kit springs.

i hope to do sways sometime in the near future.

If you're going to have to replace some regular wear suspension components like thrust arms, make sure to get ones with 750iL bushings pressed in, no extra cost upgrade.

If you're going to have to replace some regular wear suspension components like thrust arms, make sure to get ones with 750iL bushings pressed in, no extra cost upgrade.


I know the 750il bushings are a popular upgrade, But would the m5 bushings be any beefier?

I know the 750il bushings are a popular upgrade, But would the m5 bushings be any beefier?
That's a good question. I'm not sure if the M5 bushings will even fit. Well, given that those thrust arm bushings are under the greatest stress during braking, I would suggest the nose heavy 750il bushings to still be the most rugged.

i agree with LJSE34, the 750il bushings are recommended over the m5 because the 750il is nose heavy, so they're more rugged.

Rob from UUC and several others will confirm that the M5 bushing is actually stiffer than the more-common 750i bushing. I think the 750i is just more popular due to price and availability.

Rob from UUC and several others will confirm that the M5 bushing is actually stiffer than the more-common 750i bushing. I think the 750i is just more popular due to price and availability.

Confirmation, anyone?

Either will work fine. I have ran both on my M5.

I have Dinan springs with Bilsteins, camber plates, RD swaybars. I like it and track the snot out of my car. I think the Dinan springs are a touch higher than others and the extra travel helps.

As for the guy up there that mentioned his rear end is all over, check all the bushings and alignment. Even though you can't align most E34's in the rear (the M5 has toe adjustment) you may be way off due to some worn bushings. The extra camber may have caused a toe change.

By the way, if your suspension is really worn, I would recommend some freshening up, even the control arms. It won't be cheap but the car will be transformed. Better to do it now while you install the new stuff than to install the shocks and springs and have to do it all over again 6 months from now when the stiffer components destroy old bushings and ball joints.

you, my friend have the same goals as me. I figured that I wouldnt be able to do anything for quite some time, since I need all the money to fix the rust and bring the car to a "showroom" condition. After that's all done, I want to do the wheels, suspension, and chip
I thought you were selling it for a Supra?

Anyway....Bilstein, Eibach, Racing Dynamics Sways, Bmp Stress= Rails

I have Dinan springs with Bilsteins, camber plates, RD swaybars. I like it and track the snot out of my car. I think the Dinan springs are a touch higher than others and the extra travel helps.



Yeah, cant forget about Dinan. The extra travel really does seem to be a good thing for the E34's. Rates are on par with H&R/Eibach but Dinan's are linear front and rear. Good stuff!

Anyone have Dinan spring with Koni adj.'s?

Anyone have Dinan spring with Koni adj.'s?


I do I do

Dinan Stage 3 w/ Koni adjustables :D

I do I do

Dinan Stage 3 w/ Koni adjustables :D

Describe, in gruesome detail, your experience with them, from the problems you have, to the reactions of adjustements, to the end product, etc.

Rob from UUC and several others will confirm that the M5 bushing is actually stiffer than the more-common 750i bushing. I think the 750i is just more popular due to price and availability.

People make the mistake of thinking the 750 bushings are stronger because of the weight of the car. This is totally false. The 750 bushings are oil-filled, they damp road vibrations very well - that's how they are designed for a luxury-tuned 750.

But, no questions about it, the E34 M5 bushings are the strongest BMW OE bushings for the E34 chassis.

If you want stronger, look into urethane or spherical bearings from RRT.

- Rob

Describe, in gruesome detail, your experience with them, from the problems you have, to the reactions of adjustements, to the end product, etc.
It's not very gruesome, but I'll tell you I racked my brain for a couple of months before settling on Dinan. The install and balancing was done by my mechanic. Most of the adjustments were set to Dinan specs. The only changes I make now are to the front shock settings depending on what kind of driving I'm going to do :devillook
The car is very civil on the freeway, you don't get beat to death.
It's nicely lowered but not slammed. If you want slammed look elsewhere.
I can tell you the car corners on rails. I've tracked and auto-x the car w/ the occasional canyon run, and the car is very predictable. Overall I could have probably spent less money but I don't think I could be more satisfied with the suspension.

I have the same Dinan suspension set-up as Mblaster.My car feels like a big go-kart.

It's not very gruesome, but I'll tell you I racked my brain for a couple of months before settling on Dinan. The install and balancing was done by my mechanic. Most of the adjustments were set to Dinan specs. The only changes I make now are to the front shock settings depending on what kind of driving I'm going to do :devillook
The car is very civil on the freeway, you don't get beat to death.
It's nicely lowered but not slammed. If you want slammed look elsewhere.
I can tell you the car corners on rails. I've tracked and auto-x the car w/ the occasional canyon run, and the car is very predictable. Overall I could have probably spent less money but I don't think I could be more satisfied with the suspension.

How much of a drop did you get? How much money?

How much of a drop did you get? How much money?
Click on my sig to see a couple pics. It's not a dramatic drop. Like I said if you want slammed you don't want Dinan. If I recall right it was around 3K for the job.

What is your center of the fender to road distance for the front and back?

From your pictures it kind of hard to tell, but it looks as if you have 1.25 of space above the front tire?

25 3/4in front
24 3/5in rear


I measured from center of fender to ground.

Click on my sig to see a couple pics. It's not a dramatic drop. Like I said if you want slammed you don't want Dinan. If I recall right it was around 3K for the job.
I might be selling my Dinan set-up guys.I get an awful amount of torgue squat because of my new m62 engine with my supercharger and I am putting in a new new supercharger system now.I might go with The Racer's Group custom set-up suspension. :devillook

What do you guys think about the Sachs kit? From what I hear, its a pretty good set-up, since the shock/springs are matched. Supposedly lowers 1.25in front and 1in rear.

I'd go either Eibach,Sachs, or H&R w/ Koni's. Then look for some good sways and a camber kit.

Suspension setup is a true science. I bought Bavarian Autosport lowering springs and Bilstien sport shocks for my 635. I'm using the standard sway bars. I bought the BAS springs purely on price, $200 for the set. I now think that was a mistake. On sharp bumps i get too much impact and on long bumps i get too much float. I get too much roll, but that's due to the stock sway bars of course.

I think it's better to buy a package like a Dinan. I'm sure the others mentioned are good as well. I believe Dinan packages their spings/sway bars with bilstiens. Whatever spring/sway bar brand you choose, you might want to ask what shocks they recommend. I would think that any development that was done on the spring and sway bar combo, would have been done with a particular brand of shock.

Dinan sets up their kits w/ either bilstein or koni. You pick. Koni adj's are a couple bucks more though.

Ive been really happy with Dinan stiff overall. On my E34, I had standard Bilstein sports rear (pretty stiff) with Koni adjustables up front, Dinan springs and M tech 19mm/25mm bars (same size as Dinan). Not a complete Dinan kit but it worked really well.

I also drove an E28 with full Dinan setup. Best handling E28 I have ever driven and the ride was not punishing at all.

Dinan springs, in general, tend to lower a car about .75 inches as opposed to 1.25 inches for the H&R, Eibach, etc. Lower looks cooler, but doesnt necessarily handle better. I guess it depends what type of driving you would like to do.

25 3/4in front
24 3/5in rear


I measured from center of fender to ground.

So you are 1.25 lower in the front and .25 lower in the rear compaired to a stock 535 5-speed running on 16teens.

So you are 1.25 lower in the front and .25 lower in the rear compaired to a stock 535 5-speed running on 16teens.
Good info, I was wondering what stock 535 was.
Also factor the car has 235/45 17 up front and 255/40 17 rear.

I thought you were selling it for a Supra?

Anyway....Bilstein, Eibach, Racing Dynamics Sways, Bmp Stress= Rails

meh... I decided to stick with BMW, and wait till I can find a deal on MKIV supra. The MKIII looks really dated.

People make the mistake of thinking the 750 bushings are stronger because of the weight of the car. This is totally false. The 750 bushings are oil-filled, they damp road vibrations very well - that's how they are designed for a luxury-tuned 750.

But, no questions about it, the E34 M5 bushings are the strongest BMW OE bushings for the E34 chassis.

If you want stronger, look into urethane or spherical bearings from RRT.

- Rob
That's interesting, I had no idea. I guess a common myth has been busted. Great info