Extremely common on all E46s. Half of you half broken rear springs and dont know it. Thankfully the part of the spring that breaks is on the very bottom so it doesn't fall out and doesn't cause a change of ride height cause it has nowhere to go. So essentially it doesn't make too big of a difference except for squeaky noises. I'd replace both rear springs, all springs preferably.

And nice links to FCPEuro. Don't forget my discount code if you do order the springs: MangoFCP5. That'll definitely knock your price down even more. And if they break again in, I think they'll replace them... free!

And yeah I don't imagine touring/xi etc will make any difference except be stronger as you say. Try it.

 

Thanks for the response.

The piece came right out when I grabbed it. It snapped off and was small enough in diameter that it was just sitting in the center of the spring, clanking around.

I will replace both springs, definitely by the end of the month. But my week is hectic and I want to replace the broken one as soon as possible.

Fortunately, it did just break, and I caught it immediately. I know because I did the brakes last week and the spring was intact. I also check everything over throughly on any car whenever I change the oil or switch between summer/winter wheels.

Do you (or does anyone else here) know if the non-Xi Touring is the same height as an Xi?

(I've been using that code since you posted it on here! It's better than the standard coupon codes they always give out.)

 

What rear shocks did you install a little less than 10K back ?



Rob43

 

I didn't install them, the previous owner had them installed. It seems they were installed at a dealership.

They're OEM Sachs.

 

OK.

Go with a pair of the Non-HD then from your link.



Rob43

 

OEM springs are junk. Fit something of quality like Eibach

 

Lingon- The Bentley manual gives ride height specs from center of wheel arch to bottom of wheel rim. They vary according to wheel size and for each of standard, sport, rough road, and AWD. They do not have different specs for different body style.

What I would surmise from that is any touring, non-Xi spring will be lower than any Xi spring. So I'd say buy the Xi springs for your Xi.

The spec calls for 150LB in each front seat, 150LB centered on the rear seat, 46LB in the trunk, and a full tank of fuel. With that done, an Xi should measure 606mm front and 572mm rear with 16" wheels or 621 and 587 with 17" wheels. Assuming stock size tires. Max variation from side to side is 10mm, and max deviation from spec is also 10mm.

HTH.

I wonder if FCP was selling these springs when I bought new factory springs for my convertible last summer. I'd have totally gotten these instead....

 

Thanks for this very in-depth response! I'll go with the Xi spring I linked to.

 

Based on what I'm hearing, I guess it's safe to drive for a week on the broken spring? It would be easiest for me to replace them both next week, as opposed to trying to rush one of them this week.

The broken piece:

 

Yep. It's safe. That's pretty much what r1cers do to lower their cars. They cut a coil off. Usually more than that too. You can drive for years and years like that.

 

+1

I assume mine were broken for quite a while before I had snow tires installed. Clanking noises started immediately afterward. Diagnosed the problem but drove on them (not a lot as it was my wife's car at the time and she walked to work) all winter.