[nico e46]

Koni STR.T Kit BMW E46 325i 328i 330i

The Koni STR.T Kit for the BMW E46 325i 328i 330i comes as a complete shock and spring kit. This kit includes Koni STR.T Shocks, Struts and perfect fitting Eibach Lowering springs fine-tuned to lower the center of gravity.

emnotek.com

 

[RRRM8E]

If I were on a budget and owned an almost 20 year old BMW I'd be saving that money for inevitable repairs. Frankly I think the Zhp handles just fine.

 

[sharadnM3]

You might be happier with Koni yellow sports and the stock springs

 

[VpointVick]

If I were on a budget and owned an almost 20 year old BMW I'd be saving that money for inevitable repairs. Frankly I think the Zhp handles just fine.

The struts are likely shot on his twenty year old BMW so it's fair that he's looking. That said, unless the springs are broken there's no reason to be spending money on new ones, especially if on a budget. Get just shocks and struts and use the spring money on upper mounts and other things that will be needed when doing the job.

 

[RRRM8E]

The struts are likely shot on his twenty year old BMW so it's fair that he's looking. That said, unless the springs are broken there's no reason to be spending money on new ones, especially if on a budget. Get just shocks and struts and use the spring money on upper mounts and other things that will be needed when doing the job.

Yes, I should have qualified my comment to say that this might make sense if shocks/struts were done. Be sure to closely check the rear springs for cracking at the bottom, but otherwise no need to replace.

 

[Jcaze46]

Maybe he wanted to lower his car. Stock E46 do sit fairly IMO.

 

[nico e46]

The struts are likely shot on his twenty year old BMW so it's fair that he's looking. That said, unless the springs are broken there's no reason to be spending money on new ones, especially if on a budget. Get just shocks and struts and use the spring money on upper mounts and other things that will be needed when doing the job.

My struts are definitely shot. What replacement set would you recommend?

 

[VpointVick]

My struts are definitely shot. What replacement set would you recommend?

I went with Bilstien B8 but they're not the most budget friendly. B4 is direct replacement, Sachs is OEM.
I think the above suggestion of Koni Yellows on stock sport springs is a good one.

 

[TobyB]

B4's are ok with the sport springs, too. Plenty of damp.

I like the Koni yellow better- but when I bought, several years back,
B4's were quite a bit cheaper.

I bought the str.t's once. Would not recommend.

t

 

[RRRM8E]

I ended up with B6 on my E91 becasue PO had done rears so I had to get fronts to match. Not budget friendy. Tolerable firm ride. I've read good things about B4 and price is right.
I sourced sachs sport suspension rears some years ago for my E46 cab. Not sure if fronts are still available but so far originals are doing OK. Not sure how that compares to B4s.
I would check the rear springs before ordering anything.

 

[Galapolis]

I had STR.T dampers and they were horrible. DO NOT GET THEM OP. If you're on a budget, take a look at section 9 of my guide: BUDGET PERFORMANCE SUSPENSION GUIDE (Ultimate E46 OEM+ SACHS Setup)

 

[Alex323Ci]

you're probably better off with Bilstein Sports and use your springs saving that money

 

[ElrichMeister]

Been on Koni Yellows and H&R Sport Spring for 6+ years now, no issues so far

 

[riverwolf]

Another vote for Koni Sports with the factory springs (if unbroken), especially since this is a ZHP. IIRC, the dampers were unique to the ZHP while still using the regular Sport Suspension springs....lowering from standard was same for Sport and ZHP package. My own research when refreshing the suspension found a claim that the Koni Sport at full soft is slightly stiffer than the factory ZHP Sachs. Regardless, I've been very happy with the Sport spring\Koni combo...factory Sachs were completely gone by the time I got the car with 80K on them.

I personally wouldn't want to lower a ZHP further. Yeah, it looks nice, but even at factory height, there are too many real world scraping concerns, especially if you spend any time in the mountains.

 

[Galapolis]

Another vote for Koni Sports with the factory springs (if unbroken), especially since this is a ZHP. IIRC, the dampers were unique to the ZHP while still using the regular Sport Suspension springs....lowering from standard was same for Sport and ZHP package. My own research when refreshing the suspension found a claim that the Koni Sport at full soft is slightly stiffer than the factory ZHP Sachs. Regardless, I've been very happy with the Sport spring\Koni combo...factory Sachs were completely gone by the time I got the car with 80K on them.

I personally wouldn't want to lower a ZHP further. Yeah, it looks nice, but even at factory height, there are too many real world scraping concerns, especially if you spend any time in the mountains.

ZHP used regular sports dampers. This is different from the rest of the world, where the MSport package received MSport dampers. However US sport package models received MSport dampers up to Sept. 2001, so you can install them on a ZHP today if you want to. Personally I would do MSport front dampers and E36 M3 rear dampers as outlined in my guide.

 

[riverwolf]

It sure would be nice if BMW marketing and engineering had been on the same page when documenting the ZHP/M-Sport package.

Per the Wiki at another site, it appears to be a combination of what we both said...the ZHP springs are the same as same year ZSP, but the ZHP dampers were slightly stiffer than post-4/01 ZSP. The pre-4/01 ZSP dampers had similar damping rates to the ZHP, but used different Sach's models.

 

[Galapolis]

It sure would be nice if BMW marketing and engineering had been on the same page when documenting the ZHP/M-Sport package.

Per the Wiki at another site, it appears to be a combination of what we both said...the ZHP springs are the same as same year ZSP, but the ZHP dampers were slightly stiffer than post-4/01 ZSP. The pre-4/01 ZSP dampers had similar damping rates to the ZHP, but used different Sach's models.

Yeah it's definitely not very clear. I did a lot of research on this last year to put together my guide. Basically the US sport package prior to 09/01 had Sachs Advantage dampers, which are the same dampers as what MSport had in Europe. The ZHP got Super Touring dampers from day one (confirmed by ZHP owners who still had their original dampers), which are softer than Advantage. However, after 09/01, Advantage wasn't offered in the US anymore at all (there were a lot of automotive journalists who complained that the sport package was too stiff), and all sport packages and ZHPs received Super Touring dampers from then on. You can trace the lineage back by cross-referencing the original BMW part numbers (from BMW ETK) with the corresponding Sachs part numbers from the ZF catalogue (this is what I did for my guide).

This would make sense for the ZHP since it is designed exclusively for the US market which has worse roads, so the person who put together the package (a man that goes by the name of Richard Brekus) probably chose the Super Touring dampers over Advantage for better ride quality on US roads. The information about the ZHP having stiffer shocks comes from the marketing department which I personally would not trust. I trust part numbers more.

 

[Bike Rider]

Yeah it's definitely not very clear. I did a lot of research on this last year to put together my guide. Basically the US sport package prior to 09/01 had Sachs Advantage dampers, which are the same dampers as what MSport had in Europe. The ZHP got Super Touring dampers from day one (confirmed by ZHP owners who still had their original dampers), which are softer than Advantage. However, after 09/01, Advantage wasn't offered in the US anymore at all (there were a lot of automotive journalists who complained that the sport package was too stiff), and all sport packages and ZHPs received Super Touring dampers from then on. You can trace the lineage back by cross-referencing the original BMW part numbers (from BMW ETK) with the corresponding Sachs part numbers from the ZF catalogue (this is what I did for my guide).

This would make sense for the ZHP since it is designed exclusively for the US market which has worse roads, so the person who put together the package (a man that goes by the name of Richard Brekus) probably chose the Super Touring dampers over Advantage for better ride quality on US roads. The information about the ZHP having stiffer shocks comes from the marketing department which I personally would not trust. I trust part numbers more.

Ha, I saved that guide as I need to
replace my rear shocks on my M Sport. Useful guide and thanks for that.