Broken Rear Spring ho hum

[Rick H]

Thanks guys . . . I didn't realise there was an issue with ordering - thats no bloody good. I'll speak to the dealer tommoz and see what the waiting time is, and check Simpsons/Bartletts too, cheers Ben.

Good point about the rear dampers - well worth a check, from memory they aren't that old but I'll check the paperwork. No leakage was noted by the tester.

Yes, great time to upgrade - love those Bilsteins, where are they from? Do they stiffen the ride too much though? I looked at the H&R ones Simpsons are punting for about £400 - are they worthwhile?

[mattCSLnut]

Originally Posted by Rick H

Good point about the rear dampers - well worth a check, from memory they aren't that old but I'll check the paperwork. No leakage was noted by the tester.

Yes, great time to upgrade - love those Bilsteins, where are they from? Do they stiffen the ride too much though? I looked at the H&R ones Simpsons are punting for about £400 - are they worthwhile?

The rear dampers don't need to have oil leaks to be worm out Rick My original 12 year old ones are bone dry but one of them doesn't rebound at all and the other one is so slow it's not worth waiting for BTW they have only done 70K (UK pothole) miles to be like that

Re: Billys ride height adjustable springs... they are part of my PSS10 kit ... and no they don't over stiffen the ride as they are fully adjustable from 0 = soft to 10 = hard so you can choose your rebound rate
This is what they looked like when I bought them New 4 years ago. They are a little bit used now but in perfect condition and may be available FOR SALE soon

[NZ_M3]

Originally Posted by mattCSLnut

My original 12 year old ones are bone dry but one of them doesn't rebound at all and the other one is so slow it's not worth waiting for

The stock rear dampers have a really high rebound rate, so they are VERY slow to come back up. The design of them also means that they don't actually function like you would normally expect. Bit like a race damper, push them down and they don't actually bounce back up - it's the way that the valving works.

[shimmy]

Originally Posted by NZ_M3

The stock rear dampers have a really high rebound rate, so they are VERY slow to come back up. The design of them also means that they don't actually function like you would normally expect. Bit like a race damper, push them down and they don't actually bounce back up - it's the way that the valving works.

I think stock dampers are a marvel tbh, great on the car in many conditions without adjustment.

[mattCSLnut]

Originally Posted by NZ_M3

The stock rear dampers have a really high rebound rate, so they are VERY slow to come back up. The design of them also means that they don't actually function like you would normally expect. Bit like a race damper, push them down and they don't actually bounce back up - it's the way that the valving works.

I'm not sure I follow Tom Both Bilstein & the brand new OEM dampers do rebound very progressively and normally as in not painfully slowly however after 6 + years and 70K pothole ridden UK roads miles my original 2003 rear dampers are toast... to be fair any damper would be. Manufacturers (including BMW )only warranty such parts up to 60K miles so that's a good indicator of the life span of these things.
FYI I've just bought a set of OEM (CSL specific) rear dampers from BMW main stealers (not the pretend ones off eBay ) and the rebound is very much there by comparison to the old dampers which as I've mentioned before are dead... at least one of them, for sure
First pic shows you a comparison between Bilstein PSS10 rear damper (on the left) Original 2003 in the middle and the brand new OEM replacement (on the right).

[NZ_M3]

I have a brand new unused set of CSL shocks and springs in my possession so I know exactly what you are talking about Matt.

I believe the new style CSL shocks have a different valving system compared to the originals - see video below (top new style, bottom old style shocks - both shocks are brand new - notice the rebound differences - this is a valving style difference). If you physically compared the shocks they are constructed differently also.

The original shocks on my car were removed by me when the car had only done 10k km so practically brand new and I can tell you for a fact that the rebound on them were very slow (I have removed enough stock CSL shocks and seen them behave this way enough to know that they were not like your usual shocks and that this characteristics is normal for the original shocks from the CSL)

Video
http://vid115.photobucket.com/albums...psehcsacph.mp4

Go grab a set of race shocks from kw or similar style valving and push them down next time and you'll be waiting for eternity for them to rebound.

[Chappers]

I ordered a pair of rear springs on Thursday and was told 7-10 days. My car won't pass the (expired) MOT without them so let's see what happens. It's currently sitting on the lawn until I get them...

[mattCSLnut]

Originally Posted by NZ_M3

I have a brand new unused set of CSL shocks and springs in my possession so I know exactly what you are talking about Matt.

I believe the new style CSL shocks have a different valving system compared to the originals - see video below (top new style, bottom old style shocks - both shocks are brand new - notice the rebound differences - this is a valving style difference). If you physically compared the shocks they are constructed differently also.

The original shocks on my car were removed by me when the car had only done 10k km so practically brand new and I can tell you for a fact that the rebound on them were very slow (I have removed enough stock CSL shocks and seen them behave this way enough to know that they were not like your usual shocks and that this characteristics is normal for the original shocks from the CSL)

Video
http://vid115.photobucket.com/albums...psehcsacph.mp4

Go grab a set of race shocks from kw or similar style valving and push them down next time and you'll be waiting for eternity for them to rebound.

Good to know we're on the same page and funny you should mention this Tom because the first pair of OEM rear dampers that arrived directly from Germany was a mix of one New (original 2003, 12 year old Old stock) and one revised New (New 2013 New stock) Alex (karbonkid) had the same experience, so this may be their unique way of getting rid of old stock
Like youself, I did a comparison rebound test with both of these shock side by side and the original 2003 stock was indeed much slower by comparison to the Newer 2013 revised, almost 50% slower than the other. Obviously I wasn't happy with this so I asked for the parts guy to re order another set but request they are a matching set. In fact I (and my OCD) would have preferred a pair of matching OEM old stock original CSL dampers for absolute originality as they have the correct (slower) rebound, plus the label with "M3 CSL" stamped on them as well as SACHS the OE manufacturer which the newer units don't. The practical me however thought it might be better to have a fresher dampers with newer rubber seals, oils & gasses instead of the 12 year old New old stock. Was that a mistake ? and should I have insisted on a pair of the original Old stock dampers ?
Some pix here to show the differences between the two.

[mattCSLnut]

Originally Posted by Chappers

I ordered a pair of rear springs on Thursday and was told 7-10 days. My car won't pass the (expired) MOT without them so let's see what happens. It's currently sitting on the lawn until I get them...

Sounds like they are coming direct from Germany as this is the period I had to wait for my OEM rear dampers recently... twice ... although the second time round they arrived within 5 days and were a matching pair which was a bonus.

[GregorFuk]

I am planning on doing a suspension refresh this winter and was going to go with OEM dampers as I have no idea what I'm doing with regards to suspension adjustment and figured BMW do.

Seem now like I man not be getting the real deal CSL dampers even if I do go OEM. So what now? Bilstein or Ohlin would be my choice as I don't want to go to full coil overs on the rear but neither of these manufacturers seem to offer a CSL specific kit, they only cater for the normal M3. This bothers me somewhat. Does anybody know if the KW CSL kit differs from their normal M3 offering? And can anybody advise on the above?