DO NOT use lowering springs on the b4 they are not intended for that. It’ll cause the strut to sit in the middle of its travel. the valving inside the strut is not intended for that. Thus the strut will always be in a state of rebound which will cause a horribly bouncy ride. If you are going to use lowering springs get a strut meant for those springs if you want to maintain the ride quality. The technique for removing the strut from the knuckle is to drive a large wedge punch into the slot in the knuckle then grab the top of the rotor and push/pull it forward and backwards(in relation to you) or in and out(in relation to the vehicle) with a lot of force. Good video as always. Living that awd gap life now.🤣

I've got the same wheels on my 330, but mine are completely disgusting compared to your pristine alloys. I spent the entire video looking at the wheels and now I'm definitely getting mine restored asap.

Hi from Germany... I have a 323ci e46 and replaced my struts as well from Bilstein B4. They changed the height of the strut bearings a few years ago.. The new ones are about 0.4 inches higher than the old ones. I would recommend the strut bearings for the BMW Z4 3.0. They fit in the e46 only the pin in the strut bearing has to be removed. Or you buy the Eibach Pro Kit lowering springs with the part no E2067-140 if you have the 6 cylinder engine.

B4 is not really an upgrade. I just installed B6 front and rear on a 2002 330Ci and it transformed the car. I highly recommend stepping up to the B6 for folks trying to decide.

Not sure if the sport suspension has anything to do with it, but like I said below, this was a big PITA job!! The trick was a lot of zip ties when the spring is compressed for getting the new ones on. A whole lot easier anyway.

I guarantee you the issue is the upper spring mounts. Measure from bottom of the bearing to the top of the flange on both the old and the new. Over an inch taller. I just did exact swap to b4 a couple months ago. Ended up using old spring mounts. Changing strut should not change ride height itself. The spring does that.

Good vid. Try using a jack stand next tome through so you dont turn your hand into a pancake by accident.

Ahhhhh, I feel your pain of trying to get these things on and off the first time. I didn’t take my control arm off the spindle, but pushed down as hard as I could with a rod and pulled the rotor towards you. I also compressed the springs a little and as well used a crap ton of zip ties to hold the springs compression when putting them back on and cut them off one by one till there weren’t enough and each one slowly popped off. I know you already did the job, but maybe this will help someone else watching before doing the job.

I wasn't overly impressed with the Bilstein shocks, I found the ride harsh compared to the OEM Sachs shocks and after a couple of weeks I couldn't stand it any more and replaced the Bilsteins with Sachs shocks. So if you want a comfortable ride, stick with Sachs shocks.

B6 are intended for lowering car, not B4's. BTW you never told us the most important part.... how was the ride quality afterwards?

You have the disc brake facing the wrong side , changed and you going to see the difference

Did u install the strut fully in the knuckle? I did the same job and didn't install it fully, thats why my car was sitting to high. I would recomend u to check out how deep it needs to go and see if it js fully seated in the knuckle.

How's it been with the B4's? How does it feel? Did your car lower in height? I have a 2 door 325ci, not sure if i should install sachs shocks or B4's..road use,no track days

i have bilstein b6 with eibach pro lower springs on 2003 318ci . i can take big turns with 180km/h no problem at all . They are stiff tho !

It’s the upper strut mount. The new ones aren’t the same as the old ones. Part numbers same but not the same part.

I also thought I have to remove the knuckle as mine wasn't coming out but I just pressed hard with my leg on it and the shock popped out.

Absolutely LOVE those wheels!

I personally wasn’t crazy about the bilstein shocks I thought it was a rough ride but it does give for really good handling. I went over to koni shocks and it’s so much better you can go hard or soft it has 3 settings so depending on what u like. Does handle as great but it’s more customizable to what you like. Although I drive a sedan so maybe bilsteins would be better on the convertible since it’s a more sporty car. Love the upgrades you have been doing car has come a long way!

Where these the sport or standard version of the B4 struts? I’m thinking of getting the same version for my Audi A4, but I’m not sure whether to go for the sport B4s or standard B4s. I want a sporty feel but without compromising comfort and the damping. I know they say the B6s are more sporty, but also way above my budget. That brings me to the price comparison between the B4s sport and standard; the sports are about $90 cheaper than the standards, which is interesting! I’d imagine the sport ones be more expensive. Also, are those rotors from Power Stop?

DON'T BUY LOWERING SPRINGS if you're using Bilstein B4 dampeners... Bilstein struts for BMW E46 have a really long strut shaft, compared to stock. They will raise your rise height, no matter the spring. After replacing brand new b4's with KYB Excell G using same spring, the ride height went back to normal... b6 have the same long strut shaft. Ground Control, I've read, doesn't like working with bilstein struts either because of the really long strut shaft, ang how it affects damping of springs. This makes most springs unsuitable for the intended dampening ranges these bilstein struts use. Springs must be longer to match the dampening range of the strut. So, if you must buy springs for the b4, only buy bilstein springs if you want the suspension to work as designed. But your car will sit higher. If you decide to go ahead and put lowering springs on these b4, your car will ride bouncy, because the struts will always be in the middle/aggressive range of the dampeners. It will act as though it's always being compressed, ready to rebound. This will cause bouncy ride. B8s will work as far as same ride height at OEM sport suspension, but are too strong/stiff for daily driving. The B8's only work well with racing springs, not even sport springs can keep up, even though the description will tell you they are meant for at least sport springs. They are not. They are meant for racing springs. I have personally run B8s on eibach pro kit and H&R Sport, and H&R race. Eibachs were too soft for the B8s. The H&Rs sports, which are slightly stiffer, handled the rebound better, but still bouncy and rebound too quickly. The H&R race spring was by far the best spring with the B8s. But it was super stiff. Not bouncy at all, but very stiff. Awesome on the track, terrible on daily driven cars. It would be better for you, IMO, to get rid of the B4. Eat the cost as you'll never be happy with the ride height, and/or ride quality, and be chasing springs thinking they must be the problem, when It's the struts that are not matched. To get stock replacement, KYB Excell G makes an exact replacement for the sport suspension, and are relatively inexpensive. Same as stock ride height, and stock ride quality. You'll be happy with these, and not have to screw around with springs. Also, Sachs(OEM BMW) are slightly more expensive than the KYBs, like $10-$20 more per. Using these will get you back into that BMW feel. Moog makes an endlink that's a stock replacement, but is stronger looking, Thicker OD of the shaft. Also have a zerk/grease fitting for maintenance of the ball joint. Whenever you change the brakes, grease the endlinks up and they will outlast the car.

Do eibach sportline springs on it gives it a nice drop and 20mm front spacers and 15mm rear spacers

Hi Evan. Recently discovered your Chanel and love the work you do. Your explanation of what’s going on is so clear. I’ve used INPA to diagnose the error on my 2005 E60 535d M Sport. Airbag and seatbelt lights on on dash constantly and safety warning on idrive. Used to be able to clear it with INPA but now fault remains and always comes up with 93F9 which is the SGM/SIM module. I’ve ordered a replacement but know it will want coding to the car with the VIN number. Have you done a video on this? (Locked but can’t see one?) and also will I need to re start the time on the module after changing the VIN? If so have you done a video on that too please? Look forward to your reply and keep up the good work in all things BMW 👍

Did you ever figure out why it sat so high?

Hey, I just have a little question. I have an E46 318Ci and I'm looking forward to swap it for a M54B30 engine. I have Bilstein B4 on it right now, and if i wanted to swap my E46 is it necessary to change these dampers to something like B6's? That's what I was thinking before, but after watching this video I'm not sure if I need to change them at all. Maybe only stiffer springs will do the job perfectly?

Tell me you got a jack stand off camera are you yoloing it

It happened for me the aftermarket suspension is higher..i waste my money...i change it agin it was ugly😢

I have B4 sport on mine car sit fine front and rear like oem

E46 doesen t look so good without an M front bumper

I’m having the same problem with ride hight after installing new B4 sports. Don’t know if I should look for a set of lowering springs. Previously had Tein Advance adjustable dampers but they started leaking and decided to replace with Bilstein b4 but the gap up front is extremely unbearable 😢😢I’ve even thought of cutting the springs I have on

That's not upgrading, it's upgrade if you use bilstein b6/b8, b4 is just a stock shock, b6/b8 is upgrading the performance of handling and b6 for the same ride height b8 is for lowering the ride heights

is the car on 18 inch wheels ????

Waiting to put Bilstein B12 performance plus sportline on mine 🥰😎

Does your car have the factory sport/lowered suspension? My car does and when I installed the b4's, my car sat extremely high in the front, but perfectly fine in the rear.

Hows the ride now? Reading all the other comments has me curious...

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