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Touring Lowering Information:
Spurred on by Roger Neef’s arrangement of the
group purchase of Sachs Sports Suspensions from Bekkers,
a few of us Touring owners went looking for complete information
on how to get our Wagons closer to the ground. As it happened,
we were unable to get in on the Sachs purchase. Since those
kits are built around Eibach springs, and Ebiach makes NO
springs for the Touring wagon, we were out of luck. Other
options were found, one rather mild, one a bit more wild.
On the mild side, BMW makes a Sport
suspension for the E34 Touring, in the spring table, they
refer to it as the "Low Slung Sport Suspension."
These are conservative sport springs with a .5 - .75 inch
drop, matched to our cars and tuned by BMW. These springs
will give a drop similar to the drop seen on the factory M-Technic
suspension, or on the Dinan stage I suspension kits. I have
not worked out yet whether there are BMW factory shocks that
go along with these springs. There are many aftermarket shocks
available in different firmness that should match your desired
manner of driving. Paul at Maximillian
Imports can get any and all of these
springs for us, and his current prices are $279 for a set
of 4 springs.
Part numbers below are from the E34 Spring
table. In the notes that follow, numbers used are the last
3 digits of a spring part number. Things to consider when
dealing with BMW spring part numbers –
- All BMW spring part numbers fall into a
range. For example, the Touring Sport Front springs fall
into the range of 31 33 1 138 809-814.
- Each single digit increment in the spring
part number represents approximately a 3% increase in load
rating for that spring, i.e. the 810 spring is rated for
about 3% more weight than the 809 spring.
- The base Sport spring for the stripper
525iT is the 809 spring, the base Sport spring for the 530iT
is the 810 spring. Add A/C and other options normally installed
for the US market, and the Sport 525iT spring is usually
the 810, the Sport 530iT spring is usually the 812.
- The spring table does not increment much
for the rear springs on cars with Self Level – the Self
Level kit does the lifting for you.
BMW Sport Springs, Part numbers from ETK
Spring Table:
(All with description Low Slung Sport Suspension,
AC, CD Changer, Dual Sunroof, power seats, cargo cover &
nets, roof rack, +50KG rear load)
Here I list the "Low Slung Sports Suspension"
spring part numbers for our Tourings. The part number listed
is the part number returned from the spring table, the numbers
in parentheses are the part number range available. Based
on the notes above, you could increment or decrement the part
number given to find a slightly lighter or heavier spring
for your taste.
525iT - front - 31 33 1 138 810 (808-812)
rear - 33 53 1 138 779 (778-779) (with self level)
rear - 33 53 1 138 720 (719-721) (NO self level)
530iT - front - 31 33 1 138 812 (808-812)
rear - 33 53 1 138 779 (778-779) (with self level)
rear - 33 53 1 138 720 (719-721) (NO self level)
On the wilder side, H&R
makes lowering spring kits for the Touring wagon in it’s self-leveled
(1992-1993) and un-self-levelled (1994-1995) forms. The H&R
kits will drop the front of the Touring between 1.5 and 1.7
inches, the rear drop will be between .5 and .7 inches. This
will be a nice, low, tight ride. There are no matched shocks
available for these kits, but they are generally sold with
Bilstein Sport shocks. BMP
should be able to work a kit out if those are the components
you desire, they list many of what they call the HRB kits,
though you will have to call them with the H&R part numbers
listed below. TMS
quoted prices of $239 for the Touring springs WITH self level
and $269 for the Touring WITHOUT self-level (the self-level
kits are in stock and not currently a special order item).
As with BMP, you will have to have these part numbers in front
of you when you call, as they are NOT in the TMs computers.
H&R DOES NOT LIST THESE SPRINGS ON THE PARTS LIST AT THEIR
WEB SITE, call them if you want to verify the part numbers.
H&R Spring Sets at
TMS:
Part number #29888-1 IN STOCK $239.95
(Lowering springs for Touring, WITH SELF LEVEL!!! Drop = 1.5-1.7"fr/0.5-0.7"rr)
Part number #29889-1 In Germany – never
ordered for US ~$270
(Lowering springs for Touring – NO Self Level – same drop,
not in stock, can order)
Self Level Elimination:
As it turns out, BavAuto has instructions on
their website for how to implement the Self Level Elim kits
that they sell. Instructions are found in a PDF file at http://www.bavauto.com/inst/E32e34ElimKits.pdf.
The instructions look pretty straightforward regarding the
removal of the system. Look at your Bentley Manual for other
information not included in the Self Level Elim Instructions
including (but not limited to) de-pressurizing the system,
spring/shock removal and refilling/bleeding the system.
Paul at Maximillian Imports quoted me $125
for a self level elimination kit that includes upper shock
mounts, spring dampener pads, buffer stops, lock nuts, dust
sleeves and upper mount paper seals. This would be desirable
to avoid destroying the rear upper shock mounts when the new
standard shocks are installed.
Other questions answered in the process:
Who makes the BavAuto springs? I got no well-defined
answer from BavAuto product support, though they are made
in Germany, NOT H&R, NOT Eibach.
Eibach does NOT make springs for the Touring,
period.
Credits: Thanks to Roger for getting the juices
flowing on this. While we could not take part in the Sachs
purchase, I don’t know if I would have started calling around
without his work. Curt Anderson gets the credit for the first
set of calls to H&R, between the two of us, we finally
got the whole poop on what H&R springs are offered for
the Touring in it’s various forms. A HUGE thanks to Paul at
Maxmillian Imports, possibly the only man in the country who
knows what the BMW Sports Suspensions are all about. I called
a number of dealers with the part numbers and descriptions
of the Sports Suspension springs and got the same answer,
"I can order them, but I don’t know what they are."
Paul knew what they were right off the bat, and can source
them at a great price. Any other Q’s you have regarding your
undersides, he is the man to answer your questions and get
the parts.
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