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E46 auto-slammin'


M3M3

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for E46 owners.......or those that think they want one...

 

if the back of the car starts looking more "sporty" that you remember..the e46's have an auto-slamming feature.  bmw designed in a feature that automatically stances the car after a 100k miles or so.  this is accomplished by designing springs with preset failure points so that when exposed to moisture long enough the rust rings the death knell on the points on the coil that have faults..causing them to break off...in multiple locations.  this saves the owners from having to buy lowering springs or cutting off a coil or two to get that much sought after slammed stance.

 

i was sitting at a traffic light last week and heard a loud metallic BANG from the back of my 02 E46 wagon. put it up on the lift today to find this.

20180331_122508.jpg

 

both rear springs broken in two places.   right one both on bottom coils, left one broken on top and bottom.  notice the lower coil from both springs still stuck on the lower spring pad in the pics.  top coil from leftspring missing completely.  second to bottom coil on right spring visible on floor loose. 

 

what POS's these cars are.

 

luckily, i had just taken the stock suspension off my E36 M3.  the rear M3 springs fit perfectly on the E46.  all fixed.....again.......for now....

Edited by mlytle
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2xM3

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thanks, Marshall, appreciate the warning.  I've got an 02 330ci but with only 84K.  guess I'll do an inspection tomorrow and see if there are any rust indicators

Edited by yeewiz

Bob

BMWCCA #4844 (#297 of The 308)

1974 2002 Sahara, MM 2400 Rally engine, MM 5 speed and conversion

1976 2002A Anthracite parts car

1991 525i AlpinweiB II

2002 330ci AlpinweiB III

2007 530xiT Titanium Silver

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it is a pretty well documented issue on E46 forums.  I haven't seen any 2002, E30 or E36 spring coils do this...

 

maybe i should stop taking my slushbox E46 wagon to the track...too delicate....:-)

Edited by mlytle
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2xM3

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I don't want to jinx mine- but it has had at least 3 different sets of springs in its 120k mile life...  Currently on Eibachs...

 

Just do the M3 swap- you'll LOVE it.  Convertible M3s are in the 7-8k range, couple of long days for the swap, some really simple coding (you can buy the tools to do it for $40 or so) and BAM! S54.

Dave.

'76, totally stock. Completely.

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