e34 530 touring lowering with self level

[711jrp]

Hi I'm new to the forum ,just found it the other day. I was hoping someone might help me out with a small problem , i've got a 530 touring e 34 and have just fitted a set of 18" rims with 235 40 tyres and now it really needs lowering ,so here is my problem if you fit a set of lowered springs (shorter) to the rear wont the self level rear suspension just jack the body back up to the normal ride hight .I have seen kits listed for the touring but arn't sure if they fit cars fitted with self lever

[George M]

your instincts are correct...with some prefacing. The rear springs on an LAD rear suspension car...I have the same suspension on my 90 735iL which is lowered...are relatively light in spring rate as they don't formally support the weight of the car as with a conventional rear suspension. An analog out there is an air-bag suspension. The springs are there simply to quiet and slow jounce and rebound accelerations and restore ride height....the counterpart to the damper side of the suspension which are the accumulators...hydraullic pressure controls ride height and can be adjusted to lower the rear fractionally...what I have done on my car for example. You will only want to tweak the rear down very slightly to make the car sit right with lowering the front 1-1.5" depending on your front spring selection. I suggest you only replace the front springs on the car...I recommend M-technic springs..available separately with 3mm upper spring pads and leave the front dampers stock Boge if replacing them. The LAD in the rear is hard to improve upon. If you lower the car a bit your T will handle like a slot car. If you want even further rolling resistance you can go with thicker sway bars but personally I don't think they are necessary as your car lowered with LAD will corner very flat.
Enjoy it...always liked the E-34 Touring...a very cool BMW with a lot of utility.
George

[711jrp]

your instincts are correct...with some prefacing. The rear springs on an LAD rear suspension car...I have the same suspension on my 90 735iL which is lowered...are relatively light in spring rate as they don't formally support the weight of the car as with a conventional rear suspension. An analog out there is an air-bag suspension. The springs are there simply to quiet and slow jounce and rebound accelerations and restore ride height....the counterpart to the damper side of the suspension which are the accumulators...hydraullic pressure controls ride height and can be adjusted to lower the rear fractionally...what I have done on my car for example. You will only want to tweak the rear down very slightly to make the car sit right with lowering the front 1-1.5" depending on your front spring selection. I suggest you only replace the front springs on the car...I recommend M-technic springs..available separately with 3mm upper spring pads and leave the front dampers stock Boge if replacing them. The LAD in the rear is hard to improve upon. If you lower the car a bit your T will handle like a slot car. If you want even further rolling resistance you can go with thicker sway bars but personally I don't think they are necessary as your car lowered with LAD will corner very flat.
Enjoy it...always liked the E-34 Touring...a very cool BMW with a lot of utility.
George

Thanks George for your quick reply.I am happy with the way the T handles i wanted to lower it more for the look as it looks a bit odd with the 18s so if I understand you right i leave the standard rear springs in and drop the presure in the hydraulics is this a hard job ie main dealer or is it a simple matter of letting some fluid out of a valve

[winfred]

you should be able to adjust the link arm on the valve that hooks to the rear swaybar to drop the rear

Thanks George for your quick reply.I am happy with the way the T handles i wanted to lower it more for the look as it looks a bit odd with the 18s so if I understand you right i leave the standard rear springs in and drop the presure in the hydraulics is this a hard job ie main dealer or is it a simple matter of letting some fluid out of a valve

[Springfield1952]

Are you sure your Touring has self leveling? My 1994 530iT does not.

Curt.

Hi I'm new to the forum ,just found it the other day. I was hoping someone might help me out with a small problem , i've got a 530 touring e 34 and have just fitted a set of 18" rims with 235 40 tyres and now it really needs lowering ,so here is my problem if you fit a set of lowered springs (shorter) to the rear wont the self level rear suspension just jack the body back up to the normal ride hight .I have seen kits listed for the touring but arn't sure if they fit cars fitted with self lever

[MicahO]

Are you sure your Touring has self leveling? My 1994 530iT does not.

Curt.

By 1994, BMW had pretty much deleted the self level rear from the US market Tourings - they figured out that we have pickup trucks here for loads we want to haul. Nevertheless, most Tourings still take CHF11S as the PS fluid, which leads a lot of owners to think that they may have the self level rear installed.

Check the actual shocks in the back before you decide that the car has the LAD shocks - if there are no high-pressure hydraulic fittings, you'll need springs to do the lowering. If it is the LAD rear, you can adjust the levelling arm that George described, which will drop the rear a bit. Simply removing fluid will not accomplish this.

Another note - when Drew Zacharda did his (1994) 530iT => 540iT/6 buildout, he replaced the shocks and was looking to lower the rear. When he pulled the (non-LAD) rears out of his wagon, he found that the springs installed in his car were already the part numbers listed for the factory's "Low Slung Sport Suspension" springs. (See Link here for part numbers) So you may already have a moderately 'lowered' rear end, but you won't know unless you can look at those springs up close.

Which brings me to the last note - Most people feel that the FRONT of a Touring is what needs to be dropped - even with 15" wheels, it often looks like it's dragging it's rump on the pavement. With the pre-installed "Low Slungs" in Drew's car, and the factory "Low Slungs" in the front, plus the 3mm spring pads that give you another 1/4 inch drop up front, the 540iT/6 looks quite well balanced...... Dropping the rear without dropping the front will definitely look a bit unbalanced.

[Steve N]

What he said. My '93 touring has the LAD and the rear looks about the same height as my 525 sedan with the Sachs kit. I think the front needs to be dropped to even out the look.

Check the actual shocks in the back before you decide that the car has the LAD shocks - if there are no high-pressure hydraulic fittings, you'll need springs to do the lowering. If it is the LAD rear, you can adjust the levelling arm that George described, which will drop the rear a bit. Simply removing fluid will not accomplish this.

Another note - when Drew Zacharda did his (1994) 530iT => 540iT/6 buildout, he replaced the shocks and was looking to lower the rear. When he pulled the (non-LAD) rears out of his wagon, he found that the springs installed in his car were already the part numbers listed for the factory's "Low Slung Sport Suspension" springs. (See Link here for part numbers) So you may already have a moderately 'lowered' rear end, but you won't know unless you can look at those springs up close.

Which brings me to the last note - Most people feel that the FRONT of a Touring is what needs to be dropped - even with 15" wheels, it often looks like it's dragging it's rump on the pavement. With the pre-installed "Low Slungs" in Drew's car, and the factory "Low Slungs" in the front, plus the 3mm spring pads that give you another 1/4 inch drop up front, the 540iT/6 looks quite well balanced...... Dropping the rear without dropping the front will definitely look a bit unbalanced.

[Elekta]

Start up your touring, open the rear hatch and listen carefully to your exhaust sounds for about 15 seconds.

Then plop your butt in the back and see if you can't hear the LAD working. If it is inconclusive, have someone else sit in it while you listen at a wheel well.

It's a buzzing sound that's not like a compressor or air ride, but it's a noticeable buzzzzz.

Once you start messing with your rear suspension, you are going to encounter a host of other ride issues, not to mention a ton of money for little gain. My $.02 is to live with the gap at the rear, and consider something minor for the front. Heck you have 18 inch rims already. How tight does that gap have to be?

If you do have the LAD, consider flushing the fluid with new green CHS. That's a $40 prevent that will help your steering and your rear suspension.

Save your money for the bigger issues

[711jrp]

Thanks to everyone for such a great response!! I've been under the back today and the Ts has got LAD ie high presure pipes coming of the botton of the shocks the car is a euro version i guess thats why. Im going to look into adjusting the actuator arm (i did this on a merc 230te years ago so shouldnt pose a problem) and get the M tec front springs and 3mm seats. I whole heartadly agree with you all that the rear dose not need lowering as much as the front dose
Thanks very much once again

[George M]

you will only want to lower the rear by about 1/4" or so...for two reasons...
a. aesthetics...as mentioned the rear of the LAD is already at about the right height...its the front that is too high in the air with std. springs.
b. the LAD is somewhat unforgiving to a big drop by design...the ride becomes degraded when running it nominally toward the bottom of its travel for reasons I won't get into.

As mentioned...there is a U clamp on the sway bar that secures/locates the transverse rod that actuates the LAD reg. valve/controls ride height. Use a 10mm box end wrench to loosen/relocate the U clamp angularly on the sway bar. Make a visual note of its position before loosening the U clamp...only a few degrees will get you to where you want to be.
Good Luck,
George