Before |
After |
 The Eibach Pro-Kit, Pro-Dampers,...  The Eibach Pro-Kit, Pro-Dampers, and rollbars. The closest pieces make up the rear suspension components, while the farthest pieces make up the front. Note, the front sway bars are adjustable. |
 Starting with the front shocks...  Starting with the front shocks and struts, remove the sway bar end link and bracket holding the brake line, brake pad wear sensor, and ABS sensor. |
 Disconnect the one bolt that...  Disconnect the one bolt that clamps the strut to the suspension arm, unbolt the top strut bolts in the engine compartment, and pull the suspension arm down while pulling the strut down and to the side. |
 Once the strut is removed,...  Once the strut is removed, the rotor and caliper will swing out, as the strut is no longer supporting them. As a safety measure, the caliper was removed from its bracket and rested on the suspension arm to assure that the brake line, brake pad sensor, and ABS sensor were not damaged by the weight of the caliper and rotor. |
 Once the strut assembly is...  Once the strut assembly is removed, use a spring compressor to compress the spring and remove the top screw, strut hat, and bump stop. The stock strut and spring will not be reused. |
 Place the included bumpstop...  Place the included bumpstop on the Pro-Damper, place the spring over the strut, and put the stock strut hat onto the assembly. Use the bolt supplied by Eibach to tighten the spring and hat assembly onto the strut. The aftermarket kit doesnt require the use of a spring compressor to tighten the top strut screw. The Eibach spring is shorter than the stock spring, thus the spring isnt loaded too much when the top bolt is tightened. You can, however, use a spring compressor if you wish. |
 Place the Eibach spring and...  Place the Eibach spring and strut onto the car and connect the top bolts. Tighten the lower bolt to the strut body, as this will secure the rotor in place and the caliper, if removed, can now be reattached. Reconnect the bracket holding the brake line, brake pad sensor, and ABS sensor, but do not reconnect the sway bar end link if you will be replacing the sway bars, too. |
 Onto the rear. The stock suspension...  Onto the rear. The stock suspension is relatively simple to replace. The shock is only held in by a few bolts, and the spring does not require the use of a spring compressor for removal. |
 The rear springs are held...  The rear springs are held in by the rear shocks, forcing the suspension arm from extending beyond a certain point. Above and below the spring are rubber mounting brackets that hold the spring and keep it from wearing against the metal of the suspension arm. |
 Disconnect the bottom bolt...  Disconnect the bottom bolt holding the shock onto the suspension arm. By removing this bolt, the suspension arm is able to extend below its normal resting point. By pulling down on the suspension arm at this point, the rear spring can simply be pulled out. Be sure the springs upper and lower rubber mounting brackets are removed, too. |
 Once the stock spring is removed,...  Once the stock spring is removed, remove the rubber mounting brackets and push them onto the Eibach Pro-Kit springs. |
 With the spring removed, unbolt...  With the spring removed, unbolt the top of the stock shock from inside the trunk. In order to do this, the trunk carpet must be pulled back. When unbolting the shock, make sure it doesnt drop, as this can damage the stock shock as well as the brake line and various other suspension and brake components. The easiest way to ensure the shock doesnt drop is by having an assistant hold the shock body as it is unbolted. |
 Put the included bumpstop...  Put the included bumpstop on the Eibach shock. Have an assistant hold the Eibach Pro-Damper in place as you reattach the top to its mounting holes in the trunk. Place the aftermarket spring in the spring housing, making sure it is seated securely and has the rubber mounting brackets on the top and bottom. Reattach the bottom of the shock to the suspension arm. |
 Unbolting and bolting in the...  Unbolting and bolting in the sway bars is simple, but thanks to the BMWs rear suspension and exhaust design, the removal and installation of the sway bars can turn into a mind game. The rear is especially tricky and usually requires extra patience. Remove the end links from the chassis and disconnect the two bushing mounts, then carefully remove the sway bar from the car. Remove the end links from the sway bar. |
 Using the included grease,...  Using the included grease, grease up the inside of the included polyurethane bushings, and push them onto the sway bar. Attach the end links to the sway bar and press the factory bushing bracket around the new polyurethane bushings. |
 Thread the sway bar back into...  Thread the sway bar back into place, and reattach the bushings so the sway bar is held in place. |
 Once the bushing brackets...  Once the bushing brackets are reattached, tighten the end links to the car and the sway bar. Once both sway bars are installed, go back around all the bolts and check that they are tightened correctly. |
Massive fender gap is a sin, but in some horrific oversight it was absent from the Ten Commandments. Fortunately, BMW designed the E-46 with minimal fender gap, allowing some people to throw wheels and tires on and be relatively content. Faced with increased wheel diameters and decreased tire sidewalls, a Bimmer wearing stock springs looks almost perfect, but something still seems amiss. Like an awkward pause in a conversation, the stock fender gap is just enough to make people hesitate. The pause tells you something is wrong, but not being quite sure what, you continue with the conversation. Eibach paused, reflected, and managed to figure out what was missingrather, what should be missing. The result was Eibachs Pro-Kit springs and Pro-Dampers for the E-46, closing the fender gap by 1.4 inches on all corners and moving the Bimmer one step closer to heaven.
The beauty of the Pro-Kit and Pro-Dampers is that not only do they reduce fender gap, but they also firm up the ride, improving upon the cornering reputation that Bimmers and their 50/50 weight distributions have so rightly earned. This is not to say that this Eibach suspension setup is the best for every situation. The idea behind the Pro system is that it is a good compromise between race and stock when it comes to comfort, handling, and appearance. Simply put, if youre looking to lower your Bimmer, add a little firmer turn-in, and look good in the process without breaking the bank, Eibach is a good place to start. That, coupled with Eibachs reputation, 50 years worth of knowledge, and the amount of research that is put into every product, leaves no reason not to stop by Eibachs Web site to see if there is something in your size.
If, however, your dream is to have everything Eibachs Pro system offers, but increase turning agility, the company also offers front and rear sway bars. Eibachs sway bars connect the right and left suspension arms on the same axle line, as does every sway bar, but these have that extra Eibach touch in them. Instead of stiffening up the ride to the point of abuse for the driver, Eibachs sway bars increase cornering ability without beating on the driver in the turns. The result is increased cornering ability with little increase in harshness.
With this in mind, we headed to CECs showroom in Los Angeles and followed a full Eibach suspension upgrade on an E-46 decked out with goodies from CECfour of such goodies were 18-inch wheels. When we arrived, the Bimmer looked good, but, as we mentioned before, there was something amiss about the vehicles appearance. We pondered what it could be, strolled around the beautiful piece of German engineering for a few minutes, and then it hit us: The Bimmer was sitting just a hair too high. With little more to say, the BMW was commandeered and Eibach springs, shocks, and sway bars were installed. What follows are the exploits of what occurred after entering the service bay.