With the front taken care of, it’s time to tackle the rear. We’re going to need access to the top mounts of the struts. They’re buried underneath the rear trunk carpeting.
No problem! Simple slide the center section out and remove the metal plates to expose the upper strut mounts.
Remove deez nuts (sorry I had to…) from both sides and just like that you’re done inside the trunk area.
Underneath you’ll find one large bolt holding the strut on, crack it loose and remove it.
As in my case, the strut needed a bit of help sliding off its mounting point.
You’ll be familiar with this procedure. Remove the top mount and move it over to the KW strut. This time its super simple as there is no spring to deal with.
Just like that you’ve got a KW strut that’s ready to be reinstalled.
Bolt that bad boy back in place and admire how easy that job was.
After you’ve finished both sides there’s just the matter of how to adjust ride height on the rear air bags…
This is the airbag setup, doesn’t look very adjustable to me.
But once you look a little deeper you’ll see this contraption. Its a servo motor attached to an endlink. It ensures rear ride height is level (to factory specs) no matter how much or little weight is in the back. It’s a very simple yet effective device and luckily for us, KW has figured out that by replacing the endlink with an adjustable one, we can set the rear air bag height to whatever we desire.
It’s simplicity is grand. Ride height adjustment has never been easier. Extend it to raise the car, shorten it to lower it.
And that is it! I have to say that the suspension install on this E39 was one of the easiest I’ve done in a while and that usually isn’t the case with BMW’s!
My Gentleman Low ride height has been nothing but glorious. The wagon looks so much better with the lower stance (even with the stock wheels) yet it rides like a new car again. I’m not exaggerating here either. With the stock suspension (which was likely worn out) the steering wheel would shudder, clunk over bumps, and the ride was very low rider like but not in a good way. Think too much bouncing up and down.
With the KW V2’s in place, all that is gone! It without a doubt rides as good if not better than it did from the factory. The compliance is incredible and after some dialing in of the dampening the big wagon exhibits very little body roll. The tires and wheels are now the weak link in the handling department.
This upgrade has once again reaffirmed my belief that installing a quality suspension setup is one of the most important pieces to modifying an automobile. Cheap out and you’ll hate yourself every time you drive your car. Spend the money on a good setup and you’ll enjoy driving your car that much more. I realize the temptation to buy the cheapest product available is there because it all ‘functions’ the same way but that’s far from the truth. The reality is there are night and day differences between the good stuff and the bad so save your money and spend it wisely. You’ll thank yourself (and me) later.
SOURCES
KW Suspension: kwsuspension.com
Sachs Top Mounts: Gutenparts.com
Wait a second, why is one of the rear V2’s a Koni Yellow?
Hey James,
KW uses Koni shocks in the rear of this setup. I was surprised as well when I installed them!
Can you email me pics of the rear lowered
What you see in the photos is where the ride height is set to.
If we talk about suspension spring of car,then the thing is that after some interval of time we have to replace this string as corrosion happen due to rust.Well one repair it by own by watching some videos purchasing some kits.There are different type of kits are there whatever you find suitable buy it.And properly watch the video to learn how to install it
Air springs normally ride controls your ride,but the thing is that all air suspensions share a common problem of air leaks.And when a system cannot hold air it became flat.
When an air ride suspension system goes flat,it is very expensive to fix.As original equipment parts are so costly.
Hi can you please show or write what goes where with the top hat on the front set up of the coilover ,as photos do not show step by step . so that i can do it correctly
Nice writeup. Are you still enjoying your e39 wagon? I picked one up a little more than a year ago and am planning on replacing the shocks and struts. I happen to prefer a stock ride height (mostly for ease of getting in and out of the vehicle), but want to get quality suspension components.
Do you know if KW’s or other coilovers will accommodate a stock ride height? Most coilover descriptions mention a ‘lowered range’ of 1″-2″. But I’m curious to know if they can be extended to function properly at stock ride heights.