[joe130]

Originally Posted by Matthewricha

Trying to see if I can help, but forgive me, isn't this how it is supposed to connect up? The keying circled in red needs to line up. The Blue circled Keying might be an issue and what that you're referring to?

I see that you wouldn't be able to connect the OEM cable to the Bilstien Shocks due to the orientation of the shock socket being in a different place and that the OEM cable plug would foul due to it's right angled plug.

EDIT: actually I can see the pin spacing on the provided adaptor cable is wider/larger than the OEM connector! mm

Matthewricha - Yeah.. that didn't work.. I tried it when I was installing the new shocks and there was no way those two would go together.


Long read below. Bottom line is that I received the wrong connectors (in three different boxes) due to a packaging error at Bilstein. If you want to make sure yours are correct, check for a blue end on the connector that was supplied from Bilstein - if you have that you should be good to go. To be certain, once you remove your wheel I would start by unplugging the OE harness from the existing shock AND from the vehicle chassis harness and test fit the supplied Bilstein harness before turning any wrenches. This will make sure that you'll have a smooth install.


Here's the details...

Original drama thus far:
I bought the shocks through Summit Racing. They had the cheapest prices and are an authorized reseller for Bilstein, so I thought this would be an easy way to go. Bought them in two batches (one front one rear each) so I could take advantage of the $100 off if you spend over $1000. Splitting the order this way gave me an additional $200 off, so I came in at just under $1900 for all four shocks. In the first order to arrive the wire harness for one of the shocks was broken because they basically did nothing to package the shock for shipment (they literally put a shipping label on the Bilstein box and sent it). So I filed a claim online and they shipped a replacement shock that arrived undamaged. The next order arrived and one of the shocks had some pretty heavy damage on the bottom, again due to poor shipping. This time I had to call them and get into an argument over the shocks but in the end they sent out another shock which arrived undamaged. Problem solved - at least I thought so. Keep in mind at this point I have three front shocks and three rear shocks. I ordered all the fasteners, bump stops, gaskets and mounts from BMW of South Atlanta (great prices, legit parts and fast shipping) - all of which arrived without issue. So I went to do the rears and the previous post discusses how it ended up (rear shocks installed with no connectors). The previous interactions with Summit Racing led me to think I should just contact Bilstein support to see what was up so I emailed both the Germany and USA tech support folks on last Friday - but due to the weekend and holiday on Monday I didn't hear back.

Calls to Bilstein:
Called the tech support for Bilstein USA and originally got the runaround. The tech sounded like he had just finished a bong hit and was completely uninterested in solving the problem. "Give me a minute while I open the uhhh.. online catalog to check if this is applicable to your vehicle". So I wait then he asks me for the BMW part number for the actual OE wire harness. Obviously having no idea I tell him that I'd need to do some research and get back to them. At nearly the same time another tech from Bilstein answers my email and asks for the same information. I go an look it up and send a detailed email back with photos of the connector that was supplied. He responds saying that the part that I ordered was applicable to my car and that he would need some time to research what was happening here. After a few phone calls and sharing photos of the supplied harness and the OE harness, the tech at Bilstein goes and pulls one of the shocks he had on the shelf. As it turns out the shocks I received (under the same part number) had the wrong wire harness in the box... three times! There were two solutions the Bilstein tech recommended - ordering just the wire harness (he said it would take 20 weeks to arrive so that was a throw away COA) or getting back with Summit Racing to get the right parts via a whole new set of shocks.

The dreaded call back to Summit Racing:
Called and (as expected) got the run around - the person I spoke to said there were only two ways to get this right.. one way was for me to send the shocks back to Summit and THEN they would send the new ones out. Clearly that wasn't going to happen as I've already torques the single use fasteners. The other way was for me to buy another set of rear shocks to correct their issue. Also not going to happen. So I asked for a supervisor.. the lady who came on the phone (Virginia) was super helpful and agreed to send out another set that they would order from Bilstein USA and verify the connector prior to shipping them out to me. She said it might take a week to two weeks for me to get the shocks and then they would provide a return label for the other parts that I did not use. All this at no charge to me, so I'm happy. Disappointed that I'll have to wait to get these right, but two weeks is better than 20.

My way forward:
I'll be doing the front struts this weekend. I'll post up if I run into any weird anomalies. I'll put the rear connectors on when I get them and hopefully the whole EDC system comes back to life.

Hope this helps someone, though. I also hope that people don't get discouraged with Bilstein shocks for the damptronic replacements for our adaptive suspension - through it all I still feel it will be worth it.

[thisismikeyb]

@joe130 I'm right there with you. I have the same rear cables supplied by Bilstein. I did pull the front passenger side apart last night to confirm fitment of that cable. It would appear that I have the correct ones for the front of the car. Guess I'll just hold off until I have the right rear cables at this point.

[joe130]

You could do the fronts while you wait for the rear cables to arrive. That's my plan - I'll be doing my fronts this Saturday and then I can just throw the cable on when they arrive for the rears.

[joe130]

Just curious - were you planning to use the Bilstein provided lock nut for the top shock bolt or a BMW aluminum nut? I have both (bought the nut ahead of time) but I'm thinking I'll just use the lock nut that Bilstein provided. Seems like it would have better ability to stay in place for a long duration...

[thisismikeyb]

Originally Posted by joe130

You could do the fronts while you wait for the rear cables to arrive. That's my plan - I'll be doing my fronts this Saturday and then I can just throw the cable on when they arrive for the rears.

I thought about doing that, but I would rather just install everything at the same time.

Originally Posted by joe130

Just curious - were you planning to use the Bilstein provided lock nut for the top shock bolt or a BMW aluminum nut? I have both (bought the nut ahead of time) but I'm thinking I'll just use the lock nut that Bilstein provided. Seems like it would have better ability to stay in place for a long duration...

I'm planning to use the Bilstein supplied nuts for the installation.

[joe130]

Originally Posted by thisismikeyb

I'm planning to use the Bilstein supplied nuts for the installation.

That's what I'm doing as well..

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by Bee Pee

Taken from Bilstein website - F series damptronic PnP dampers. Aftermarket alternative to OEM adaptive dampers.....



From L to R in the picture above
B4 - OE adaptive
B6 - upgraded adaptive
B16 - c/o's


Extract from Bilstein EU website:-


Shame they don't offer B8 damptronic for our cars....

BP

After almost 3 years, is there any word yet on the Bilstein B16 Damptronic 49-255935 ?

Or have they admitted they are never happening?

[Matthewricha]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

After almost 3 years, is there any word yet on the Bilstein B16 Damptronic 49-255935 ?

Or have they admitted they are never happening?

I heard/read somewhere that it was due out late June, but take that with a huge pitch of salt. These places in the UK seem to have it listed and on one you can order, but whether they are just placeholders or not who knows:

https://arperformance.co.uk/product/...-91c7695b-f2c5

https://www.bilsteinsuspensionstore...._p31598678.htm

Bilsteins website for the part states, "in Preparation":

http://web1.carparts-cat.com/default...8018004&12=140

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

After almost 3 years, is there any word yet on the Bilstein B16 Damptronic 49-255935 ?

Or have they admitted they are never happening?

I received the same information: late June 2019.

[Kefka]

so, for F32 435i RWD with Damptronic suspension the following struts/shocks are the proper ones?

B6 Performance (DampTronic)
23-250727 Left
23-250734 Right

[joe130]

My replacement wires showed up and they plugged right in. A note for anyone doing this job - the wire harness from Bilstein completely replaces the existing wire harness on the car. I've seen it referred to as an adapter wire - not at all what it is. Complete replacement.

As far as the dampeners - they seem awesome so far. Just the rears are done for now. I'll have the fronts on this weekend and I'll post what I think of them once I get a few miles in. They are, as many have reported, more firm than the stock dampeners - this could be due to the fact they are brand new and my old shocks had 60K miles on them.

[DriveS]

Originally Posted by joe130

My replacement wires showed up and they plugged right in. A note for anyone doing this job - the wire harness from Bilstein completely replaces the existing wire harness on the car. I've seen it referred to as an adapter wire - not at all what it is. Complete replacement.

As far as the dampeners - they seem awesome so far. Just the rears are done for now. I'll have the fronts on this weekend and I'll post what I think of them once I get a few miles in. They are, as many have reported, more firm than the stock dampeners - this could be due to the fact they are brand new and my old shocks had 60K miles on them.

Highly likely. I think my standard ones are gone at 45K miles.

What was the condition of the rears when you took them off? Did they provide much resistance across the full length of travel in both directions?

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by joe130

My replacement wires showed up and they plugged right in. A note for anyone doing this job - the wire harness from Bilstein completely replaces the existing wire harness on the car. I've seen it referred to as an adapter wire - not at all what it is. Complete replacement.

As far as the dampeners - they seem awesome so far. Just the rears are done for now. I'll have the fronts on this weekend and I'll post what I think of them once I get a few miles in. They are, as many have reported, more firm than the stock dampeners - this could be due to the fact they are brand new and my old shocks had 60K miles on them.

Thanks for being the early adopter! Looking forward to the full report.

[thisismikeyb]

Fronts are installed, time for lunch. About as much fun as it was installing lowering springs 5 years ago.

[thisismikeyb]

Finished installing B6 Damptronic for xDrive. Right now there is a chassis control error, my guess is the system just need to be reset after the install. -- One of the cables was not plugged in all the way, error cleared --

I did drive around a bit and the new dampers are significantly better, then again that's to be expected with the originals having 84k on them. I did reuse my Dinan Springs and Shockware is on the car, so the ride will be on the firmer side, but with 245/45 tires it should be compliant, we will see in the long term.

I did replace old Dinan bump stops with new bump stops from the M3/4, it would appear that the front suspension is already engaging them. Which would explain why it looks like the front appears to be riding a bit higher than the back. Just going to wait a few days to see if the car to settles.

[joe130]

Originally Posted by thisismikeyb

Fronts are installed, time for lunch. About as much fun as it was installing lowering springs 5 years ago.

Your dust boots look great. Mine were torn in a few places - didn't have new ones to replace them so I put them back in. I'm not really sure how much they do... not only that, mine didn't seat on the Bilstein shocks when I tried to pull them down at the bottom. Seems the Bilsteins are a little more narrow at the point where the dust boot is supposed to seat than the OEM shocks.

Anyone think a compromised dust boot is a big deal? I'd HATE to go through the pain again just to replace them..

[thisismikeyb]

Originally Posted by joe130

Your dust boots look great. Mine were torn in a few places - didn't have new ones to replace them so I put them back in. I'm not really sure how much they do... not only that, mine didn't seat on the Bilstein shocks when I tried to pull them down at the bottom. Seems the Bilsteins are a little more narrow at the point where the dust boot is supposed to seat than the OEM shocks.

Anyone think a compromised dust boot is a big deal? I'd HATE to go through the pain again just to replace them..

I replaced just about everything, wasn't planning to originally, but didn't want to run into issues with the old parts during the install. Still might have to do something if the front doesn't come down about a half inch or so. Hopefully it's not the M3 bump stops(31-33-6-859-768), the only other ones I have on hand are the originals(31-33-6-791-507), which are softer but just a little bit longer.

Overall I have to say the ride is amazing. Granted I'm on Dinan Springs and Shockware, so I was expecting a firm ride to begin with, but I'm also riding on 245/45r18 tires so that is smoothing road imperfections out.

[DriveS]

I have a full set of B6 Damptronic on order for my 335d xd.

Fronts are available now and rears due in about 2 weeks.

After I fitted my last shocks on my E92, I promised myself it would be the last time !

Do you think its worth fitting the fronts first?
Have you have wheel alignment checked since fitting?

[thisismikeyb]

Originally Posted by DriveS

I have a full set of B6 Damptronic on order for my 335d xd.

Fronts are available now and rears due in about 2 weeks.

After I fitted my last shocks on my E92, I promised myself it would be the last time !

Do you think its worth fitting the fronts first?
Have you have wheel alignment checked since fitting?

That's a judgement call you will have to make. I originally thought my rear dampers were done for after 84k miles, but after doing the complete install, the fronts were super worn and easy to compress.

I haven't had an alignment done since I installed Dinan Springs over 5 years ago, the car still tracks straight and the tire wear has been even. I do have the bushings in the front that need to be replace, and might have it thrown up on the rack to see what the alignment.

[Matthewricha]

thisismikeyb, what impact wrench are you using there? I tried to replace my adaptive rear shocks on my F22 but the big bolt at the bottom was extremely tight (rusted) that I couldn't undo it! Even with WD40 applied. Maybe I need to man up lol

perhaps this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DEWALT-DCF8...s%2C142&sr=8-5

[thisismikeyb]

Originally Posted by Matthewricha

thisismikeyb, what impact wrench are you using there? I tried to replace my adaptive rear shocks on my F22 but the big bolt at the bottom was extremely tight (rusted) that I couldn't undo it! Even with WD40 applied. Maybe I need to man up lol

perhaps this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DEWALT-DCF8...s%2C142&sr=8-5

I just have the $180 Home Depot Special for the Dewalt Drill/Impact Driver Combo, unfortunately they released the new brushless stuff a month after I bought mine. I applied WD40 Specialist Penetrant to all the nuts and bolts and let it sit for a bit, then just used normal tools to loosen everything up, and only after that did I use the impact driver to speed up the removal of nuts.

[exE36M3]

Hey thisismikeyb, would you mind posting a side photo of the car now?