BMW E46 Coilovers: The Ultimate Guide May 2024

The E46 is possible BMW’s most popular model ever, with some people considering the M3 the last true 3 series and the last good car BMW ever made.

Its powerful 6 cylinder engine, great handling and good looks place it in history as one of the best performance cars to ever be created. As such, it is extremely popular is all aspects of car culture, from show cars to motorsports whether it’s circuit racing or drifting.

However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t improve it, and they are getting on in years now which means some parts need a refresh.

One of the best upgrades you can do to the E46 is to install a good set of coilovers, which really brings out the handling and gives it that extra edge.

In this guide I’m going to give you the top 5 coilover kits for the E46 and where you can get them for the best price.

Things You Need to Know About Coilovers For the E46

M3 & Non M Kits

Kits for M3s and non M cars are usually sold separately as two different kits. However, as long as you have the correct strut mounts, M3 suspension will fit on a Non M, and vice versa.

If there is a difference between the kits, it is in the dampening and spring rate setup, which are selected to take the extra weight of the heavier engine. However, some kits are sold as fitting both, and it’s debatable whether all coilover companies really put different specs aside from spring rates (if that) on the two different kits. The best coilover brands will though.

So, my advice would be to play it safe and get the right one for your car, otherwise I would get the M3 kit for a non M3 car, but I wouldn’t get a non M3 kit and put it on an M3.

Divorced Vs True Rear

From factory, the E46 had a divorced rear setup, meaning the springs were mounted separate from the shock.

There are coilover kits that offer both divorced rear and true rear setups for the E46, but keep in mind that the true rear setup will require strengthening of the strut mounts (more on that in the next section).

Unless you are running a full racecar competing for lap times, there are negligible differences between the two setups, so my advice would be to go with the divorced rear and save yourself a headache.

Strengthening the Strut Towers

E46s are notorious for their weak mounting points, with strut towers being amongst the most problematic, along with the rear subframe mounts.

Because coilovers introduce added stress onto the chassis due to the increased stiffness, mushroomed and cracked strut towers are very common.

To remedy this, it is highly recommended to buy the strut tower reinforcement plates, which BMW themselves make, along with other manufacturers, and install them whenever you get the chance, even if you are not putting coilovers in.

This will prevent the shock towers from fatiguing, mushrooming or cracking and will save you a huge headache later down the line.

If you are looking at doing a true rear coilover setup, you will want to do additional strengthening to the shock towers, ideally tied in to a roll cage. The stock towers are not designed to take those kind of forces on the E46, so you will have problems if you don’t do this correctly.

Benefits of Getting Coilovers For Your BMW E46

The suspension in the E46 is good, but if you are looking for better handling and a stiffer ride, you can certainly upgrade it. Keep in mind that the factory suspension is designed to please everyone, not provide the lowest or best performing suspension at all costs.

A good coilover kit on your E46 will:

Provide much improved handling performance
Reduce body roll
Improve the ride quality
Give you ride height adjustment anywhere from 0.5 inches (10mm) all the way up to 5 inches (125mm) on the extreme end
Dampening adjustment to fine tune the ride to your liking
Camber adjustment if the strut mounts on your kit allow for it

If your car still has its original suspension, any decent coilover kit is going to be a significant upgrade.

In this blog post I am going to give you the top 5 coilover kits you can buy for the BMW E46 right now.

The Best BMW E46 Coilovers

1. Fortune Auto 500

Best For: Daily drivers that will see the track

Lowering: 1 – 3 inches (2.5 – 5 inches on the Super Low option)

Price range: $1799

I start of this list with the Fortune Auto 500 series coilovers at #1 because they really are some of the best coilovers available on the market today.

Fortune Auto have spent a considerable amount of time and effort to make a high quality kit that ensures you “never have to buy another coilover kit again”.

Their coilovers are not only very high quality, with every kit being hand assembled at their facility in Virginia, USA, and every single damper tested on a shock dyno and matched to within a 3% tolerance, but they are upgradeable as well.

That means that when you decide you need to step your game up, you can upgrade your 500 series to 510 spec and even 2-way spec with external reservoirs and independently adjustable compression and rebound.

If all that wasn’t enough, they also offer a 5 year warranty which is one of the longest in the industry, proving they really stand behind their product.

They will even custom make a kit for you to your specs, so you can get exactly what you need.

The 500 Series features include:

Ride height adjustment by the shock body (giving you full suspension travel at all ride heights)
24-level rebound dampening adjustment
Monotube dampers with high pressure nitrogen and high flow digressive valving
Fully rebuildable
Super Low Option
Upgradeable to 510 and 2-way spec with independent dampening adjustment and external reservoirs
Swift Spring upgrade option
And lots more

You can get the Fortune Auto 500 series for the best price here (select M3 or Non M option):

M3 E46 Fortune Auto 500 Series Kit – Best Price

Non M E46 Fortune Auto 500 Series Kit – Best Price

2. KW V3

Best For: When ride comfort is a priority on a daily driver, with occasional track use

Lowering: 1/4 inch to 2 inches (10mm-50mm)

Price range: $2284

Believed by many to be god’s personal gift to the automotive world, the KW V3 is a very popular and highly regarded coilover kit which provides the perfect balance of comfort and handling.

KW have been making suspension since the beginning, having been the first to make a complete suspension kit to get approval from the Technical Control Board in Germany back in 1995.

Ever since, they have been making very high quality suspension kits that provide excellent ride comfort and handling performance for a very wide range of cars. They also have a long and successful history in motorsport, which they are involved in to this day.

Along with the many aftermarket suspension kits they make, KW also make OEM suspensions for several high end car manufacturers.

One of KW’s biggest strong points is their absolutely industry dominating inox-line corrosion resistance technology, which has been proven to withstand the harshest weather conditions, and has been salt spray tested for 229 hours with no corrosion.

The V3 coilovers provide the perfect blend of performance and comfort, and allow you to independently adjust compression and rebound to set the ride exactly how you like.

KW also offer a lifetime warranty on the V3 kit which shows how much they stand behind their products.

If you are looking for a coilover kit that will give you a great ride, handle performance driving and withstand hard weather, it’s going to be hard to beat the KW V3’s.

The V3 features include:

Ride height lowering (done by spring perch) from 10-50mm (1/4 to 2 inches)
12-level independent low speed compression adjustment
16-level independent rebound adjustment
Stainless steel inox-line which has very high durability against corrosion
Springs and dampers fine tuned to each specific vehicle
Made in Germany by KW
Limited lifetime warranty for the original purchaser with no mileage restriction
Rebuildable (but must be sent to KW in Germany)

You can get KW V3 coilovers for your E46 at the best price here (select M3 or Non M option):

M3 E46 KW V3 Kit – Best Price

Non M E46 KW V3 Kit – Best Price

3. Silvers Neomax

Best For: Daily drivers with occasional track use

Lowering: Up to 3 inches (75mm) – Super Low kit goes up to 5 inches (125mm)

Price range: $1299

While not as well known as some of the other brands on this list, Silvers make a very good coilover kit for the E46.

Silvers has a very strict quality control and prides themselves on exceptional quick turnaround times, even for custom kits, which take no longer than 10 days to produce.

Every individual damper is tested on a shock dyno to ensure it is within 5% tolerance, or the internals get scrapped.

Similar to the Fortune Auto 500’s, the Silvers Neomax are modular, allowing you to upgrade to 2-way individual dampening adjustment with external reservoirs.

While they are made in Taiwan, unlike most of the other brands that outsource their kits to Taiwanese manufacturers, Silvers has their own facility where they hand assemble every kit to order.

They have a lot of positive reviews online and many happy customers, and offer an 18 month warranty, making these a great option that is still budget friendly.

The Neomax features include:

Ride height adjustment by the shock body giving you full suspension travel at all heights
24-level dampening adjustment
Monotube dampers with digressive valving and 44mm linear piston
Carbon steel shock bodies, electroless nickle plated for corrosion protection
18 month warranty
Custom spring rates and valving options
Swift Spring upgrade available
Divorced and true rear options available for the E46
And lots more

You can get the Silvers Neomax coilovers for your E46 at the best price here (select M3, 6 cylinder or 4 cylinder option):

M3 E46 SILVERS NEOMAX KIT – BEST PRICE

6 CYLINDER E46 SILVERS NEOMAX KIT – BEST PRICE

4 CYLINDER E46 SILVERS NEOMAX KIT – BEST PRICE

4. BC Racing BR

Best For: Daily drivers with occasional track use

Lowering: 1-3 inches (25-75mm) – Extreme Low kit goes 2-4 inches (50-100mm)

Price range: $1195

BC Racing are possibly the most popular coilover on the market today, combining both value for money with quality and performance.

BC Racing have a huge number of happy customers worldwide and their coilovers have proven to handle both street and track use over and over again.

The BR Series coilovers bring the perfect all round coilover that’s not going to cost you your life savings and is by far BC’s most popular option.

Aside from the low price, what makes them so popular is that they are very customizable. From custom spring rates and damper valving to Extreme Low, Swift Spring upgrade and more, BC Racing will put together the perfect coilover kit to suit your requirements.

They are also fully rebuildable and BC Racing sells all the parts required to do any servicing, repairs and rebuilding. They also offer a 1 year warranty.

The BR Series features include:

Ride height adjustment by the shock body
30-level dampening adjustment
Monotube dampers with linear damping
Front camber adjustable strut mounts
Extreme Low option available
Custom spring rates and valving available
Swift Springs upgrade available
Fully rebuildable
1 year warranty

You can get the BC Racing BR Series coilovers for your E46 at the best price here (choose M3 or Non M option):

M3 E46 BC RACING BR SERIES KIT – BEST PRICE

NON M E46 BC RACING BR SERIES KIT – BEST PRICE

5. Solo-Werks S1

Best For: Daily driver on a budget that might do a track day or two

Lowering: Front 0.8-2.75 inches (20-70mm) – Rear 1.2-2.0 inches (30-50mm)

Price range: $549

If you are on a tight budget the Solo-Werks S1’s are pretty much the best value for money you’re going to get.

These are the cheapest coilovers on this list by far, and while they may not have many of the features that most of the other kits on this list do, they make up for it with the surprisingly good quality and ride considering the price.

It’s very hard to find a good coilover in the $500 range, but the Solo-Werks S1’s really are a decent choice. The build quality is good, the ride is comfortable for daily driving and they can handle track days (I have personally used them on the track).

They also come with a 3 year warranty, which is pretty much unheard of at this price range and is more than kits twice their price come with.

For the price they are, they are really hard to beat.

The S1 features include:

Ride height lowering (by spring perch) up to 70mm on the front and 50mm on the rear (M3s have slightly less range on the front as they are lower from factory)
Twin tube dampers for a more comfortable ride, tuned specifically for each car
Heavy gold zinc plated housings which have been salt spray tested for 500 hours and proven to withstand corrosion
Special progressive elastomer bump stops for additional ride comfort
Bottle of Boeshield T-9 thread lubricant
3 year warranty

Note: These use the factory strut mounts, so be sure to order new ones if you are getting these coilovers.

You can get the Solo-Werks S1 coilovers for your E46 at the best price here (choose M3 or Non M option):

M3 E46 SOLO-WERKS S1 KIT – BEST PRICE

NON M E46 SOLO-WERKS S1 KIT – BEST PRICE

Conclusion

I hope this list has given you the answer you were looking for regarding which coilovers to buy for your E46. I did my best to include coilovers at most price ranges and for various requirements to suit the widest range of people’s needs.

If you need a more track specific setup, most of these companies on this list offer track spec coilovers which I would recommend looking into.

If you have any further questions or you’d like to recommend a coilover kit for this list, be sure to put it in the comments below.

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Mateja Matic

Having been in the car tuning game for 15 years, I'm now using all the knowledge I acquired to help other people learn and select the right parts for their cars through this blog.

Cars owned: Mk2 Golf with 1.8T swap, BMW E28 with M30B35 swap, BMW E36 328I Mtech, BMW 750IL, Nissan 300ZX, Honda Civic EF