Using bmw e46 suspension on mg zt-t/rover 75 question

how hard did you look? I found these in very few seconds.

www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GRID001549


they do look strikingly similar to BMW stuff, not just E46 but 36 as well.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOR-BMW-E46-E36-REAR-SHOCK-ABSORBER-SHOCKERS-BUMP-STOP-KIT-MTECH-M-SUSPENSION/161058547670?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20140122125356%26meid%3Def6e7a86c9f94759bbe67668aa2dc7d3%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D201313115084&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

lol, fair enough, I'd be giving those Sachs dampers for a BMW a shot tbh.



I put about £600 of bilsteins on my £650 E34...

The price will be that high because:

-They are unavailable from anywhere ; remember the E46 had a diff etc in the back of it as well.
-They are genuine ; IME new genuine is better than new OE despite what people say :I've done the mileage and tried a few things with varying results. From BMW my dampers are over £100 each ; ECP charge almost half the money but do one damper for both the Coupe and the heavier and wallowier convertible...

But the top mounts are also a very similar design to the E46 items too. In your shoes if the cost of the dampers is too much to stomach I'd possibly look at the Sachs items as well. It's hard to say how they will perform but as always its an avenue to go down .

I know it's late to the game but this one interests me as I've got a couple of each (two MG ZT saloons and a couple of E46 saloons)

I would have to disagree with your comment that the ZT are E46 are around the same size. The ZT is a noticeably larger car, both inside and out. Roughly grabbing some specs, there's over a foot of length difference, and its almost 3 inches wider. You can really tell the difference when driving them. For a good few months there I was driving a red ZT 2.5 and a red 330d every other day, and I'd say the E46 was a small car but the ZT is definitely not.
I am surprised though that they are comparable in weight.

ZT:
Length 4786mm
Width 2009mm
Height -
Wheelbase2746mm

E46:
Length 4478mm
Width 1932mm
Height 1409mm
Wheelbase2725mm

Anyway I wanted to talk about springs.
Basically, as BMW owned them, I would presume that they followed the same ideas as with the E46, in which case, the shock absorbers and springs are different rates to account for the extra c.70kg at the back end. They are the exact same size and fitment as saloon ones but not as strong so a Touring will sag with Saloon parts fitted.
The BMW also has standard and Sport options which differs both shock and spring.

I would be very tempted to try fitting an E46 rear shock to a ZT, but the spring for the ZT appears to be about two coils taller than the E46 which is a very short one. It's a pig-tail type spring and there are no other (later/heavier) BMW models that use them. It would be a good way to lower one perhaps.

Anyway yeah, if you haven't done so already, try a Touring (or Cabrio) rear E46 shock... can't find dimensions online but if you have a strut off to measure, I can compare with an E46 one.

So today I installed the rover 75 shocks and the mg spring bought off of evilbay. Pretty straight forward, all fitted fine. The old shocks were properly ruined! Next to no resistance and I think the probable reason one coil had snapped. Not driven it yet but the wife has and she noted the ride was more firm. Hopefully that is a good thing. time will tell how the setup does.

I am in the same boat on this, you can modify e46 stuff to fit but the top mounts for the fronts are a very large bodge!

The only issue using 75 shocks on a ZT they are much softer and don't cope to well with the firmer springs, the 75 ZT owners club gave me all this info a long while ago but i have misplaced it.