Broken coil spring?

[Griffin]

How does one break a coil spring, exactly? The car doesn't seem like its been taken off any jumps, but the front driver's side spring is broken. Methinks its time to replace them all with some not-too-slammed sport springs.

[DRTSRFR]

If you're in an area using salt to treat the roads, It only take a small chip in the powder coating to start the corrosion process. I've seen springs break after only a year or so of use in areas with harsh winters.

[JGood]

I remember there was a bunch of people breaking e46 rear springs. That's not something I'd want to happen mid corner...

[erik325i]

I remember there was a bunch of people breaking e46 rear springs. That's not something I'd want to happen mid corner...

Yeah, I've seen an aftermarket e46 m3 rear spring break in half. Can't exactly say why though. We don't have harsh winters here in Cali so no salt on the roads.

Erik

[Knockenwelle]

Inferior material used in the spring wire can cause localized weak spots. Read: stress concentrations.

[gearheadE30]

Also, when you consider how much stress the springs are under and how much they have to flex, that metal has a lot of fatigue. The e46 springs are just weak; though. that's actually a pretty common issue for those cars, even dd ones.

[IveGotIssues666]

Yeah the E46 Xi springs tend to break alot, I've replaced quite a lot.

Jared