lowerd cars

[Rosc0PColtrane]

i'm no pansy if you want to come & find out for yourself pm me and i will gladly meet you somwhere don't comment in future on my threads unless you have something worth saying

nath..... you make me laugh!

[e30bmlover]

i know about riding on the bump stops mate! now the bilstein and eibach are fitted its a thing of the past....

[town325i]

[/quote]i'm no pansy if you want to come & find out for yourself pm me and i will gladly meet you somwhere don't comment in future on my threads unless you have something worth saying [/quote].
now now put your hand bags down and play like good little children

[magpie]

Oh stop being a pansy and posting this Magpie! If you're going to lower your car lots then you know whats going to be coming! Once your car is properly low, then come back and complain! 60mm all round is the starting point to get an E30 low, I vote time to move on!

Cloud - any idea how it was down that low? Was the engine raised at all? What shocks were on there to stop the springs dislocating when jacked? (Or were they just cut and held in place with jubilee clips?)

i'm no pansy if you want to come & find out for yourself pm me and i will gladly meet you somwhere don't comment in future on my threads unless you have something worth saying

i like it ha!good one,i'll need a bus to take all of them with me to hold my coat.of course

[papercutout]

Oh stop being a pansy and posting this Magpie! If you're going to lower your car lots then you know whats going to be coming! Once your car is properly low, then come back and complain! 60mm all round is the starting point to get an E30 low, I vote time to move on!

Cloud - any idea how it was down that low? Was the engine raised at all? What shocks were on there to stop the springs dislocating when jacked? (Or were they just cut and held in place with jubilee clips?)

i'm no pansy if you want to come & find out for yourself pm me and i will gladly meet you somwhere don't comment in future on my threads unless you have something worth saying

Lol, nice one! You didn't half take that personally mate, take a chill pill or something, its just a forum, no warriors here
I've just been noticing a lot of threads recently about the perils of lowering. Essentially I'm trying to say: 'And? If you lower, you suffer the consequesces, its personal choice and your own damned fault if you smash something!'



I'm with Fuzzy about lowering. (well, 60mm min for me)

I'd say hard slam is for the REAL winners, but when your sump is the lowest part, its not really. Subframes are fine to grind away though IMO! *engine raising time!*

[fuzzy]

60mm isnt to low imo.handling isnt compromised when used with uprated shocks and mine clears speed bumps ok. 60/40 gives the car a more even stance. the rear tyre sits just perfectly tucked slightly under the arch and the front tyre sits in line with the arch. theres far to much front arch clearance on standard ride heights anyway.
i wouldnt go any lower than 60/40 for a road car though.

[Morat]

35mm is for homosexuals and women. real men go for 60/40. and thats a scientifically proven fact.

c'mere gorgeous

[zimmer-320i]

WOW so off topic,
well im told mines is 40mm all round by prev owner but it sits low at the back so im thinking more 40/60 the top of the tyre is just hiden by the arch when no one or any thing is in it!! checked the shocks b4 i brought it and it wasnt bouncy and nor does the arse skip about round bumpy corners and handles like a train but it has had polybushes that the prev owner didnt know about lol but had it on my mates ramp and there two circles on the back passenger wells that are starting to rot/rust are these replacable

but as soon as i get 3/4 ppl in the car it drags its arse over bumps and the middle over speed humps unless i do 00mph lol

[Andyboy]

60mm drops are just shite. The whole point of having suspension on a car is that when you hit a bump, the strut moves up, compressing the spring and softly contacting the bump stop - it's called 'wheel travel'. With a 30 or 35 mm drop you've removed 30 or 35mm of that travel. With a 35mm drop the front is very close to sitting on the bump stops so you ideally need shorter bump stops such as the E36 Coupe M Technic ones. With a 60mm drop the top spring plates are crushing the bump stops. Wheel travel? You don't have any. As soon as you hit a bump the bump stop is crushed a bit more, the shell has a flex and the tyre sidewall is taking most of the brunt. Basically, you have no suspension.

For those who like facts, a 325i for instance has a total uncompressed damper length of 120mm. That's with the wheel off the ground. Drop it down off the jack and that reduced to 70mm. That's 70 mm of damper travel. Fit -60 springs and what you have left? That's right, f*ck all. The car is being held up at the front by the bump stops. Drop it 30mm and you are very close to the bump stops but you've got a bit of travel left.

I've had E30's with 60mm Apex shite springs and they're garbage. You get such a car out on a track and it handles like shit, understeering like a bastard and bouncing up and down because although it has no bump, it has plenty of rebound. You fit 60mm springs to a standard E30 and they barely need compressing - that means you have zero static spring tension which means you might as well not have springs at all, just the bump stops. The reason springs need to be compressed to fit is that coil springs are progressive (unlike torsion bars and leaf springs), which means the more you compress them, the stiffer they get. Have a certain amount of spring tension to start with and the springing is stiff. Remove that tension and the springing is shite soft from the word go.

You can just about run 60mm springs but you need the right shocks, namely Bilstein B6 or B8, the fat yellow ones with the shorter damper rods so that even 60mm springs need compressing to fit. These fat Billies also have internal bump stops which don't break up like the external ones can.

Even so, I still don't like 60mm drops and even with Bilstein B6/B8 you're going to be on the bump stops too often. 35mm is fine. My 320i with 35mm Eibach springs, B-4 Bilsteins (approximately the same as Boge Touring/M Technic) handled like a dream and had a superb ride.

[papercutout]

Got photo's of the spots that are rusting Zimmer? Nearly anything is fixable, with a bloke who can fab some metal up and weld it in. Not too hard tbh! I wouldn't worry too much, just get it sorted when possible.

[zimmer-320i]

Got photo's of the spots that are rusting Zimmer? Nearly anything is fixable, with a bloke who can fab some metal up and weld it in. Not too hard tbh! I wouldn't worry too much, just get it sorted when possible.

yer will do, it looks like the circle that has rusted is removable like a drain hole for the production line when they dipped them in the tanks of rust proofing stuff and zinc if they used it on the bmw

what about my rear end? you think my shock are shot if it sits low? maybe trying to cop the numbers on the rear springs i gotta do the brake shoes so maybe i can have a gander while im there? its got 16's on 205 50s but they very close to the inner arch even with no weight inside!!

[magpie]

i was promoting a good sumpguard,thats all

[zimmer-320i]

maybe the offset is wrong?? they sit behind the arch tho

[papercutout]

Zimmer? So its only down 40mm all round, potentially 60/40 though? At 40mm drop you'll JUST begin to get the rear tyres 'tucking' I think. Not much, but a teensy bit. Being lowered at all, you'll have a bit of negative rear camber.
Check the bounce of the rear end, if it rebounds fine and doesn't bounce they'll be fine. Maybe a little old and tired, but not shot. Check the state they appear to be in, fairly obvious if they're really old, but should be fine.

I didn't see anything written on my springs size wise, but bought them being told they were 40mm drop. What're the width of the wheels and offset? Something like 7" and 30 offset is ok, but you'd not want to go higher than 30 really if I'm correct. bearing in mind 15" BBS are meant to be 7" with an offset of 24?

Do you have any problems with speed bumps or anything? Do you track the car at all? If not, I'd probably not worry about it.

Just post up when you've got the photo's.

Magpie - okay, cool. Got a photo of it fitted?

[zimmer-320i]

you'll have a bit of negative rear camber.
Check the bounce of the rear end, if it rebounds fine and doesn't bounce they'll be fine. Maybe a little old and tired, but not shot. Check the state they appear to be in, fairly obvious if they're really old, but should be fine

yer i did check briefly but didnt notice it siting low at the rear end when i brought it
also the springs look brand new and yellow if that helps as i know cetrain companys use a "signiture colour" and the shocks look ok and theres good space between the bump stops, but it n half sqaut on acceliration in 1st and 2nd i relise theres loads off trourqe there but it does sqaut and doesnt snake under wheel spin infact it spins in a relitivly stright line also its been poly bushed at the front

What're the width of the wheels and offset? Something like 7" and 30 offset is ok, but you'd not want to go higher than 30 really if I'm correct. bearing in mind 15" BBS are meant to be 7" with an offset of 24?

i havent checked offset or the width but they just tuck in as below all i know is there bbs racing 5 spoke multifitment look below

Do you have any problems with speed bumps or anything? Do you track the car at all? If not, I'd probably not worry about it.

er yer trouble aint the word i bottom out over a bump doing road speed with 3 ppl in the car!!! i have to drive the car wheelsover the two speed humps so i have to drive in the middle of the road and if im going like 5mph if there ppl in the back the bb and bend hit the floor!!!

[pugboy]

I think general rule of thumb for most cars is dont drop more than 40mm unless you are prepared to spend £££ on expensive kit and possibly other suspension components to sort out the camber etc.

Obviously if its just for the looks then drop it as low as it looks good.

I lowered my 205 GTi approx 50mm on a cheapo spax kit (purely for looks as obviously it handled well to start with) and it destroyed the handling. Understeer in slow corners was just silly and it only took a few weeks before I blew the diff as it could no longer put the power down.

I'd like to lower my car 30-40mm and I'll be using quality springs (inserts if budget allows).

[Rosc0PColtrane]

i'm no pansy if you want to come & find out for yourself pm me and i will gladly meet you somwhere don't comment in future on my threads unless you have something worth saying

i like it ha!good one,i'll need a bus to take all of them with me to hold my coat.of course

Always worth having a photobucket account for such pictures!

[town325i]

I think general rule of thumb for most cars is dont drop more than 40mm unless you are prepared to spend £££ on expensive kit and possibly other suspension components to sort out the camber etc.

Obviously if its just for the looks then drop it as low as it looks good.

I lowered my 205 GTi approx 50mm on a cheapo spax kit (purely for looks as obviously it handled well to start with) and it destroyed the handling. Understeer in slow corners was just silly and it only took a few weeks before I blew the diff as it could no longer put the power down.

I'd like to lower my car 30-40mm and I'll be using quality springs (inserts if budget allows).

most french cars like to spit there gearbox's out weather lowered or not

[papercutout]

er yer trouble aint the word i bottom out over a bump doing road speed with 3 ppl in the car!!! i have to drive the car wheelsover the two speed humps so i have to drive in the middle of the road and if im going like 5mph if there ppl in the back the bb and bend hit the floor!!!

Tbh, your car sounds absolutely fine to me, the only thing I can think of is replacing the whole suspension set up with a higher quality one, something like the H&R cup kit or an Eibach set up or something, obviously checking what's on there atm (will say on the shocks), but I'd just roll with it as is.

Count yourself lucky if you can take speed bumps anywhere near the 30mph limit in a lowered car! Personally I have to crawl over them doing 5mph with just me in the car, high speed bumps I grind along the whole length of the car with, sumps I take HUGE care over, etc.

Put it this way, the front mudflaps are 1" off the floor while standing.

This is how low mine is, see the sump under the car, thats about 4/5cm from the floor. Probably down about 80mm all round.

[zimmer-320i]

looks nice

Got photo's of the spots that are rusting Zimmer? Nearly anything is fixable, with a bloke who can fab some metal up and weld it in. Not too hard tbh! I wouldn't worry too much, just get it sorted when possible.

got some better pics today aswell while i was photographing the rust bit better qaulity beeing 10mp !!

[magpie]

a good splodge of underseal should sort that shearer just got hatrick [england v rest of the world]still got it.

[oakey]

a good splodge of underseal should sort that shearer just got hatrick [england v rest of the world]still got it.

No that will make it worse

Buy a replacement bung from bmw and seal it in correctly

[zimmer-320i]

a good splodge of underseal should sort that

what bloody planet you on lol theres a sodding hole which i cant prod the carpet lol!!!!

Buy a replacement bung from bmw and seal it in correctly

what price are they, are they the rare part can only order cost u a arm price??

[magpie]

ha dirty rot box fancy getting under that to take a pic of rot.put some shiney stars round it,or get ya purse out.planet you on ,allways got alot to say

[town325i]

i would like to see your car then magpie if thats how you repair rust holes

[magpie]

i don't have any thanks i checked mine properly b4 i paid 4 it ...past mot first go after the six months on it ran out.oh don't you no where to get good back 2 black ,,ya mirrors are well faded.and you have 50% too many doors

[town325i]

i don't have any thanks i checked mine properly b4 i paid 4 it ...past mot first go after the six months on it ran out.oh don't you no where to get good back 2 black ,,ya mirrors are well faded.and you have 50% too many doors

i dont need back to black for my mirrors i think you have lost the plot a bit

[oakey]

what price are they, are they the rare part can only order cost u a arm price??

I dont know. But I very much doubt they will be expensive. Give your local dealers a call and ask them

[magpie]

more mouth mate put some shiney stars round ya mirrors too,if ya happy with faded mirrors thats fine i personally would have a go,coz it's not in bad nick.

[zimmer-320i]

such a fool why do you need to be a keyboard warrior

ha dirty rot box fancy getting under that to take a pic of rot.put some shiney stars round it,or get ya purse out.planet you on ,allways got alot to say

considering that was the only rust cleaner than ure shit heap.

oh and consdering ive owned it 4 days

if you have nothing to cotribute to the post then i think u need to step away from the desk

[papercutout]

Zimmer, just get yourself down to the local walk-in scrappy and get the bit from one of (there's probably more than 1!) the E30's there, and fit it. Man, count yourself lucky, you car looks really clean actually! I checked mine out before buying it, looked really good!
Been poking since, slightly crunchy end of sill on front inner arch, right hand boot pocket now has a hole in, 1cm wide by about 6cm long. I'll cut it out and get a clean piece of metal welded in soon. And I found one of the fuel tank supports had rusted out under a rear seat. Now, how'd I have ever found that when buying the car? Especially as it was hidden under soundproofing. Lol, what a PITA, but I'll do it when I change the leaky fuel tank!


Very clean looking car Zimmer all in all, and if thats the only rusty, you're a lucky man!
Personally I'd get some BBS's on it, get some side skirts, lower it another 20mm, and shadowline it. (shadowline - paint chrome bits like front grill, black)

[magpie]

nob

[zimmer-320i]

Zimmer, just get yourself down to the local walk-in scrappy and get the bit from one of (there's probably more than 1!) the E30's there, and fit it. Man, count yourself lucky, you car looks really clean actually! I checked mine out before buying it, looked really good!
Been poking since, slightly crunchy end of sill on front inner arch, right hand boot pocket now has a hole in, 1cm wide by about 6cm long. I'll cut it out and get a clean piece of metal welded in soon. And I found one of the fuel tank supports had rusted out under a rear seat. Now, how'd I have ever found that when buying the car? Especially as it was hidden under soundproofing. Lol, what a PITA, but I'll do it when I change the leaky fuel tank!


Very clean looking car Zimmer all in all, and if thats the only rusty, you're a lucky man!
Personally I'd get some BBS's on it, get some side skirts, lower it another 20mm, and shadowline it. (shadowline - paint chrome bits like front grill, black)

yer its clean but noticed a very small bit of rust under the bonnent back fixing points next to the battary tray other than that is mostly rusted bolt etc but there easy fix, lol its low enoth it scrapes the ground over hard bumps!!! yer i dont realy like them bbs wheels but i am changing them i dont like the bk racing wheels, and yer im going to paint the crome windoe trims and front chrome grill parts but going to grap a manual before i rip any thing apart so i remove it properly with out breaking them

and i did look under neth but it wasnt like i noticed it becasue the rest of it was clean
plus mine has a new petrol tank but they could of replaced the filler pipe



as for that bung i went to bmw and they couldnt find such part any part numbers or diagram i can look at to show them


oh yer and ill get more pics when its had a wash wax n polish im sure theres a deep shine under the dirt and dust over it,

[Bob_S]

nob

well arent we articulate tonight?

35mm is just right.. my exhaust catches on the back lanes anyway

[zimmer-320i]

yer yours looks around the same height as mine liking the wheels what are they??