Going to be replacing springs and shocks all roung for h&r sports + bilstein B4, is it worth doing spring pads at the same time while it's apart? and if so how do i determine which ones i have and which ones will be a good choice? is there any recommended pads for a 318i, I don't want it to be too low, but lower than the standard 318i height which seems to be on stilts...
current height all round:
How do you decide which spring pads to buy?
Moderator: martauto
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motormanmick
- E30 Zone Regular
- Posts: 259
- Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2014 11:00 pm
- Location: Coffs Hbr, Aust
Hello parakeats,
did some googling for you, spring pads come in sizes 5 to 15 mm in roughly 2.5 mm increments, I read some time ago and other zoners may correct me here, bmw did color coded std springs due to different weights, they used these to get the ride heights correct on the cars and used sping pads as well to fine tune the heights.
When I put new lowered suspension in my car it took her about 2 month to settle at the ride height that it was going to be at and when I measured from the top of the wheel rim to the lip of the guard, they where different, so you can adjust using the pads if your car isn't fitted with coilovers.
Also with ICE units/subs/batteries being fitted in the rears today, it can mess up your ride heights again, the pads can make the adjustments.
All that said, if you are replacing your suspension, I would put new pads in as your old ones may be over 20 yrs old. Do the Suspension with your old pads, let her settle, measure, if you are happy with your ride height, replace with the same, if the heights are unequal, use the 2.5mm increments to get her even, probably go with 3/4 tank of fuel as well when you do this, hope this helps, cheers.
did some googling for you, spring pads come in sizes 5 to 15 mm in roughly 2.5 mm increments, I read some time ago and other zoners may correct me here, bmw did color coded std springs due to different weights, they used these to get the ride heights correct on the cars and used sping pads as well to fine tune the heights.
When I put new lowered suspension in my car it took her about 2 month to settle at the ride height that it was going to be at and when I measured from the top of the wheel rim to the lip of the guard, they where different, so you can adjust using the pads if your car isn't fitted with coilovers.
Also with ICE units/subs/batteries being fitted in the rears today, it can mess up your ride heights again, the pads can make the adjustments.
All that said, if you are replacing your suspension, I would put new pads in as your old ones may be over 20 yrs old. Do the Suspension with your old pads, let her settle, measure, if you are happy with your ride height, replace with the same, if the heights are unequal, use the 2.5mm increments to get her even, probably go with 3/4 tank of fuel as well when you do this, hope this helps, cheers.
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SAP1
- E30 Zone Regular
- Posts: 466
- Joined: Mon May 27, 2013 11:00 pm
I have Eibach springs with new gas shocks and E90 spring cups. The rear on mine is too low imo, 2 finger arch gap at the back