Spring ride heights

[tuna]

Hello, i've recently fitted a brand new set of Weitec Ultra GT shock absorbers + springs, supposedly dropping the car by 60mm both ends, however the rear wheels have a much bigger gap inbetween the wheels and the arch than the front end. I would like to purchase a new set of springs to lower the rear a little more but need some advice on what brand to go for and what springs to choose for my desired height.

Here's a pic of how its sitting now



As you can see at the moment its got more of a nose heavy racing-like stance however i dont race my car about, therefor there being no need to have that particular stance.

I would like the rear tyres to meet the arch, if not, tuck under the arch ever so slightly

Any advice would be highly apreciated - Thanks!

[Rtaylor2208]

Is it possible you got cab or touring rear springs as on a -60 drop that should be very low at the back, the cab and touring springs are different as the back of them both is heavier than the saloons.

[tuna]

Thats a good thaught, i think perhaps ill call demontweeks tommorow and find out. On the receipt it say at the end of the item description '60/60 BMW E30 LIM'. Does the LIM have any relavent meaning?

[Rtaylor2208]

Not sure about the the LIM bit, possibly Limosine, which I am pretty sure means saloon

[tuna]

Okay just been on the phone to DT and after being converted to classical orchestral music, he comes to tell me that it probably just needs to settle. Realy? I fitted these on monday, 3 days ago, and have covered about 200 miles since, does it realy need to settle?

Is there anything else that can cause the car to sit like this? just seems a little odd how DT confirm its the correct parts and yet the car sits so high.

[Rtaylor2208]

I would have thought it would have settled by now, possibly some encouragement of putting some heavy stuff in the boot for a few days may help. Daimlerman knows his stufff on the suspension side of things may be worth PM him.

[Sanchez]

Springs will need a bit of time to settle but looking at your pic should be lower than that at the start.

Did you compare spring height before you fitted the new ones.

[Norledge]

Don't forget the standard 20+ year old springs will have sagged anyway, meaning a 60mm drop might not be a 60mm drop...

[toby]

500 miles will settle them in. Sure you put the springs in the right way up on the rear?

[tuna]

I would have thought it would have settled by now, possibly some encouragement of putting some heavy stuff in the boot for a few days may help. Daimlerman knows his stufff on the suspension side of things may be worth PM him.

Thanks for mentioning Damiler, i will pm him soon. I do have subs and 6x9's in the back so that should weigh it down a little

Did you compare spring height before you fitted the new ones.

Nah i dident but maybe i should of, however the front has deffinately dropped more mm than the rear.

500 miles will settle them in. Sure you put the springs in the right way up on the rear?

I've done about 300 miles since fitting them, i guess ill just wait another 200 odd miles before i come to conclusions, although saying that it seems to off dropped 10-20mm over a few days after fitting and hasent moved any more since, so it seems unlikely it would drop any more.

And am i right in thinking the right way up is when the writing on the spring is upright?

[tuna]

Ok so its been 9 days since fitting and deffinately over 500 miles, this is how its sitting now.



Does this look right to you guys? If so, could some of you post some pictures of your cars and tell me what springs you have fitted please .

i still want the back to be another 15-20mm's lower and the front just another 5-10mm's lower.

[toby]

No it doesn't look right. What's the wheel and tyre size?

Here's mine with a roughly 40-50mm drop from standard.

[Stu_Bee]

This is 70mm front, 50mm rear on 16" wheels.

Yours is sitting higher than standard so something is definately not right.

[tuna]

Sitting on 15 inch wheels. Any suggestions on what i should do? Weitec claim that they've sent the correct parts and im almost certain that they are fitted correctly, is it even possible to fit them wrong?

[Stu_Bee]

Nope, pretty sure there is no incorrect way to fit the spring. The ones you have fitted are either longer than stated or most likely stiffer for a heavier model.

[tuna]

Okay so my best bet is to buy some more springs and hope they do the job right?

A set of 60/60 from apex here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E30-316-3 ... 4159a9b13f

Any objections to this company?

[parkin10]

this is my touring 325 on apex springs suppose to be 30mm drop
[img][img]http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/8434/e30015.jpg[/img][/img]

[tuna]

wow that seems pretty low on 30mm!

[parkin10]

from the center of the wheel to the wheel arch measures

front 320mm

rear 290mm

i put apex springs on because
the car failed its test on the rear springs two years ago i think new standard springs were £65 for two or £105 for the apex lowering set
and apex were the highest lowering spirngs i could find at 30mm drop and they are proper touring springs
sits a bit low on the rear for me

[toby]

Apex springs are fine. My touring has Apex springs for the same reasons parkin10 has said.

(Tourings do come with M-Tech springs as standard with a 15mm drop.
So a 30mm drop really equates to 45mm in total.)

But why not get a second opinion on your installation from someone before buying more springs, just for peace of mind.
Get someone to have a look at the car and see why it sits so high. If Weitec are sure they sent you the right bits then it is surely worth getting a second opinion on the fitting of them. It is a bit odd. It is as if they have sent you springs for a heavier car.

[tuna]

But why not get a second opinion on your installation from someone before buying more springs, just for peace of mind.
Get someone to have a look at the car and see why it sits so high. If Weitec are sure they sent you the right bits then it is surely worth getting a second opinion on the fitting of them. It is a bit odd. It is as if they have sent you springs for a heavier car.

Well im taking the car in to my local mechanic over the next week to have a few things looked at so will get him to take a quick look at the rear spring fittings. However im 99% certain they are fitted correctly.

[DHFiS]

That does not look like a car that has been lowered by 60mm to me.

[parkin10]

they look like standard springs to me

[tuna]

lol, well the front has deffinately gone down a fair amount, pherhaps like 40-50mm though, its just the back thats most noticable. When i get my new springs ill probably sell my weitec springs, what would you say they lower the car by? 50/50 for a touring or something?