Non-Captive Springs

[JungleGus]

Well I haven't had this issue for well over a decade....

I recently got some Turner MS J-Stock springs and their front Bilstein shock - however the spring is not captive on the M3 Strut. I don't recall this being the case when I installed a set previously, admittedly years and years ago.

I thought the shock would have been shortened to match, and other lowering springs I've used have always been just about captive. The gap is too big to use spring pads to make up the difference...does anyone have any ideas on what would be a good solution here? I am checking with Turner to see if they have sent me the right bits, but the Bilstein shock appears the same length as the old one, so maybe the spring is just ultra short?

Cheers,
Gus

[Brianmoooore]

Very low rate extra springs fitted on top of the lowered ones is the usual solution. These are bottomed out under static load, but expand to keep the main springs in place under suspension rebound conditions.

[JungleGus]

I haven't come across helper springs in a non-coilover setup before - any idea where they are able to be sourced for the E30 strut?

[JungleGus]

If this helps, this is the current gap

[DanThe]

The B6 damper is shorter, B8 is standard length damper, those springs are obviously no use to a B8

[JungleGus]

I thought it was the other way round? https://www.bilstein-shocks.co.uk/blogs ... ilstein-b8

The box is marked w the B8 part number (34-003350) - below is a pic of the shock compared to stock E30 M3. The old Eibach's were around 1 coil shorter than the E30 M3 spring.

[Brianmoooore]

I've seen this confusion over which is the shortest damper before, but either way, the difference doesn't look enough to seat the spring in question.
Could it be done with a different top mount of some kind, where the distance between the spring seat and the fixing hole for the damper is greater?
There's a glaring error in that Bilstein link. Lowering springs are NOT necessarily shorter than OE springs. It's the loaded length that will be shorter, and that is a product of unloaded length and spring rate. In most cases a lowering spring will also have a higher rate than the OE spring, because most people who want one of the two also want the other, but it's not a given.

[JungleGus]

That's one option, how to find one though?

I had it pointed out on S14.net that the sway bar will tension the spring with one wheel off the ground...and I am maybe thinking that with the increased rebound the strut was extend as rapidly, meaning any on-road issue is likey to be minimal. All very speculative though. Still seems like a huge gap. Some comments from the S14 guys here, last page: https://s14net.vbulletin.net/forum/s14/ ... ost1288615

I may try get them back in one piece and check - I am guessing that the fact it's brand new doesn't really make a difference...i.e. they don't settle in a shorter position.

According to Turner Motorsport what I have is correct...so maybe it's really a track only spring.

[DanThe]

Those springs look useless, they are almost coil bound