Engine spacers.......

All the info you need to race E30's

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si-
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Mon Oct 18, 2010 9:31 am

basically i know its not ideal, but due to 3 smashed sumps, i was wondering if anyone has raised their engine up a little, due to the sump hanging quite low on the 2.5 lumps.

this is for my driftcar, not a daily drive, it's already low, but im going to be ordering coilovers for it in the near future and it will be lower, due to the roads in my area being shite, and a couple of speed bumps down my road i wanted to if and how people have raised their engine up only looking for about 1/2" - 1"

cheers
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Theo
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Mon Oct 18, 2010 10:12 am

Can't you just get a sump guard?
RPM
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Mon Oct 18, 2010 10:18 am

One of these may help:

RPM Sump Guard
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si-
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Mon Oct 18, 2010 11:17 am

dont worry jimmy one of them will be on order at the same time as the coilovers :wink:

just want to safeguard myself as ive also run out of spare sumps lol
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mattrs
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Mon Oct 18, 2010 11:50 am

Slow down over the speed bumps, if that doesn't work you can go stop just before then go on full lock one way then the over as you go over it! Pretty extreme i know only really needed if the hump is savage or your car is on the deck!
UweM3
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Mon Oct 18, 2010 5:16 pm

I never take speed bumps "full on"

I try to keep one tyre on the road and one over the speed bump if the speed bump isn't full road width.
Also good for your tyres. Most of the speed bumps are designed to let the ambulance ride over it without taking the bump. But cars have a smaller track width and therefore only ride with half the tyre width over the edges when taking the bump centred which may damage the low profile tyres long run.
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Mon Oct 18, 2010 6:48 pm

Uwe, a mate of mine has a toyota crew cab thing he uses for work, his journey to work from home is about 3 miles, half of this is over the small speed humps you refer to, the tyres on his truck front and rear are worn out on the inside edges long before anywhere else across the tread.

My car isnt that low but I avoid full speed humps at all costs
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MarkT
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Mon Oct 18, 2010 6:53 pm

Not trying to teach you how to suck eggs but, don't brake going into the speed bumps as the suspension's under compression.
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si-
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Mon Oct 18, 2010 7:53 pm

lol good replies but im fully aware of how to take speed bumps, the problem i have is that i live down a private road, and there are 2 bumps which are huge, council has nothing to do with them, my e36 is even lower, and on softer suspension it scrapes a bit but i can live with that, but tbh speed bumps arent really my main problem

its more general driving, the roads in herts are dog shite, we've also smashed a sump at santa pod on a dwyb day,

has anyone actually raised their engine at all im sure ive seen it somewhere, just wears on the prop bearing a bit but tbh that a hell of a lot easier to change and cheaper
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mattrs
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Tue Oct 19, 2010 1:27 pm

I think a sump guard would help, maybe from a rally design or the like.

How low are your cars?
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si-
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Tue Oct 19, 2010 5:36 pm

errrrr low, the e30 isnt at the moment but there are coilovers going to be ordered in the very near future and my e36 is floored

sump guard will be ordered with the coilies but was just wondering if anyone had spaced their engine up
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MarkT
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Tue Oct 19, 2010 7:02 pm

Could you just put some shims/washers underneath the rubber mounts?
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thebigfella
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Tue Oct 19, 2010 7:42 pm

try m30 3.5 mounts it will lift engine the amount you want
UweM3
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Tue Oct 19, 2010 7:55 pm

thebigfella wrote:try m30 3.5 mounts it will lift engine the amount you want
if you just lift the engine you will disturb the whole drive train alignment and may end up with other problems long term.

I would raise the car or make a flatter sump. Are you not worried to bottom out on your sump guard and loose front traction/steering?
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si-
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Tue Oct 19, 2010 10:20 pm

yeh i understand that it will upset the drivetrain the only thng that i can see is that it might put extra wear on the center prop bearing and tbh that i can handle at 7quidish a pop

that other reason im not that bothered is that within the year im going to be swapping to m60 power

as far as losing traction i dont thing thats going to be a big issue as the amount of time that the car would actually be on the sump would be insignificant really it wont sit on it for ages and scrape it will just catch and bounce up again

3.5 mounts sounds doable, as for spacers i thought that but i think it would just make the engine more unstable
ross_jsy
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Wed Oct 20, 2010 12:01 am

Is running the car at a decent height not an option?

Then again, I have a 60mm drop at the moment and don't have a single mark on the m20's sump when I removed it and we have shocking roads.
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N00b
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Wed Oct 20, 2010 6:29 pm

Dry sump that mofo.
oldroydsr4
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Wed Oct 20, 2010 9:55 pm

I have an m50 touring on coilovers and 15' banded steels, i've put 13mm spacers on the mounts and lifted the e36 rack to help with clearance issues.

Currently the sump is about 40mm off the deck, Ive just finished making a sump guard to prevent the horrible sound of cracking an alloy sump.

Have you considered changing the tyre profile? I'm going from a 45 profile to a 50 profile ; this equates to 38mm on the diameter.
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si-
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Wed Oct 20, 2010 11:07 pm

the tyre profiles change quite often due to it being a drifter and i put on it what i can get ive got 15's and 16's that get used alot
handpaper
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Sat Oct 23, 2010 12:57 pm

UweM3 wrote:
thebigfella wrote:try m30 3.5 mounts it will lift engine the amount you want
if you just lift the engine you will disturb the whole drive train alignment and may end up with other problems long term.

I would raise the car or make a flatter sump. Are you not worried to bottom out on your sump guard and loose front traction/steering?
Uwe, look at the difference in height between a new OE mount and one that's been in place for a few months - it's about 10mm!

I made my steel mounts the thickness of a new, unloaded OE mount and had no drivetrain wear issues, maybe this would be the way to go?
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