Lowered on 60mm with an RPM sump guard - too low to drive??

[RotE30]

Hello all,

I just fitted the RPM sump guard having scrapped my sump too many times with a 60mm drop and the RPM sump guard sites maybee two inches lower then the sump, this means it scrapes everywhere!! the guard might be about 2cm from the floor?
Should i just man-up and embrace a horriffically clattery car or get an OEM guard or
find some 40mm drop springs and lift the front end back up a bit
on a 40mm drop do you need a sump guard?

60mm drop looks amazing, but its very low.

[charlE30]

I take it you've got a lot of speed bumps round your way? mines 60mm at the front and have never had an issue. Can't park up on curbs and take the speed lumps slowly but that's it..

My 335i is on a 60mm and that's never scraped either...

How are you scraping the sump?

[Brianmoooore]

IMO, 60mm looks like you have severe suspension problems! I just don't get this "scraping the ground look" (or the rubber bands for tyres like either!)
Get it up to 40mm below standard, and, with a little care you can ditch the sump guard, and have a car that handles again.

[RotE30]

OK, so i went off road a while back and did smash it, and since then i promised myself i would fit a guard as my replacement has already got a few deep scratches in it, and breaking one has made me nervous.
my sump has ground down to the drain plug, so i know that just from city driving it does catch occacionally. I think mine is unusually low, its on KW 60mm shockssprings and is really really low, i also had to ditch my IS splitter.
The roads in and around cardiff are terrible and my drive is heavily cambered.

[RotE30]

I know that 60mm is not for everyone, but you have to repect that I think it looks awesome,

I forgot to mention i run the 50 profile tyres, not 55s?
CharlE30 do you run 55s?

[charlE30]

205/55/15 on mine and if the roads around my way where bad I'd be upto a 40mm drop. The 50 profile tyres wont be helping, maybe worth trying to change the tyres and seeing how you go. If you did go to 40mm the 55 profile tyre will help fill a bit of the arch gap.

Are you 60mm all round?

Charlie

[RotE30]

No, 60/40, with 50s on the font and 55s on the back. I will try swapping the wheels - may look odd though!!

[Morat]

Done right, a 60/40mm drop looks fantastic but if the roads in your area mean that you're going to be breaking sumps then I reckon that you'd be better off with a 35mm drop. I live out in the sticks and I'm very happy with my eibach/bilstein combination on 205/55/15s. I never scrape the sump, although I do bottom out the back from time to time (especially with two basset hounds in the boot). I've got rogue engineering rear top mounts which have taken quite a lot of hammer without complaint - so far!

It's not gangsta... but it's low enough for me:

[VWinston]

Im not happy to hear how low the RPM sump guard sits... But thanks you have saved me buying one now.. I will just have to keep my eyes peeled for an OEM guard

Mines on "trimmed" 60mm springs, apex shocks and 45 profile tyres... which forces me to drive very carefully indeed .. foolish maybe but i does look very cool imo

Does anyone know if the OEM guard would fit an iS? sorry for the hijack

[VW-will]

my 320 is 60mm with 40 profile tyres fronts have lowerd top hats aswell, doesnt really rub that much to be honest...sump hasnt got 1 mark onit, centre box is a totally different matter though! compared to my mk2 golf that was on coilovers this still looks like its on stilts! :s maybe just me? haha!

[RPM]

The guard is designed to clear both M40/42 and M20 engine sumps

I assume you are running and M20 as you have more clearance on that and a tighter fit on the M40/42

We have circa 100 of these out there on both road and race cars, never had an issue with another one.

You will find the oem one to be pretty much the same on clearance as ours, we started off with one of them when we developed ours.

[RotE30]

Just to be clear, i didnt start this thread to knock the RPM sump guard - its a nicely made piece of kit, as an ex-metal fabricator and design engineer myself, I can confirm the build quality of the part.

However, there is a lot of clearance between it and the M20 (so it can also clear the M40) and its a bit of a squeeze behind the M20s power steering oil cooler rad.

I will swap the tyres and re-post... cheers

[DavieP]

I've got 60/40 on mine, with 205/55/15 tyres all round. I almost never have any problems at all - certainly none with scraping the sump and we have a fair few road humps around here. The only occasional scrape is on the bottom of the splitter, which is very low and will ground-out if there's a very sudden incline or drop.

[RotE30]

I just swapped my tyres front to back, its gone from dragster (big 55s at the back) to oddball (50s at the back 55s at the front)

With the 50s on the front from the floor to the highest point of the wheel arch is 23" and the sump guard is 4cm from the ground.

With the 55s it is deinfately higher at the front - i will measure it later.
Now i just need to wear out my rear tyres so i can get 55s all round - shame as 50s look better on the wheels. (in my opinion!)

[fishingtourer]

IMO, 60mm looks like you have severe suspension problems! I just don't get this "scraping the ground look" (or the rubber bands for tyres like either!)
Get it up to 40mm below standard, and, with a little care you can ditch the sump guard, and have a car that handles again.

i fully agree with you in my circumstances, when i purchased my touring it had 60 mm h@r springs fitted and a bmw sump guard, i could not drive it anywere around here, it was far to low, i could not even get it on my drive, it has the m tech 2 kit also , i have since replaced the front with some slightly taller cheap springs so i can use the thing but it crashes like mad over any holes or ruts and bounces off the bump stops whats left of them, i would like to put it back to a 40 mm drop all around and replace the dampers also what's the best way to go ? billstein's/eibach ?
sorry for high jacking the thread,

[RotE30]

Hijack away - I have a KW 60/40 kit, with shocks and springs. I want 40/40 - can i replace just the front springs, or is the damper also now incorrect? i still have the standard BOGE dampers and OEM springs...

[RotE30]

out of interest, swapping to barely legal 55 profiles raised the front end 0.5inches.

[CHR1S1990]

standard boge dampers will be fine on front 40mm drop. I have a 60/40 drop on mine, also with m20. I bought a genuine sump guard in hindsight but never bothered putting it on as I have never come close to hitting the sump - also have 55 profile all around. As much as it looks good, after christmas I will be going back up to 40 on the front (eibach/bilestein like the rear) as the 60mm drop smashes the crap out of my alpina splitter

IMO, get 40mm all around, 55 profile tyres to fill the arches a bit, and put your splitter back on will be a lot nicer to drive

[RotE30]

I agree!

Should i keep my K/W damper or sell it with my 60mm springs? what will be better with a 40mm drop - an old OEM damper (130k miles) or a brand new KW damper designed for a 60mm drop.

[CHR1S1990]

the KW will be shorter I imagine, i would say the old OEM however boge turbos or eibach b4s (standard and very good) are only about 70quid for a pair from euros/GSF. depends on your budget

[fishingtourer]

think im gonna go for some b4's all around and eibach springs when i have some spare pennies, had eibach springs on my e36 m3 and they were very good .........