4 pot springs on 6 pot?

Post Fri Sep 28, 2012 8:49 pm

I bought some eibachs off eBay and the seller assured me they were for a 325i... Turns out the rears were, the fronts aren't

Anyway, what are the implications of having 4 pot springs on a 6 pot?

Really wanted to fit the damn things to the sport as well. I do have some standard sport springs I could be fitting but the 15mm drop just isn't enough.

Post Fri Sep 28, 2012 8:59 pm

will sit lower,as there for a 4 pot,guessing it won't handle as good either,no harm in trying them though,
Are they for 51mm struts ?

Post Fri Sep 28, 2012 9:02 pm

I thought the same Indy. But wanted to trow a thread up just incase someone did it in the past, then their car set on fire or something stupid.
As for Fitment, the guy I got them from said they came from a 325i, which he removed them from...

Post Fri Sep 28, 2012 9:03 pm

should be 51mm then mate,go for it

Post Fri Sep 28, 2012 10:46 pm

Springs are exactly the same for 45mm and 51mm struts. It's where the damper fits that is different, not the spring seats.
The difference between four pot and six pot springs isn't as clear cut as you might think. There are several different spring specs. that BMW use, and there is some overlap between the two engine types. For instance a four pot auto with aircon possibly uses the same springs as six pot manual.

Post Sat Sep 29, 2012 9:37 am

^^^ Yep.

The Eibach spring kits are good, but unlike BMW they don't make various different grades for engine and vehicle weights. The springs for a 320i manual are identical to the ones on a 318i Auto, same length, number of coils and paint marks.
As long as the springs are the grey 35mm ones (the red ones are too short for road use), they'll be fine. Use E36 Coupe / M Technic bump stops (they're shorter) and decent dampers. As long as the springs take a goodly amount of compressing to fit to the struts, you'll be fine.

Post Sat Sep 29, 2012 10:35 am

Great stuff, cheers Andy.

The springs are these ones...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221122533414? ... 1439.l2648

Once they arrived I searched the part numbers on them on the Eibach site and it said the fronts are for a 316i, 318i or 318is