Various Topics on BMW

..eve147..

hi im a new bmw owner and seem to have a problem with the suspension it
sits over about 30mm lower on the drivers side ,the car is standard apart
from the wheels and their 17s so the height is very noticable at the rear
the drivers side rear sitS about 10mm in the arch.i have replaced the
rear drivers side spring because the other one broke and there was no
change in the height when the new one was in,please can someone help.

.... ..rickla..

The spec is to measure from the bottom of the wheel arch to the top of the
fender opening.

The 17s will change the number you get because the stock wheel was a 15, but
the number should be the same for left and right. I run 225/45x17 tires on
all four corners, and I get 21.75 on the left and 21.625 on the right.

The measurement is taken from the lowest point on the rim (outside edge) to
the highest point on the fender opening. According to these numbers, my car
sits a bit higher than the spec calls for. I should be sitting at 21.06
(sport suspension) or 21.69 (std. suspension). I can't explain why my car is
high, logic says it should be low, ***uming the factory suspension
components -- I have no clue if the factory parts are still installed, but I
was thinking they are. I have a convertible with 17s, and that may make a
difference because I'm not sure if the convertibles have sport suspension.

While you're at it, the spec for the front is (with 17s) 23.19 in. for the
sport suspension, and 23.77 for the std suspension.

The manual says that uneven ride height is a result of 1.) incorrect
springs, 2.)sagging springs, and 3.)bent or damaged suspension components.
The corrective action is to measure the ride height and replace as
necessary. Since you already replaced the springs -- and barring the
possibility you used std parts where sports parts should be, you have bent
or worn components somewhere.





"steve
> hi im a new bmw owner and seem to have a problem with the suspension it
> sits over about 30mm lower on the drivers side ,the car is standard apart
> from the wheels and their 17s so the height is very noticable at the rear
> the drivers side rear sitS about 10mm in the arch.i have replaced the
> rear drivers side spring because the other one broke and there was no
> change in the height when the new one was in,please can someone help.
>

..eve147..

thankyou for your help,im going to swop the rear springs around at the
weekend to see if there any difference.is it just the springs that control
the height?.

.... ..

steve14775 wrote:
> thankyou for your help,im going to swop the rear springs around at the
> weekend to see if there any difference.is it just the springs that control
> the height?.
>

yes.

--
-Fred W

..eve147..

thankyou for your help,im going to swop the rear springs around at the
weekend to see if there any difference.is it just the springs that control
the height?.

..der19.. ..hoo.co...

Fred W wrote:
> steve14775 wrote:
> > thankyou for your help,im going to swop the rear springs around at the
> > weekend to see if there any difference.is it just the springs that control
> > the height?.
> >
>
> yes.
>

No, the rubber spring pads and any wear or damage in the suspension
arms will make a difference. So will pressurised gas shocks to a small
extent. If the front suspension is uneven for whatever reason then
that'll also upset the rear.

You really should have replaced both rear springs rather than just the
one (but it still may have sat uneven)

The usual approach to measure the ride height is to measure from the
middle of the wheel to the bottom of the arch.

..eve147..

thankyou for the advice,im going to take it to my mate who work in a garage
and have it up on the ramps to get a proper look.i cant wait untill it
sorted it frying my brain,i just dont want to replace all the springs as
new front ones are £70 a pair + p&p and new rear ones are £40 each

..der19.. ..hoo.co...

steve14775 wrote:
> thankyou for the advice,im going to take it to my mate who work in a garage
> and have it up on the ramps to get a proper look.i cant wait untill it
> sorted it frying my brain,i just dont want to replace all the springs as
> new front ones are £70 a pair + p&p and new rear ones are £40 each

All the more reason to get a set of eibachs :-)

On the front, there are rubber upper strut mounts and an old one of
these can cause a 1/4" drop.
Even with new springs on mine I had to space out one of the rear
springs with spring pads to try to even things out.

You can often pick up springs on ebay for next to nothing if you want
to play around with different ones. At least they be more or less
matched pairs.