1slowspec3 Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 (edited) hello some of you might have read my post on bimmerforums a few months back. I been having problem with lack of suspension travel on the front, basically my springs are near full compression while the car sits on a level surface, also the bump stop is about 1mm from sitting on my shock. i called the sponsor i bought it from (bimmerparts) and he told me to call vogtland which i did, they had never heard of such a problem so they are sending me new springs. I hope this will solve the problem however i find it doubtful. I also talked to terry from Vorshlag and he did not believe it has anything to do with the camber plates which i agree but just wanted his insight. Anyways from the bimmerforum thread most people believe its cause the car isnt fully gutted yet i however fully disagree on this thought because there are plenty of m3's rolling around who dont seem to have this issues and weight more then my car (all rear gutted. and problem was there before i did the gutting so its not because of the front vs rear weight dif) My believe and hope is the springs are mislabeled (aka 318i springs) or just bad for some reason, aside from that i dont know what could contribute to my springs being to so compressed. Perhaps wrong struts? but then the springs would sit right on the lower perch. im out of ideas, so if anyone has any ideas please post. I also want to ask for a favor, could you all measure the distance from center of wheel/hub to upper most tip of fender in front. Mine was 13.5 inches. and from ground to lip of fender 24 inches. hope that makes sense. thanks Edited January 16, 2010 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt325 Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 I also want to ask for a favor, could you all measure the distance from center of wheel/hub to upper most tip of fender in front. Mine was 13.5 inches. and from ground to lip of fender 24 inches. hope that makes sense. thanks That's what mine measures out to (both numbers) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1slowspec3 Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 haha NOW im really confused! thanks for the measurement. okay so that gets me thinking: either everyones springs are very compressed. or im having a strut/koni insert issue and not a spring issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1slowspec3 Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 I also want to ask for a favor, could you all measure the distance from center of wheel/hub to upper most tip of fender in front. Mine was 13.5 inches. and from ground to lip of fender 24 inches. hope that makes sense. thanks That's what mine measures out to (both numbers) i noticed the upper perch is in a different position but that could be if you or mine wheel are turned (pretty sure mine were straight) MY CAR. i tried to take a pic from the same angle look a lot more like matt's now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaTechM3 Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 That seems way compressed. Where did you get your koni inserts from? What strut housings are you using? I'm not sure that would make any different, but that does seem to be overly compressed. I'll have to look at mine next weekend to see what they look like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1slowspec3 Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 i got them all from bimmerparts. the part numbers are correct at least for the strut and since the insert fits and looks like others i have seen im pretty sure they are the correct ones. again my deepest hope is that the new springs im getting from vogtland will solve the problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scany Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 I can't give you my measurement as the car is wheelless. But I can't see anything but the springs themselves being the problem if there is a problem. I'm not running spring pads, so my measurement, when I get it, will be different. What are these springs rated as anyway? You could take them out to RRT and I think they are able to measure them and their actual rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1slowspec3 Posted January 18, 2010 Author Share Posted January 18, 2010 hm im starting to think this is just how this springs are. front are about 190 and rear are 460lbs... i think front are progressive and rear isnt. any advantage to not using spring pads? lower car more ? is it legal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbgeek Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 Generally, you want to add/delete the spring pads to corner weight the car. "9.3.8.7.2. Spring pads may be removed; if retained, a maximum of two pads per spring shall be used." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scany Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 My mechanic removed them when he put the suspension back on after the reinforcements. I keep them like that because of the extra lowering I get. I don't know about cornerweight. Wouldn't you then have to have a difference between left/right or front/rear to achieve change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbgeek Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 Yes. You add or delete the pads to balance the car. You may wind up with different mixes in each corner, but the goal is satisfied. GRM did it to their E30: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/project-cars/1989-bmw-325is/chromepocalypse/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollar Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 GRM did it to their E30:http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/project-cars/1989-bmw-325is/chromepocalypse/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; That's pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scany Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 This weekend I noticed two things about my suspension: 1. I'm compressing the front springs enough to remove the paint where the upper coils meet. 2. Loaded, the springs look just like the pictures in this thread. And I'm at race weight minus me in the car as I am looking at the springs I'm running full soft on the shocks, so that might be a thing in regards to the springs coming together. I guess the compression of the spring is just normal, or? Anyone figured something out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jon M. Posted October 13, 2010 Members Share Posted October 13, 2010 I'm running full soft on the shocks, so that might be a thing in regards to the springs coming together. I guess the compression of the spring is just normal, or? Anyone figured something out? Having the coils compress is not a concern so long as they don't bind. You may want to reconsider your shock settings..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scany Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 I'm running full soft on the shocks, so that might be a thing in regards to the springs coming together. I guess the compression of the spring is just normal, or? Anyone figured something out? Having the coils compress is not a concern so long as they don't bind. You may want to reconsider your shock settings..... Yeah, that was going to be my next move. But that sucks that we can't run full soft without the springs binding (which I guess is the word when the coils hit each other) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jon M. Posted October 13, 2010 Members Share Posted October 13, 2010 Yeah, that was going to be my next move. But that sucks that we can't run full soft without the springs binding (which I guess is the word when the coils hit each other) Coil bind is something very different than coils touching one another. there is nothing wrong with the coils compressing to the point of touching, so long as they don't bind (meaning when the car releases the compression, the coils release as well and do not get stuck). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scany Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Yeah, that was going to be my next move. But that sucks that we can't run full soft without the springs binding (which I guess is the word when the coils hit each other) Coil bind is something very different than coils touching one another. there is nothing wrong with the coils compressing to the point of touching, so long as they don't bind (meaning when the car releases the compression, the coils release as well and do not get stuck). ah! of course! then we should be all good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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