How thick are your engine spacers?

[BigD]

So the one thing that still puzzles me about this swap in general is how differently things fit for people. You'd think the general geometry of things should be more or less exactly the same with any E30 chassis and any M/S5x engine. But I know some people have clearance issues with large spacers while others have no issues with no spacers of any kind (using the same mounts as the former). I put on 1/4" spacers as per ORCA, thinking I'd be ahead of the game but not only does my sway bar not clear, my subframe doesn't either. The iX/735 booster does though, with shaved fins, but not by a ton. So I'll have to go back and experiment with some 1/8" and 1/4" stock to see how much I have to raise what to get it to line up.

So how thick were yours?

[Charlie]

You'd think the general geometry of things should be more or less exactly the same with any E30 chassis and any M/S5x engine.

These are 20+ year old unibody cars. Assuming that they will be anywhere near original factory specs is pretty foolish at this point.

I'm running no spacers, and have no clearance issues. Stock CA mounts, ebay supersprint knockoff headers. e21 booster, stock MC, ST sways.

-Charlie

[BigD]

These are 20+ year old unibody cars. Assuming that they will be anywhere near original factory specs is pretty foolish at this point.

So then what do you suppose happened to change the geometry of a boxed steel subframe crossmember, with mounting points that as far as I can tell, still mount in the same place they did in the factory (with the bolts going through the same holes and what not). You are then implying that my unibody and frame rails have spread eagle apart, and my subframe has stretched so much that it has straightened radius of the crossmember by over 1/4"? And that for people who have no brake booster clearance issues, the firewall stretched laterally by half an inch?

[Charlie]

So then what do you suppose happened to change the geometry of a boxed steel subframe crossmember, with mounting points that as far as I can tell, still mount in the same place they did in the factory (with the bolts going through the same holes and what not). You are then implying that my unibody and frame rails have spread eagle apart, and my subframe has stretched so much that it has straightened radius of the crossmember by over 1/4"? And that for people who have no brake booster clearance issues, the firewall stretched laterally by half an inch?

No, I'm implying your car has been hit at some point. I've seen mulitple cars with no clearance problems whatsoever. Going on your posts, you seem to have a multitude of problems, indicating that the car is probably bent.

-Charlie

[BigD]

No, I'm implying your car has been hit at some point. I've seen mulitple cars with no clearance problems whatsoever, going on your posts, you seem to have a multitude of problems, indicating that the car is probably bent.

-Charlie

No history of it, on record anyway. Which of my posts indicate that my car is bent?

For what it's worth, the ORCA CD specifies 1/4" spacers for the motor mounts.

[Jason89i]

not all of these cars / parts came from the exact same factories / parts manufacturers. even the strut towers have different overall dimensions between years. you can find a 3/4" difference between two non-wrecked / non-tracked cars. also, i know of (3) different m50 intake molds. personally, ive used everything from 0 spacers up to 1/8" spacers. all depends on how it fit. cheers, jason.

[BigD]

not all of these cars / parts came from the exact same factories / parts manufacturers. even the strut towers have different overall dimensions between years. you can find a 3/4" difference between two non-wrecked / non-tracked cars. also, i know of (3) different m50 intake molds. personally, ive used everything from 0 spacers up to 1/8" spacers. all depends on how it fit. cheers, jason.

3/4", holy crap... in which areas was this primarily? Other than that, I just find it strange that BMW would change such little things year to year, or that it would accept manufacturing standards to such varying tolerances.

[Jason89i]

3/4", holy crap... in which areas was this primarily? Other than that, I just find it strange that BMW would change such little things year to year, or that it would accept manufacturing standards to such varying tolerances.

mounting of the strut bar usually is the first place you will notice it. heck, even ireland sells 2 different lengths. cheers, jason

[golde30]

i used 1/8" on the passenger side to make the ebay headers clear the subframe.

[etxxz]

how's 1/16th inch aluminum plated fabbed to the shape of the mount. There absolutely NO reason to go with 1/8 or over 1/8 with the 5er mounts

[erik325i]

I've got the cylinder mounts with a 1/16 washer to clear my relocated steering rack and to help with the header-subframe clearance. I also had to knotch the subframe to clear the euro headers.

-Erik

[dougsic]

Just one

Only one spacer on the passenger side. Headers, green e28 mounts, THR cabs. The header actually cleared without a spacer at all but it was close so I used this washer.

[aaron.j]

1/4 inch spacer on one side and shaved intake manifold fins to clear stock booster =D

[Mike B.]

I've got the cylinder mounts with a 1/16 washer to clear my relocated steering rack and to help with the header-subframe clearance. I also had to knotch the subframe to clear the euro headers.

-Erik

So you took the plunge with the euro... Nice! (what did you use for a brake booster? PM me.)

I didn't notch my subframe and had to use 3/8th inch spacers to clear the headers. I have a spare subframe that I may notch depending on how it handles at the track.

[FredK]

Well, I detailed this before, but in an 89 325i with 320i booster, I used no shims.

On a 91 318is with 944 booster, I used 3/8" shims on both sides, to clear the manifold on the DS and for the stock M50 downpipe to clear a stock swaybar on the PS. Spacer city! I should have slotted the PS mount a hair, but I decided to scrap the project.