DIY 15mm Drop hat installation

[saturnv7890]

Bought the car that way. (recent purchase).
Already upgraded the stereo, performance chip, and of course springs this week.
I think I'll keep the pads, but still mount the E90 drop hats since I'll have it out.
A couple mm makes no dif' to me, just want lower and better handling ride.

This is the only closest roads with corners. Almost anything else around here is miles and miles of straights.
When I had my 93 740iL
Stock suspension with 18x8.5 rims

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDUevWfAn1U

Did you order some shocks too? And yeah I'd throw in the drop hats without a question, they're cheap and you'll have it all apart!

And I know what that's like.. Texas is like that too. The video you took was filmed in Nevada, russia; right?

[mpower]

Did you order some shocks too? And yeah I'd throw in the drop hats without a question, they're cheap and you'll have it all apart!

And I know what that's like.. Texas is like that too. The video you took was filmed in Nevada, russia; right?

Russia?
I'm in the US of course. ;)

[saturnv7890]

Russia?
I'm in the US of course. ;)

Lol just gonna lay this one out for you that it's usually more common practice, when filming high performance driving on public roads, to note that you filmed in some random country that doesn't give too many waffleswaffleswaffleswaffless.

Although your local law enforcement probably doesn't track speeders down through youtube, it's become a facetious standard practice

[mpower]

Lol just gonna lay this one out for you that it's usually more common practice, when filming high performance driving on public roads, to note that you filmed in some random country that doesn't give too many waffleswaffleswaffleswaffless.

Although your local law enforcement probably doesn't track speeders down through youtube, it's become a facetious standard practice

Nah the local law enforcement are too busy shooting the local biker gangs. ;)

[Solarian]

Has anyone experienced binding problems with these? I kept seeing mention of it in older threads, but no clarification. One thread said to grind down the sharp edges on the drop hat, another that you just need to make sure you're not missing a washer in there. I'm in the process of re-assembling my struts with E90 drop hats, so I'd like some input before I wrap my car around a tree.

[saturnv7890]

Has anyone experienced binding problems with these? I kept seeing mention of it in older threads, but no clarification. One thread said to grind down the sharp edges on the drop hat, another that you just need to make sure you're not missing a washer in there. I'm in the process of re-assembling my struts with E90 drop hats, so I'd like some input before I wrap my car around a tree.

Pay attention to the order of #4, 7, and 8 here and you shouldn't have a problem... well I haven't so far. I don't claim responsibility if you wrap your car around said tree, but following BMW's carefully engineered way shouldn't cause any issues:

[Solarian]

Yup, I actually bought all those pieces brand new from the dealer for that extra measure of safety in case my old ones were beat up/warped/rusted. How long have you been driving with the drop hats?

[george graves]

Cordless impact should be your "first" suspension mod purchase. It cuts the time in half/third/quarter.

But be warned - respect the gun. You *will* mess something (or yourself) up if you only have half a brain.

I take that back - maybe you should buy one on your second suspension over haul, so you can appreciate it.

[saturnv7890]

i take that back - maybe you should buy one on your second suspension over haul, so you can appreciate it.

+1

Yup, I actually bought all those pieces brand new from the dealer for that extra measure of safety in case my old ones were beat up/warped/rusted. How long have you been driving with the drop hats?

about 200 miles, it doesn't do much besides aesthetics and scraping everywhere. Obviously springs/shocks/bushings are what really change your ride. I like it though as a cheap 30 minute upgrade!

I only scape because of this:

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m241/saturnv7890/E30/0024.jpg

And turning in to every parking lot/driveway in Houston, there's a HUGE ramp going up. It must be some strange zoning thing, because other than that, and the ridiculous speedbumps I see everywhere, Houston's roads are new and glassy smooth.

[twisted125]

Good timing on this thread. I just threw on some 16s with 205/45 rubber after having ugly 17s. It makes me realize how high my car still is. The car has Poly bushings everywhere and sits on Bilsteins and H&R Race springs - pretty sure they are race, they're black and the car rides reeeallll stiff. Obviously the bushings dont do a thing for height, but those with the sways and suspension make it handle awesome. From what I'm reading, you can run drop hats on the front - sure, makes sense. But from what I see under the rear of my car, how the hell are you supposed to lower the rear without making the move to coilovers??? I have 3 fingers between the top of tire and fender edge. Granted, my car is an early model but cmon!!

Anyone got any input here?

[saturnv7890]

Good timing on this thread. I just threw on some 16s with 205/45 rubber after having ugly 17s. It makes me realize how high my car still is. The car has Poly bushings everywhere and sits on Bilsteins and H&R Race springs - pretty sure they are race, they're black and the car rides reeeallll stiff. Obviously the bushings dont do a thing for height, but those with the sways and suspension make it handle awesome. From what I'm reading, you can run drop hats on the front - sure, makes sense. But from what I see under the rear of my car, how the hell are you supposed to lower the rear without making the move to coilovers??? I have 3 fingers between the top of tire and fender edge. Granted, my car is an early model but cmon!!

Anyone got any input here?

First thing you can do is remove the rubber seat, see how that works.

Otherwise, IE and TCK and others sells custom rear springs, and you just need the correct spring seats (IE sells the correct sized spring pads) and be careful to choose the correct length needed.. calling up a company and talking about it with them will probably give you the answers you need. The springs will run you about $150. Additionally you can get an adjuster for the rear for $100. But at that point you might as well drop the $350 for coilovers

Or you could run bigger rubber

Or you could go full-rice and cut the springs!


I know I’m tucking a small amount of tire on my rear wheels, and that’s on H&R sports and 195/65/14’s. ohh.. but mine is a late model (so see above suggestions)