Suspension woes and questions (325ix)

[SebSter]

K so here's the deal. Im running H&R springs with Bilstein shocks for the front and stock shocks for the rear (new rear shocks will be on the way by the summer most likely, no need for them right now the stock ones are holding up).

It seems to me that the H&R springs were the ONLY ones made for lowering the ix, but they still dont give it a low enough stance imo. I was thinkin to have just the fronts pulled off the car, and one coil chopped off.

I know how against cutting springs everyone is, but as far as I know there are no other available springs for my car. Plus one of the main issues is the bouncyness, but since Im already running the bilstein shocks it shouldnt be much of a problem. And if done carefully (lined up perfect with the top coil and just cut straight down to maintain the same shape and fitment) I dont see any danger with it popping out or anything of that sort.


I guess my main questions are the following:

1. How much of a drop would 1 coil give? Ill be satisfied with 1 inch in the front, not really looking for much more.

2. For the ix, I read it had more clearance due to extra parts that were needed for the all-wheel drive. Would the car being lower directly damage any of these components? Or will it just be lower thus the parts being more vulnerable to debris off the road?

3. Im no expert on suspension, is there any chance that either the springs could fail due to 1 less coil and not being designed to operate at that height?


ps. I dont wanna hear things like chopping springs is ghetto, being called a ricer, or any shit like that. I bought the only aftermarket springs available for my car, and it wasn't enough of a drop. If you're gonna tell me how ghetto it is, put me up a link to where I can buy some better springs designed for the ix that will drop it more.

Basically I just want to know that anything related to the 4wd mechanics wouldnt be damaged by a lower ride, and what the risks are regarding what I said about carefully cutting it,etc.


Thanks,
Seb

[bmwguru007]

Cutting springs is ghetto...http://www.drivewire.com/performance...ngsprings.html

[nando]

it's not a good idea to lower the front of an ix much more! there's a reason H&Rs don't slam the car to the ground, and that's because you'll thrash your front axles, which already wear faster with the H&Rs.. another inch is way too much for an ix, you're already at least 1.25" lower (my car is about 1.5" lower in front). the front halfshafts are nearly impossible to find new or rebuilt (and VERY costly from the dealer, if they even have them). Not something I'd want to replace every 20,000 miles..

If you want a car that can be lowered until it scrapes the ground, buy a 325is. the ix is a 4x4, it's supposed to be tall ;)

also, cutting your H&Rs? LMAO.. try removing the spring pads and see if that makes enough difference to you, or get some wheels that don't sit 1" inside the fenders ;)

[BMW BMXER]

But now it was time to modify Gordon's `88 iX for the 90% of the time it would be driven in the dry and to reduce the unsightly excessive clearance in the front wheel opening. As we had often done on our low budget IT race cars, Gordon cut the front springs. One and a half coils were removed as shown in the accompanying diagram to lower the front of the iX one and a quarter inches. This modification was done with the struts still installed on the car and using two sets of spring compressors. It was a little tricky but really not too difficult given some experience with strut repair and a good air die grinder/cutter. (Koni's were installed about a year later.) After the mods were completed, a front wheel alignment check showed that toe needed to be adjusted. Cutting the springs resulted in increased camber which was just slightly out of spec on the right side. Overall camber was within spec and the extra camber would be perfect for driver schools and spirited cornering.

[SebSter]

for bmwguru, those lower just as much as the h&rs

nando thx for the info thats what i needed to know

bmxer, thanks ive read that too i was considering it before buying my h&rs.

[nando]

yeah, the B&G are the same drop only they are softer.. haha.

[DrMcDave]

yeah i realized i have about .5 inches of spring pad both front and rear- ridiculous. Sebster do you have mtech 2 stuff on your car. It looks like a lower front piece and a rear. If so i'd like to see larger versions of those pictures because i am thinking about getting some mtech II for my ix.

nando- how much room do you have between your fender and tire? I need just a bit more drop.

GC i still think is the best option i really need to get on teh ball and call them about stuff for my ix. That way its still super usefull for winter and you can lower it to your liking for summer.

[nando]

nando- how much room do you have between your fender and tire? I need just a bit more drop.

in the rear it's about a fingers width of space for the tire to move, from the side though the top of the tire is just tucked inside the fender. the amazing part is it doesn't rub.. although I still would like something stiffer in the rear. there's probably a half inch or so on the front.

been thinking of getting GC perches for the rear so I can run any spring I want, and do something for the front later on. I'm pretty happy with the way the car sits now. the front pads made about 1/4" difference, the rear about 3/8". I only removed one rear pad, I actualy want to buy two thin rear pads because the clicking noise drives me nuts!

[Digitalwave]

nando- how much room do you have between your fender and tire? I need just a bit more drop.

in the rear it's about a fingers width of space for the tire to move, from the side though the top of the tire is just tucked inside the fender. the amazing part is it doesn't rub.. although I still would like something stiffer in the rear. there's probably a half inch or so on the front.

been thinking of getting GC perches for the rear so I can run any spring I want, and do something for the front later on. I'm pretty happy with the way the car sits now. the front pads made about 1/4" difference, the rear about 3/8". I only removed one rear pad, I actualy want to buy two thin rear pads because the clicking noise drives me nuts!

Why would springs click when driving? When the car is on the ground, they are compressed and will always be making contact with the trailing arms or the strut housings. Are you sure it isn't something else?

[nando]

they do it over bumps, and yes I'm sure, what else would it be? all the bushings are new, I've checked all the bolts and they are fastened correctly, I fixed my broken swaybar mounts. the only thing left is the missing upper spring pads, makes sense to me because the top of the spring could move back and forth a little bit when the suspension moves around.

it's not really loud, and most of the time I don't notice, but it's still something I'd want to fix.

[Mystikal]

Why would springs click when driving? When the car is on the ground, they are compressed and will always be making contact with the trailing arms or the strut housings. Are you sure it isn't something else?

Metal-metal contact, my GC's do it all around if I don't spray them with silicone every few months.

[Brew]

Why would springs click when driving? When the car is on the ground, they are compressed and will always be making contact with the trailing arms or the strut housings. Are you sure it isn't something else?

Metal-metal contact, my GC's do it all around if I don't spray them with silicone every few months.

Mine too. Where do you spray the silicone? Up on the top spring perches?

[Mystikal]

Mine too. Where do you spray the silicone? Up on the top spring perches?

Everywhere. Not exaggerating. :)

[moatilliatta]

I herd theres some m-tech spings for the ix or something like that. im afraid the h&r's will be to low for me. could i add an extra spring pad to the H&R springs if the would come out to low?

[beamR X]

Comming from a semi-competitive rock crawling background I had a lot of experience with coil springs, their rates, fitment and such.
I have gone though probably a dozen sets of different coils in my truck and I still have 2 or 3 sets I change frequently based on the most curent mods or duty I need them to perform.
What that thought me is mainly that changes to coil spring specs will not neceserly fuck things up or make things either better or worse, but they will simply compromise one thing for another or match the drivers's personal prefference in a particular set of circumstances.

OK. Why am I saying this? Well, I quickly realized after doing a bit of research on stock springs that the many E30s even in the same trim had sligthly different springs. What's even more interresting is the some of the springs were used on car as different as 325is, ix as well as some 5 series. For example many front springs on an iX and any other 325s cross reference. Hmmm....
The rear is "different". How different? Well according to my research aparently the stock iS springs have a rate of 20 pounds heavier then ix (or around 15% difference). That's it. That was ALL the difference.

Consequently, I bougth the iS specific H&R springs for my iX and they fit perfectly. The car feels and looks rigth.
With the understanding how coils work I theorized that BMW lessend the spring rate in the back of the iX to compensate for using the "regular" spring up front on a car that had a heavier nose. In an essence they made an iX ride "nicer" but stil be ballanced F to R.
Considering that most people prefer to stiffen up the rear of an iX when compared to front, going with the iS spec coils could be looked at as a performace gain. This is only a theory since I do not have an experience with the actual iX spec springs.

As far as adjusting the ride height adding and removing pads is a very common trick. Another trick I use in 4x4 rock crawling world is making spacers out of poly board, aka your wife's cutting boards. Thay come in many different thicknesses and by using single ring of a specific thickness or a combination of two different ones you can have a "fine tuning" adjustability anywhere between 3/16 to 3/4 of an inch...