Drop Hats.....

[cormier]

IMO, cutting springs is NEVER the way to go. Do you still have spring pads in? You could get a few extra mm with those out

[getouth]

Does anyone know of a spring that will eliminate reverse rake without drop hats? I don't want to go coilovers but really dont want to have issues with drop hats.

Thanks

[woc]

My ex eibach pro kit dropped the car lower front less lower rear, but good lowering overall, then I switched to IE3s (still eibach with different rates for Ireland Engineering) and IE said it would drop front about 2 inches, but uh...IM still waiting, my pro kit drop the front more, The ie will drop the rear more. But there is also a catch, I have 25mm front sway with links, and haven't installed the rears yet, so Im guessing the sway links are preventing the front springs to completely settle? IDK but in matters of handling the IE3s are phenomenal with sport billies and sways. But im still looking to drop the front more. Maybe the e90 drop hats will squeeze just a little dropping to kinda satisfy my eyes.

[Regnar75]

too much for R3v?

so just read all 17 pages. and it seems a lot of people are running these with no issues, while a few others have issues such as grinding strut towers and bottoming struts out. also its been said a few times that the actual design is slightly different than stock in that the stock hats have a slant while the e90 ones do not, also that the center holes may not be in same location. it didn't appear that anyone said too much about the circumstances of their issues (ex: what struts/spring combo bottoms out, what ones don't) i think it would be very helpful if those who are running e90 hats post what their setups are like struts, springs, camber plates, with pads or without, engine (because of different weights on the suspension) etc i know there are many different variations of setups to go along with the e90 drop hats but i think if there are more accurate setups with issues or non issues to go with it, it would benefit the community as a whole and can end up saving some people a bunch of money on new struts, hats or even buying new springs they don't need.

so far it seems bilstein sports and H&R races may have issue?

Wtf im running these drop hats with bilstein sports and H&R races and they make grinding noises when turning. What the hell?

not sure of setup but this seems like another issue, also what type of modification might have to be done?

They are not completely concentric with the strut shaft so the oblong portion of the "drop hat" rubs on the inside of the strut tower. I had to grind mine down so that they were round/concentric in order for it to not rub. Also had to POR15/repaint the inside of the strut tower from where it scraped. Take care of this before the steering binds up on a corner like mine did. Not fun.

I have a pair of E90 hats here and noticed the hole for the shock is larger than the E30 ones. There's also some sort of countersunk bushing there. Do you install as is or do you remove that "bushing"?

also noted but whats the effect?

I would like to point out that the E30 hats have an angled seat for the mount, where the E90 hats do not. Not sure if this could change anything/add problems/make spring seating uneven.

Also, the strut ring on the bottom of the E90 hat is interesting.

bilstein sports and H&R sports issue?

Just the opposite. I put mine in, and now my shocks bottom out a lot. It never happened before. I'm running Bilstein Sports with H&R Sports. I'm going to go with H&R Races in an attempt to stop the problem.

But yes, they do work, as shown a few times in this thread.

and things like this...

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?p=2053394

don't get me wrong i really like the idea of a new 25$ part that will have a modest drop, but id like to know a bit more of the issues and what are the variables to them...probably asking too much of R3v. anyone try stock m20, Bilstein sports, Eibach sport springs, with pads?

[Luke_M]

I have the IE3 setup, Bilstein sports, 15mm drop hats, no pads and had some grinding issues. Turns out it was the drop hats digging into the strut tower. All I had to do was grind the edge of the drop hat, paint it, and reinstall. You could clearly see it digging in when I took them out.

If you have a dremel or an air tool it should be no problem. Don't grind the entire edge off. That would make it useless. Just knock off a few mm's. That's enough to keep it from rubbing but not near enough to weaken the lip. I also painted the grinded edge to keep rust away.

I"m not sure a comprehensive list would narrow anything down. To many variables perhaps. I will say this... If I got some drop hats for another car I'd grind the edge off first just to make sure I didn't have any problems. Just takes a few minutes if you have the right tools.

[cormier]

Pulled my UUC camber plates today that I was running e90 drop hats on, found this. Looks like theres been contact where there shouldn't be, both parts of the bearing are hitting the hat? Guess I'll go back OEM

[S62]

Pulled my UUC camber plates today that I was running e90 drop hats on, found this. Looks like theres been contact where there shouldn't be, both parts of the bearing are hitting the hat? Guess I'll go back OEM

Yea I pulled my suspension apart and found the very same thing. Really dont like the idea of metal on metal grinding together while driving, especially when driving hard.
IMO I would rather put up with the reverse rake then have suspension components grinding together.

[///digitalme]

^ I have that same thing happened to car, but on oem ones...so im trying e90 hats and see how it goes..

[ForcedFirebird]

That happened to me too when installing these on a customers' when the original guy was selling them. I had to add washers between the hat and bearing to clear them, almost making up the ~10mm drop :(

[mpower]

FS: E90 drop hats

I have a pair I never installed,
FREE pay shipping.
P/N 31 33 6 764 093

[jeffnhiscars]

I have a pair I never installed, from the dealer for $60 .
(BMW Group made in Germany, not cheap made in China crap).

They're just sitting collecting dust,
so I will let them got for $45 free shipping.
P/N 31 33 6 764 093

I hope mine arent "cheap made in China crap" since I bought them from the dealer for $22/pair including the BMW stickers...and no dust

[fuzzysux]

my experience with these drop hats

That happened to me too when installing these on a customers' when the original guy was selling them. I had to add washers between the hat and bearing to clear them, almost making up the ~10mm drop :(

i have done these to a few of my vert's

had these on eibach pro kit with stock shock, no issues at all, it felt "nicer" too

i just installed these with H&R springs and koni shock, again no issues.

for those of you that might be into the type of ride i am - i installed the factory washer (roughly 2mm) under my new strut bearings to eliminate this grinding as the pics above show.
i also put in all new 3mm rubber spring pads/isolators. i am sure that my entire current setup will settle over the coming weeks and i'll post up a picture with the specs (i changed everything... so it will take a while to work in).

there is a difference in construction - the e30 hats are a thinner stamped steel where the e90 hats seem to be an extruded or stamped thicker aluminum.

to me, it is a no-brainer, $25 for a few more MM, realistically 5-10mm drop.

i can attest to it NOT being a job you want to do by itself, it's not worth the work, BUT if you are replacing springs or shocks, i would certainly add it to the parts list.

i have a full bagged minitruck, my intent for my e30's is to have a responsive every day driver that i don't have to pick my route based on approach angles - but looks and performance are priorities.

[Bimmerman4Ever]

IMO I think the H/Rs have enough drop on their own
without worry of fitting the DHs.



definitely an improvement over stock

[fuzzysux]

figured i would mention this - all of the posts above with rubbing issues - you must have lost the washer as part #8 in the first post of this thread.
part # 31336776760 dimensions 37X2,5MM, one per side, 2.5mm thick. looks like about a $1 part at the dealer each

[richardkeith97]

so i am the seller of the original drop hats. not the e90 ones. i dont sell them anymore because i cant get them in bulk. i have had them on 3 cars with zero issues of grinding. i currently have them with h&r race and half a coil cut off and no spring pads and billy sports. no rubbings. shocks have never bottomed out. i live in new england and have git some huge holes and never had issues. ive been using this set up as a daily drivers for about two years. my zhp is now my dd but thia setup was great and i dont enderstand why some people have issues and some dont. i also dont understand why everyone is telling people not to cut theirs prings? seriously what could happen. over two years and im fine.