front drop on H&R sports WAY too low

[taiden]

Drove 200 miles today, never once felt uncomfortable.

[LJ851]

taiden, have you thought about making some reverse drop hats to give some extra ride height and travel?

[taiden]

taiden, have you thought about making some reverse drop hats to give some extra ride height and travel?

I'm going to take a page out of your book and make some rear spacers. I have access to the lathe at school now so that should make that easier. I haven't put much thought into reverse drop hats for the front, to be honest. I just want ~0.5" more ride height front and rear. From there I will probably take some time to select some very good bump stops to make the ride a little stiffer. Fatcatmotorsports has some really nice (and specced too!) bump stops in various rates, linear and progressive. The only issue is that you can easily spend $100 on a set of them.

[smooth]

can you make double while you're at it?

[LJ851]

Have you seen these? Jlevie turned me on to them, check out part # 10 and the 2 size options.

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...11&hg=31&fg=10

[smooth]

Have you seen these? Jlevie turned me on to them, check out part # 10 and the 2 size options.

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...11&hg=31&fg=10

interesting, but you added about 3x that amount with your spacers before you were satisfied, right?
(6mm about .2 inches and I thought I read in your thread you added about .6 inches?)

oh here's the rear
http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...27&hg=33&fg=45

[LJ851]

interesting, but you added about 3x that amount with your spacers before you were satisfied, right?

6mm about .2 inches and I thought I read in your thread you added about .6 inches?

I started off with .6 but the front settled a little and i had too much rake. I'm at .4 right now. The rear springs are closer to the pivot than the wheel so .6 at the spring was 1 inch at the wheel. The front ride height will change equal to the spacer height.

With my setup now (.4 inch spacers rear) and low fuel with an empty trunk i still have too much rake IMO. I may try those front spring pads before i modify some spring hats to be taller.

[taiden]

can you make double while you're at it?

You want some too?

Also, one could conceivably corner balance their car with rear shims.

[smooth]

You want some too?

Also, one could conceivably corner balance their car with rear shims.

yeah, I'd like to give some spacers a shot. I come from mopar lineage so I like a bit of rake aesthetically. Main problem is the rear looking soggy bothers me but now that I've gotten off my butt and measured it out properly it looks like it's sitting where it should by the numbers; it just doesn't excite me visually when I walk out to it.

[taiden]

How much lift do you want in the back?

[irish44j]

Alright here is my measurement sheet.

                        front      rear
ride height stock       15.25"     14.5"
            H&R         13.00"     13.5"
            difference  2.25"      1.0"


free length stock       14.25"     9.5"
            H&R         10.75"     8.0"

I know this is an old thread, but figured I'd chime in since I have some H&R sports of the same model number as yours sitting in my garage waiting for install.

My front stock ride heights are IDENTICAL to yours (15.25 and 14.5) with my '85 318i. Granted I have an M42 in it now, but it weighs about the same as the M10.

Now I'm somewhat worried that these "318" model number springs are too low for my application....hmm.....

[ssaylor]

I know this is an old thread, but figured I'd chime in since I have some H&R sports of the same model number as yours sitting in my garage waiting for install.

My front stock ride heights are IDENTICAL to yours (15.25 and 14.5) with my '85 318i. Granted I have an M42 in it now, but it weighs about the same as the M10.

Now I'm somewhat worried that these "318" model number springs are too low for my application....hmm.....

I haven't measured mine but your numbers seem right. I can tell you I installed the same springs in my 1990 E30 M3 and got no where near the drop I got in my 325.

Good stuff, thx!

[ak-]

An m10 weighs 83kg/180lbs
An m50 weighs 140kg/308lbs

Hence why I said after swapping from an m42, about a 20-30lb difference.

I know this thread is old but,

DAT MATH.

[irish44j]

I just put the rears in today, and my rear measurements are approx. 13.25" from hub center to wheel arch (early 318 with high arches, like Taiden). I have one thick-ish spring pad and one very thin in there.

Also, my car is totally stripped (no backseat) but has a rollbar, which probably weighs about the same. Plus I have a full-size spare in there and a trunk-mounted battery (which Taiden probably doesn't).

[BlackbirdM3]

If you run a set of G.C. Spec E30 adjustable camber/caster plates, you will end up about an inch lower than you should. They are just about an inch shorter in stack height than the stock strut mounts. I've been playing this game for a year and finally got a set of spacers made that will mount above the camber plates to lift the front end and fix the roll center. This isn't a quick and easy fix as I'll need to modify the adjustable camber plates with longer mounting studs.

I can't wait to get the spacers on the car. They should fix a whole slew of issues I've been trying to solve. Camber loss should be reduced, with less body roll, and it shouldn't blow through its limited travel as easily. The best thing will be that I won't drag the front of the car over every driveway ramp in town, and I'll be able to re-install my splitter without worrying about ripping the thing off every time I pull into a raised driveway.

Will