Wow quite a roundabout here but now that we've come full circle -
bbnks2 the info you linked to is the same as the info I linked to posted by Fe1rx in another thread. It seems this thread went sideways when I used the term "rake" in regard to the measurements I was taking on my car. You are correct that wheel center or bottom of rim is not a good measurement to determine actual rake of the suspension set-up.
BTW - all US spec 135i come with the low slung sport suspension (aka Msport).
The real point of this thread was for comparison to find out if my before numbers are different from others with stock suspension. Using wheel center to fender arch is a great way to compare easily.
18" stock M-sport suspension
Front: 592mm
Rear: 584mm
My stock measurements w/ 55k miles were:
Front 578 mm (arch to bottom of rim)
Rear 583 mm (arch to rim bottom)
So my suspension was sitting 14mm low in the front & 1mm low in the rear vs. spec.
So anyone out there with stock Msport suspension want to post up their measurements for Front & Rear ride height.