New Product - Swift Spec-R Sport Springs for your E82 135i

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Interested in what Harold has to say, but..

I wonder if there's a collar you could put on the damper immediately under the tab to effectively raise it in the knuckle without having to weld.

That is an excellent approach, and reversible too. My understanding is that there is no much load on this "keyed" tab, so this could definitely work!

[135TX]

Originally Posted by houtan

If his front end is lighter, wouldn't that mean he would have less rake since the front would be sitting higher?

Originally Posted by Suprgnat

I have the Spec-R/Koni/Dinan combo on my 128i and from the center of the roundel to the wheel arch I measure 325mm front and 322mm rear, so <1/8 inch negative rake but not really noticeable. Measured at the rocker panels the car still has a substantial positive rake, but I don't recall the number. The wheel gap is pretty darn even.

This was very much in line with what I calculated the drop to be before the install, taking in to consideration the weights and distribution of weight published by BMW and not accounting for any equipment differences.

During the install I used all new parts including the rubber isolators and upper strut mounts (guide, support), and I installed 1M/M3 camber arms at the same time. Not sure how all that may have effected my results.

I just got the negative and positive mixed up. LOL his front sits higher because the springs are meant for the 135i (from what i understand), and thus more weight up front producing the rake on the 135i vs 128i. That said, he also has the camber plates which lifts the front end up more as well.

Rather than addressing the lower part of the strut why not put a plate on the upper mount? Similar to a Dinan camber plate but with the other studs knocked out? Or perhaps a hub centric spacer ( obviously not on the hub but rather where the strut mounts to the frame/strut tower) milled to the correct spec and drilled? seems like it could be an easy option, but maybe its more difficult...

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by Suprgnat

That's what fe1rx did. Post #97
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...=956039&page=5

Just want to avoid welding a stop or keyed tab on the strut housing to avoid damage. What would be appropriate to use as a "collar" to tighten around the strut tube?

Sorry for the newbie question but would some sort of spring spacer or helper spring be another viable approach?

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by dcaron9999

Just want to avoid welding a stop or keyed tab on the strut housing to avoid damage. What would be appropriate to use as a "collar" to tighten around the strut tube?

Sorry for the newbie question but would some sort of spring spacer or helper spring be another viable approach?

Spring spacer might work, but where would you put it?

Putting a spacer on the top of the top hat/camber plate as mentioned above would work for sure. Need longer bolts to do that though.

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Spring spacer might work, but where would you put it?

Putting a spacer on the top of the top hat/camber plate as mentioned above would work for sure. Need longer bolts to do that though.

Do you think that a set of Turner Front Strut Tower Reinforcement Plates may help, piggy-backed with camber plates? These are mounted on the underside of the strut tower and need to be welded into place. Probably not thick enough to provide significant height though. I sent Turner Motorsports this question as well, and will report back with their comments.

Here's the part : http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-27...ates-pair.aspx

Edit: I got the response from Turner Motorsports: "These will not raise it any noticeable amount. They are the thickness of the factory sheet metal currently on your strut tower now..."

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by dcaron9999

Do you think that a set of Turner Front Strut Tower Reinforcement Plates may help, piggy-backed with camber plates? These are mounted on the underside of the strut tower and need to be welded into place. Probably not thick enough to provide significant height though. I sent Turner Motorsports this question as well.

Here's the part : http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-27...ates-pair.aspx

Looks like that will only get you maybe 3-5mm closer to your goal. Not worth it IMO.

[houtan]

I was reading one of fe1rx's suspension threads and realized that I never loosened and retightened a couple of the suspensions pieces that have bushings. Mainly, the both sides of the rear trailing arm and the wheel carrier side of the toe arms. could this be contributing to the slightly higher rear ride height since the bushings are still set at the stock ride height?

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by houtan

I was reading one of fe1rx's suspension threads and realized that I never loosened and retightened a couple of the suspensions pieces that have bushings. Mainly, the both sides of the rear trailing arm and the wheel carrier side of the toe arms. could this be contributing to the slightly higher rear ride height since the bushings are still set at the stock ride height?

Im hoping the speed shop that installed the springs+dampers, and also did the alignment would have tightened everything to spec while suspension was loaded with car weight.

[houtan]

Originally Posted by dcaron9999

Im hoping the speed shop that installed the springs+dampers, and also did the alignment would have tightened everything to spec while suspension was loaded with car weight.

its possible. I can tell you that the ECS youtube video I used as a reference point didn't talk about loosening the trailing arm bolts or toe arm bolts. Only says to loosen the lower camber arm bolt to get the spring out, and a lot of people don't do that and force it down instead.

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by dcaron9999

That is an excellent approach, and reversible too. My understanding is that there is no much load on this "keyed" tab, so this could definitely work!

Yes, that is correct. The load isn't on the locating tab, but raising the strut body too much from the knuckle may not capture enough of the strut so measure everything carefully.

I do recall when AST first came out there were issues with the stop being engineered in the wrong location so a 10-15mm spacer ring had to added to get the desired ride height(spring perch maxed out and the car is still too low).

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by HP Autosport

Yes, that is correct. The load isn't on the locating tab, but raising the strut body too much from the knuckle may not capture enough of the strut so measure everything carefully.

I do recall when AST first came out there were issues with the stop being engineered in the wrong location so a 10-15mm spacer ring had to added to get the desired ride height(spring perch maxed out and the car is still too low).

Were these rings generic or custom tailored to a specific strut tube? Where can these be purchased?

Do you think the Dinan Rear Shock Mounts in the rear could contribute to the higher stack height, and 20mm rake I wound up with (Dinan product page claims that the Ride-height is not affected)? Here's a reminder of my combo: Swift Spec-R springs/Bilstein B8/Ground Control Street camber plates/ Dinan rear shock mounts.

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by dcaron9999

Were these rings generic or custom tailored to a specific strut tube? Where can these be purchased?

Do you think the Dinan Rear Shock Mounts in the rear could contribute to the higher stack height, and 20mm rake I wound up with (Dinan product page claims that the Ride-height is not affected)? Here's a reminder of my combo: Swift Spec-R springs/Bilstein B8/Ground Control Street camber plates/ Dinan rear shock mounts.

They were made for the AST strut.

No, since the rear is a none coilover setup, the Dinan shock mounts will not affect ride height in anyway.

[dcaron9999]

Finally settled on a spacer between camber plates and shock tower.

On my Ground Control Street camber plates, Im getting the bolt plate modified with longer bolts, and an aluminium keyed 22mm spacer to sit on stop of GC camber plate.

Should bring the front height more in line with the rear height. Should remove slight rubbing with my new 255/35R18 Dunlop Direzza ZII StarSpecs in the front, when hitting moderate bumps. I hadno rubbing with my previous ZII's that were passed the wear bar (less tread = smaller diameter tire).

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by dcaron9999

Finally settled on a spacer between camber plates and shock tower.

On my Ground Control Street camber plates, Im getting the bolt plate modified with longer bolts, and an aluminium keyed 22mm spacer to sit on stop of GC camber plate.

Should bring the front height more in line with the rear height. Should remove slight rubbing with my new 255/35R18 Dunlop Direzza ZII StarSpecs in the front, when hitting moderate bumps. I hadno rubbing with my previous ZII's that were passed the wear bar (less tread = smaller diameter tire).

Are you having a shop machine your a spacer?

Also on another note, I just got my Dinan rear shock mounts in the mail. I'll let you know how they change things up. Should be installing them tomorrow assuming the weather forecast holds up.

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Are you having a shop machine your a spacer?

Also on another note, I just got my Dinan rear shock mounts in the mail. I'll let you know how they change things up. Should be installing them tomorrow assuming the weather forecast holds up.

I have the Dinan Rear Shock mounts as well. They do not impact ride height.

fe1rx has offered to help me, and will "machine" the spacers and bolt plates. Very professional and nice dude to deal with.
Looking forward to having these installed on my 135i. Im hitting the Tremblant track in 3 days, and will not have these on the car in that timeframe unfortunately. Just hoping I dont chew up my fresh front ZII-SS 255/35R18 tires.

Love the fresh ZII-SS's to death so far. Bump steer is greatly reduced as the worn ZII's I replaced had rounded edges. Old ZII's have been bullet proof though, and still performed well on wet pavement, even if they were beyond the wear bars, and one tire had survived to an incident leading to a destroyed wheel (indi shop technician goof up).

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by dcaron9999

I have the Dinan Rear Shock mounts as well. They do not impact ride height.

Oh for some reason I thought you were contemplating getting them. Glad to hear they don't impact ride height but that wouldn't matter (to me) even if they did as I'm after their performance benefits.

When I unboxed them I was blown away with the design. Such a small thing but makes so much more sense than the original mounts.

[houtan]

Originally Posted by dcaron9999

Finally settled on a spacer between camber plates and shock tower.

On my Ground Control Street camber plates, Im getting the bolt plate modified with longer bolts, and an aluminium keyed 22mm spacer to sit on stop of GC camber plate.

Should bring the front height more in line with the rear height. Should remove slight rubbing with my new 255/35R18 Dunlop Direzza ZII StarSpecs in the front, when hitting moderate bumps. I hadno rubbing with my previous ZII's that were passed the wear bar (less tread = smaller diameter tire).

Just a thought, but wouldn't you want to loosen and re-torque the rear suspension bolts that should be tightened at ride height to confirm the bushings are not contributing to the ride height at the rear of the car before your determine the thickness of the spacer?

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by houtan

Just a thought, but wouldn't you want to loosen and re-torque the rear suspension bolts that should be tightened at ride height to confirm the bushings are not contributing to the ride height at the rear of the car before your determine the thickness of the spacer?

I confirmed with the shop that this was done, and they also did the alignment, so made sure car was squatted down first.

[houtan]

awesome.

Not sure what I should do. I installed the m3 rear upper arm and guide rod at the same time as my suspension install. So the bolts for the rear upper arm, guide rod, and lower camber arm were torqued at ride height. I did not loosen the bolts for the rear trailing arm and toe arm. Although, at least one of the toe arm bolts was loosened when the alignment was done.

you guys think I should go back and loosen all the bolts with bushings and re-torque at ride height? only reason why I am hesitant is I have to drop another $100 for an alignment if I do it, which sucks, but I can only blame myself lol.

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by dcaron9999

Finally settled on a spacer between camber plates and shock tower.

On my Ground Control Street camber plates, Im getting the bolt plate modified with longer bolts, and an aluminium keyed 22mm spacer to sit on stop of GC camber plate.

Should bring the front height more in line with the rear height. Should remove slight rubbing with my new 255/35R18 Dunlop Direzza ZII StarSpecs in the front, when hitting moderate bumps. I hadno rubbing with my previous ZII's that were passed the wear bar (less tread = smaller diameter tire).

Vorshlag plates typically have longer studs on them to accommodate a thicker top ring or an additional one. However, we are only talking about 5-10 mm here.