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      10-10-2015, 08:10 AM   #1
versailles
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Lowering springs help

Hi,

I'm thinking of dropping my 435i with springs, iv found a garage that will fit them but I need to supply the springs myself and its seeming a bit of a minefield.

Can anyone point me in the right direction of which springs to buy, I already have m sport suspension but that's it, no active ride control etc.

Also if anyone has any examples of cars that have been lowered that would be great.

I'm looking for a mild drop so not slammed but still something noticeable

Thanks guys
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      10-10-2015, 12:37 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by versailles View Post
Hi,

I'm thinking of dropping my 435i with springs, iv found a garage that will fit them but I need to supply the springs myself and its seeming a bit of a minefield.

Can anyone point me in the right direction of which springs to buy, I already have m sport suspension but that's it, no active ride control etc.

Also if anyone has any examples of cars that have been lowered that would be great.

I'm looking for a mild drop so not slammed but still something noticeable

Thanks guys
If you have m-sport suspension, it's already dropped and aftermarket springs aren't going to drop it much at all, like 10mm or something if I recall. If you really want to drop it, you need to go coil-over at this point I believe.
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      10-10-2015, 03:56 PM   #3
versailles
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Surely not?

H&r do two different drops, one is 15mm f and 10mm rear, and the other is 30f and 25r!!

Surely the m sport suspension doesn't drop the car from standard 25+mm??
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      10-10-2015, 05:55 PM   #4
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I faced the same question before deciding to install KW Street Comfort coilovers, which provide properly matched springs and shocks (by design) and minimal drop. Very happy with my decision.
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      10-11-2015, 07:11 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by versailles View Post
Surely not?

H&r do two different drops, one is 15mm f and 10mm rear, and the other is 30f and 25r!!

Surely the m sport suspension doesn't drop the car from standard 25+mm??
He probably meant m-performance, not m sport.
Getting lowering springs will drop more from where you are, since yours is m sport.
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      10-13-2015, 08:04 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by versailles View Post
Hi,

I'm thinking of dropping my 435i with springs, iv found a garage that will fit them but I need to supply the springs myself and its seeming a bit of a minefield.

Can anyone point me in the right direction of which springs to buy, I already have m sport suspension but that's it, no active ride control etc.

Also if anyone has any examples of cars that have been lowered that would be great.

I'm looking for a mild drop so not slammed but still something noticeable

Thanks guys
I had eibach pro kit installed. Slight drop (mine is m sport everything yo) and Im not sure what the numbers are. I went with springs to retain m adaptive suspension. What a mistake. A week later I put stock springs back on. It was bouncy in comfort mode, however, it did ride really well in sport mode. Some people drive on sport mode all day but i didn't prefer that.
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      10-13-2015, 11:10 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by f32d View Post
I had eibach pro kit installed. Slight drop (mine is m sport everything yo) and Im not sure what the numbers are. I went with springs to retain m adaptive suspension. What a mistake. A week later I put stock springs back on. It was bouncy in comfort mode, however, it did ride really well in sport mode. Some people drive on sport mode all day but i didn't prefer that.
I had the same complaint about the Eibachs on my e90. The bounce was too annoying. Took them off a week later. Suck to hear it's the same on the F30.
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      10-13-2015, 12:19 PM   #8
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Enjoying my Dinan Springs + Adaptive Shocks combo. Nice look and OEM ride.
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      10-14-2015, 12:12 PM   #9
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Most popular would be H&R springs.
You can do sport or super sport depending on how much you want to lower your car
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      10-17-2015, 06:51 PM   #10
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I just installed H&R Sport springs...258.00 from a local vendor. 75.00 for alignment. Like you I didnt want it too aggressive. I am extremely happy with it. I haven't taken pics yet.
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      10-18-2015, 02:41 PM   #11
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Iv done this now, I went with h&r sport, the drop on the front is very noticeable and exactly what I want, at the rear it's less noticeable but still a nice subtle drop.

One question I have is that at the rear it does seem that one side is slightly (3-5mm) lower than the other?!

One thing I might put this down to is because I haven't fitted the new wheels yet I haven't had the alignment done yet (this is planned for Tuesday) do you guys think that might be it or could there be a issue?

I understand the springs might settle a little and iv out something heavy in the boot to assist with this ;p

Thoughts?
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      10-18-2015, 09:09 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by versailles View Post
Iv done this now, I went with h&r sport, the drop on the front is very noticeable and exactly what I want, at the rear it's less noticeable but still a nice subtle drop.

One question I have is that at the rear it does seem that one side is slightly (3-5mm) lower than the other?!

One thing I might put this down to is because I haven't fitted the new wheels yet I haven't had the alignment done yet (this is planned for Tuesday) do you guys think that might be it or could there be a issue?

I understand the springs might settle a little and iv out something heavy in the boot to assist with this ;p

Thoughts?
How much did your car drop? Did you have M Sport suspension?

The springs will settle after a few days of driving. When I installed my coil overs my car dropped another 3/8". That being said, that is one of the drawbacks with springs, you can't adjust the height. With my coils set the highest position, the right rear side was 3/16 higher than the left.
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      10-18-2015, 09:21 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by versailles View Post
Iv done this now, I went with h&r sport, the drop on the front is very noticeable and exactly what I want, at the rear it's less noticeable but still a nice subtle drop.

One question I have is that at the rear it does seem that one side is slightly (3-5mm) lower than the other?!

One thing I might put this down to is because I haven't fitted the new wheels yet I haven't had the alignment done yet (this is planned for Tuesday) do you guys think that might be it or could there be a issue?

I understand the springs might settle a little and iv out something heavy in the boot to assist with this ;p

Thoughts?
Is it the passenger side that is slightly lower? If so that should be normal as the driver side is higher for weight distribution purposes.

If not, I'd just say that it's due to the springs not settling yet.
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      10-18-2015, 09:52 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crono06 View Post
Is it the passenger side that is slightly lower? If so that should be normal as the driver side is higher for weight distribution purposes.
Is that 100% certain? When I measured my ride height before installing my coil overs, the rear was the same on both sides but the right front was 3/16" lower thman the left front. I was not sure what to set my ride height at so I made all corners the same. If the passenger side should be lower, how much lower should it be? Should only the front passenger side be lower?
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      10-19-2015, 06:27 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crono06
Quote:
Originally Posted by versailles View Post
Iv done this now, I went with h&r sport, the drop on the front is very noticeable and exactly what I want, at the rear it's less noticeable but still a nice subtle drop.

One question I have is that at the rear it does seem that one side is slightly (3-5mm) lower than the other?!

One thing I might put this down to is because I haven't fitted the new wheels yet I haven't had the alignment done yet (this is planned for Tuesday) do you guys think that might be it or could there be a issue?

I understand the springs might settle a little and iv out something heavy in the boot to assist with this ;p

Thoughts?
Is it the passenger side that is slightly lower? If so that should be normal as the driver side is higher for weight distribution purposes.

If not, I'd just say that it's due to the springs not settling yet.
Hi,

Thanks for the replies (everyone)

No it's the drivers side which is lower,

I'm not sure exactly how much it's dropped as I didn't measure the car previous to the install however I have now and the rear clearance is 20mm (drivers) and 28mm (passenger) I was on m sport standard suspension before

That seems quite a bit to me?
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      10-19-2015, 08:17 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by versailles View Post
Hi,

Thanks for the replies (everyone)

No it's the drivers side which is lower,

I'm not sure exactly how much it's dropped as I didn't measure the car previous to the install however I have now and the rear clearance is 20mm (drivers) and 28mm (passenger) I was on m sport standard suspension before

That seems quite a bit to me?
is it lower on both front and rear?

8mm is about 1/3". My car before coil overs was about 1/4" lower on the passenger front but the rears were the same. I would drive the car for a few days then remeasure. To be accurate and remove the effects of tire pressure differences, measure from a fixed point to the fender. I use the bottom of the wheel edge (the part closest to the floor). At this point, I am 23 9/16" to the fender. I will adjust my passenger front side to be a little lower.
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Last edited by tboooe; 10-19-2015 at 09:48 AM..
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      10-19-2015, 09:44 AM   #17
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I don't think so, the fronts look spot on but I haven't measured, I used a ruler on the top of the wheel for a straight edge and another to measure the gap, I will have another look when I get chance to put the car on a flat surface (not many of them in the uk )

It's been three full days since I got them fitted but it's hardly been driven
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      10-19-2015, 12:33 PM   #18
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Hi, I just did a quick check and although I'm not 100% sure the road was flat the tyre gaps at the front are equal
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      10-19-2015, 02:01 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tboooe View Post
Is that 100% certain? When I measured my ride height before installing my coil overs, the rear was the same on both sides but the right front was 3/16" lower thman the left front. I was not sure what to set my ride height at so I made all corners the same. If the passenger side should be lower, how much lower should it be? Should only the front passenger side be lower?
I saw it on one of the regional forums. I believe it was the UK or maybe Australia. The discussion went into great detail and links/documents were provided. I will look again to see if I can find it and I'll link it here.

With regards to the difference, (if I remember correctly) I believe it was around 5mm difference between the 2 sides.

I know I'll probably get ripped apart for spreading misinformation, but just trying to help lol.
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