Car seems to sit higher than most

#1

My car seems to sit higher than most. I have installed the spec H&R springs/struts with ie camber plates. I am not using the top or bottom spring seat rubber. I assume that its ilegal to lower the spring perch raise the spindle or cut a coil. Am I missing something obvious or should I just wait until the new springs completely settle?

#2

Front, rear or both? If it’s the front only, are you sure the IE plates went in correctly?

http://brandnewengine.com/bmw/ie_camber_plates/

#3

I have got the same exact situation. I have all spec suspension and have taken out the rubber spring pads; and it still sits about an inch higher than I would like. The only think I can think of is my car is pretty stripped and therefore much lighter than other cars prepped for racing.

#4

Do your cars already have cages installed to offset the weight lost when you stripped the interiors?

#5

FWIW, the 87s have taller wheel arches and makes them look like they ride higher.

#6

Mine looks like a rally car too. Up front, it mostly has to do with the camber plates (different brands are thicker). As mentioned, the early cars have difference arches (is it just rear?).

#7

Has anybody measured the height of their cars from known, consistent points, such as the pinch welds along the rockers at the front and rear ends of the rocker?

It would be interesting to see what variances we find, if any.

#8

The wheel arch heights make sense. Mine is an '86 and is high front and rear. I will measure from some constant point and report.

#9

I believe the arches is just the rear, but I’m no expert. If measuring from the ground, might want to note whether you’re using 14" or 15" wheels, that would affect it as well as the tire sidewall if they are not the Toyos.

#10

I believe the arches is just the rear, but I’m no expert. If measuring from the ground, might want to note whether you’re using 14" or 15" wheels, that would affect it as well as the tire sidewall if they are not the Toyos.

#11

Does the removal of the top and bottom rubber spring pads improve anything? Second time in two day I hear about the removal.
Mine was sitting higher in the rear because of a bad sway bar link installation.

#12

The first set of springs that were sent to me were the wrong ones. They were the H&R Sports. I believe they sit about 1 to 1.5 in higher than the race springs.

#13

At a recent BMWCCA HPDE event I was noticing a SpeceE30 racer with his rear end jacked up checking brakes. With the trailing arm hanging freely, his spring was still under enough compression that it stayed in place and I could not rotate it. I know when I jack my rear end up, the spring is fairly loose. Neither his car nor mine have the rubber spring pads. Could this have something to do with sway bar link adjustment or maybe trailing arm bushings??

#14

4bimmers wrote:

I just observed some of this over the weekend. The IE sways at full soft allow the trailing arms to hang at least a half inch lower than the bilsteins’ full extension allows. I suspect with the sways hardened up they would limit the travel of the swingarm.
CAUTION: If the shocks are disconnected it is possible to over-center the IE sways and have the linkage rub on the CV shaft. The car will of course be sitting with the rear an extra half foot up, but if you’re rushing…