Dropped too much for the street?

[Speeder 553]

I am having Koni Sport shocks with Eibach Pro-Kit springs installed (next week) and the spec call for a 1.2" front and 1.0" rear drop for (5 Series 88-95 E34 per Shox.com). The Eibach tech said that 1/2" clearance between the tires and the wheel wells is ideal?

My main concern is getting it dropped too LOW for my heavy V8 and my much larger than OE wheel/tire set up (18" Schnitzer Type III Wheels (E39) w BFG G-Force Sports 245/40ZR-18’s front & back) and my front end bottoming out (bang) and my wheels RUBBING!!!!!!

I’m getting a fresh set of Upper Spring Pads (9mm) from the Dlr. and my question is; should I install the new spring pads on top of the old pads (9mm) to give me an additional ¼” height to insure that I get enough tire/wheel well clearance? I think it would drop the car about 1" in front and 3/4" in the rear and that would be a good thing considering the extra weight of my V8 and my larger than OE tire/wheel set up... right???

With this set up I would only cut the bump stops an 1” (assuming they are the standard E34 3.5) for a net length of 2.5”... correct vs. 1.5" with just one set of 9mm Upper Spring Pads?

My mech is putting in new rear shock mounts and I had new Lendforder Thrust Arms w 750il bushings installed about 12k ago so those should still be fine. Anything I’m missing I could have done while it’s being R&R’d??

I would really appreciate your feedback.

[632 Regal]

mine only bottoms on potholes, then again driving the mile on dirt to my house is like the moons surface.

I have never had the tires rub at all.

you cant stack the pads, I thought about it and looking it cant be done.

if you only cut the stops 1 inch you will be riding on the stops.

have the mechanic loosen the thrust arm bolts and re tighten them after the new springs are installed under the weight of the car which will be lower than previous.

[Speeder 553]

mine only bottoms on potholes, then again driving the mile on dirt to my house is like the moons surface.

I have never had the tires rub at all.

you cant stack the pads, I thought about it and looking it cant be done.

if you only cut the stops 1 inch you will be riding on the stops.

have the mechanic loosen the thrust arm bolts and re tighten them after the new springs are installed under the weight of the car which will be lower than previous.

Jeff,

Thanks for the info.
What's your shock/spirng/wheel/tire set up?
Why won't stacking the Spring Pads work?
So cut the bumps down to a finished lenght of 1.5"?

Thanks for the thrust arm tip.

[632 Regal]

I have the Eibach/Bilstein sports with the internal bumpstops cut to 1" The stock bumpstop was about 2 inches and bottomed a lot more than with them cut.

The wheels are roundel 16's with 225 something tires (stock width and diameter).

if you stack the spring pads there will be no lip to hold the spring in position.

[Speeder 553]

I am having Koni Sport shocks with Eibach Pro-Kit springs installed (next week) and the spec call for a 1.2" front and 1.0" rear drop for (5 Series 88-95 E34 per Shox.com). The Eibach tech said that 1/2" clearance between the tires and the wheel wells is ideal?

My main concern is getting it dropped too LOW for my heavy V8 and my much larger than OE wheel/tire set up (18" Schnitzer Type III Wheels (E39) w BFG G-Force Sports 245/40ZR-18’s front & back) and my front end bottoming out (bang) and my wheels RUBBING!!!!!!

I’m getting a fresh set of Upper Spring Pads (9mm) from the Dlr. and my question is; should I install the new spring pads on top of the old pads (9mm) to give me an additional ¼” height to insure that I get enough tire/wheel well clearance? I think it would drop the car about 1" in front and 3/4" in the rear and that would be a good thing considering the extra weight of my V8 and my larger than OE tire/wheel set up... right???

With this set up I would only cut the bump stops an 1” (assuming they are the standard E34 3.5) for a net length of 2.5”... correct vs. 1.5" with just one set of 9mm Upper Spring Pads?

My mech is putting in new rear shock mounts and I had new Lendforder Thrust Arms w 750il bushings installed about 12k ago so those should still be fine. Anything I’m missing I could have done while it’s being R&R’d??

I would really appreciate your feedback.

I wanted to write a short follow up. The Koni/Eibach set up it perfect for my 540i. The ride is super smooth yet feels tight and has a ton of control cornering. NO tire rubbing or bottoming out whatsoever and I got the expected drop that Eibach quoted (1.2" F and 1.0" R) which gave me approx 1/2" clearance between my tires and wheel wells... perfect fit!

Notes; only one set of new 9mm Upper Springs Pads were installed (not stacked as there was no room to fit them in and they were not needed anyway). The Bump Stops were cut down to 1.5" finished length. The new rear shock mounts were not installed as I found out that I had rear struts NOT rear shocks and the existing strut mounts were in good shape.

[Kalevera]

Regardless of whether the rear strut mounts are presently in good shape, they should have been replaced. Someone's going to charge you at least $100 on labor to replace them in the future, and they do fail -- not as frequently as E30/E36/E46, but they still fail.

That is a nice setup! Now you'll have to get a decent set of sway bars

best, whit

[Speeder 553]

Regardless of whether the rear strut mounts are presently in good shape, they should have been replaced. Someone's going to charge you at least $100 on labor to replace them in the future, and they do fail -- not as frequently as E30/E36/E46, but they still fail.

That is a nice setup! Now you'll have to get a decent set of sway bars

best, whit

I'm only looking for street performance handling not racing.

[E34 530]

How much are the strut mounts and where do I find them?? Also, how do I know whether I have shocks or struts?? My original window sticker says I have MacPherson struts, so I guess I have struts?? Also, I only have 62k miles, so should I be worried about changing them???

[632 Regal]

struts front, shocks back.

[E34 530]

struts front, shocks back.

Wait, if that's true, how come Speeder said he didn't need the rear shock mounts because they were struts?? When I call to order the Bilstein's do I say I need 2 Bilstein Sport shocks and 2 Bilstein Sport Struts?? Now I'm soo confused lol.