Installing new suspension! - BMW Forum

saltshaker185 · 05-10-2006, 03:56 PM

Hey, i just bought those eibach coilovers ( http://www.bimmerwerkz.com/forum/aft...oor-45884.html ) that stereo options is selling in the classifids section and i was wondering, what all do you all think that i need to get inorder to install these? should i get a camber kit? i know i need new RSM, so im getting those... any help would be great....

thanks,
nick

saltshaker185 · 05-12-2006, 11:50 PM

anyone??

saltshaker185 · 05-13-2006, 06:24 PM

does noone know about suspensions on here???

///M Power · 05-13-2006, 09:13 PM

Camber plates are great but it's really not a necessity at all. RSM are good to replace as you said. Other than that there's not much more in the strut/spring area you need. If you find a need for new control arms or control arm bushings then this would be the time to do it. It's nto a hard project. It's slightly easier on your car than M3's because our sway bar links. You cna do it. You probably dont even need a sprign compressor. Just a bunch of sockets, a torque wrench, a good jack, a helping hand/foot, and jack stands.

97alpineM3 · 05-13-2006, 09:31 PM

Well... you will need a spring compressor...

You have to get the strut hats off of the front shocks... it is all on there together... nut... hat... strut... and spring.

There is no way.. unless you compress... go to a car parts store and rent one.

Good luck... if you have any questions... refer to my complete DIY in the FAQ/DIY forum.

I will find the link in a min.

Les

///M Power · 05-13-2006, 10:45 PM

Wow defintely forgot about the strut bearings. Oh nuts. What a bitch of a job. You can rent the spring compressor for free at autozone. Just put a $40 deposit down. Make sure you get the strut specific spring compressor. Also this job could be a lot mroe difficult now. I used an impact wrench (which uses compressed air) to remove the nut. Good Luck without one.

saltshaker185 · 05-14-2006, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ///M Power

Wow defintely forgot about the strut bearings. Oh nuts. What a bitch of a job. You can rent the spring compressor for free at autozone. Just put a $40 deposit down. Make sure you get the strut specific spring compressor. Also this job could be a lot mroe difficult now. I used an impact wrench (which uses compressed air) to remove the nut. Good Luck without one.

yeah ive got a impact wrench and all that that i can use... are you saying i need new strut bearings also? how much are those... or do i already have them in the kit?? also, for the camber plates and stuff i thuoght if you lowered it you were going to need them if it gets to be more then -1 degree on camber?? do the coilovers already have comething like that on the strut hat?? im confused about that... sorry about me being a noob to suspension, and thanks for replying to this guys...

///M Power · 05-14-2006, 01:55 PM

The strut bearings can be reused from your current setup. Use the spring compressor and impact wrench adn take off the strut bearings from your current setup and then undo your coilovers and place them on top of those.

Camber plates are more used to correct or add camber. If you lower your car too much with the coilovers you'll have quite a bit of negative camber resutling in better handling but very uneven tire wear. To corrct this just lift the height a bit and you wont experience too much camber. Now if you want to slam it without havign uneven tire wear you can buy camber plates in an attempt to correct this.

When shopping for camber plates keep an eye out for camber plates that actually show what camber settings are on there at the top, not just plates that slide backa dn ofrth otherwise you wotn be able to accurately guess camber on both sides.

and dont forget alignment.

saltshaker185 · 05-14-2006, 02:07 PM

how can i tell how much camber im putting out?? like i want it as low as possible i think with out having to get a camber kit to make up for uneven tire wear...

thanks M power...

97alpineM3 · 05-14-2006, 05:46 PM

After a suspension install... you should always get a true alinement... and have the shop turn in how ever much camber you wish to have... how low you wish the coil to be... ext...

I gave the guy at the shop a list of my wants... and he went for them...

Les

saltshaker185 · 05-14-2006, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 97alpineM3

After a suspension install... you should always get a true alinement... and have the shop turn in how ever much camber you wish to have... how low you wish the coil to be... ext...

I gave the guy at the shop a list of my wants... and he went for them...

Les

how low are you right now les? what is a safe drop that i shuold be fine at over stuff like speed bumps and stuff? or is that too low?

97alpineM3 · 05-14-2006, 05:51 PM

Well.. my H&R coils are about a quarter of an inch from the bottom... that is usually as low as a lot of people will go... thats as low as I will go... I dont want to risk constant vibration to losen my adjusters.

I droped my front end about an inch and a half...and it has settled another inch or so over the past few months. Rear... about an inch... the fenders sit directly over the wheels...

I wanted a suspension that was fun to drive... and trackable. Often enough people... such as yourself... are not looking for that combination.. just the drop for looks...

You can go lower... but my front end... with the lip I have (notice the sig)... sit about two inches from the ground or so.

Les

saltshaker185 · 05-14-2006, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 97alpineM3

Well.. my H&R coils are about a quarter of an inch from the bottom... that is usually as low as a lot of people will go... thats as low as I will go... I dont want to risk constant vibration to losen my adjusters.

I droped my front end about an inch and a half...and it has settled another inch or so over the past few months. Rear... about an inch... the fenders sit directly over the wheels...

I wanted a suspension that was fun to drive... and trackable. Often enough people... such as yourself... are not looking for that combination.. just the drop for looks...

You can go lower... but my front end... with the lip I have (notice the sig)... sit about two inches from the ground or so.

Les

ok so you dropped 2.25 in in the front and 1 in the rear? did the rear not settle also? and i have the stock 325 bumper in the front with nothing like a lip or anything so i dont know how low i can go there... does lowering the front adjust any camber on the front wheels? why are the back wheels the biggest problem it seems like for tire wear and not all 4? and the pics in your vb garage are before the drop right?

thanks

94BMW325i · 05-14-2006, 06:43 PM

hmm I never got an alignment after replacing my suspension, and my camber isn't off or anything, so should I still get it done?

97alpineM3 · 05-14-2006, 06:47 PM

Only if you have done a lot of work... coil-overs... or the drop is excessive...and you'd like to dial out the huge amount of camber...

Everything I have in adjustable... and I wanted it to play right.

Les