Wanting to lower my new ride what shall I use ? - BMW Forum

TexasBimmer · 07-30-2006, 04:04 PM

Hey everyone I am new to the Bmw Scene and have recently ( lastweek ) purchased myself a 1995 Bmw 325I Convertible. I am wanting to right away do some mods to it and to start off I am wanting to concentrate on the way it sits. I ordered yesterday a set of 17x8.5 inch Hamann Hm3 wheels with 235/40/17 inch Yokohama Avs es100 rubber . I am wanting to lower my ride but dont want a harsh ride , I understand from driving previously lowered cars that I have owned that you do expect a sporty ride but I would like it to have a good comfortable feeling ride if possible. What do you all advise me to purchase for my 325I as in spring kits and shocks ? Also at work I go over 4 speed bumps , 3 are not so bad 1 of them is a doozy, I drive over all of them slow but often wonder if its going to be hell on my car especially the 4th one when my car is lowered. How would you recommend driving over these with a lowered car or shall I not worry about lowering it all together ? I am wanting to do this because the shocks are pretty much used on this car and I figured why not spend the money at one time instead of buying new shocks then replacing them later on when I go to lower it do it all up front and save money in the long run.

Daniel

///M Power · 07-30-2006, 05:47 PM

The better spring/shock setup I would recommend is Koni SA's with H&R Sport spring. The springs will drop the car about 1.5" frotn and 1" rear. The Koni's have adjustable dampening so you can choose how stiff you want your ride.

Attack speed bumps slowly and at angles.

Welcome to Bimmerwerkz.

Chaosbunny · 07-30-2006, 06:04 PM

this is VERY newb of me.. but does lowering a car have any purpose besides looks?

(sorry for jacking your thread)

///M Power · 07-30-2006, 06:13 PM

It lowers the center of gravity for your car and greatly increases the cars handling ability.

Needle Damage · 07-30-2006, 06:22 PM

And for the love of allah, change out your bushings.

That will help road feel a lot.

TexasBimmer · 07-30-2006, 08:13 PM

So would you use H&R Sport spring or Eibach sport ?

Needle Damage · 07-31-2006, 01:09 AM

IMHO Eibach will be the more stiff of the 2.

I would go with H&R for ride quality. Eibach for a sportier feel.

The difference will be negligible.

///M Power · 07-31-2006, 02:21 AM

Eibach is disappointing. Most people won't get the desired drop out of the Eibach Pro-Kit from my understanding and experience. Also the Eibach springs actually seem to ride softer. I don't have the numerical spring rates but i'm sure the Eibachs are softer, and don't give that great of a drop.

Needle Damage · 07-31-2006, 02:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ///M Power

Eibach is disappointing. Most people won't get the desired drop out of the Eibach Pro-Kit from my understanding and experience. Also the Eibach springs actually seem to ride softer. I don't have the numerical spring rates but i'm sure the Eibachs are softer, and don't give that great of a drop.

You're probably right.

My experience with the two is limited to American cars.

Ivan · 07-31-2006, 03:36 AM

i have some sort of bilstein kit, it looks cool and makes the handling sportier, but like you said it makes the ride harsh. i can feel every little pebble on the road. oh well.

TexasBimmer · 07-31-2006, 10:33 AM

When you guys say H&R is that a certain Eibach Spring Or is that a totally different company and that is the name of their own lowering spring ? I have talked to a few people and they said by going with a spring and shock kit I need to get something they said that will fix the front and rear camber because after adding larger wheels/Coils and shocks it will lower the car and the Camber will Eat the tires. Is this True ? am I going to have to buy coils , shocks and this Camber thing ?

///M Power · 07-31-2006, 10:53 AM

H&R is it's own brand. Eibach is it's own brand.

H&R sports are a specific H&R model. Eibach pro-kit is a specific eibach model.

Going with the H&R sports will lower your car and will increase negative camber, although it's a moderate drop so it will not eat your tires as much as you may be anticipating. You don't need camber plates with these. Now if you went with H&R Race spring you defintely would. On the sports you can get away with just rotating your tires every few thousand miles. I would recommend rotating tires every oil change as it's a regular cycle you can't forget.

TexasBimmer · 07-31-2006, 12:08 PM

Thank you all for the Helpful info. I think I have made my decision . H&R will be my springs. Now 2 other last questions if you don't mind ? Where can I pick up some of these H&R sport springs as you put it ? I am new to this Bmw world and all I know of really is Bavarian Auto as in a place to buy stuff. They don't carry the Koni's and prefer to push bilstein and for some reason they seem to push Eibach a lot because when I mentioned H&R they said you need to go with the Eibach pro kit instead or whatever he called it.
I am just wanting as smooth as a ride I can get with a drop for awsome looks and handleing.

buuhh99 · 07-31-2006, 12:34 PM

I think turnermotorsport.com has them

Tochenzo · 07-31-2006, 02:08 PM

for better performance results, i would recommend getting coilovers, i ended up getting koni sa's with h&r sports, but now i wish i had gotten coilovers because the springs are just too soft