Coupe stance

bert35csi

bert35csi

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Fellow e9coupe member Randy 'psychrunner' has forwarded several pics of his 72 3.0 CSi to me for posting on this board. At the moment the car is undergoing some restoration work and a brand new paint job at a professional restorer. Presently, the coupe has been fitted with Carl Nelson's lowering springs. Tire and wheels setup is as follows: 215/60/14 fronts and 225/60/14 rears, tires are fitted on 7x14 rims. Randy and I both think the car is sitting rather high. Any feedbacks on the coupe ride height is appreciated.

Thanks,
Albert
72 3.5 CSi(L-jet, Getrag 265 5 speed)
88 M6


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you will add a lot more weight I think especially if the engine is out.(windshield,interior,etc.)

At the end it should sit lower.

I'm saying this without knowing what is exactly out of the car now.

might be wrong
 
Ride height

Aren't there different thicknesses of rubber pads on the spring seats? Perhaps you have the thickest set? In all likelihood Bela is right about the weight bringing it down when all reassembled.

I'll post my wheel arch heights latter (similar set up) - the coupe is in the zoo.

Back again. 205/55/16 front and 225/50/16 rear. Both front and rear are 25 3/8" to wheel arch lip with Carl's old ST lowering spring (and they are black) combo and bilstein HD. I assume the tire diameter would be the close whether 14" or 16".

Check your spring type (OEM vs lowered). Good luck.
 
Thanks for feedback thus far. The car has the engine in it. Windshield and rear window are out of car. I just ordered both the wheels and tires (wheels from Maximillian and tires from Tire Rack). Tire size is at Carl Nelson's recommendation. Would I be better placing a 215/70/14 on the front? What 16's are available other than the very expensive Alpina's? What would an Alpina like 7x15 wheel cost? I think some of the affect is the flash of the pic and being able to see inside fender so easily due to flash?
Randy
 
randy:

since I don't know how to place pix her,I'll send you pics of my car with BBS-mahle 14x70 with 205/70/14 tires on
 
Randy, there is very distinct possibility you coupe is still riding on its original springs. After examining the front and rear wheel well areas carefully more than a few times, it is my conclusion that the Carl Nelson's lowering springs have not been installed. CN B&G springs are powdered coated in bright red and if you look closely, there is not a tinge of red in both the front strut area and the rear upper spring Perch area. Also look closely at the rear wheel well, see the bright reflection, it looks like part of the spring has been scraped to bare metal, thereby the reflection caused by the camera flash.

Another possibility, although unlikely is the bilstein shocks were installed but not the lowering springs. Bilstein gas shocks have to be used in conjunction with a set of lower sport springs, if installed with the stock springs, the ride height would actually increase an inch.

These possibilities could actually work to your advantage Randy as you don't have to frustratingly track down the ifs and the whys of your ride height issues. I suggest you personally check you car for how your present
suspension setup and simply don't rely on the inputs of the Resto shop.

Good luck
Bert
72 3.5 CSi
88 M6
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Supposedly stock E9, Same tires (215/60/14), no front glass, no bumpers, no interior other than driver seats and I think I am lower. This is confusing.
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A quick measurement of height on my coupe, measured as the highest point of the fender:

Left front: 26.00" - - - Right front: 26.25"
Left rear: 26.00" - - - - Right rear: 25.50"

No, she is not square. I attribute the variance on the right to fuel in the tank.
 
springs

I think Bert is really on to something. Notice that the springs in the pics are silver in color, but look shiny and new ( I have other pics also indicating this). My springs were on back order for a long time with La Jolla. I notice on the bimmerdoc site that the 2002 springs he handles are silver. Could it be that the 2002 springs were inadvertently sent to the resto shop and placed on with the Bilsteins?? I'll get it straight (hopefully) on Monday. Any thoughts? If these springs were original or not recently replaced, would they not be more rusted or at least dulled?
Randy
 
If the springs are silver this is likely. Original were black. Carl's spring should be red. There is little reason anyone would have cleaned them and, if they did, it is not likely that they became silver, the would be dull metallic at best.
 
Two more pics of Randy's restoration. He has legitimate concerns about having the wrong springs for his coupe. I also have the same concerns as the CN lowered springs should be red and not silver. Could a set of 2002 springs be fitted onto the coupe? I do know that both the CS and the 2002 used the same rear upper and lower spring pads. Randy's theory is that somehow Carl Nelson sent him a set of 2002 springs by mistake.
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note the silver coil spring.
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pretty involved restoration job!
 
switch to silver

To sum up this post. Carl Nelson of La Jolla has informed me that he has switched to silver springs as of about three months ago due to supply issues with the B&G? springs. Also indicated I really cannot judge the height issue until all the trim and windshield is on/in the car.
So, I guess I'm okay with this as is then. Thanks for all your feedback.
I am posting another issue re: L-tronic injection on another thread.
psychrunner
 
Based on all of the information contained above, does anyone know more about the new silver spring? The last time I spoke to Carl he said springs were on back order. This explains the change of vendor. However, he also said the red spring were supposed to be about 1.5" lower in the front and 0.5" in the rear. Comparing my supposedly stock photos (without glass and bumpers) I think am riding a tad lower. I do have the useless spacer thingies out (top mounted - oh dear) which would give me about a 0.75" drop. As such, with roughly eguall weight I should be 0.75" taller but it looks exactly the opposite. This leads me to think that Carl's new springs do not drop the car at all. Anyone know? I guess I can call Carl...
 
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