BMW 2002 FAQ - rear coilover clearance question

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Thread Topic: rear coilover clearance question

Date: 7-9-08 09:44
From: canadamatt in canada, eh?

Subject: rear coilover clearance question

Running the "old" IE rear coilovers. My coilover sleeves, and moreso, the collars, need more clearance. Currently the collars are hitting my tires. what are you rear coilover guys doing to gain more clearance between the coilover and the tire, and how much clearance are you running? Currently running Azeni 615's, how much sidewall flex will I see? I'd really hate to rip out a sidewall while cornering.

Options are
- move lower coilover mount point inboard. (yes, with double shear mount)
- get the IE type setup with the threaded shock body, may or may not gain some clearance (just a guess)
- run a shorter rear spring so the collar sits higher on the sleeve, and "above" most of the tire.
- wheel spacers. Problem with this is that I need all the wheel arch space I can get
- others?

For those running rear coilovers, what did you do?

Matt

Date: 7-9-08 02:06
From: MOESPEED2002 in PLEASANTON, CA

Subject: Re: rear coilover clearance question

Hey Matt,

I had the same issue with the old IE coilover setup, and IE race disc brake combination. Possibly due to the fact that I moved my upper and lower mounts and the car is slammed. I had to use a 5mm spacer to clear the old coilover setup and had very little adjustment of camber to get the tire to fit under the fender without rubbing. I am now using the newer IE coilver. Although the collar OD is the same for both, (because your using the same spring diameter), the threaded sleeve OD is smaller on the Proshock because the threads are machined on the body.

I was also using a 14x6.5 ET30 rim w/205.55.14 tire with the old setup. I am now using a 15x7 ET25 rim w/205.50.15 tire. I went this route because I am using Lee's BBK, but I did gain some clearance with a larger diameter rim.

Because the Proshock coilover is heim joint, you can move the coilover inward to get some more clearance with a small spacer on the lower mount. I no longer use a 5mm spacer and have more flexablity with camber setups.

I think your other options may work too. Getting a shorter spring would work as long as you have enough threads on the sleeve to move the collar up. For referance I am using an 8" spring, if I go any shorter (like a 7" spring), I will be at the end (top) of my threaded sleeve, which means I can't raise the car anymore. My sleeves on the Bilstien (old setup) had more adjustment than the Proshock. So I could raise the car even with the relocated mounts or shorter springs.

What kind of camber are you using?
Rim and tire size?

Hope this will shed some light on your questions.

Cheers

MOE
_________________

Date: 7-10-08 07:10
From: TobyB in Seattle

Subject: Re: rear coilover clearance question

Yeah, Matt and Moe,
the stock shock mount locations are just a bit too close to the tire for comfort.

My solution to that problem was to move the bottom of the shock inboard
about 30mm. It's a chunk of fabrication, but with cantilevers, there's never
enough clearance.

The other answer is to move the top mount, which I've seen done. If you lop
the top off the stock shock mount, you can move it in enough...

One final caution- the rear suspension travel on a 2002 isn't enough to let
you slam it- 5" from the rocker seam to the ground is actually getting
close to stock- shock bottoming. And short coilovers don't have all that
much travel. I ended up moving the top points up 40mm or so, and even
with that amount of modification, I can bottom a rear shock on a curb under
hard acceleration...

t
_________________
I have a car disease. There is no cure.
I'm not even managing the symptoms very well...

Date: 7-10-08 08:58
From: canadamatt in canada, eh?

Subject: Re: rear coilover clearance question

Thanks guys. Toby do you have pics of the relocated lower mount? Tires are currently 205/50r15 Azeni 615's, so they are a bit wider than a normal 205... rims, 15x6.5, to tell you the truth I can't remember what offset, I had to swap out my old rims as the fronts didn't fit over the Outlaw calipers, I *think* these are et35. I run a spacer in front and nothing in the rear. I'll check the offset tonite. As for camber, I'm not even that far yet..right now its probably -1.5 or so. This is a street/autox/DE car so it doesn't need as much as a dedicated track car obviously.

I was going to put on flares this winter (graft in or make steel flares from scratch), so maybe I'll just run a hubcentric spacer, cut the wheel arch right till the outside and flare this winter. If I *only* relocated the lower mounts with the current rims and tire I'd probably have to push it in 30mm as well. Don't have the funds to get yet another set of rims (I already have 4 sets sitting in my shop!)

Also about the top shock mount, when I go to the Proshocks, I'll cut off the top plate and mount the heim joint 'ala Bob Breeds car to raise up the mount point. Maybe I should just bit the bullet and get the Proshocks now....

thanks guys
Matt

Date: 7-10-08 09:29 From: TobyB in Seattle Subject: Re: rear coilover clearance question
I'll try to remember to pic it this weekend- actually, I may have some around here somewhere. yeah, bite the bullet for the Pros. I have Aldans on the back of the race car, and they are worth the money- but they cost half of the Pros and weren't right for what I'm asking them to do... t _________________ I have a car disease. There is no cure. I'm not even managing the symptoms very well...

Date: 7-10-08 11:47
From: MOESPEED2002 in PLEASANTON, CA

Subject: Re: rear coilover clearance question

Hey Matt,

This is what my lower mount looks like with the Proshock coilover. You can see that I used a spacer to move the coilover inward to get more clearance between the tire. I also moved the mount 1" lower. On a side note, the Proshock heim joint uses a larger bolt that the Bilstein coilover.

THis is what I did to the upper mount. Added about 1.5" to the stock tower. Toby is correct in just cutting out completly and making a new upper mount so that you can use a heim joint and also move it inward. I think if you do a search under Boxy02 you will find what Bob did. Excellent setup. I maybe following in that dirrection someday in the future.

Good luck

Cheers

MOE
_________________

Date: 7-11-08 08:36
From: TobyB in Seattle

Subject: Re: rear coilover pics

And here's my version of same.

If you look carefully at the trailing arm, there's a bracket (also in double shear!)
that moves the lower attachment point in a bit over an inch...

It's a lot of fabrication.

Toby
_________________
I have a car disease. There is no cure.
I'm not even managing the symptoms very well...

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Date: 7-11-08 12:24
From: canadamatt in canada, eh?

Subject: Re: rear coilover pics

THanks for the replies. Toby...I never thought of moving the lower mount that much in....Maybe I should do that with the 323i arms I have. How much of a shorter shock body did you have to run, as that looks to be probably at least 3" or 4" or so higher than the original mount point (height). I do like the idea of the weight of the car sitting there as opposed to hanging off the back.

Since I want to get the car back on the road, I'm going to just shim it like Moe's for now, run a small wheel spacer and be done with it. Summer is half over already here ! I'm still debating throwing in an entire e30 rear subframe this winter so I have a better selection of stronger diffs to take the torque of the m20 turbo.

Matt

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