On to sorting the suspension

[Pagan]

Brakes are done.. now on to sorting the suspension.

PO installed what appears to be a set of H&R SuperSport springs with urethane upper and lower spacers in the front and urethane upper (no lower) spacers in the rear. Looks killer and rides surprisingly well… in a straight line. Trying to turn generally results in grinding the tires against the front flares. In addition the steering is VERY heavy.

I have a pair of upper strut bearings I will be installing next weekend (current dessicated and cracked/rotted) but dont think that will address ride height issues..

easiest and first impulse is to just replace the springs with a set from Ireland….  Other considerations are having a set of coil over adapters (also IE) installed to fine tune height…

Any input or thoughts are welcome here…

cheers,

Tim

[Mike G]

Are you sure they’re rubbing the flares and not the firewall? What size tires/wheel offset?

[Pagan]

Hi Mike… 

225/45-15… not sure of offset but I will make a note to check.. I am assuming rubbing front flares because there is only about half an inch of clearance at the top of the flare and there are spots where the flare lip is cracked on the inside and from the noise it is making… but you are correct that I am making some assumptions

Thank you

Edited May 12 by Pagan

[Mike G]

Those tires are about 1.25” wider than the usually recommended 195/50 for non flared cars which will contribute to both the rubbing and heavy steering. A spacer between the strut and fender will add height if it’s only rubbing on the flares. Either the 3/4” spacer found on later 02s or IE makes a thin camber spacer which would add a small amount of height and tip the top of the tire in slightly which could be enough while improving cornering as well with added negative camber. 
 

if they’re rubbing the firewall you can hammer in the spot they’re rubbing on. 

[TobyB]

0 offset rims?

t

 

[Pagan]

Thank you.. the front fenders look to have had 2.5- 3” trimmed off the arch before PO installed the flares. I will contact IE about a spacer kit. That seems the most straightforward solution given I have no real complaints about the ride other than the rubbing. 

Simply downsizing to a more reasonable tire size is also a thought…. But I am known to  be fairly UNreasonable at times 😉..

Thankful for all the great input here from everyone..

[Mike G]

Fixed Front Camber Plates – 2002/E21/E9/E3/E12 – Ireland Engineering | Racing & Performance Parts for BMW & MINI

WWW.IEMOTORSPORT.COM

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Pair

 

[Pagan]

[Looking at the dry rotted strut bearings I will be replacing… is that spacer on top of the bearing (under the top nut) supposed to be between the spring hat and the bearing? It looks like if it were relocated to the bottom side it would give me the inch or so of clearance I am looking for….

 

 

[Mike G]

It’s supposed to be there 

 

 

[Son of Marty]

Well you already have the fixed camber plates, the factory on most cars had aluminum spacers of various height's that should be available form some on here.

[Pagan]

I thought I had read somewhere that many cars had a spacer between the spring perch and the strut bearing to meet headlight height requirements. Is that what you are speaking of?

[Son of Marty]

Yup them the ones.

[jimk]

3 hours ago, Pagan said:

I thought I had read somewhere that many cars had a spacer between the spring perch and the strut bearing to meet headlight height requirements. Is that what you are speaking of?

It sets between the strut bearing and the underside of the fender.

[Dudeland]

On 5/12/2024 at 6:08 PM, Pagan said:

[Looking at the dry rotted strut bearings I will be replacing… is that spacer on top of the bearing (under the top nut) supposed to be between the spring hat and the bearing? It looks like if it were relocated to the bottom side it would give me the inch or so of clearance I am looking for….

 

 

Yikes, those are really hammered.  Can you get a pick showing the clearance between the tire and the fender?  

 

....  asking for a friend   lol.  

Edited May 14 by Dudeland
Kinda sweating it .

[Pagan]

Pics of front clearance…and rear