Lowering Springs

    On other threads, I mentioned how unhappy I am with the amount of lowering offered by Eibach Pro Springs.


    So here I am tonight looking at my options. I am NOT going to cut or squash my stock springs :lol: and have seen sense.


    What I want to know, is what is the difference in quality/performance of the main brands manufacturing Lowering Kits for the e31.


    Take this site for example


    http://www.europerformance.co.…urer.mhtml?category=suspn


    Top Price = H&R @ 360 GBP
    Mid Price = Eibach @ 210 GBP
    Low Price = Spax, Pi, Cobra @ around 160 - 180 GBP.


    I'm clearly not an expert on suspension, and just want my 8 to sit 'right' and nice and low. I dont track my car, in fact I rarely drive it fast at all except on motorway. So would it be a big mistake to try the cheaper option, rather than get the H&Rs which seem popular to ??


    I know things are generally cheaper for a reason, but am I going to miss something by not having H&Rs, considering my driving habits ?


    Cheers, and don't flame me for considering putting cheaper coils on my car..... I've got two kids who I'd rather spend the difference on :lol::lol:

    Wayne, Steve, I would on both counts but it's question o f £££s really having already bought and paid for the install of my Eibachs :shock::D


    I only want to replace the fronts, since the rear with the Eibachs is fine. I'll ask at dealers if they'll sell me just the fronts, but do they drop 35mm ? That's my target drop. £170 seems fair, in that I could recoup some costs by selling my Stock fronts on the bay, and maybe the new rears (seperately of course!)


    I'm confident enough and have access to the tools to do it myself this tme.

    Everything I have ever heard is that H&R rear springs are too soft for these cars and you could even be eventually riding on the stops. Here's a comparison chart that Ed Raether (Mwrench) did which may help you TT. With all the info I've gathered and read about the stance I want for my car will involve the CSI stock rears modified. For me this was driven by the fact that I can purchase OEM springs in pairs which to my knowlege you can't with Eibachs or HRs. I have a set of new Hartge front springs that I will be shipping to Ed for him to run on his spring dyno to update the database, and they will go in during the front rebuild.












    Ed (MWrench) specially cut OEM rear springs for me to match the H&R fronts that I installed. Perfect drop in the front and rear. The added benefit is that the rear springs are now stiffer than in stock form. It is a perfect match comfort-wise with the H&R fronts. Also, it is absolutely imperative that you install rear shock tower plates! I got mine from the last Wuffer/Gerry run.


    Performance-wise, I could not be happier. My car is nice and stiff yet remains comfortable to drive all day long.


    With the CSi nose & my suspension setup, I have had no trouble going over the myriad of speedbumps scattered around Los Angeles.


    I highly recommend this route if you want to drop your car the way it should've been from the factory. No wheel gaps in the arches at all. And, as you already know, the H&R's drop the lowest out of all the springs available for E31. Just don't install H&R rear springs.


    Hey Koiz,,, could you tell me what the height of your front stock springs are since they're now out and laying around please. The Hartge's are 10.25.

    For what its worth, I am developing a height adjustable, damping adjustable suspension kit with an entire range of coil springs available so that the kits can be tailored to the vehicle requirements with springs available in 10 lb increments.


    I will offer kits for V8 and V12 seperately in Komfort, Sport and SportR configurations as well as bespoke kits for special applications.


    I already have the adjustable damping and ride height finished on the rear and am currently working on the fronts.


    You will be able to adjust the ride height of the car seperately on each corner whilst the car is on its wheels and currently the rear dampers are 20 way adjustable. This will allow the vehicle to be levelled irrespective of load or wheel/tyre combination.


    I also have polyurethane thrust arm bushes being tested for durability at the moment and will have polyurethane roll bar bushes shortly for all roll bar configurations.


    None of this will be completed though until the supercharger project is complete.


    Stay tuned E31 fans.


    8Tech.
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    Sounds excellent Gerry. If it were available now I'd be tempted to order this week :D That said all I really want is to drop he car a further 20mm, so as to have a 20mm gap between tyre and wheel arch at the top matching the gap at 90 and 270 degrees. Adjustability would be cool, but deep down I know that one it is 'right' I'd never touch it again :D


    Am I right in thinking you there would be three types of Spring in K, S and SR mode, and you adjust the ride height on the dampers ? Can't be sure from the picture but it looks as if there is a thread on the Spax dampers, which you can move a lock nut (attached to the blue tie-bar) up and down and hence adjust the height ??


    Presumably no one has any experience on the Pi springs or Cobra ones then ?? Still haven't found out whether the stealers will sell the Alpina ones in just pairs, and what the drop is supposed to be. Had another look at your gallery Steve and that is the look I wanted all along, just like the H&R setup too. Because of the Camber Plates I'll need a 35mm drop to make the 20mm deficit. The Eibachs claim 25mm which is optimistic, and in effect it is only 15- 18mm due to the thickness of the plates.


    It's just really bugging me now :lol:

    Tony have you got a side on pic of your car with your eibach's fitted... Just curious because I've got the same Eibach pro springs on my 840 and I think they're pretty decent compared to before (on standard springs).
    This is how my 840 sits now.


    Hay Tony, i got the PI springs on mine at present. The rears are perfect, just get the tips of my fingers between the arch and tyre, no rubbing at all. The fronts however, they dont drop as claimed. The ride is fine and just that. After deciding to keep the car and doing a lot of homework on the subject, for the right look (in my eyes anyway) it comes down to H&Rs on the front, even with the plates installed (5ish+ mm?) the look will be right. Thats the route i'll be going and im quite confident it'll be the look im after. Les

    Zitat von TallTony

    Sounds excellent Gerry. If it were available now I'd be tempted to order this week :D That said all I really want is to drop he car a further 20mm, so as to have a 20mm gap between tyre and wheel arch at the top matching the gap at 90 and 270 degrees. Adjustability would be cool, but deep down I know that one it is 'right' I'd never touch it again :D


    Am I right in thinking you there would be three types of Spring in K, S and SR mode, and you adjust the ride height on the dampers ? Can't be sure from the picture but it looks as if there is a thread on the Spax dampers, which you can move a lock nut (attached to the blue tie-bar) up and down and hence adjust the height ??


    Hi Tony,


    The pic shown is the rear of my CSi with the adjustable dampers. As you say, and quite rightly, once you have it set correctly you would never touch it again. However we are not talking short term here. Adjustability allows changes both as the springs bed-in and settle. When this happens you can "Lift" the car back to spec just by adjustment and as dampers wear they can be re-adjusted up to maintain damping.


    The 3 spring types would best be described as replacement touring spec, CSi spec and fast road/track settings. The dampers are adjustable from comfortable to very hard so suitable for all applications. Yes there is a thread on the dampers but this is not in use but they are Professional Motorsport Spax Coil-overs. The height adjustment is on the rear springs and those blue bars you see are my adjustable rear roll-bar droplinks.


    You could even get springs suitable for towing "SHOCK HORROR" or if you have a heavy boot install, this can be accounted-for, and you can adjust the front and rear to account for tyre/wheel size combinations and camber plates. If you are a big guy, you can even level the car with your weight in the drivers seat, just like setting roll bar transition settings.


    This will not be a Citroen Saxo slammin' kit! :shock:


    8Tech.

    Cheers for the feedback. 8Tech, the system sounds perfect, though obviously this is not a cheap option with all the extra features it includes. I'll definitely watch your progress on it, and may even be a customer if the price is within my range.


    Les, I was sure I'd spoken to someone with Pi springs in, or read it on a thread elsewhere, just couldnt remember who it was ! Shame they are no good (height wise). That just leaves Cobra coils, but I suspect they are similar otherwise there would be more people with them on, and at least one person on here posting ??


    Busta, your car looks great, and a little lower than mine probably because of the camber plates in mine....



    ....but I really want the low slung 'crouched' look for mine. I know it might mean avoiding certain roads with known speed bumps, but I dont care. Koizumis is the lowest, and as a result, all things are leading to me having to get that CC out again to buy the H&Rs :?:lol:


    I'm sure someone on ebay will want my Eibachs fronts, and OEM fronts, but not the spare H&R rears........ (but you never know). Might even sell my CD Changer/BMW Radio/etc to finance this.......

    Ok. I see what you mean now, about another 15mm drop on the front and your car would sit perfect! (I couldn't really make out the difference between front and back from your gallery pics mate).


    I just hope the H&R's don't prove to be a dissapointment mate.

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