Quote:
Originally Posted by LYTSOUT
Strobe, did your suspension ever settle after this install? Prior to the installation, your OEM suspension seemed oddly high (certainly higher than my F30 335i xDrive with adaptive suspension which definitely does NOT have a fist worth of gap) and the drop from the ACS springs seemed milder than most.
So now I'm curious if it ever settled down any lower, and what your currents thoughts are regarding the aesthetics, performance, stiffness vs comfort, etc.
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Sorry I didn't notice your post until now. I am guessing my drop was less due to the adaptive. There was a note about expecting "less" lowering with M-Adaptive suspensions.
Anyway, I got about 5k miles on it now since the install. Last re-measure I did was about 2k miles later and post alignment that I got about 500 miles after install. It was nearly identical, within margin of error. It doesn't look like a "lowered" car, but it looks like a normal stock sports car in my mind. Similar to a RWD factory car. I now have 437M reps on it as well that bring the tire sidewall closer to the fender which lessens the visible look of wheel gap. If you want the ballpark measurement it was about 4-5 fingers (fist) front originally, now it's about 2-3. Rear is about 1-2 fingers gap. I find the wheel gap to be less in person than in photos.
Most of my initial thoughts still hold true after 5k miles. I'm content with the amount of drop, it rides decent as well. Similar to how it was OEM in my opinion. Still has that stock comfort float with a bit of bounce on big bumps at highway speed. Sport mode still feels a bit too sharp over imperfections, but much more controlled that comfort when hitting highway speed big bumps. It's just not perfect, but I didn't 'spring' for coils so it's considered acceptable to me. My Miata rides MUCH harder, it's like Sport++++ when going over bumps, so take my feelings on sport mode with a grain of salt. I do feel the car seems more responsive with the springs though as if it doesn't flop over as quick side to side and also doesn't squat as hard on launch. So it's definitely a bit firmer, but barely noticeable. The wheel and tire upgrade was the biggest game changer though. Non-runflats and a more performance oriented all season (Michelin AS3+) added 2x the grip around corners I swear.
I have a coworker with a 328xi clone car same color and options almost and his looks noticeably higher than mine now so it made a difference. Just not as dramatic as I expected. I would love the look of H&R springs or coils, but was being cheap about it, lol. Didn't want to fork over $1500+ for KW Streets. I did my own labor so $300 springs + $100 for alignment made it a cheap upgrade.
I have encountered 1 issue with the springs so far. The steering wheel sticks when making fairly tight right turns (just about of 150 degree of steering input) around 20mph+. Most noticeable when slowing down from a higher speed to make a right into a cross street. If you turn quickly it binds at 150 degrees and won't let you turn further until you let up and go at it again as if it contacts something during compression not allowing further steering angle. No tire rub sounds and happens with factory wheels and tires even. I can really exaggerate the issue going to a parking lot and whipping the car back and forth. Left turns have no issue, it will keep turning until the tires screech. No issues turning lock to lock at parking lot speeds and/or going over big driveway humps at tight turning angles.Anyone got an idea what I should check?
I attached a photo similar to the previous ones, but with the new wheels that are wider and a bit more aggressive. Did my best to get a similar angle and crop on the photo for comparison sake, although the un-cropped photo makes the wheel gap look less pronounced. For those curious, 225/40, 255/35, 19" 8.5/9.5 wheels. ET40 rear, ET38 front. Rear is on point, front could use a few mm more poke, but had to settle on ET38 in the package deal. ET32 or 35 would be nice. Was the only reps I could find that weren't black. Really wanted a lighter silver than the gunmetal too. Didn't want the OEM price tag and feared too much poke on them. I'm not a fan of hella flush or any poke at all. I'd even be ok with ET42-43 rears probably, they are borderline for me at ET40.
Without zoom/crop the gap is less noticeable.
