eibach lowering springs on stock car

[rusty_sojah]

so i bought the eibach lowering springs (30mm down) with the intention of having 19's on the car. well i can't seem to find a good time to break the ice with the missus and order the 19's (is there ever a good time¿). so now i really want to install the springs with the stock 17's (in japan the 04 3.0si came with 17's as the biggest standard wheel size apparently) that are on the car now. problem is that the car is really low as it is, measured the lowest functional part of the car just now at 9cm which was the exhaust piping in the middle of the car towards my drivers side, stateside passenger side.

if i lower the car 3cm that means it is only 6mm from the ground. just wondering if anyone has done this and would you say you scrape all the time or just some of the time

my other car is a 4dr vip car that is pretty damn low too, just measured my daily ride height at 8cm off the ground with a similar bit of exhaust piping being the lowest part. only thing is that i have air cups on the sedan so if i need to go over stuff i just air up and go over it

but i'm used to really long wheel base cars that are low and this short wheel base 04 z4 seems to actually go over obstacles better cuz of the shorter wheel base. guess i could have the springs installed and see how my normal route is.

reason for all this madness is that i hate wheel gap and love the z4's overall ground height stock, but hate the wheel gap presently. if i lower it 3cm the wheel gap will be much better but then the car itself may be a little bit too low for comfort, to me this means the cars aspect ratio's are a little off, by my standards at least.

guess pulling the trigger on some 19's and putting 225/245 35 19's would help this out since they would raise the car up about 6mm & 20mm respectively.

any thoughts¿

[Incompatible]

If you have the base, non-sport model then shocks and struts should also be on the buy list. OE parts will not last long with the shorter springs.

[ANUSTART]

And additionally, you'll have to do the install twice. And for the fronts, I HIGHLY recommend doing the springs and struts at the same time. Those are a pain to do. And I'm sure pretty pricy if you pay someone. So, if you can, do all the suspension at one time. Just did this a month ago and so glad I did. Stock shock/struts are a little lacking.

[rusty_sojah]

Originally Posted by Incompatible

If you have the base, non-sport model then shocks and struts should also be on the buy list. OE parts will not last long with the shorter springs.

i have the 3.0 si (i thought the s stood for sport but i could be wrong) w/ sport package. so the sport model shocks are stronger? i have zero complaints about the sporty feel of the 04 3.0 si that i have suspension and feeling wise, but i do wish it were a little faster since my 4 door big sedan 3.0 liter straight 6 pulls exactly the same up to around 100, i wish i could race them

i hate this debate but is there proof (even a friend/ someone on the forums who did this is proof to me) that if i only put on the springs that within weeks/months the stock shocks will go out (on the sport model)???

so no feedback on lowering springs on stock wheel height?

[rusty_sojah]

is the 04 sport lower than the non sport or does it just have stiffer stuff?

[Incompatible]

Originally Posted by rusty_sojah

i have the 3.0 si (i thought the s stood for sport but i could be wrong) w/ sport package. so the sport model shocks are stronger? i have zero complaints about the sporty feel of the 04 3.0 si that i have suspension and feeling wise, but i do wish it were a little faster since my 4 door big sedan 3.0 liter straight 6 pulls exactly the same up to around 100, i wish i could race them

i hate this debate but is there proof (even a friend/ someone on the forums who did this is proof to me) that if i only put on the springs that within weeks/months the stock shocks will go out (on the sport model)???

so no feedback on lowering springs on stock wheel height?

If you have the sport suspension/sport package you will have a SPORT button on the center console, no button = standard suspension.

Sport suspension cars sit lower and have firmer shocks/struts, 15mm IIRC. Installation of the Eibachs will lower car less on a sport suspension then a standard suspension. Many on the forum have reported rapid wear on their shocks/struts when installing aftermarket lowering springs on their standard suspension cars. This does not seem to be the case when lowering springs are installed on sport suspension cars. I believe that the minor change in ride height, at least with the Eibachs, is still within the oem design specification. When I installed Eibachs (springs only) on my sport suspension e86 the drop was minimal, approximately 7mm in the rear and 12mm in the front. Other springs such as H&R which lower ride height further may be different. As side note, I am also running 18x8.5 et 40 front and 18x9.5 et 43 wheels rear with oe size tires with plenty of clearance.

[rusty_sojah]

@incompatible, yes i have the sport button & thank you for answering my questions.

So can someone have the 3.0 si and not have sport,, is the S for sport?

here is another. does the car learn your driving techniques? my older lexus's back in the US (99GS 400 & 05 LS430) would learn the way you drove and needed to be reset every few months to get that factory acceleration back. so if i drive around a lot with the sport button on but am not taking advantage of it (love the sound of the exhaust note when in sport mode) will it then make sport mode any less sporty¿¿¿

i have been trying not to use it unless i am actually going to be driving 'spiritedly' as lexus always refers to it

[rusty_sojah]

here is my other car,, i'm trying to shrink down the file to include in my sig block:




.

[vachss]

Originally Posted by rusty_sojah

So can someone have the 3.0 si and not have sport?

Yep, I do. The way some folks around here lower their cars mine probably looks like an SUV by comparison.

[Incompatible]

Originally Posted by rusty_sojah

@incompatible, yes i have the sport button & thank you for answering my questions.

So can someone have the 3.0 si and not have sport,, is the S for sport?

here is another. does the car learn your driving techniques? my older lexus's back in the US (99GS 400 & 05 LS430) would learn the way you drove and needed to be reset every few months to get that factory acceleration back. so if i drive around a lot with the sport button on but am not taking advantage of it (love the sound of the exhaust note when in sport mode) will it then make sport mode any less sporty¿¿¿

i have been trying not to use it unless i am actually going to be driving 'spiritedly' as lexus always refers to it

You're welcome, this forum is a great place to learn, share, and enjoy our cars.

I'm not sure, but I think the difference between the 3.0i and the 3.0Si designates a difference in the engine (primarily). I can't remember the 3.0i motor (M54?) but the Si cars have the N52 power plant. (I do wish the N52 had a dipstick.) The sport option could be had on the 3.0i and 3.0Si cars. So, no, the "S" does not designate the sport option.

Sport mode increases the accelerator curve (faster response) and slightly increases the force needed to turn the steering wheel. My guess is that your exhaust note change is simply from spending more time in the higher rpm range, nothing really to do with the sport function.

Yes, our ecu does learn. I'm sure if I'm incorrect on any of the above information, someone will jump in and correct me.

[rusty_sojah]

thanks again for dropping more knowledge

so maybe i don't have the si then, the guy who sold it to me explained it like the s was for sport,, small island and even smaller used car lot, although he had gotten it straight from auction and had it sent from tokyo. i doubt this car has ever seen higher speeds, ever. i got it up to like 130kmh the other day and it felt great, but then i realized i was doing over twice the posted speed limit.

i have a dip stick and its an 04 3.0 w/ sport, so i'm guessing not an si then...

[Incompatible]

One last thought that may clear things up, I should have thought of this sooner. Run the VIN and it will show you what you have, or at least how it came from the factory.

[rusty_sojah]

run the vin where? does it matter if its a jdm bmw export (RHD)?

what side of the car do they drive on in germany?

[rusty_sojah]

just as i suspected i don't think it has a vin number. i'm pretty sure vin numbers are only a US thing. it does have a long unique code but i think its just a domestic japanese code... it starts with a:

WBABT520

[Incompatible]

Originally Posted by rusty_sojah

just as i suspected i don't think it has a vin number. i'm pretty sure vin numbers are only a US thing. it does have a long unique code but i think its just a domestic japanese code... it starts with a:

WBABT520

Your car has a VIN, it's a 17 character alpha-numeric code. Should be on a plate on your dash close to the dash/window junction. On US cars it on the driver's side, don't know about others. It should also be listed on your registration paperwork. VINs (vehicle identification number) are unique to a vehicle and assigned by the manufacturer. Search the forums/internet for additional info.

[rusty_sojah]

dude, sersiously i know what a vin is... have you ever owned a car in japan? i'm guessing not. i own 3 and the other two jdm cars do not have vins. maybe next time you can explain to me what a turn signal is perhaps

yeah and i checked the title/registration and that is where i got the unique code that started with WBABT520... vehicles imported into japan may sometimes have vin's from their home country but japan uses their own system that is proprietary and not used anywhere else. on the japanese registration/title it is not called a vin and therefore unless you punch in the code into a US or equivalent site you do not know if its a known code outside of japan or not. but i just googled that wbabt code and it is infact a US recognized vin so there you have it, the bmw z4's in japan have a internationally recognized vin. i found out my car was made in germany.


http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho....php?p=1231273

[rmonte4]

Good Luck. Im doing the same thing to my car soon. 2007 si roadster. Purchased HR springs, hope to install this month. Then hoping for 19" rims a month later.

Post pics of your car thru the process, Id like to see it transform.

Originally Posted by rusty_sojah

so i bought the eibach lowering springs (30mm down) with the intention of having 19's on the car. well i can't seem to find a good time to break the ice with the missus and order the 19's (is there ever a good time¿). so now i really want to install the springs with the stock 17's (in japan the 04 3.0si came with 17's as the biggest standard wheel size apparently) that are on the car now. problem is that the car is really low as it is, measured the lowest functional part of the car just now at 9cm which was the exhaust piping in the middle of the car towards my drivers side, stateside passenger side.

if i lower the car 3cm that means it is only 6mm from the ground. just wondering if anyone has done this and would you say you scrape all the time or just some of the time

my other car is a 4dr vip car that is pretty damn low too, just measured my daily ride height at 8cm off the ground with a similar bit of exhaust piping being the lowest part. only thing is that i have air cups on the sedan so if i need to go over stuff i just air up and go over it

but i'm used to really long wheel base cars that are low and this short wheel base 04 z4 seems to actually go over obstacles better cuz of the shorter wheel base. guess i could have the springs installed and see how my normal route is.

reason for all this madness is that i hate wheel gap and love the z4's overall ground height stock, but hate the wheel gap presently. if i lower it 3cm the wheel gap will be much better but then the car itself may be a little bit too low for comfort, to me this means the cars aspect ratio's are a little off, by my standards at least.

guess pulling the trigger on some 19's and putting 225/245 35 19's would help this out since they would raise the car up about 6mm & 20mm respectively.

any thoughts¿

[rmonte4]

I ordered H&R lowering springs 50421. They seem to be backordered at a bunch of places I looked. Looking at about 2-3 weeks to deliver.
Anyways, thought I'd share where I got mine.
Cheapest I can find (although Ive never heard of this company)
$217.xx
add coupon code "se78261"

http://www.ultrarev.com/50421-hr.html

[Aries326]

When I ordered my H&R coilovers, it took a month.

@OP
Please post pics of your ride when you have the springs installed.

[rmonte4]

Just got my springs finally, after backordered from H&R. Took 3 weeks, yikes. Hoping to put them on this weekend, next weekend the latest.