Hey guys, does anyone happen to have both the JCW coilovers AND the NM engineering Rse12 wheels (18")?

I am hopefully picking up the car from my dealer this weekend or early next week (after 2.5 months of waiting) and have had the wheels sitting in my apartment for a week or so. I was planning on getting NM springs until I made a last minute decision to go with the Mini JCW Coilovers, and unfortunately it didn't hit me until just now that the wheels might not clear the coils.

So, if you have both (or know someone who does) do you need spacers to clear the coils?

If so, do you happen to know what the minimum required spacer size is? (Both in front and back, if different)

FYI for now I'm sticking with the stock runflats.

I'm hoping to have the coilovers lowered as much as possible with no rubbing (neither wheel-to-coil nor tire-to-arch), and if I have to put a spacer on there (even 3-5 mm) I assume that's going to make it more likely that I'll have some rubbing when cornering? Happy to be wrong about this, but I appreciate any info or feedback you have on the matter.

Best,
Brian

 

Brian,

I am running the RSE10 which are 18 X 7.5 with a 45mm offset, 215/40 and the JCW coil over kit. Your wheels are an offset of 40mm, so they will stick out a little more than mine.
I was rubbing on the inside of the wheel well so we had to raise it a little bit.

Below is a picture I took at work Wednesday am, so hopefully it will give you an idea.

 

Hey jlb,

Thanks for the response, the info is really helpful. I'm assuming that since my tires will be a little narrower (205) I may not have the rubbing issue and could perhaps go lower?

Of course I'll have the guys swapping my wheels out check this, but I'm hoping to drop the coils as low as they can go.

When I was considering nm springs jerry told me most people Dremel off a few mm of the inside of the wheel arches, so that's always an option for me I guess.

How much drop would you say you ended up with? Just guessing but looks like 3/4 of the total drop possible with the jcw coils?

Best,
Brian

 

The nice thing about the Coilovers is the ability of been able to adjust the ride height. I probably dropped about an inch. I can fit 1 finger between the tire and the wheel arch with some wiggle room. I'll take some pictures later today so you can see. It is perfect for my taste. The dealer has an S with the JCW exterior kit and wheels, theirs is set up to OEM specs and it is much lower than mine... but those wheels have a 54mm offset.

 

Brian,

Here are a few shots of my car. I am at 23 inches from the bottom of my rim to the wheel arch. It is perfect for MY taste.

Front drivers side


Rear drivers side


Car

 

That looks really good! I think some owners try to go too low & too wide, but to each their own.

For me, I must admit that I've thought about coilovers at some point, but the longer my stock sport suspension resides on my JCW I could swear the car sits lower! I definitely believe new cars sit too high until everything settles in...it's not my imagination that it's lower now.

Something to consider with a brand new car before installing shorter springs. Of course coilovers are the best mod as you can play with the height to suit.

But, your car sits really sweet in the pics!

John

 

Man, that looks great. I just got my car and am getting my Rse12 wheels mounted tomorrow. I really like how your wheels sit more flush with the arches than stock (they do, right? not sure what stock offset is). So i guess if mine sit out an extra 5mm I'm cool with that.

The dealer didn't set the coils as low as yours, maybe 2/3 of the total drop, but I'm ok with it.

Anyways, I will try to remember to post pics tomorrow!

Thanks again for your input.

Edit: did you wrap or paint your grill trim?

 

Thanks John!

 

Thanks Brian. Yes, the wheels are flush with the fenders. Yours will be 5mm more towards the outside. Stock is an offset of 54mm. The coils will settle and go a little lower in the next few weeks. If you want to lower it more, you can do that... That is the beauty of the coils. In regards to the grill, I had it wrapped along with the red under the S.

The picture below was the day that I got the wheels, prior to getting the Coilovers installed. Not the best angle but it will give you an idea. Can we say fender gap... LOL. I look forward to seen your pictures.