A question for all you suspension gurus out there...

I found a 3 year old thread asking a similar question for the R53 but it wasn't definitively answered, and mine is an R56, so here goes...

I installed BC coilovers, allowed them to settle, and then got a good performance alignment. Now I find myself wanting to drop the ride height another 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Does anyone know how this will affect toe, and how much? I'm assuming whatever change it produces would be consistent left to right if both coilovers are dropped the same amount, is this correct.

The R53 thread from 3 years ago said a drop would result in increased toe-in, but no one seemed to know how much for a given amount of drop. I have 1/32" toe-out on the front right now and zero toe on the back.

I really don't want to have to drop another buck and a quarter on an alignment just for a 1/4" height adjustment.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

You only want a 1/4" ride height change? That's about the same, or even less, than you sitting in the car. Just go and lower it, being careful to measure the changes with a tape measure/ruler/caliper, and you'll be fine...especially if you currently have toe-out in front. Significant toe changes only happen over large travel excursions, something the BC coilovers don't have anyway. I don't know of anyone that has actually charted the suspension curve geometries into a look-up table like you're asking.

 

Thanks for the reply. It made sense to me that the effect would be minimal but I wanted to get corroboration from someone else with knowledge of suspensions. Your analogy comparing it to sitting in the car makes perfect sense.

I plan on turning each coilover down the exact same number of turns, guaranteeing that the drop is the same on each side.

 

Good stuff. I would recommend measuring between the spring perches and the strut/damper mounting point just to confirm you're moving the perches the same distance after tightening them up. It doesn't hurt to double-check.

Good luck,
Ryan

 

I agree, I made several adjustments and thought I had it where I wanted it...changed the rear and brought it down about 3/8" and the wheel alignment was fine.