Hmm, the stance looks familliar. Can you measure from the centerline of your wheel hub (or cetercap) to the bottom of fender flare.

TIA,
Marcus

 

Looks like about about 14" front, 13 1/8" rear.

 

Contact way with your results and reference this thread.

Marcus

 

I've had a chance to review this thread and the people that have ride height issues, so I want to let everyone know what is going on and get it sorted out.

To this day we have only had 4 cars with ride height problems. One car has been fixed as the customer did not have them installed correctly. One has removed the springs and are coming back to us to have them checked. One is getting a different set of TSW springs, and the last one is on hold until these checks are done.

We are currently out of R53 TSW springs, so we are trying to get some replacements made that will be triple checked to be perfect. This is odd that we are having this issue for several reasons. All the cars have brand new shocks, different brands, but this is the only common thing to the 3. The springs are also made in large batches, and when I say batch I don't mean 10, I mean 50+. So the question comes why isn't the entire batch bad?? Also, all the springs are made the same (left and right), so when the springs are pulled from the batch it is random, so how did we pull 3 sets that are even left to right on the car.

As you can see, we don't have that 100% sure what is wrong figured out yet. I've already received phone calls and emails with people telling me they won't be buying our springs. All I can say is- hold on, we will make it right. The same supplier that made them for TSW is still making them, so we know that the springs can be made right (and have been), so if that is the problem, we can and will solve it.

Please note, this has only affected the R50/53 TSW springs, We have NO Problems with the R56 TSW Springs.

 

I am the one Way mentions above who removed the springs. I had to make the decision to move to a different coil due to time more than personal preference or having issue with WMW. I have no doubt the issue will be resolved in due time.

Marcus

 

I have been remiss.

WMW has been working with me since yesterday (asked for photos to see what was what) to resolve the issue. Given the somewhat negative mood of this thread, it is only fair to report when the vendor involved gives EVERY indication that he is acting in good faith to resolve the problem.

I should have done that yesterday.

Yes, the problem still exists (for me at least). But I have no reason to believe that it will not be resolved as soon as possible.

 

My center hub to bottom of flare is 14 1/8" at the front wheels. Way, what is a ballpark number at where one should be with the TSW V3 springs?

 

Props to Way for keeping the thread updated and sorting this out. I will just wait until this issue is settled to make my decision on springs

 

wheel center to fender arch = 13 1/8 " +/- (both F/R)
Fender arch to floor = 25" (F/R).

The OP actually came to personally see my car = even.
Looking at his car, the front was obviously higher and I don't recall mine being like that just after install (same dealer installer). I have the first batch of the V3 according to TSW/AutoCooperX about 2-3 years ago.

I hope that those numbers help.

 

Wow, so you're say both your front and rear are at 13 1/8? That makes me think that there is something definitly wrong with either or both of our springs. How can my front end be 1 inch higher when we are running the same springs. I don't have a supercharger on mine, but the minimal weight difference can't make that big of a difference in height. Very, very strange....

 

Here are some measurements from my 2003 R50. All were taken at the same spot in my garage & all except stock were with IE fixed camber plates ( the aluminum bodied ones). Tire pressures were the same.

Spring centercap to arch Spring rate Spring free length
TSW V.1 Front 15.0" "200 lb/in" 8.375"
TSW V.2 Front 14.0" "200 lb/in" 7.875"
TSW V.3 Front 14.3" "217 lb/in" 8.0"

TSW V.2 Rear 13.375" "200 lb/in" 9.0"

For comparison:
Stock front 14.125" "145" lb/in (SS) 8.81" No camber plate
Stock rear 14.0" "145" lb/in (SS) 10.1"
Apex front 13.0" "160" lb/in 7.9" IE Fixed plate

The TSW V.1's I got had had an issue with the way the top coil was wound which effectively decreased the number of active coils,increased their rate & raised the ride height of the car. They were quickly replaced by TSW with the shorter 7-7/8" V.2's which didnt lower the front by much. They did however make the car handle great. I was & am very happy with them.

I ordered a set of the V3's when the first batch came out. They were 1/8" taller than the V2's, slightly stiffer & raised the ride height at the front. I ended up putting the V2 fronts back on. I've kept the V3's & may try trimming a 1/4 coil off.
I've been very happy with the TSW (V.2) springs & I'm confident Way can get the V3's dialed in.

 

My measurements are;
wheel center to fender arch 13 5/8'' F 13''R
Fender arch to floor 25 1/4 F 25 R

 

Here are some measurements from my 2003 R50. All were taken at the same spot in my garage & all except stock were with IE fixed camber plates ( the aluminum bodied ones). Tire pressures were the same.

Spring centercap to arch Spring rate Spring free length
TSW V.1 Front 15.0" "200 lb/in" 8.375"
TSW V.2 Front 14.0" "200 lb/in" 7.875"
TSW V.3 Front 14.3" "217 lb/in" 8.0"

TSW V.2 Rear 13.375" "200 lb/in" 9.0"

For comparison:
Stock front 14.125" "145" lb/in (SS) 8.81" No camber plate
Stock rear 14.0" "145" lb/in (SS) 10.1"
Apex front 13.0" "160" lb/in 7.9" IE Fixed plate

The TSW V.1's I got had had an issue with the way the top coil was wound which effectively decreased the number of active coils, increased their rate & raised the ride height of the car. They were quickly replaced by TSW with the shorter 7-7/8" V.2's which got the ride height slightly lower than stock & made the car handle great. I was & am very happy with them.

I ordered a set of the V3's when the first batch came out. They were 1/8" taller than the V2's, slightly stiffer & raised the ride height at the front. I ended up putting the V2 fronts back on. I've kept the V3's & may try trimming a 1/4 coil off.
I've been very happy with the TSW (V.2) springs & I'm confident Way can get the V3's dialed in.

 

Similar to the same issue I was experiencing with the v.3s only it was the lower coil that wasn't seating correctly and jamming the tip into the lower perch. The "settling" was actually end of the coil bending under the stress of the weight of the car.


Bent after 3 weeks
2011-07-18191903.jpg?t=1311568552

 

ED955S' car sits perfectly, not too high or low. I was quite envious when I saw his car. We got the same dealer to install and I think my car might have a couple more options so if anything it should be heavier and therefore not sit higher than his.

Way has sent me a new set of fronts. I haven't installed them yet since I'm stuck in a bit of a conundrum. If I pay the dealer again, that's more money out of my pocket and if I decide to try to tackle them myself and there is an issue with the springs I'm concerned that the blame might be mine. Oh what to do?

 

The top coil of my defective V.1 was wound exactly like that right out of the box. That looks like the top coil to me. The pitch is all wrong.

 

Wow now that the spring is off the car it doesn't look right, you can't tell when it's on the car. I can't wait till these other springs get back to see if they look the same. I hope I don't have to hang my spring guy.

 

That's def not supposed to look like that! Way will get you straightened out though. I have had nothing but good things to say about these springs until this picture!

 

If I remember correctly, I believe that's how my top coil looked; strangely bent upwards. I remember because it was a bit akward when fitting the top hat onto the spring.

 

I just received my replacement v.3 front springs. I haven't installed them yet but they measure 8.375" which is the same as your measurement for the v.1 springs. Something wrong here?

 

The V3 fronts I received from the first batch measured exactly 8.0" high at their tallest point (the end of the top coil) when sitting on the desktop.

Even small changes in wire diameter or coil diameter can have a big impact on the rate and/or the installed height.

Best to check with Way & confirm the correct height for the latest batch. there may have been design changes from the batch I received.

Also, several weeks ago I had the rear TSW springs out & their free length measured exactly the same as when installed roughly 40,000 miles ago. Springs always take a 'set' but these don't seem to sag like cheaper springs. One of their selling points when new was that they were cold wound & wouldn't sag.

 

Agree here. Install the coils and see how they fit in the buckets and if it drops the ride height.

 

Oh, are you installing these yourself? Having someone swap these coils out every time must be getting expensive. If it helps, i installed both sets of coils by myself without a spring compressor. After all was said and done, i was getting pretty efficient at it and could do the swap within two hours

 

Yes, I paid the dealer to install the original set. My concern is if I installed the replacements myself to save money and the springs are still high, I might get questioned on the install. However, if I pay the dealer again, it's more money out of pocket for me and there's a possibility that there is still a ride height issue. Potentially I could be paying for 3 installs which really hurts the pocketbook. These springs could end up costing me more than a set of coilovers.

 

Any word on the issue with these springs being sorted out? I'm in the market for springs pretty soon.