Hey all,

So i just recently installed a set of Ksport coilovers on my 2005 R53.

After installing these, i noticed that the car seems to shake when under acceleration. The problem seems to go away when on straight roads with a constant speed ... this problem occurs only when accelerating.
Note that right after having installed these coilovers, i got the car aligned as to avoid this exact situation.

After the problem persisted, its now been a week, i brought the car back to the mechanic who aligned my vehicle and he suggested that the car was too low which would cause the engine to be placed lower compared to the middle of my wheels. This would cause the driveshafts to be inclined and would therefore have to travel a longer distance to arrive at the same location. That longer distance would cause the driveshaft to be extended and misaligned which could be the cause of the vibrations i feel when accelerating.
Does this make sense? Theoretically i can understand what hes saying but doubt that this could actually be the cause of the problem since i have never heard of this with any other lowered mini.

With that being said, if this would actually be the problem, I was thinking of buying a new TSW upper engine mount and new powerflex transmission bushing which could help raise the engine a bit since my OEM bushing are probably worned out after 90K miles which could have caused the engine to sag a bit.
Also, putting a slight negative camber to the front wheels could help in realigning the driveshaft.

Any other opinions ?

thx in advance

 

anyone ?

 

The angle of the driveshafts would be my first guest too. If it wasn't doing it before, there's a good chance this is the cause. I have doubt about fixing this with camber, but you lose nothing trying.

 

Axles are binding. The inner plunge joints are over compressed.

Run a shorter custom axle or raise it..

 

Shouldnt it be a "longer" custom axle since the driveshaft are overextended ?

thx for the input

 

Nope shorter. Stock suspension raises the car... Pressing down on the car... Causes the inner plunge joint to move inward..

Lowering a car does the same... But at an extreme to the OE axle.. Shorter axles fix this.

 

How low is it? Mine sits low compared to most but not "slammed" I had not problems with mine but the car only had about 25000 miles on it when installed. Did however have to replace both axles at around 100,000 due to a vibration that you speak of..
I went back with OEM size replacements..

 

Based on the pic I was quite a bit lower ... tire tucked away nicely in the back and slightly in the front.


I raised the car a bit and now have a similar front height as yours but am still quite a bit lower in the rear .... sorry no pics at the moment.
As for the vibration, it is almost fully gone. Guess my problem really was the fact i was too low

 

After lowering, your worn drive shafts would be placed in a new position. Needs a bit more time for them to wear & adjust to their new position. Vibrations aren't likely to occur w/ new driveshafts.

 

I have this problem 2 but it only really happens in 2nd gear under acceleration . Wouldn't a driveshaft issues cause the vibration in all gears under acceleration?