How do these springs perform when used in conjunction with the OEM struts AND the OEM all-season tires. Will the improved handling characteristics be slowed by these tires? It didn't seem to have any negative effect after the installation of the rear sway bar.

 

I am not sure about the all season tires but the ride is definitely better with the new springs and OEM struts

 

They perform awesome, IMHO, regardless of what tires you're going to run.

To answer the second question, the short answer is no... You still get great feedback, a better ride, and better handling.

 

Excellent! The only other question I have for you would be whether or not I would need adjustable rear control arms to align the car properly. I have heard that some cars need these due to the angle caused by lowering a vehicle. Is this true?

 

I need all seasons to drive through the crazy CO weather

 

You will get more negative camber in the rear when lowering the rear 1". The car will drive fine and the tire wear probably won't be a big issue. If you want enough adjustability to set the camber to a more upright angle, and/or set it exactly to your specs, then you will need the aftermarket control arms.

 

Agreed - likely, you'll end up right around -1.9 to -2.1 based on what we have seen. As long as you rotate the tires every 3-5k miles, you'll be fine. At some point, you may consider adjustable control arms (lower) if you want to fine tune your alignment.

 

Hey guys, just an updated on my botched camber plate install. Swapped the plates from side to side, now i have neg 2 deg in the front! when I pulled up to the alignment place i had almost 3!! it was nice. still a thunking coming from the passanger side front which i thought may be binding..but i am now thinking control arm bushing...

 

I'd like to take you up on the swap as my cabrio hasn't dropped much more. Ill give you a call.

 

Anyone have pics of their car with the new shorter front springs installed?

 

My pic is on post #172; very nice springs

 

Don't see no pic.

I'm at work, and our network blocks some photo sites, so if it's from one of those that may be why I don't see it here. I'll check from home.

 

If my car was clean I'd step out and snap a new pic. Maybe this weekend I can see the pic in post #172 and it looks to be about the same drop and wheel gaps. On my '05 MCS the extra 1/2" is just what the doctor ordered. It closed up the gap in the front and re-introduced just a smidge of rake. I had M7 springs before and they were just a bit too low for me. These are perfect. I like being back on linear springs and with the new Hotchkiss adjustable camber plates I'm sitting at -2.2 camber on the front

 

I just ordered mine and will take pics as soon as I get them installed!

 

About 2 weeks ago I've installed the new springs, and while I have noticed improved handling...I have also found that there is a little rattle coming from the front end, especially from the driver's side...it will appear as there is something loose???.

Also, there is squeeking coming from front end specially noticed when steer to either side (left or right) and it is more noticiable while the vehicle is stationary/parked .

I will appreciate your feed back regarding these issues???.

 

I've been running mine for awhile now with zero issues. Sounds to me like something was not put back togerther correctly. Just because everything is tightened down, does not mean that it is correct. Just my 2 cents.

 

Yeah, I'd doublecheck all the nuts and bolts. Maybe something felt tight when it was put back together, but loosened up or wasn't really tight to begin with. For the squeeking, it sounds like it might be an upper strut mount bearing. I had one that was going bad, and it creaked if I was stationary and turned the wheel all the way to either side.

 

Interesting...I will check on this tomorrow. I would like to hear from the TSW guys too...

 

Did you get the rubber isolators back in place and oriented right? Make sure the springs were fully seated in the perches on the rubber isolators? Are all the lines clipped back in their places? Anything else loose or have any play (e.g. the a-arm ball joints)?

Most rattles are normally because the top strut nut isn't tight and torqued to spec... If you need the spec, we can look it up in the Bentley manual, but IIRC it's 65 lb/ft.

The creaking is usually because the upper strut bearing has something nasty in it or is going bad - you can try shooting a bit of Breakfree CLP down into it. Breakfree CLP is great stuff and is available in most sporting goods stores on the gun cleaning/maintenance aisle (yes, we're from Texas after all). Spherical bearings or roller bearings on camber plates can suffer the same malady.

Also, if you have camber plates, that can cause the spring to bind against the inside of the strut tower when you turn the wheel and cause a creaking sound... Are you running camber plates? If so, double check and make sure the spring isn't up against the inside of the strut tower... If it is, massage it with a big 'ol hammer (you can search the NAM forums for how to massage the inside of the strut towers).

Finally, check the seals on the struts and make sure they are in good shape...

Let us know if you have any other questions - sorry we didn't get back to you yesterday, we were out racing (Oktoberfest, the national BMWCCA meeting is here in Ft. Worth this year, and we were out running the Tuesday AX for all the attendees!).

 

TSW have any springs for R56 yet?

 

We're just about to tear into our first one... News at 10!

 

How long does it take for springs to start settling? I understand it could take up to 500 miles for them to completely settle, but I just installed the TSW springs yesterday and the rear is visibly lower (and looking nice ) but the front is actually taller Any ideas? Also, I didn't clearance enough on the front/drivers side (pounded the passenger side out enough though) are there any long term issues I need to keep an eye out for?

Thanks

 

Ive had my springs on for probably over 10k miles and still love them.

 

It can take 500 miles... You don't need to clearance unless you're running camber plates...

 

Mine took a few weeks of driving before they were totally settled down. I had the same problem at first - rear was noticeably lower, but the front was actually a little higher than with the previous springs. The front settled in after about 200-300 miles, and they got even a little lower after a while. I've got probably 15,000 miles on them now, and the ride height is pretty stable. The front end has settled down to a little lower than it was with the JCWs, which is right on par with what Jeff and Scott said about how much they were supposed to drop the front. The newer front springs (TSW's) are supposed to drop the front even a little more.