Going back to factory springs!!!
part of the "height" of a BMW/MB may just be an optical illusion with how they design the wheel arches to reduce the appearance of the dreaded "arch gap".
no matter the clearance, all cars must consider high-centering and plowing on roadway sags and crests during the vehicle design process so a BMW will have its underbelly bits tucked up more into the floorpan to compensate for the lower ride. our G37's would not have this same feature so when we lower the vehicle ourselves there is a risk of scraping since the factory did not allow for the reduced clearance. for me it was either the cross member under the exhaust near mid-pipes or the flex joints near the cats.
^ yes and no. it seems some automakers, like MB/BMW, design their vehicles around lower ground clearance tolerances for various reasons, but likely not just aesthetics. high speed stability and aero must be the primary concern - you know, for all that autobahning. this means that the car is designed to run with less clearance so scraping is not an issue.
part of the "height" of a BMW/MB may just be an optical illusion with how they design the wheel arches to reduce the appearance of the dreaded "arch gap".
no matter the clearance, all cars must consider high-centering and plowing on roadway sags and crests during the vehicle design process so a BMW will have its underbelly bits tucked up more into the floorpan to compensate for the lower ride. our G37's would not have this same feature so when we lower the vehicle ourselves there is a risk of scraping since the factory did not allow for the reduced clearance. for me it was either the cross member under the exhaust near mid-pipes or the flex joints near the cats.
part of the "height" of a BMW/MB may just be an optical illusion with how they design the wheel arches to reduce the appearance of the dreaded "arch gap".
no matter the clearance, all cars must consider high-centering and plowing on roadway sags and crests during the vehicle design process so a BMW will have its underbelly bits tucked up more into the floorpan to compensate for the lower ride. our G37's would not have this same feature so when we lower the vehicle ourselves there is a risk of scraping since the factory did not allow for the reduced clearance. for me it was either the cross member under the exhaust near mid-pipes or the flex joints near the cats.
I will note though: I drive up curbs, like I'm driving up a curb and drive over speed bumps, like I'm driving over speed bumps. I don't worry about trying have enough speed to get air while traversing these types of obstacles. I suppose if you felt it was necessary to try and go the speed limit up curbs and speed bumps, that would likely be an issue - but again, I suppose it still would be in a BMW/MB anyways (regardless of how they are engineered/designed).
Then again, I did have an M3 which was lowered using coilovers and tucking the rear wheels, so maybe I've just been driving cautiously since then.
I recently added 20" wheels to my Eibach lowering springs. I went with a softer tire (Continental DWS) and a bit larger sidewall at 255/35R20 all around. The ride quality is great - no complaints. The car handles bumps like a champion. My friend has a 2013 G37 sedan in stock form and the ride is hardly discernible from one another. This really leaves me to wonder if the installation has something to do with this polarizing views of the springs. I'm sure there are a few rubber bushings that could be left out that would increase NVH levels, or possibly there wasn't an alignment kit installed and out of spec adjustments are magnifying the change? I have the Eibach kit with front and rear SPC camber kits, and rear toe kit, aligned at OEM specs and everything is great. All of the work and alignments were done at performance shops - no Firestone alignment, amateur install, etc. My install was done at Project X Customs in Chicago and my alignment was done at Touge Factory in Chicago. Noise when hitting bumps is not ANY different than it was when stock. No rattling, boom, or anything of the like. I don't scrape on ANYTHING and no one complains or even comments about the ride quality.
It's just an interesting observation. There are two groups of people: those who think Eibcah springs ride like stock, and those who think they are unbearable. There is an answer to the reason why, I am just wondering what it is.
It's just an interesting observation. There are two groups of people: those who think Eibcah springs ride like stock, and those who think they are unbearable. There is an answer to the reason why, I am just wondering what it is.
Administrator
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,990
Likes: 591
From: San Diego, CA
canucklehead is right, I think it's just an illusion on these cars that they sit lower, when in fact the bavarians just seem to design with less wheel gap because this look re-enforces the brand. I've never measured, but I bet a 335i or A4 sits about the same distance off the ground as our car. I'd be curious to know. Seems that Ford would have figured this out by now. My 4 year old could climb inside the wheel gap on Mustang. Those cars when lowered look 100X better. The 300C has the same issue. Domestic brands seem to stay true to excessive wheel gap.
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Chicago
Great info Ryne! Yeah my ride was pretty rough. I seriously like to speed around other cars when possible but every time I went over a rough patch, it sucked. I'm back to stock springs. I'll probably go back to the Eibachs and maybe take them to Project X next time, if I don't decide to sell them or something. I probably did need a better install
^ yes and no. it seems some automakers, like MB/BMW, design their vehicles around lower ground clearance tolerances for various reasons, but likely not just aesthetics. high speed stability and aero must be the primary concern - you know, for all that autobahning. this means that the car is designed to run with less clearance so scraping is not an issue.
part of the "height" of a BMW/MB may just be an optical illusion with how they design the wheel arches to reduce the appearance of the dreaded "arch gap".
no matter the clearance, all cars must consider high-centering and plowing on roadway sags and crests during the vehicle design process so a BMW will have its underbelly bits tucked up more into the floorpan to compensate for the lower ride. our G37's would not have this same feature so when we lower the vehicle ourselves there is a risk of scraping since the factory did not allow for the reduced clearance. for me it was either the cross member under the exhaust near mid-pipes or the flex joints near the cats.
part of the "height" of a BMW/MB may just be an optical illusion with how they design the wheel arches to reduce the appearance of the dreaded "arch gap".
no matter the clearance, all cars must consider high-centering and plowing on roadway sags and crests during the vehicle design process so a BMW will have its underbelly bits tucked up more into the floorpan to compensate for the lower ride. our G37's would not have this same feature so when we lower the vehicle ourselves there is a risk of scraping since the factory did not allow for the reduced clearance. for me it was either the cross member under the exhaust near mid-pipes or the flex joints near the cats.
Last edited by Ryne; Mar 29, 2015 at 12:42 PM.
Good choice - I did the same. Anyone that says the ride is the same with the Eibach springs is crazy. The stance is 100x better, but the ride is MUCH harsher. And I wasn't able to get the alignment in spec (though maybe I could've had someone better try the alignment?) without a camber kit - I ruined a set of tires because of it.
Anyways, I miss the lowered look of the eibach springs, but I'm much happier now with the smoother ride and not worrying about clearance anymore. I've gotten used to the higher look and it doesn't bother me anymore. From 40,000-60,000 miles on the eibach springs I needed to replace my shocks, swaybar endlinks, and both front wheel hub bearing assemblies. I can't 100% say this was all caused by the eibach springs, but I'm pretty sure the harshness of the ride contributed to them failing sooner.
Anyways, I miss the lowered look of the eibach springs, but I'm much happier now with the smoother ride and not worrying about clearance anymore. I've gotten used to the higher look and it doesn't bother me anymore. From 40,000-60,000 miles on the eibach springs I needed to replace my shocks, swaybar endlinks, and both front wheel hub bearing assemblies. I can't 100% say this was all caused by the eibach springs, but I'm pretty sure the harshness of the ride contributed to them failing sooner.
Last edited by daviper; Mar 29, 2015 at 12:02 PM.
Administrator
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,990
Likes: 591
From: San Diego, CA
Good choice - I did the same. Anyone that says the ride is the same with the Eibach springs is crazy. The stance is 100x better, but the ride is MUCH harsher. And I wasn't able to get the alignment in spec (though maybe I could've had someone better try the alignment?) without a camber kit - I ruined a set of tires because of it.
Anyways, I miss the lowered look of the eibach springs, but I'm much happier now with the smoother ride and not worrying about clearance anymore. I've gotten used to the higher look and it doesn't bother me anymore. From 40,000-60,000 miles on the eibach springs I needed to replace my shocks, swaybar endlinks, and both front wheel hub bearing assemblies. I can't 100% say this was all caused by the eibach springs, but I'm pretty sure the harshness of the ride contributed to them failing sooner.
Anyways, I miss the lowered look of the eibach springs, but I'm much happier now with the smoother ride and not worrying about clearance anymore. I've gotten used to the higher look and it doesn't bother me anymore. From 40,000-60,000 miles on the eibach springs I needed to replace my shocks, swaybar endlinks, and both front wheel hub bearing assemblies. I can't 100% say this was all caused by the eibach springs, but I'm pretty sure the harshness of the ride contributed to them failing sooner.
Why would you expect the car to have an optimized ride if your alignment is way out? Why would you expect your tires to last with an out of spec alignment?
Last edited by Ryne; Mar 29, 2015 at 11:48 PM.
i have a colleague with a 335i RWD sport coupe and another colleague with a 335i AWD sport coupe and there is an obvious ~.75-1" ride height difference. the AWD model more closely resembles what the G37S has in stock form, whereas the RWD has that nice hunkered down "euro" look.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
superjoey
D.I.Y. Installations/Modifications
31
Mar 22, 2023 11:56 PM
