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Thicker spring pads/shims to raise the front a touch?

M

Meds

Active member
Beds/Cambs
Has anyone added thicker spring pads to their E85/E86.?
I'm contemplating to revisit my front suspension.
Previous owner installed Eibach Pro springs but they just ran too low. The drivers arch liver was rubbing and the experience was not pleasant, not from lack of comfort, but from worry and hearing that horrendous rub noise on deep road undulations.

My quick solution was to install M Sport springs on the front. I did this and all my problems went away. :thumbsup:
Running a mixture of Eibach at the rear and M sport at the front was fine, I can't tell any difference with springs rates being different (i'd expect they're different between the front and rear anyway, so I probably just changed the amount)

But my OCD is getting the better of me, I knew this would happen at some point.

I'd like to swap the Eibach back in, but investigate how to raise the front a trifle.

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=96606 is an interesting read.
And a few other threads that interestingly the previous owner of my car has commented on. :rofl:

It seems there's a taller spring pad, a few forum posts suggest it's an option.
31331135589 10mm. BMW lists it as a 7 series part, though.
31331128522 is another option from the e46 at 9mm.
Also, there's a metal strut tower plate that fits between the strut and the underside of the strut. That's another 3mm, apparently. 31312489795

I could run a combination of them or just the spring pad and it might solve my OCD.
Orrrrr spend on some adjustable suspension but I really dont want to give up the Koni Yellow I already have. :|

Any experience using spring pads or shims?
 
One thought. Over on the E46 forums, people have fitted Z4 strut mounts to lower the front without changing springs. So logic suggests you could fit E46 strut mounts to raise a Z4. Apparently it's about 8mm of difference, if that's the sort of lift you're looking for
 
Maybe run camber plates to add some stack height (while getting the benefit of negative camber)? That and those 9mm spring pads be just enough to raise ride height.
 
I may have some thicker front spring pads that I bought for the same reason.
I'll have a look in the garage this evening if you want?
 
Zummerset said:
I may have some thicker front spring pads that I bought for the same reason.
I'll have a look in the garage this evening if you want?
Click to expand...
Ohh yeah that will be great...
 
Dubbedown said:
Maybe run camber plates to add some stack height (while getting the benefit of negative camber)? That and those 9mm spring pads be just enough to raise ride height.
Click to expand...

Another great idea with an added benefit... Thanks.
 
elfer said:
One thought. Over on the E46 forums, people have fitted Z4 strut mounts to lower the front without changing springs. So logic suggests you could fit E46 strut mounts to raise a Z4. Apparently it's about 8mm of difference, if that's the sort of lift you're looking for
Click to expand...
E46 top mounts have the camber pin in a different place so you’d need to remove that which will mean difficulty in getting the alignment about right, so you’d need to factor in an alignment too.
 
Really sorry, I only have the standard spring seats.
I think I must have given them to the guy that bought my suspension kit.
Apologies.....
 
enuff_zed said:
E46 top mounts have the camber pin in a different place so you’d need to remove that which will mean difficulty in getting the alignment about right, so you’d need to factor in an alignment too.
Click to expand...

True. Although if changing ride height you want to get an alignment anyway, and if done properly the locator pins would have been knocked out during the alignment after fitting the lowering Eibachs.

The important thing, I think, is that the three mounting bolts are in the same place.
 
I am running the E46 top mounts with the Eibachs and Koni yellow. Alignment pin is removed and I managed to fit them in so the alignment guy did not have to touch any of the 6 nuts.
The E46 top mounts gain you 1 cm compared to E85 ones.

In the rear I am running the E36 rough road package upper rubber plates of 21.5 mm thickness . Tried also the 14.5 mm E46 ones, but was still too low as they tend to settle over time.
 
I'm having trouble finding the thicker pads, out of stock seemingly.
Waiting on a the 3rd company to confirm availability.
So the e46 top mounts are my next option, if my last effort for the spring pads fails.
I dont suppose you have the part numbers to hand? :oops:
 
Straba said:
I took Lemförder 27001 01.
Click to expand...

Actually, upon reading about E46/E85 top mounts I found some cases of the z4 mounts collapsing... Maybe that's my issue?
Ive never quite understood why I got rubbing with a quite conservative tyre and offset combination but others had no issues using more extreme setups. . Maybe I've got a knackered top mount? :? :?
 
Meds said:
I'm having trouble finding the thicker pads, out of stock seemingly.
Waiting on a the 3rd company to confirm availability.
So the e46 top mounts are my next option, if my last effort for the spring pads fails.
I dont suppose you have the part numbers to hand? :oops:
Click to expand...

Hi Meds still having no luck as I am also looking into this as I want to fit eibachs but dont want to drop the front as much - it looks like 31331135589 (10mm 7 Series pads) have been replaced by 31331135590 if that helps?
 
Another option to gain a little height is some camber plates.
That should give around 4-5mm depending on brand.
I've got a few ideas to work with.

1st task will be to see if my current top mounts have perished, that could well be my problem as Eibach Pro is a tried and tested setup with many folk reporting zero rubbing issues.

Options (Eibach Pro lower 15-20mm over Msport):
  • Spring pads. Availability an issue. (Gain 10mm (uncompressed))
  • Strut tower reinforcement plates (Gain 2-3mm)
  • E46 top mounts (Gain 10mm)
  • Camber plates (Gain 4-5mm)
  • Or just leave it as it is. :rofl:
 
E46 top mounts are exactly 10 mm thicker than E85 ones.

What are your current measurements from center of hub cap to wing?
With Msport should be around 36 mm. Front and rear.
With Eibach you get into around 34 mm
SE is 38 mm
 
Straba said:
E46 top mounts are exactly 10 mm thicker than E85 ones.

What are your current measurements from center of hub cap to wing?
With Msport should be around 36 mm. Front and rear.
With Eibach you get into around 34 mm
SE is 38 mm
Click to expand...

I have these measurements somewhere, I'll try to find, if not I'll take some more. :thumbsup:
 
Thought id update this, had my b4 and eibachs fitted with the 6mm thicker e46 front spring pads. Here is the stance. Pretty happy and its level. Rear has dropped about 15 to 20mm. Front maybe 5mm from before but i think my suspension was so tired it was already lower than standard :rofl:
 

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