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      05-11-2013, 09:05 PM   #1
W Cole
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DIY for shaving front guide supports?

I am looking at going with either an Eibach or H&R setup and want to shave the front guide supports in the front. I have searched for a DIY to no avail.

This may be extremely simple but I don't have the parts in front of me. I am mainly interested in how much to shave off. Are you just removing rubber? Whats the best tool to use, maybe a belt sander?
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      05-11-2013, 09:12 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by W Cole View Post
I am looking at going with either an Eibach or H&R setup and want to shave the front guide supports in the front. I have searched for a DIY to no avail.

This may be extremely simple but I don't have the parts in front of me. I am mainly interested in how much to shave off. Are you just removing rubber? Whats the best tool to use, maybe a belt sander?
Write Malek on the forum, I think he knows a thing or two about this subject.
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      05-11-2013, 09:14 PM   #3
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Wondering the samething.
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      05-12-2013, 12:31 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by SROC5 View Post
Write Malek on the forum, I think he knows a thing or two about this subject.
Tried to PM but it looks like his PM is disabled?
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      05-12-2013, 06:59 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by W Cole View Post
Tried to PM but it looks like his PM is disabled?
This is his shop, try calling him here. Should work.

http://www.mrfengineering.com/
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      05-16-2013, 04:50 AM   #6
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The shaving definitely needs to be done in a lathe/mill guys, not a diy task unless of course you have access to a lathe/mill.
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      05-16-2013, 07:53 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by DR-JEKL View Post
The shaving definitely needs to be done in a lathe/mill guys, not a diy task unless of course you have access to a lathe/mill.
Thanks for the info. My buddy has a mill so I should be good to go. Just need to know how much to cut.
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      02-10-2016, 05:49 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by DR-JEKL View Post
The shaving definitely needs to be done in a lathe/mill guys, not a diy task unless of course you have access to a lathe/mill.
Why would it need a lathe? Why couldn't you just use a stationary belt sander? It's only shaving off rubber and a little metal right?
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      02-10-2016, 07:10 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by duvinclunk View Post
Why would it need a lathe? Why couldn't you just use a stationary belt sander? It's only shaving off rubber and a little metal right?
Yes you could albeit it will take ages, and you'll most likely have them out of square and make a mess of it.

From my experience I found the best way to do it, is with a lathe and a sharp parting bit to slice through the rubber (I used one of our small lathes at work and ground up a parting blade from a hacksaw blade) then a carbide insert (or HSS shank) to machine the metal portion.

I tried a miller but the carbide inserts for cutting metal didn't mill the rubber at all, as you could imagine the rubber just deflected and squirmed around..
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      02-10-2016, 10:38 PM   #10
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I see. Do these shaved mounts change ride height any?
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      02-11-2016, 06:22 AM   #11
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You can do it with a hacksaw or sawsall or bandsaw. May need some cleanup work with a grinder or file to even/level and smooth.
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      03-08-2023, 06:14 PM   #12
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Bumping this. There are other threads about the shortening of the strut mounts (for more bump travel), but this is the only one that is specifically about how to do it (DIY).

I'm on B8s and swifts, and still feel like I'm on the front bump stops too much, so I've bought a set of new mounts, and plan to shorten them 1/3" or ~8mm. I've shaved the internal bump stop of bilsteins (b6) previously, on E46 m3, but am chosing this route instead since there's a known solution (besides installing camber paltes with thinner stack heights).

My father is an actual machinist, and I assumed this would be no big deal. His concern was that the steel bearing being encapusulated in rubber will deflect. He suggested just taking a hack saw to it, even attacking it from different points to ensure a straight cut, then cleaning up on the belt sander if necessary, would be best.

Perhaps the rubber is so stiff that it doesn't deflect enough, in the lathe, to be dangerous, but will the cut be even enough?

It also seems relevant to mention that even if the cut (by hand, hacksaw/sawzall) were not perfectly parallel to the top plane (top surface that mates to shock tower), the rubber will slightly deflect to correct, and not so much that it would cause pre-mature wear. Your cut needs to be good enough, of course.
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      03-08-2023, 09:11 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TboneS54 View Post
Bumping this. There are other threads about the shortening of the strut mounts (for more bump travel), but this is the only one that is specifically about how to do it (DIY).

I'm on B8s and swifts, and still feel like I'm on the front bump stops too much, so I've bought a set of new mounts, and plan to shorten them 1/3" or ~8mm. I've shaved the internal bump stop of bilsteins (b6) previously, on E46 m3, but am chosing this route instead since there's a known solution (besides installing camber paltes with thinner stack heights).

My father is an actual machinist, and I assumed this would be no big deal. His concern was that the steel bearing being encapusulated in rubber will deflect. He suggested just taking a hack saw to it, even attacking it from different points to ensure a straight cut, then cleaning up on the belt sander if necessary, would be best.

Perhaps the rubber is so stiff that it doesn't deflect enough, in the lathe, to be dangerous, but will the cut be even enough?

It also seems relevant to mention that even if the cut (by hand, hacksaw/sawzall) were not perfectly parallel to the top plane (top surface that mates to shock tower), the rubber will slightly deflect to correct, and not so much that it would cause pre-mature wear. Your cut needs to be good enough, of course.
When I did this several years ago, we chucked it up on the lathe and turned it down ~10mm, without issue...FWIW.

BTW...Most E36/E90 camber plates are same stack height as stock, or even a little taller, unfortunately.

-Mark in St. Louis
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      03-09-2023, 04:08 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by buldogge View Post
When I did this several years ago, we chucked it up on the lathe and turned it down ~10mm, without issue...FWIW.

BTW...Most E36/E90 camber plates are same stack height as stock, or even a little taller, unfortunately.

-Mark in St. Louis
Thanks Mark, so the rubber didn't squirm or cause a concentric motion for that sleeve/tube? I'm surprised.

Interesting, too, to hear that you did 10mm. I've seen 8 and 8.5mm (.33") mentioned. I wonder what the point would be where it's be too short - I guess all the way up that tapered rubber? IDK, I'll probably just stick with 1/3".

In Re plates, I guess E46 is the big winner in that dept. of regaining travel. Glad you mention that, as I was contemptlating the sense in buying new stock mounts (not cheap) if I plan to move to coilovers in the future. I was worried it might not be a great idea with something like Ohlins, but if plates don't gain you any more travel anyway, I'd be set with my cutdown stock mounts.
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      03-09-2023, 07:48 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TboneS54 View Post
Thanks Mark, so the rubber didn't squirm or cause a concentric motion for that sleeve/tube? I'm surprised.

Interesting, too, to hear that you did 10mm. I've seen 8 and 8.5mm (.33") mentioned. I wonder what the point would be where it's be too short - I guess all the way up that tapered rubber? IDK, I'll probably just stick with 1/3".

In Re plates, I guess E46 is the big winner in that dept. of regaining travel. Glad you mention that, as I was contemptlating the sense in buying new stock mounts (not cheap) if I plan to move to coilovers in the future. I was worried it might not be a great idea with something like Ohlins, but if plates don't gain you any more travel anyway, I'd be set with my cutdown stock mounts.
Hey...It was several years ago, but I don't remember having any issues, and I'm pretty sure we settled on 10mm, as I'm running B6 Damptronics, and that's about the amount the ride height seemed to be raised...again, if I remember correctly.

I had a bit of a conversation with Jason @Vorshlag, and he mentioned that he couldn't get the stack height any less than stock, with the bearing being used...as I was asking about shaving down the bottom spacer/plate on his camber plates...but that is a no go.

-Mark
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