Front fender gap on 2011 M3 ZCP seems excessive

[LarThaL]

Originally Posted by E92_SID

Are you sure you dont still have the shipping blocks in your suspension? I have seem some posters on here that brought their car home with the shipping blocks still in it because the dealer forgot to remove them. Thats what it looks like to me.

You are absolutely CORRECT !!! When the car first came to the dealership I went to see it immediately. I thought it looked a little high in front and suspected that the shipping blocks must still be in. Keep in mind that this is my first BMW ever.

I have seen my previous new Audis with shipping blocks in also, but these are clearly visible when you look at the suspension, and the ride height is up by a lot. Also the blocks are both at the front and rear so the ride is REALLY harsh when you drive it with the blocks.

When I took delivery I noticed that the ride height hadn't changed but figured oh well, maybe it will settle a little. It seemed high, but not so high that one could blatantly say that something was wrong. The rear looked fine, and I was used to seeing shipping blocks on all four corners. The M3 only has front shipping blocks.

When I drove the car it did seem harsh. I had posted on another forum that sport mode on the EDC really felt brutal. Again, I didn't think anything of this because I remember watching an episode of Top Gear where Clarkson commented on how sport mode on the ZCP M3 was so harsh. I said to myself "Hmmm....Clarkson was right". Also some of the roads where I live are pretty beat up, and I attributed some of the ride harshness to the roads. In comfort mode the car felt pretty much like my previous Audi RS4 on the Stasis Motorsport coilovers I had. Still there was a piece of me that still kept thinking that something was not quite right and hence my initial post about the ride height.

Interestingly, when I took the car on a very spirited drive on some really pristine country roads, it handled incredibly even with the shipping spacers in.

Now.....the shipping "blocks" have been described elsewhere on this website as white "donuts" that sit in between the springs. Well, I checked my springs and there were no white donuts so I concluded that this was not the issue.

Anyway, upon seeing the pics here, and on people's recommendation, I took it in to the dealer. The mechanic looked at the car and diagnosed the problem immediately. The shipping "blocks" are actually white and blue plastic RINGS (3 per front side) that sit INSIDE the rubber shroud of the shock absorber. They are completely invisible from the exterior. He popped them out and that was that.

Well, needless to say the ride comfort of the car drastically improved. With the blocks in the difference between comfort, normal, and sport was there but less pronounced. Big difference now between the modes. Front fender height is now 26.75, down from 27.5 and the car looks absolutely perfect in its stance.

Fortunately, I only have 186 miles on the car, although the rings don't do any damage other than making your car a little more prone to rattling (of which I still had none BTW).

The sales manager that I worked with was there and was very apologetic and pissed off.

Shit happens in life. It isn't a perfect world, but they took of the problem promptly.

I'm good to go

[Maseroche]

Lol glad the mechanic found the shipping blocks! Says alot about the pre-delivery inspection though.

[LarThaL]

Originally Posted by Maseroche

Lol glad the mechanic found the shipping blocks! Says alot about the pre-delivery inspection though.

Yes, but apparently judging from other people's posts this hasn't been a totally rare occurance either. I actually did pressure the dealership to have my car ready for delivery the day after it came in. Oh well, a small issue in the grand scheme of things.

[JAdamz]

Glad to hear it was shipping blocks after all. I take delivery of my E92 ZCP next week and was hoping that BMW didn't stop lowering the front of ZCP cars

[RevFreak14]

Originally Posted by VVG

You are absolutely CORRECT !!! When the car first came to the dealership I went to see it immediately. I thought it looked a little high in front and suspected that the shipping blocks must still be in. Keep in mind that this is my first BMW ever.

I have seen my previous new Audis with shipping blocks in also, but these are clearly visible when you look at the suspension, and the ride height is up by a lot. Also the blocks are both at the front and rear so the ride is REALLY harsh when you drive it with the blocks.

When I took delivery I noticed that the ride height hadn't changed but figured oh well, maybe it will settle a little. It seemed high, but not so high that one could blatantly say that something was wrong. The rear looked fine, and I was used to seeing shipping blocks on all four corners. The M3 only has front shipping blocks.

When I drove the car it did seem harsh. I had posted on another forum that sport mode on the EDC really felt brutal. Again, I didn't think anything of this because I remember watching an episode of Top Gear where Clarkson commented on how sport mode on the ZCP M3 was so harsh. I said to myself "Hmmm....Clarkson was right". Also some of the roads where I live are pretty beat up, and I attributed some of the ride harshness to the roads. In comfort mode the car felt pretty much like my previous Audi RS4 on the Stasis Motorsport coilovers I had. Still there was a piece of me that still kept thinking that something was not quite right and hence my initial post about the ride height.

Interestingly, when I took the car on a very spirited drive on some really pristine country roads, it handled incredibly even with the shipping spacers in.

Now.....the shipping "blocks" have been described elsewhere on this website as white "donuts" that sit in between the springs. Well, I checked my springs and there were no white donuts so I concluded that this was not the issue.

Anyway, upon seeing the pics here, and on people's recommendation, I took it in to the dealer. The mechanic looked at the car and diagnosed the problem immediately. The shipping "blocks" are actually white and blue plastic RINGS (3 per front side) that sit INSIDE the rubber shroud of the shock absorber. They are completely invisible from the exterior. He popped them out and that was that.

Well, needless to say the ride comfort of the car drastically improved. With the blocks in the difference between comfort, normal, and sport was there but less pronounced. Big difference now between the modes. Front fender height is now 26.75, down from 27.5 and the car looks absolutely perfect in its stance.

Fortunately, I only have 186 miles on the car, although the rings don't do any damage other than making your car a little more prone to rattling (of which I still had none BTW).

The sales manager that I worked with was there and was very apologetic and pissed off.

Shit happens in life. It isn't a perfect world, but they took of the problem promptly.

I'm good to go

Glad to hear you got it taken care of. You might want to make sure you get some kind of document from the dealer confirming what happened. It shouldn't be a problem, but then again you never know.

[gthal]

Great news! There was clearly an issue and I'm glad you resolved it so easily.

[Blindside_137]

glad it got fixed but man how often has this happened to people? I swear I've read a ton of these shipping blocks..

[LarThaL]

Originally Posted by Blindside_137

glad it got fixed but man how often has this happened to people? I swear I've read a ton of these shipping blocks..

Yes. I did a search and there are a lot of stories of shipping blocks being left in. In once case the plastic rings were crushed into the bump stop at the top of the shocks.

In other cars that I have bought new, the shipping blocks are external and are clearly visible. Maybe this is a problem with the blocks that BMW is using as they are completely hidden under the rubber shroud of the shock absorber.

I mean seriously.......look at this pic of my shock assembly:

[IMG][/IMG]

Do you have any hint anywhere that there are shipping blocks still in place? I don't. You have to lift up the inner rubber shroud and they are inside.

[FVM3]

whats the purpose of shipping blocks?

[LarThaL]

Originally Posted by christopherchenm

whats the purpose of shipping blocks?

To raise the car up for transportation purposes. Gives it more clearance for easier loading and unloading from assorted carriers.

[Blindside_137]

yeah something that easily can be missed I guess, but youd think with how many times its happened it would be something to be checked before the car is given to its new owner..

[rbaha]

VVG,

Gotta ask you, I remember you had concerns about the 6speed. How is it performing since you took delivery?

[nmehta211]

Good to see Vijay.

I actually wish for a little more clearance in the front---the front lip is scraping on the entry ramp to my garage.

Hurry and get those 1200 miles done!

[spdy330]

I am glad you got it handled. I mis-understood your issue. I have an issue where my hood gap was higher on one side from the other. I had to re-adjust them to get it close to where it sould be.

Congrats on your new car!

[LarThaL]

Originally Posted by rbaha

VVG,

Gotta ask you, I remember you had concerns about the 6speed. How is it performing since you took delivery?

I don't t remember what I had posted previously in terms of my concerns about the 6-speed. It is light and I have no trouble in finding any of the gears which some people have alluded to. It does feel rubbery and not like a precision instrument should. The shifter in my previous RS4 was shorter, better weighted and more precise. That said, the clutch in the M3 is easier to modulate than the RS4's. The shifter is definitely the car's weak point. Can't find a single other thing to gripe about. Absolutely love the M3 !!!!

[Maseroche]

I agree about the shifter but installing a ZCP shift knob seemed to make the shifts feel way better. Mine is a custom lighted knob from LeatherZ.

[ferrari6891]

Originally Posted by gthal

I would say it is higher than a non-ZCP M3 too... the non-ZCP is only 10mm higher but the OPs car is much higher than 10mm.

Originally Posted by FruitCake

that gap is excessive even for the civic non-zcp M3

The sad part is you guys are right