Eibach Springs

[Maseroche]

I went ahead and ordered the E36 bump stops when I placed my Eibach springs order. Ten days and both should be here. Might shave top mount while I'm at it.

[Mahmood07]

Originally Posted by Maseroche

I went ahead and ordered the E36 bump stops when I placed my Eibach springs order. Ten days and both should be here. Might shave top mount while I'm at it.

You wont be disappointed, i like how my eibach's feel!

[Scarafin]

I also have Eibachs with EDC and no problems whatsoever. The ride is so close to factory, it's amazing.

Very happy with mine.

Good luck,
Scarafin

[PKL]

I have ONE question for anyone in this thread.

Has anyone been in a car with the Eibach Pro Kit, and then in a different car with Eibach Pro kit, along with E36 bump stops and shaved top mounts?

People with the e36 bum stops and shaved top mounts seem to think these additions make a difference, whereas people without them see very happy with the feel of their ride.

Can anyone chime in about this???

[alpina527]

Originally Posted by PKL

I have ONE question for anyone in this thread.

Has anyone been in a car with the Eibach Pro Kit, and then in a different car with Eibach Pro kit, along with E36 bump stops and shaved top mounts?

People with the e36 bum stops and shaved top mounts seem to think these additions make a difference, whereas people without them see very happy with the feel of their ride.

Can anyone chime in about this???

I have been in both and they feel the same on ordinary roads. It's not until you need the extra travel that you notice the bottoming out on speed bumps or long motorway dips where it pitches the car forward.

It's not a big issue, but if you want to do the job properly it's best to get the oem travel back. That's the way Dinan do it and why their suspension rides so well.

[Mr.Bimmer]

Originally Posted by alpina527

I have been in both and they feel the same on ordinary roads. It's not until you need the extra travel that you notice the bottoming out on speed bumps or long motorway dips where it pitches the car forward.

It's not a big issue, but if you want to do the job properly it's best to get the oem travel back. That's the way Dinan do it and why their suspension rides so well.

So if I were to keep the oem travel at 18mm-19mm with the Eibach kit by modifying the supports and bumpstops, I would not bottom out with that setup on public roads. As it stands right now in OEM setup, I do not bottom out on anything or anyroads atleast where I drive. I would definitely want that to stay the same if I were to go with the Eibachs. The fact the Eibach springs are marginally stiffer than stock and do not lower the car substantially in addition to keeping my OEM travel is making it very tempting for me to modify the suspension. And I told myself I was not touching the suspension on this car. Man oh man, what to do.

[Scarafin]

Originally Posted by Mr.Bimmer

So if I were to keep the oem travel at 18mm-19mm with the Eibach kit by modifying the supports and bumpstops, I would not bottom out with that setup on public roads. As it stands right now in OEM setup, I do not bottom out on anything or anyroads atleast where I drive. I would definitely want that to stay the same if I were to go with the Eibachs. The fact the Eibach springs are marginally stiffer than stock and do not lower the car substantially in addition to keeping my OEM travel is making it very tempting for me to modify the suspension. And I told myself I was not touching the suspension on this car. Man oh man, what to do.

I was in the same situation as yourself. Promised myself I wouldn't touch the suspension ( since I ordered the ZCP setup ). But honestly, the ride is basically the same, and the stance is OH so much different. It's rather amazing that just a small drop makes the car look quite different.

My advice to you, would be to go for it. E36 bumpstops or not is up to you. My dealer said I can put them in at any time in the future with very little work at all. So if you find your bottoming out ( I never had, and I dont have the E36's ) then get them done, there cheap and easy to install.

Best of luck,
Scarafin

[alpina527]

Originally Posted by Mr.Bimmer

So if I were to keep the oem travel at 18mm-19mm with the Eibach kit by modifying the supports and bumpstops, I would not bottom out with that setup on public roads. As it stands right now in OEM setup, I do not bottom out on anything or anyroads atleast where I drive. I would definitely want that to stay the same if I were to go with the Eibachs. The fact the Eibach springs are marginally stiffer than stock and do not lower the car substantially in addition to keeping my OEM travel is making it very tempting for me to modify the suspension. And I told myself I was not touching the suspension on this car. Man oh man, what to do.

I was also exactly tghe same as you in my thinking. However, I spent a lot of time researching all the setups and the Eibachs came out to be what I was looking for. The drop looks perfect especially with some 10 or 12mm spacers. Any more and I think the car looks 'tired' or worn out.

Even with the shaved mounts and e36 bumpstops I can bottom out on speed bumps (UK ones anyway)

Half the extra travel comes from fitting the bumps and the other half from shaving the mounts.

With just the Eibachs you will already be riding on the original bump stops.

Trouble is that e36 bumps are only about $40 and new mounts are expensive at $250 plus the costs of shaving them. I have no issue with spending a bit extra on a $70k car to get it right so I went for both.

I have a spare set of shaved mounts here but am in the UK, so shipping costs would make them even more expensive.

After my experience with fitting Eibachs to my E46 M3 I vowed never to do them again. They were awful. Too crashy and no travel.

The Eibachs for the E92 are much better and thanks to this site I have done them properly with a couple of extra tweaks and I love them.

[tlp]

How does one go about shaving the mounts? Can it be done with ordinary tools?

[scottEdog1]

Well, after much time debating and reading online I have decided to use m3 e36 bumpstops with shaved mounts provided by "alpina527" {thanks again for all your help Ian!!} this will keep OEM travel instead of riding on the bumpstops. I will post a review of how everything turns out once the mounts get here and I get the springs on the car.

I appreciate everyones help- esp. alpina527 for buying and shaving me a pair of mounts.

[armyav8tor]

Originally Posted by scottEdog1

Well, after much time debating and reading online I have decided to use m3 e36 bumpstops with shaved mounts provided by "alpina527" {thanks again for all your help Ian!!} this will keep OEM travel instead of riding on the bumpstops. I will post a review of how everything turns out once the mounts get here and I get the springs on the car.

I appreciate everyones help- esp. alpina527 for buying and shaving me a pair of mounts.

Food for thought. How much travel does the OEM shocks have before you damage them? Meaning, the shocks are only designed to travel so far and with the shaved mounts and e36 bumpstops, you may exceed that travel by as much as ~19mm.

I have the e36 bumpstops installed and I figure that is good enough along with the stiffer spring rate I have not had any issues with the suspension becoming unsettled when cornering or hitting big bumps. Granted I have not tested this setup on the track but I do take some corners pretty hard.

[kitw]

I hated the Eibach prokit with E36 M3 bump stops on my car. It bottomed out (softly, since the stops are long!) with any kind of mid corner bump. I really found it terrible and pulled them out for the Dinan kit. I'm much happier with the Dinan kit, but I suspect that the extra travel with the shaved upper guide support would have made at least 50% of the difference.

The stock suspension is designed to use the bump stops, just not as early as it would with the Eibachs. I was really unhappy with them.

[BMRLVR]

Originally Posted by kitw

I hated the Eibach prokit with E36 M3 bump stops on my car. It bottomed out (softly, since the stops are long!) with any kind of mid corner bump. I really found it terrible and pulled them out for the Dinan kit. I'm much happier with the Dinan kit, but I suspect that the extra travel with the shaved upper guide support would have made at least 50% of the difference.

The stock suspension is designed to use the bump stops, just not as early as it would with the Eibachs. I was really unhappy with them.

Quite funny, I'd say you are one of the only ones that has that opinion.

It is good to see that you like the Dinan kit...... I wish I could do a back to back ride with Eibachs compared to Dinans...... If it was indeed better I may go that route.

At this point though I really like my Eibach springs. The only difference between your car and my car is that mine has ZCP (different dampers) and yours don't. I wonder if the ZCP dampers make a difference? Technically they shouldn't but maybe they do!

[Mr.Bimmer]

Well, I ordered the Eibach kit today. I'll make sure to put up a review when it's on. Front guide supports will be shaved approx .3 inches & replacement of the OEM front bumpstops with the E36 model's. I hope I like what I'm about to do.

[jonasaurus]

Originally Posted by Mr.Bimmer

Well, I ordered the Eibach kit today. I'll make sure to put up a review when it's on. Front guide supports will be shaved approx .3 inches & replacement of the OEM front bumpstops with the E36 model's. I hope I like what I'm about to do.

Look forward to the review. kitw has got me thinking twice about Eibach prokit, need to drive both extensively I think to get a good idea

[tlp]

I wouldn't pass judgement on the Eibach springs unless you are running both the Shaved Guide Supports & e36 M3 Bump stops. Anything less would not be a fair comparison to Stock or the Dinan Kit.

[alpina527]

Originally Posted by armyav8tor

Food for thought. How much travel does the OEM shocks have before you damage them? Meaning, the shocks are only designed to travel so far and with the shaved mounts and e36 bumpstops, you may exceed that travel by as much as ~19mm.

I have the e36 bumpstops installed and I figure that is good enough along with the stiffer spring rate I have not had any issues with the suspension becoming unsettled when cornering or hitting big bumps. Granted I have not tested this setup on the track but I do take some corners pretty hard.

I think you may be getting confused. Shaving the mounts by 9mm gives you half of the oem travel back. This means your dampers are only overtravelling by about 9mm which is ok.

[rzm3]

Originally Posted by armyav8tor

Food for thought. How much travel does the OEM shocks have before you damage them? Meaning, the shocks are only designed to travel so far and with the shaved mounts and e36 bumpstops, you may exceed that travel by as much as ~19mm.

I have the e36 bumpstops installed and I figure that is good enough along with the stiffer spring rate I have not had any issues with the suspension becoming unsettled when cornering or hitting big bumps. Granted I have not tested this setup on the track but I do take some corners pretty hard.

Shaving the upper mount does not affect the magnitude of travel of the shaft inside the damper.

A bump stop with a shorter block height (height at full compression) does affect the magnitude of travel of the shaft inside the damper.

[scottEdog1]

Ok I installed my set up, first impressions, the car feels good and more planted?... not sure but it seems to be . Another note: seems to work well with EDC which is very nice and what I wanted. feels like stock as far as stiffness or maybe a hair stiffer. Looks = amazing. Side note: I seem to get 1 to 2 miles better gass-milage - not sure what thats all about but I noticed that change.

1 concern:

on my alinement sheet from BMW I have the following to report and not sure if it has something to do with the new set up or can be fixed, I know I was pressing them to finish on time and not go into another day but on the TOE
LEFT before=06' now in red = -01'
RIGHT before=07' now in red = 08'

Is this a problem? - its in red and everything else is in green, will this run my tires up faster, future problems?

Can anyone chime in here and explain what this is exactly....
it said LEFT target = 04' and RIGHT target = 03'

everything else is perfect

[scottEdog1]

Just got my new springs done "Eibach"

1 concern:

on my alinement sheet from BMW I have the following to report and not sure if it has something to do with the new set up or can be fixed,

TOE
LEFT before=06' now in red = -01'
RIGHT before=07' now in red = 08'

Is this a problem? - its in red and everything else is in green, will this run my tires up faster, future problems with....?

Can anyone chime in here and explain what this is exactly....
it said LEFT target = 04' and RIGHT target = 03'

everything else is perfect.

[rzm3]

The TOTAL front toe per spec should be 2' to 18'. You have 7'. (' is seconds, 60' in a degree)

The spec also calls for 30' max difference between left and right. You have 9'.

I suppose theoretically you are within the spec. Not the most ideal but with stock bushings there is probably no point in asking for perfection.

[armyav8tor]

Originally Posted by alpina527

I think you may be getting confused. Shaving the mounts by 9mm gives you half of the oem travel back. This means your dampers are only overtravelling by about 9mm which is ok.

Originally Posted by rldzhao

Shaving the upper mount does not affect the magnitude of travel of the shaft inside the damper.

A bump stop with a shorter block height (height at full compression) does affect the magnitude of travel of the shaft inside the damper.

Care to elaborate? I was under the impression that the portion that is shaved on the upper mount is the bottom part, the rubber that makes contact with the bumpstop. I would buy what you are saying if it was the upper part that bolts to the chassis but it looks like from the pictures that there would be no difference between what Dinan did with the upper mount and just shaving 9mm off the bumpstop. I thought the reason Dinan didn't shave the bumpstop was because they didn't want to change the dampening properties of the e36 bumpstop. Let me know if I am completely off, I'm having a hard time visualizing what you guys are saying.

*edit* Think I understand what you guys are saying now. Nevermind what I typed above... :P Found some pictures of the struts themselves and how they mount up to the upper mounts.