Why does every M3 with H&R sports look lower than mine?

[Drifto]

I recently put a set of H&R sports on my car and I'm not happy with the drop. We had a stock sprung M3 at the shop the other day. It was sitting beside my car, and it might as well of had "sports" because I sure as hell couldn't tell much difference. I checked part number and they are not OE Sports although it sits like it. I've got maybe 400mi on them. I hope they will settle or I will be buying different springs. My wife's M3 has Dinan springs and it sit perfect IMO.

[EstorilBlauM3]

I've seen stock M3s that are low because of blown shocks. Ride height also depends on the type of shocks/struts you are using as well.

[Gene V]

I just installed the Bilstein/H&R Sports package last Saturday and got a 3/4 inch drop in the rear and only 1/4 inch in the front...waiting for things to settle...

[bmmpwr232]

I have the bilseins/H&R sport combo. After a week or so i definetly noticed a drop. Even with the stock wheels, there was definetly at least an inch drop in the back, i dont really remember about the front tho. I wish i had some good picts for you, sorry.

[bmmpwr232]

nevermind about the stock wheel thing i said, that makes no sense. anyways yes i noticed a drop w/ my car after a little bit of time for them to settle.

[Kudo540]

For all of you running Bilstiens, do not expect your car to drop in the front. Everyone I know that has had that set up are always dispointed in the height. The performance is great but the looks are not what people hoped for.

That is why I chose to go with H&R sports and Koni's. My car sits perfect and I still get the performance I was looking for.
Blue

[QuestMCoupe]

I have the H&R/bilstein combo on my car and didnt notice a good drop until after a few weeks when the struts settled. I agree that the Konis do lower the car more but I'm pretty satisfied with my drop.

[gizzard]

been quite a bit of talk about this... just installed the H&R sports myself... the front has dropped as expected.. but the backs are even higher than stock.... apparently in the past, the sports came with different lower rear springs... really don't want to swap them out again.. hmm... does anybody know if the added height will significantly affect handling? i'm not going to buy more springs just for the look...

[Midnight Shark]

I do like the drop the billstein/H&R combo has on my car. Just out of curiosity, do you guys trim the bumpstops for all 4 shocks? Mine only has the front bumpstops trimmed.

[QuestMCoupe]

Hmm...I didnt trim any of my bumpstops.

[Gene V]

Gizzard:

According to Turner Motorsport the springs are a matched set so an unequal drop will not disrupt the balance of the car...make sense?

[bmmpwr232]

my front bumpstops were trimmed, im not sure about the rear ones tho...

[NY98M3]

Midnight Shark,

your front is low. Kinda reminds me of H&R Race springs. Do you think its from trimming the bumpstops?

[E36Power]

I agree with NY98M3.....midnights car does look really low in the front for only having H&R Sports.....post some more pics please!

[///M3 CRAZY]

just a side note. 95's have a lower stance up front than the 96-99.

[LboogieG12]

Originally posted by NY98M3
Midnight Shark,

your front is low. Kinda reminds me of H&R Race springs. Do you think its from trimming the bumpstops?


yah i agree, it does look like he has H&R Race springs on there. but he says he has the Sports =\

[///Mr. Three]

I want to see more pictures as well....that is a nice drop.........

[slvrm3]

i had installed bilsteins with H&R sports a few weeks ago and got a 1" lift in the back. i didnt install the fronts. i drove it around alittle and it didnt settle. called turner and went through installation. i even disconnected the rear shocks and car still did not sit lower. sent springs back, turner tested them and said they were fine. meanwhile i had bought eibach springs. the back eibach springs were significantly shorter then the H&R's were. installed all for new eibachs and all new bilstein shocks/struts, and drove it around the block. car now sat at the exact drop eibach states it would with the prokit springs.

H&R's sport kits for the 98-99 M3's contained rear springs with 2 different numbers. i found out that they eventually changed the rear spring part number to match the front springs. they are the same spring though. my H&R sport rear springs were taller then stock, and the eibachs were shorter.

i was worried about the rumers that bilsteins would "lift" the car. i have a friend with a '97 m3 using stock shocks and eibach's that sits exactly as high as my "98 with bilsteins and eibachs. i do not belive this rumer at all after seeing this in person. my car has been driven about 20 miles with the new suspension and it settled maybe 1/16" from when i first took it out after installation.

i'm very happy with this setup, firm but not harsh and excellent feel or the car on the road

[SG_M3]

I have hr sports with koni sa, i love the drop. check my sig for a pic.

[gizzard]

slvrm3:

yeah, have ~ .5" raise in the rear.. the fronts are down ~.5".. right where i want em... sigh, doesn't look that good.. but i'm not about to buy another set of springs, uninstall the H&R's, and send them back (to tckline)... hey, i figure that if H&R designed them for the M3... I'm not going to complain... maybe one day if i happen to come upon a couple hundred bucks and a few days of free time!

[Drifto]

SG_ME did you cut the rear bump stops? I only cut the fronts. I wondering if my car is sitting on the rear ones. Your drop is/was what I was looking for. My car is about .5-.75 higher than yours all the way around. Could my factory spring pads be the culprit in the rear?

[SG_M3]

I run konis, so there was no need to cut the bump stops. If I had bilsteins i would have.

[atlantaM3]

I trimmed the bumpstops on all 4 corners, but I don't think it makes any real difference after the struts have some mileage on them. Mine was similar to gizzard, the front stayed about the same, while the back dropped a noticable amount. Bilstein/H&R Sports.

[Gene V]

Seems as if some cars drop the advertised amount in the front & rear with this setup, while others show no appreciable drop in the front...is this due to a variation in the age of the stock suspension, or a quality control issure with the aftermarket struts/springs?

Also, there's talk about the need to let the suspension "settle"...these are gas pressure struts, so what is going to settle?