Vogtland Springs from JDM for $199

[gnilson]

IMG00016-20100423-1933.jpg

Ok, here is my first pic. with the new suspension in. Even with a full coil gone from both rear springs, the new Vogtlands ride a good "finger" lower than before. The ride is noticably tighter yet could in no way be felt as harsh, just taught. Like a finely tuned instrument ready to carve up some innocent back roads, hehehehe.


Geoff

[WHITE E39]

any new pics or updates?

[aa240sx]

Sorry this took awhile to get back to the thread but here's the finished product.

back right side (what do you think? This is stock ET15, think I can poke em out a bit more?)



front right side



left side



right side



rear angle



Overall, pretty pleased about the drop and definitely like the ride quality. These pictures were taken today but the suspension has been on the car for about 2 weeks. I'm hoping to get more settling but for now, good to go!

[WHITE E39]

car look really good.

your front looks lower then mine.

[aa240sx]

Yeah - I just sold my stock wheels so I no longer have a point of reference to compare measurements but truly Vogtlands probably really only dropped my car overall by 1/2", maybe a bit more than that over time. This is from sport height. What I really like about the drop though is that the fenders really just sit a little bit above the top of the tire, which was the look I was going for.

[Graham E39 528i]

Yeah - I just sold my stock wheels so I no longer have a point of reference to compare measurements but truly Vogtlands probably really only dropped my car overall by 1/2", maybe a bit more than that over time. This is from sport height. What I really like about the drop though is that the fenders really just sit a little bit above the top of the tire, which was the look I was going for.

Very cool! Thanks for the photos.

[s car]

[indy525]

Looks great! I am off to the shop right now to get mine done!

Sorry this took awhile to get back to the thread but here's the finished product.

back right side (what do you think? This is stock ET15, think I can poke em out a bit more?)



front right side



left side



right side



rear angle



Overall, pretty pleased about the drop and definitely like the ride quality. These pictures were taken today but the suspension has been on the car for about 2 weeks. I'm hoping to get more settling but for now, good to go!

[aa240sx]

Hey Indy525! Let us know how yours turns out. Might as well make this the unofficial Vogtland Drop thread. Put up some pics when you get your car back.

[gnilson]

car look really good.

your front looks lower then mine.

Its possible that your struts did not go down all the way in to the clamp. Jack up your front end and pull the wheel and turn it all the way so that you can see the very back of the strut. Check the tab on the strut to make certain that it aligned with the slot in the clamp and is fully seated. Ask me how I know...

[indy525]

Okay, no pictures yet.

So here are my impressions:

My car originally was a non-sport that I've owned for 3 years. I have always been paranoid about aftermarket suspension and ride harshness. It is a luxury sedan after all. I've never been happy with the way my car rides and drives. I thought it wallowed a ton in corners and rode kind of harsh on bumpy roads, not a very good compromise. I've always thought in the back of my mind that my struts were shot, but my car only has 51K miles on it currently.

After a ton of research I decided to go with Koni sports and Vogtlands. I wanted a mild aftermarket suspension, and I thought this was good compromise. I was going to tackle it on my own but went with a euro shop that has a good reputation that only charged me $210 for labor. I ordered the Vogtlands through Freddie's (White E39) referral and got them for a seal IMO. The Konis I went with EAC and got them for a steal too. I also replaced my shock mounts but shorted my bumpstops and used my existing spring pads.

So, my impressions so far are the car rides and handles great. A little firmer than before, but I would still call the ride plush. Anyone who is contemplating going aftermarket, this is a great setup. Car is much more planted and composed than before, steering is much more crisp and direct. Only now I am thinking of upgrading the swaybars. Now, I am still running stock 16" but am installing my refinsihed m-pars soon which will no doubt make things even more direct. BTW, I set my rears on full soft and the fronts on a half a turn towards firm.

Now I am a little dissapointed in the drop. Currently I have a little less than two fingers in the front, but about two fingers in the rear. My tires are about shot so this would make a difference. I have a little rake going, which I hope the rear will settle here in the next few weeks. According to Graham and the group, it will. Part of this may be the mechanic used the middle perch setting on the Koni's, he said that was closest to factory.

So far, I am really happy.

Hey Indy525! Let us know how yours turns out. Might as well make this the unofficial Vogtland Drop thread. Put up some pics when you get your car back.

[gnilson]

The only issue I have found is that all my other niggling little clicks and clacks in the suspension are more noticable, especially with the windows open. I have traced them mostly to improperly adjusted brake pad springs(?) so that when I hit a harsh pothole, the pads bounce around in the calipers, I think. I'm going to pull the wheels off once more and make sure I tightened everything and see if there is any thing I can do about the pads, but thats about it. OK, maybe I'm a bit anal about this stuff, but somebody has to be, right?

The official Vogtland Drop Thread! Wow, what an honor!!!

[WHITE E39]

gnilson
everything on my car is good and has been checked.

indy525
your car shoud be sitting lower with Koni yellow.

check what gnilson has just posted #60 and you need the Koni to be at it's lowest perch. this will fix your ride hight.

your front should have about 1 finger gap.

[indy525]

Mine have already started to settle. My trusty "finger gap" test shows that I have about 1 1/2 all around.

gnilson-My car rides just as quiet as it did before. You may have some bushings causing some extra play. How many miles do you have?

I don't think I will mess with it, but has anyone adjusted their rear perches while everything is still mounted on the car? I was thinking I could get a spring compressor in there to free up some slack and adjust the perch from there. I don't think it would be worthwile, but just curious.

[aa240sx]

Another Vogtland fanboy! Get some pics up bro!

[gnilson]

Mine have already started to settle. My trusty "finger gap" test shows that I have about 1 1/2 all around.

gnilson-My car rides just as quiet as it did before. You may have some bushings causing some extra play. How many miles do you have?

I have 172k and yes I have yet to replace all the bushings, only the worst offenders, so there are probably a few more that should be replaced. Thats next on the priority list.

[rocae38]

rocae38

we want to see some pics

this is how she looks

[gnilson]

[ATTACH][ATTACH][ATTACH][ATTACH]100_1036.jpg[/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

Just some pics showing clearances after about 700 miles of settling in. Doesn't do it justice. I need to get some clear side shots with lots of room because the car sit with exactly 1.5 fingers at all 4 corners. Very impressive and looking good too!

[champaign777]

the fun has just begun

[Jason5driver]

Oh yeah!
German love.... ^^^^

[Mangostene]

Where'd you pick them up from and how much those go for these days?

MANGO

[champaign777]

ebay seller jdmwerks13
this staff is real

[gnilson]

My only complaint after 5000 miles is that I wish I had trimmed the bumpstops just a bit. Anytime I hit a pothole as I am cornering at a reasonable clip, it hits the stop. I don't think it does any damage as it is only doing what it was designed to do, but it looks like other guys have trimmed them a fair amount without damaging anything, so I would at least look into doing that.

Of course if I was to upgrade the swaybars, that would help as well, and maybe that is the better solution....

[champaign777]

i am going to install Vogtland lowering springs on my Sashs OEM NON Sport suspension

here i found a similar thread

http://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-s...em-shocks.html

[manticore33]

I just had to switch out a blown strut, but I cannot figure out why you disconnect the sway bar end link from the sway bar as shown in the Beisan Systems DIY. This bracket is easily removed by removing one extra 16mm bolt on the knuckle and removing the pinch bolt (which is required anyways). Leaving the bracket on the sway bar end link allows you to avoid potentially ripping the boot and/or needing a thin 10 mm wrench.