SE Springs vs Eibachs anyone made the switch

[MACK]

So right now you have eibach fronts and SE rears? That's worth a picture

I'll try and sort one on some level ground. You'll have to excuse the scabby 107s

[Zeddicus]

Aesthetics wise I think mine looks more akin to a zed on M Sport suspension than one on SE due to the higher tyre sidewalls and the spacers pushing the wheels closer to the arches

I have also thought of this: install higher sidewalls tires instead of the original rears 35 / fronts 40, in order to improve the ride AND reduce the gap with the arches on SE suspension!

I have seen many non-M cars having M style 224 alloys, and if I am not mistaken these wheels have higher sidewalls (and larger rear) tires than the other 18" wheels. So there should be no rubbing issue to have for example Goodyear F1 Assymetrics 235/40R18 and 225/45R18 mounted?
My only question would be on the handling of the car, if there is any drawback with having these bigger rubbers installed... although there again, the Z4M have them, so I guess not.

[MACK]

Aesthetics wise I think mine looks more akin to a zed on M Sport suspension than one on SE due to the higher tyre sidewalls and the spacers pushing the wheels closer to the arches

I have also thought of this: install higher sidewalls tires instead of the original rears 35 / fronts 40, in order to improve the ride AND reduce the gap with the arches on SE suspension!

I have seen many non-M cars having M style 224 alloys, and if I am not mistaken these wheels have higher sidewalls (and larger rear) tires than the other 18" wheels. So there should be no rubbing issue to have for example Goodyear F1 Assymetrics 235/40R18 and 225/45R18 mounted?
My only question would be on the handling of the car, if there is any drawback with having these bigger rubbers installed... although there again, the Z4M have them, so I guess not.

Hi,
To be fair, I think most of the non M zeds using the M 224 alloys on here are actually running the 225/40 255/35 standard tyre size, not the 225/45 255/40 M sizes. However quite a few on here use the M tyre size on 18" alloys without any rubbing issues, The rubbing issues come when you start changing the offset with spacers etc and are usually limited to the front. For example I had minimal rubbing with my knackered old M Sport suspension when used with the M tyre sizes and F15 R20MM spacers, which in combination gives a lower offset than the 224 alloys have. In fact most of the rubbing was down to bad shockers as when I fitted new shocks and the Eibach springs (15mm lower) the rubbing was far less. For me though the addition ride comfort when using M tyres more than makes up for any minor rubbing.
Handling wise as long as you have the geometry setup right the larger tyres make no difference other than to improve the ride quality and make the speedo more accurate.

[Zeddicus]

I think I'll try the higher sidewalls next time I need new tires on my 203s. They may be a little bit more expensive, but not so much really, and if they achieve to make the gap less obvious in the wheel arches, plus with a little extra comfort, then two birds with one stone!
Mack, will you manage to share some pictures with us?

[MACK]

Ok I've managed to take a few pics on level ground at a local supermarket. The pics are on my phone and I'm no photographer so apologises for the quality. In my rather biased opinion I do honestly think the rear looks more akin to M Sport than SE with the M Spec tyres and F15 R20 spacers on. Also please bear in mind that on both factory suspensions the rear always looks a little higher than the front

EIBACH VS SE a.jpg (176.52 KiB) Viewed 707 times

eibach vs se 2 a.jpg (85.72 KiB) Viewed 705 times

I've just had a look around the forum for cars I know are on SE and M Sport suspension and copied a couple of pics into here for comparison purposes. I hope the owners dont mind
First up its Marlons SE spec suspension

Marlon SE suspension.jpg (193.27 KiB) Viewed 709 times

Next one is mjennings23 M Sport spec suspension

mjennings 23.jpg (406.18 KiB) Viewed 709 times

[philbo909]

Yeh looks fine with SE and //M tyre size, an msport arch gap

[ben g]

Doesn't look as bad as I thought it would not as nice as the top photo, but certainly not 4x4 stance.

I think M Sport is a good compromise between the 2. I may fit my M Sport rear springs to check the difference myself.

[MACK]

Yeh looks fine with SE and //M tyre size, an msport arch gap

Doesn't look as bad as I thought it would not as nice as the top photo, but certainly not 4x4 stance.

I think M Sport is a good compromise between the 2. I may fit my M Sport rear springs to check the difference myself.

I'm going to get some Suplex SE front springs ordered and once they're on I make a final decision on how it ride/handles/looks and whether to stick with the SE or go back to the Eibachs.
Once I've made my mind up on the springs front I'm going to try some 245/40 and 215/45 tyres as a half way house option between the M spec and the standard ones. Again it will come down to how it rides/handles/looks

[MACK]

Doesn't look as bad as I thought it would not as nice as the top photo, but certainly not 4x4 stance.

I think M Sport is a good compromise between the 2. I may fit my M Sport rear springs to check the difference myself.

Just re read your comment Ben, sorry I didn't pick up on it initially but what do you mean by "its not as nice as the top photo" its got me a bit stumped.

[ben g]

Doesn't look as bad as I thought it would not as nice as the top photo, but certainly not 4x4 stance.

I think M Sport is a good compromise between the 2. I may fit my M Sport rear springs to check the difference myself.

Just re read your comment Ben, sorry I didn't pick up on it initially but what do you mean by "its not as nice as the top photo" its got me a bit stumped.

I assumed the top photo was with eibach rear springs fitted? It looks lower than the 2nd photo. Perhaps it's the sunlight playing tricks?

[MACK]

Doesn't look as bad as I thought it would not as nice as the top photo, but certainly not 4x4 stance.

I think M Sport is a good compromise between the 2. I may fit my M Sport rear springs to check the difference myself.

Just re read your comment Ben, sorry I didn't pick up on it initially but what do you mean by "its not as nice as the top photo" its got me a bit stumped.

I assumed the top photo was with eibach rear springs fitted? It looks lower than the 2nd photo. Perhaps it's the sunlight playing tricks?

I see what you mean now. No both photos were taken with a few minutes of each other at the same car park. It does seen a bigger gap in the second photo though. Strange as both parking areas seemed flat

[Zeddicus]

Looks good to me! Seems better than the standard SE with the arches filled nicely. Are you happy with the ride too?

[MACK]

Looks good to me! Seems better than the standard SE with the arches filled nicely. Are you happy with the ride too?

The ride is definitely better, but its difficult to tell how much influence the front is having on general ride quality on the move at a decent pace at the moment. At very slow speeds and over slow bumps/road humps in particular where you can easily distinguish front to rear, its clearly much better. I guess I wont really know until I've fitted the matching front springs. I've ordered some, just waiting for them to arrive now.
The tyres are definitely helping to fill the wheel arches. I suppose that shouldn't come as a surprise, the M Spec tyres have sidewalls that are Fronts 11mm & Rear 13mm taller than the standard zed ones, so that's most of the extra 15mm of ride height SE suspension has over M Sport taken care of. Then the added effect of the spacers pushing the wheels closer to the arches further reduces the visual gap.

[MACK]

Well finally found a bit of time to get the fronts on. The ride is without a doubt now much better than with the Eibachs on, or indeed the 50/50 mix (eibach fronts/se rears) I had on for a few weeks.
However there is a slight drawback, inevitably there is a bit more body roll when fast/hard cornering, but its not too bad really. You dont notice it too much during normal corning. Roll wise its probably on a par with my original setup of old knakered OEM M Sports shocks and springs.
I'm going to trial this set up over the next few weeks or so before making a final decision. During that time I'm hoping to get a good few A/B road blasts in and then see what I think.
Got to say though I'm really liking this improved ride quality, its now very similar to my wife's F21 M Sport in terms of ride quality. That's also on 18" wheels and F 225/40 R 245/40 Non Runflat Tyres.

Here's a few pics of it with SE Spring on all around. Note please remember its also running M Spec tyre sizes and F15 R20 spacers

ELLIPSOIDS ON SE SPRINGS M SPEC TYRES 4.jpg (203.24 KiB) Viewed 611 times

ELLIPSOIDS ON SE SPRINGS M SPEC TYRES 6.jpg (202.89 KiB) Viewed 611 times

[ben g]

I don't think I could live with that arch gap, personally. But it would be nice to have a more comfortable ride.