10mm spacers rubbing on CSL's with stock suspension

[DanCurry]

Been lurking for a bit, absorbing as much info as I can from the vast pool.

I've come up against a slight problem, as I've recently fitted a set of H&R 10mm spacers to the front of my Zed due to the imminent arrival of some KW V3's.

What's concerning is that they're rubbing on full lock and on reasonable compressions as well.

I can see that the wheel is rubbing the front of the fender liner, around the brake cooling intake.

I am running CSL reps, but I haven't really come across anyone with this problem unless they're running pretty low with coilovers.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Bodyboarder]

What et and width are the csl reps? Also what Tyres sizes are you running ?

 

[DanCurry]

They're CM reps with 8.5j et40 at the front with a 235/35 and 9.5j et27 265/30's at the rear running on PS4S's.

 

[Bodyboarder]

Seems odd that they are rubbing then .... as I have the same et front and back with 245 /35 front Tyres and run a 5mm spacer . I guess that extra 5mm makes all the difference.

There are a few on here that run the kw’s and run 10mm spacers ... the ones I know of have also front arch rubbing and have modded the plastics to try and over come this .

The kw’s are a lovely bit of kit but in my eyes they have a massive design fault if you have to run 10mm spacers to clear the springs :thumbsdown:

 

[Bodyboarder]

Possible removing the camber pins and getting some extra camber dialled in May help once the kw’s are on

Edit .... thinking about it aren’t most csl reps et44 ? Maybe you’ll be able to get away with a 5mm spacer instead

 

[DanCurry]

Thanks for the advice Bodyboarder. Thats what I'm hoping for once the KW's are on, I'll get the geo done and hopefully it'll be sorted. Just scared me intially!

 

[Bodyboarder]

I’m sure MrPt will be along shortly.... he runs the same set up as you are intending and will have the correct info needed with regards the mods to the front arch

 

[DanCurry]

Fingers crossed, thanks again

 

[markos]

I'm sure my fronts very occasionally rubbed the front wheel arch liners – but I can't remember if that was with 19" CSL reps or the 19" M3 wheels I had on before, and that was with standard suspension. The M3 wheels did have spacers on the front but only to get them out to where standard wheels would be as their offset wasn't the right spec. I just put it down to running 19s.

 

[MrPT]

I’m sure MrPt will be along shortly.... he runs the same set up as you are intending and will have the correct info needed with regards the mods to the front arch

Similar. As you say, a lot of reps are ET44 (same as OEM CSL) - an ET40 with a 10mm spacer is effectively ET30, which with an 8.5” rim I would have thought would rub on the outer arch liner above the tyre. I guess it’s possible that it could rub the brake duct on full lock too. I have this issue, but I’m running 235/40 fronts.

So a 5mm spacer might be absolutely fine, yep.

 

[DanCurry]

Thanks for the info guys, a 5mm spacer sounds like a plan. Just one thing is, I remember hearing that you can't really fit anything less than a 10mm spacer to BMW's due to the nature of the hub. Not sure if this is actually true or not?

 

[Bodyboarder]

This has been discussed on here and basically the hub Center is really just to center the wheel on and as long as there is some contact ( 4-5mm ) you will be fine . I’m running 5mm spacers with 5mm longed bolts and have no issues at all

 

[DanCurry]

Good stuff, I'll get some ordered. Cheers for the help guys.

 

[Vanne]

normal to rub the wheel liner running 245/35, I haven't heard of anyone rubbing before running 235???? how are your lollipops/control arms?

 

[DanCurry]

Just an update to say I've finished fitting the KW's with new rear mounts and some rtab limiters. It's truly amazing the difference and I haven't even had a chance to play with the rebound and bump yet. It's even sorted out the wheel wobble I was getting at motorway speeds, which probs tells me my OE suspension was knackered even after only 40k. Had to use the 10mm spacers in the end, dialed in some neg camber and its stopped the rubbing as well. So thank you for the help chaps

 

[MrPT]

Just an update to say I've finished fitting the KW's with new rear mounts and some rtab limiters. It's truly amazing the difference and I haven't even had a chance to play with the rebound and bump yet. It's even sorted out the wheel wobble I was getting at motorway speeds, which probs tells me my OE suspension was knackered even after only 40k. Had to use the 10mm spacers in the end, dialed in some neg camber and its stopped the rubbing as well. So thank you for the help chaps

Good info. Assume you had to fit shorter droplinks when you installed the KWs? Maybe the old ones were causing some wobble.

If you find the default KW settings a bit "lively" over small bumps, you can soften the rebound damping right back (to 15 out of 16 clicks open) and see how that feels. I've found you need a reasonable amount of compression damping to stop them bottoming out on some of our more entertaining B roads. There is a mega thread somewhere with lots of feedback re. different settings.

 

[AxZ4M]

My coworker had 12.5mm spacers in the rear and 15mm in the front on his e36 and we removed them from his car and installed on my z4m with oem suspension and wheels, and I had this same exact problem. 15mm could be too much for the front but yeah, the wheel would rub the passanger side brake cooling duct. I gave my coworker his spacers back but I just ordered a set and I will have it today actually. I got the same size as him too but I was thinking of putting the 12.5mm in the front this time and the 15mm in the rear.. hopefully I won't rub, but it's nice to know that some negative camber took care of this issue! Thanks

 

[john-e89]

My coworker had 12.5mm spacers in the rear and 15mm in the front on his e36 and we removed them from his car and installed on my z4m with oem suspension and wheels, and I had this same exact problem. 15mm could be too much for the front but yeah, the wheel would rub the passanger side brake cooling duct. I gave my coworker his spacers back but I just ordered a set and I will have it today actually. I got the same size as him too but I was thinking of putting the 12.5mm in the front this time and the 15mm in the rear.. hopefully I won't rub, but it's nice to know that some negative camber took care of this issue! Thanks

Apologies going off topic OP but do you have any more pics of your M AxZ4M? It’s looks absolutely stunning.

 

[Papa_Zee]

Waiting for my 19” CSLs at the weekend.

So the conclusion is no more than 5mm all corners? Or can one get away with 10mm each side at the rear?.

Lowering by... 25mm?

Please advise all you lovely Z fans! Thanks.

P.S. This for a roadie....

 

[AxZ4M]

Apologies going off topic OP but do you have any more pics of your M AxZ4M? It’s looks absolutely stunning.