Has anybody changed their steering geometry for road used only

[Anonymous]

Well following MACK's advice I've:

Added 5mm / 10mm eibach spacers front and rear and used some very nice hex socket headed wheel bolts to cinch them down..

I disassembled some genunine BMW wheel cap badges, extracted the stamped and printed aluminium section and using black mastic popped them into the centres of the Zito 935 wheels..its always amazing how a nice BMW roundel confers a touch of class on alloys compared to what always seem a slightly tacky rendition of a badge by the wheel manufacturer..

Now to pump up the tyres as per MACK's suggestion and wait for a sunny day..(interesting that as the COVID driving for pleasure lockdown comes to an end July 3rd in Scotland the rain comes back )

Was suprised how badly the Conti Sports Contact 5's had worn in just 5,000 miles of hooning..only a mm or so before reaching the German wear bar indicators..

 

[MACK]

Well following MACK's advice I've:

Added 5mm / 10mm eibach spacers front and rear and used some very nice hex socket headed wheel bolts to cinch them down..

I disassembled some genunine BMW wheel cap badges, extracted the stamped and printed aluminium section and using black mastic popped them into the centres of the Zito 935 wheels..its always amazing how a nice BMW roundel confers a touch of class on alloys compared to what always seem a slightly tacky rendition of a badge by the wheel manufacturer..

Now to pump up the tyres as per MACK's suggestion and wait for a sunny day..(interesting that as the COVID driving for pleasure lockdown comes to an end July 3rd in Scotland the rain comes back )

Was suprised how badly the Conti Sports Contact 5's had worn in just 5,000 miles of hooning..only a mm or so before reaching the German wear bar indicators..

I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on how it feels with the spacers and different pressures.
The wheel badge trick work an absolute treat on these Zito wheels, looks so much better than the metal stickers I tried at first. Credit goes to Mr Wilks for initially suggesting that mod.

 

[Anonymous]

First day of Scottish driving freedom and I took the Yellow Peril out for a hoon..track conditions were damp /moist with surface debris washed away..

What can I say..it was great, the best (for me) handling so far..those Conti Sports 5s don't get many popular reviews but in the wet (as in the dry) are so surefooted and give excellent feedback (albeit at what seems a high wear rate)..

Steering was lighter than before, for me, about perfect, heavy enough to not be twitchy but no drama tightening up on corners that suprised one..

I'm sure there are many cars that 'handle' better, but for me, after 3 + years of zedding and around 20,000 miles of mostly speedy motoring its all I need..its now in the 'too good' category..ie I end up entering situations with too much speed for the laws of physics, because I'm not getting all those worrying messages about 'slightly twitchy steering' 'bad bump control' 'traction control flashing' 'wallowing at speed' 'remote feel to the steering' etc..frightened myself two or three times, I'm sure some Chinese tyres and I'd be writing this from ER..

So 36/38 PSI works well with the Sports 5..the 10mm spacers on the back at a net ET of 30 and 5mm on the front for an ET of 30 seem to work A OK..

Happy days!

 

[MACK]

First day of Scottish driving freedom and I took the Yellow Peril out for a hoon..track conditions were damp /moist with surface debris washed away..

What can I say..it was great, the best (for me) handling so far..those Conti Sports 5s don't get many popular reviews but in the wet (as in the dry) are so surefooted and give excellent feedback (albeit at what seems a high wear rate)..

Steering was lighter than before, for me, about perfect, heavy enough to not be twitchy but no drama tightening up on corners that suprised one..

I'm sure there are many cars that 'handle' better, but for me, after 3 + years of zedding and around 20,000 miles of mostly speedy motoring its all I need..its now in the 'too good' category..ie I end up entering situations with too much speed for the laws of physics, because I'm not getting all those worrying messages about 'slightly twitchy steering' 'bad bump control' 'traction control flashing' 'wallowing at speed' 'remote feel to the steering' etc..frightened myself two or three times, I'm sure some Chinese tyres and I'd be writing this from ER..

So 36/38 PSI works well with the Sports 5..the 10mm spacers on the back at a net ET of 30 and 5mm on the front for an ET of 30 seem to work A OK..

Happy days!

Glad you like it. Not really too many mods left you can do! Next up for me has to be the M3 arms that you already have. All the 3 series forums rave about them!
Might have to try a 10mm spacer on the rear of mine based on this, I initially thought it might be too much with the Eibachs so have current gone with a 5mm on my et40 wheels. Just remind me, what springs are you running?

 

[Anonymous]

I’m running the OE MSport springs..opinions vary but some state that the Eibach springs are too aggressive in their bump rate..without swapping who knows..certainly the original springs n dampers lost a degree of control on big dippers, now the B8s n OE springs are very good with just a degree of jiggle over rippled roads which I think is mostly due to the strong bump damping..

It’s a world away from 326s on OE runflats and OE springs n dampers...

The steering arms is a subtle mod..as I said I found myself carrying wayyy too much speed into corners due to the effortless way it was making progress over the ground..I went flying over one the bumps in one of my roads as I came out of the preceding corner much quicker than I did historically despite damp conditions..

Tyres look very butch pushed out to the edge of the arches..no catching despite inadvertently trying..

 

[Anonymous]

Just an update after 150 miles today on different road patterns..very happy with the handling..disappointing that the laws of physics still apply..steering still light when airborne..when pushed very hard it still gets squirrely but not sure what wouldn't at that point, the handling did go off..but driving at high speed with a deflated front tyre I can forgive..

With the re-map power is now very strong in the mid range and the quaife LSD is now working to earn its keep, especially on bumpier /lower speed corners..very comforting..

Sadly the front is now u/s..I assume once you can smell burning rubber a repair is not advisable?

So since the rest are getting close the the German wear bars I'll replace the set..probably going to go with goodyear eagle f1 asymmetric 5 in 235/40 18 and 265 35 18 to suit the 8.5j and 9.5j rims..

So for this point I'm at the end of the odessy..I'll report on the 17" wheels with Sports Contact 3 out of interest on 8J 9J rims 235/45 17 and 255/40 17 as I'll have to swap the wheels out temp...might as well use them up prior to putting some Conti Winter tyres on those rims..

 

[Anonymous]

Had the rear trailing arm linkage bushes replaced with uprated M series bushes plus other fresh bushes and bolts..

All wheels now lined up nicely..

Too early to divine any improvements, I'd expect them to be barely noticeable..