Lowering springs

M

Marlon

Lifer
 Lancs.
H&R or Eibachs?
Looking to improve the aesthetics and reduce my arch gap, however its a daily drive and I commute through speed bumps and poorly filled potholes. Currently on SE springs and rides quite smoothly, so not wishing to compromise too much but really want it to sit a little lower and improve the stance. I'm really only wanting to swap the springs, I don't want to tinker with anything else on the suspension.
These are the H&R springs I'm looking at - its a 35mm lowering, which doesn't sound much at all?
Comments, recommendations please :thumbsup:

H&R.JPG

Current set up on SE springs

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H&R all the way if keeping stock shocks. Far more compliant & less crashy than Eibachs, the cheaper stuff is just avoid
 
When I was researching this I thought the H&R were generally regarded as being much firmer and also lower than the Eibachs?

I went Eibach and they are great. Being progressively wound they are much better at soaking up the smaller bumps whilst being firmer under load compared to standard.
 
H&Rs are designed for compliance & comfort until you hit the twisties then they stiffen on sideways pitch , Eibachs in my experience give you little damping on the front & any decent ridge or hole will feel like its damaged the car :cry:
had 2 Zs on H & RS / 2 on Eibachs , i would never purchase Eibachs against H&Rs unless with the Bilstein dampers .
Driven a good few miles in Number5s Z4 with that set up & it really is quite impressive compared to stock Msport shocks & springs
 
If you're worried about hitting speedbumps, ignore the h&r's. They are far too big of a drop for daily driving where speedbumps become a factor. Jonny Essex had them fitted to his Zed at one point and it was much lower than mine with Eibachs.

I do around 100 miles a week in mine. Not huge mileage, but it's driven every day to work and back, including on a huge private work estate with massive speedbumps and even across train tracks, no problems here if taken at a steady (slow) speed.

Eibachs:

_20180928_154801.JPG
 
I did mine a few year back with H&R after a month had em taken off sick to death of grounding at every speed hump.
Tbh my mtech springs are good all rounders .
M
 
ben g said:
If you're worried about hitting speedbumps, ignore the h&r's. They are far too big of a drop for daily driving where speedbumps become a factor. Jonny Essex had them fitted to his Zed at one point and it was much lower than mine with Eibachs.

I do around 100 miles a week in mine. Not huge mileage, but it's driven every day to work and back, including on a huge private work estate with massive speedbumps and even across train tracks, no problems here if taken at a steady (slow) speed.

Eibachs:

_20180928_154801.JPG
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Eibachs with Bilsteins though , the ideal combo
 
Pic from this years France trip , H & Rs on the left 2 cars & Eibachs on the 2 silver ones though the Alpina is on Bilsteins , can't recall any issues grounding with any of the cars same on a recent run in the Dales with Z4MO who i think is on H&Rs
 

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Worth a read here Colin before you make your decision , the description of the Eibachs crossing expansion joints in road or patchy tarmac is typical of my experience with them & that the H&Rs closely reflect the oe spring rate whilst under normal driving

https://www.tirerack.com/suspension/tests/eibach_hr_rd.jsp
 
Personally I hated eibachs on bilstein b4, crashy and didn't last more than a winter on the Zed. No experience of h&r, but 35mm seems quite a big drop
 
:dizzy: Lots to consider, thanks everyone. The more opinions the better imo as I can make a more informed choice.
 
philbo909 said:
Personally I hated eibachs on bilstein b4, crashy and didn't last more than a winter on the Zed. No experience of h&r, but 35mm seems quite a big drop
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Did the springs snap or did the shocks give up? Only asking as I replaced my shocks early this year, so will keep an eye on them.

Can't say it feels crashy though. The ride is quite forgiving with the eibachs/B4 combo. 3 of my sport shocks had completely failed though, so anything would feel great compared to that :lol:
 
philbo909 said:
Personally I hated eibachs on bilstein b4, crashy and didn't last more than a winter on the Zed. No experience of h&r, but 35mm seems quite a big drop
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B4 with eibachs were noticeably harsher than the b4s with se springs, although eibachs and fresh shocks b4s were miles better than knackered shocks and M sport springs. I think the bilstein/eibachs combo Mr wilks is referring to in relation to Number5's car is the b8 shocks also know as the b12 kit. This does give quite a firm ride.

Never tried H & R myself so it's interesting to hear what Mr Wilks is saying with real world experience of these. I've always been led to believe on here and other forums that both E85/6 specific and generally H & R were harsher than Eibachs.

What I can say is Marlon the comfiest setup is what you currently have now (se springs) so if you value ride quality it might be better to stick than twist. It's also better on poor bumpy country lanes etc (no bottoming out). Its not as aesthetically pleasing but it certainly is form over function. I know its not what you want to hear but at your cars age/mileage the single best thing you could do on the suspension is change the shocks, they're bound to be knackered, which might not be apparent till they are off the car so if you do buy springs be prepared to hear you need shocks from whomever you get to fit the springs. M tyre sizes might be a better way to fill the arch gaps somewhat (I've gone this route) but they bring their own issues, its part of the reason I put a 3.64 diff in mine. The chunkier tyres will fill the arches a bit more though and do give a bit better ride quality.
 
Thanks fellas.
Big differences of opinion between H&Rs and Eibachs. Some recommendations for new spring and shock combos, which I can't afford right now and some consensus that I may be chasing new shocks if I only replace springs.
I had considered the chunkier M tyres to fill the gap a little: My spare set of alloys (style 32s) have no rubber left on the rears so they need replacing anyway - its an opportunity to go the chunkier tyre route all round I guess.
One thing I've realised from the feedback is the car's driving so well at the moment I don't want to be faced with replacing shocks as well as springs to get back the smooth ride I'm enjoying now. I've always been a little twitchy about changing the suspension set up on my Zed - this thread is reaffirming that
 
ben g said:
philbo909 said:
Personally I hated eibachs on bilstein b4, crashy and didn't last more than a winter on the Zed. No experience of h&r, but 35mm seems quite a big drop
Click to expand...

Did the springs snap or did the shocks give up? Only asking as I replaced my shocks early this year, so will keep an eye on them.

Can't say it feels crashy though. The ride is quite forgiving with the eibachs/B4 combo. 3 of my sport shocks had completely failed though, so anything would feel great compared to that :lol:
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I meant that I sold them on, in hindsight I wrote that wrong :)
I'm now on msport springs and b4 struts, no more bottoming out and a proper goldilocks combo for me
 
Hi Colin. I recently removed my M Sport springs because I couldn't live with the ride and went back to the original SE's. At the same time I replaced all 4 original knackered Sachs shocks with Bilstein B4s. What a transformation....comfort AND control ! The car now sits 10-15mm higher than it did previously on the SE springs and old shocks. Do I care? Not one bit ! It's not bottomed out once since fitting the B4s and both handles and drives so much better.
I have to agree with what Mack says about shocks. Mine were absolutely goosed ! Three had more air than oil in them and the o/s/f was only about 50 % effective :o
I'd start by changing those first :thumbsup:
As it sits now, inc. the Mrs and 3/4s of a tank ! :D
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Interesting Simon.
How much are a set so Blisten B4s and would it make sense to keep my SE springs (keeps cost down - on 70k miles 10 years old). Would that lower my ride height - yours look fine to me btw :thumbsup:
 
Just over £300 on EBay. This is the same German supplier I got mine from.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F332852757852
Mine used to sit very low on the SE springs and original shocks when I bought it 4 years ago. I reckon it's approx 10-15mm higher now the B4s have bedded in on the same SE springs.
If you fitted B4s and the car didn't settle to where you liked it then you've got the option to fit lowering springs to get a height you want safe in the knowledge that your shocks are perfect. Conversely, if you fit 35mm ( almost 1.5 inches !) lower springs, discover your shocks are trollied so fit B4s which then settle like mine some 15mm higher, then you will only have lowered it by 20mm which maybe isn't what you wanted. :(
 
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