suspension set up

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erol_h

Member
After having my H&R's installed for about 2 months i had time to use the car on a few roads and on smooth roads its great and handles very well but its too low. Getting over bumps is a pain in the a*se as i have to stop and crawl over. Also the car crashes and bumps too much for my liking and is uncomfortable and needs to change i know these suspensions have only height adjustment and no damping but all the reviews i have read on here and zpost no one seems to complain about this. I'm guessing the car being too low would be a factor in this issue i have and i need to sort this out. Like a idiot i managed to lose the paperwork for the suspension so not sure what the best ride height would be. This is the first time i will be adjusting a suspension so what is the best way to measure height would it be from the floor to the top of the arch or the gap between the arch and the top of the tire. I want the car to still handle as well as it is at the moment but try and remove its harsh ride what would you guys recommend i want to bring it back close to standard as possible but i'm not what standard ride height was either?
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Using the measurement from the floor to the top of the wheel arch for measurement, IIRC, the OEM ride height is 690mm at the rear and 680mm at the front. What are your present heights?

With regard to the harshness of the ride: that has little to do with the ride height unless the car is riding on the bump stops on the dampers, if it's harsh and the suspension has no other adjustment possible, then you're stuck with what you've got.
 
Just about to have thicker arb's installed not sure what you've done to yours , stunning looking mc you have there !
 
Ive just popped out and measured and i got 630mm on the rear and 645mm on the front what should be a good ride height as its too low. I was going to raise the car yesterday but realised the car doesnt come with a bar to undo the wheelnuts and gave up and washed the car instead need to get a wheelbar.
 
saskia said:
Just about to have thicker arb's installed not sure what you've done to yours , stunning looking mc you have there !
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Thanks ive only had the suspension and the alloys installed and havn't touched anything else yet. :D
 
erol_h said:
Ive just popped out and measured and i got 630mm on the rear and 645mm on the front what should be a good ride height as its too low.
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I've got ACS Racing adjustable suspension and I've set it at 680mm at the rear and 665mm at the front, and for me that's ideal. You MUST set the rear higher than the front so that you have a positive "rake angle". I wouldn't dream of setting a road going Z4MC any lower than I've set mine for several different reasons.
 
I will give it a shot at the weekend i hope this improves the ride i spent hours on the net researching before i bought these hopefully it wount bite me in the ar*e thanks for your help.
 
i did tell you initially it was way to low.....your car is slammed compared to mine, i was royally pissed off when i set my car to the clubsports HIGHEST ride height which was imo alot lower than stock.... in reality.... its not to far from stock now ive had time to get over it, lol.

heres some arch shots.. as you can see ive got it set very conservative, i want Maximum performance and i need travel so my car isnt bottoming out ect ect. I can go over the largest speed humps not an issue..... i know it doesnt LOOK as fabulous as a low riding car but, practicality is key.

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i hope your willing to put up with your hard ride... as i think your stuck with it.... i knew exactly what i was getting into with the clubsport setup, however, i recently dialed Everything back and was amazed at how pliable i got everything.... alot stiffer than stock but as reasonable as your going to get a racing damper.

jon, drop in some head on arch shots like mine if possible... is you car higher or lower than mine???
 
Here's a side shot of mine. Similar in height to beedub's. Any lower and all practicality would be gone. For interest; the ground clearance below the fangs on the Z4MC's bumper in OEM format is already 25mm lower than the front bumper of my Z3MC which has been lowered by 25mm. IMO, these cars look cool enough without being slammed and in any event, if you're driving them hard it's all about the handling rather than the looks.
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Nice John, think you may be a touch lower but in essence we've gone with similar heights :-) good choice :-)
 
I've dropped mine a bit more in front relative to the rear to increase the rake angle for aerodynamic reasons. I have butt-strut on the Z3MC which is the lowest point under that car and it gets over everything without scraping except for over-sized (i.e. illegal) speed bumps.
 
I just recieved a package with KW v2's today 8)
Now im running stock SE dampers with m-sport springs (-15mm) and I think its lowered perfectly - but AFAIK 3.0si is quite a bit lower than ///M
Would love to set rear end as it is now, and the front end maybe a lil bit lower (like 5-10mm) than it is now :)
Will measure the heights when I'll find a few spare minutes :)
 
Is it worth it to take the oem shocks/springs off and put adj platform shocks on which will cost possibly £1k or more fitted ?
 
saskia said:
Is it worth it to take the oem shocks/springs off and put adj platform shocks on which will cost possibly £1k or more fitted ?
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Before you fit any aftermarket kit, you need to decide what you are trying to achieve by replacing the OEM suspension. For me, fitting adjustable suspension to my Z4MC was essential and I knew that before I bought my car.
 
exdos said:
saskia said:
Is it worth it to take the oem shocks/springs off and put adj platform shocks on which will cost possibly £1k or more fitted ?
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Before you fit any aftermarket kit, you need to decide what you are trying to achieve by replacing the OEM suspension. For me, fitting adjustable suspension to my Z4MC was essential and I knew that before I bought my car.
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agreed...... i knew where i was heading and what i wanted from it.... a non adjustable coilover is imo.... useless..... they are basically for looks so can get the height where you want it.....
 
Beedub, Exdos: You both happy the your individual set ups then?

Suspension is next on my list to reduce understeer approaching the limit and better compliante on rough roads but most of all I want more feel from the steering (other mod will be bucket seats and harness as I slide in the OEM too much).

Not sure whether to go for a Uniball set up (loved the suspension on the GT3) oor the fast road from ACS (which is meant to go with their 19" wheels.

Was really surprised 2 weeks ago o the car's handling in the wet. This was a full track day raining cats and dogs with a few dry spells. Car's on PS2's and it did not miss a beat all day long, which is confidence nspiring for a learner like me.
 
ChawenHalo said:
Beedub, Exdos: You both happy the your individual set ups then?

Suspension is next on my list to reduce understeer approaching the limit and better compliante on rough roads but most of all I want more feel from the steering (other mod will be bucket seats and harness as I slide in the OEM too much).

Not sure whether to go for a Uniball set up (loved the suspension on the GT3) oor the fast road from ACS (which is meant to go with their 19" wheels.

Was really surprised 2 weeks ago o the car's handling in the wet. This was a full track day raining cats and dogs with a few dry spells. Car's on PS2's and it did not miss a beat all day long, which is confidence nspiring for a learner like me.
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i love my setup..... its very serious.... much like the car iteself :-) The feel is just want i want, ride reminds me of GT3 rs type feeling.... the trackday highlighted how much speed i was picking up and the confidence, the only problem was i felt alot of the fun was going as im now travelling at cornering speeds that are in essence, scary..... very very happy with it!! i do find myself avoiding drain covers like the plague. lol
 
ChawenHalo said:
Beedub, Exdos: You both happy the your individual set ups then?
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Definitely. It performs exactly as I expected it would and it compares well with the KWV3 I've got on my Z3MC.
 
So due to the lump of iron up front on the mc/mr should we have all bought something else with better weight distribution ...begs the question what ? 350/370z gts - impossible to find , ttrs too expensive and characterless , tvr t 350 - no abs/dsc and have to rebuild speed six at cost , er what else ?
 
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