Uneven rear suspension

C

Chris1981

Member
So after realising my car was sitting way too high in the rear... suspecting that someone had fitted incorrect springs when the original ones snapped, I bought a set of H&R lowering springs as all 4 cost me the price of 2 new rears and I'd get nice new fronts too!

However the car now sits uneven at the rear and is noticeably lower on the drivers side and it's very annoying! I've had the car up a few times since and ensured springs are orientated the same and seated correctly but I can't get rid of this uneven height!

I've read that 'they all do this...' on a few forums, that it's due to the car being designed as LHD so there is a weight imbalance to counteract the driver's weight but I'm not sure about that, does anyone else on here suffer with uneven rear ride height?

Worth noting I'm still on standard shocks if that has any bearing, I do plan on replacing them but want to sort this ride height issue before I go spending more money! I also think it was uneven before I lowered it and hoped that new springs would resolve it... they didn't!

Any assistance on where to look next or what may be causing the height difference would be greatly appreciated? Does anyone else suffer with uneven rear ride height?

Car is an e86, 3.0si Sport Coupe
 
I'm sure there's meant to be a rubber pad that the spring sits on are they all in place, does the strut tube have signs of oil leaking, on the side that's lower, before you did anything, other than it been high was it level
 
Yes both spring pads are in place, I've even made sure they are aligned the same too in case there's any difference in the thickness of the material as they aren't round.

No signs of leak, I've only had them disconnected at the bottom but I would think any leak would make it's way down there pretty quick!

I'm not too sure if it was even or not before changing the springs but part of me thinks it was uneven then too!

Would a weak shock absorber cause uneven ride height? as it's the drivers side I would think it has a lot more wear than the passenger!? I could swap them over and see if the issue moves sides I guess....

Would worn bushes affect ride height?
 
you can get different thickness in spring pads from the dealer. they vary from about 3 mil to about 15mil depending how far its out , not a great fix but thats what its like on E46s too.
 
That could be an option, cheers Jamie!

Think I'll start swapping components from one side to the other and see if that does anything... if it's spring or shock related then I would think the uneveness will switch sides and the passenger side will sit lower!?
 
yea think the shocks n springs wont do anything mate. always worth a try tho, have you checked the Anti roll bar drop links are both connected?
 
Fair do's... saves me the effort, cheers mate!

Will check the antiroll bar but would have though I'd have all sorts of problems if it was disconnected at one end!?
 
not nesescarily mate- my front droplink had totally come out of the bal and socket and only time i noticed was a long sweeping bend coming off the motorway - iit looked like it'd been off for weeks
 
I recall there being enough resistance when fitting the new springs in to make me think the bar was connected correctly but will defo check it out tonight!
 
The LHD thing is an urban myth. The springs are not handed Left or Right, the spring pads are the same L/R, besides which fuel weight and having a passenger would make the differences redundant. Some wheel alignment operators will adjust alignments slightly to take account of left or right hand road camber but this wouldn't affect ride heights. BMW TIS ride height spec's make no mention of L/R height differences.

If you call up TIS for your car it will give you the ride height range including permissible variation (which is more than you might expect).

There are lots of factors that make one side/corner sit lower, including wear and structure drooping due to loose strut braces or braces re-torqued whilst jacked up or not on a dead flat surface (or accident damage), also possibly damaged bushes or arms etc, but taking account of tubby Germans isn't one of them :wink:
 
Yeah I don't buy the whole LHD argument either! The theory of tolerances could explain this issue, it's about 10-20mm difference so if a tolerance of +/-10mm could give a theoretical difference of up to 20mm so will look into BMWTIS and see what it says!

I'll be checking out the ARB tonight so will take some measurements to be sure!

Thanks for the advice so far... be interested to know if any other forum members suffer from uneven rear ride height too!?
 
jamie_z4 said:
Ewazix said:
the spring pads are the same L/R, besides which fuel weight and
Click to expand...

they aren't. see above, you can get different thicknesses from BMW to compensate.
Click to expand...

I know you can get different thickness pads to adjust anomalies but that's not the same thing as BMW setting the cars up deliberately 'wonky' for left hookers and not bothering for the UK market, that's an urban myth.

Again, there is nothing in TIS to suggest that different thicknesses are fitted L/R according to which side of the road the car is designed for. I've had my rear suspension off and when I checked them for condition they were the originals and the same thickness, until someone comes up with an authoritative source for the wonky LHD set-up theory I can't see any reason to believe in it 8)
 
Ewazix said:
jamie_z4 said:
Ewazix said:
the spring pads are the same L/R, besides which fuel weight and
Click to expand...

they aren't. see above, you can get different thicknesses from BMW to compensate.
Click to expand...

I know you can get different thickness pads to adjust anomalies but that's not the same thing as BMW setting the cars up deliberately 'wonky' for left hookers and not bothering for the UK market, that's an urban myth.

Again, there is nothing in TIS to suggest that different thicknesses are fitted L/R according to which side of the road the car is designed for. I've had my rear suspension off and when I checked them for condition they were the originals and the same thickness, until someone comes up with an authoritative source for the wonky LHD set-up theory I can't see any reason to believe in it 8)
Click to expand...

Fair enough. Just saying there is a solution relatively cheaply available from bmw the selves so if they endorse it it must be feasible solution for the op
 
My money would still be on the spring not being quite seated properly. I had difficulty with this as it looks on but when you check the distance between the edges of the arm it was out. You can also feel under the pad if it's seated over the node.
 
There's leg/alignment point for the spring on the upper part, you sure yours is sitting correctly? I remember having difficulty getting the spring with the pad back in. I did align them and drop the car and pushed it down a boot a few times. Mine seems to sit fine. Did you take it for decent drive ? I think that'll place everything where it should be too.
 
Thanks Steve... I'm hoping that's the case too!

Been up and down a few times now and may still have them slightly out... getting new tyres and 4 wheel alignment tomorrow so will ask the garage to give it a once over and let me know if anything is wrong!
 
Thanks Buckz... they look to be seated correctly in the top but will check again, been on a few decent drives since so would have hoped everything is settled by now!
 
The top is not the problem, it's the bottom I struggled with. I drove around on it for a while before I realised so no it doesn't just settle by itself...
 
Just wanted to close this one off.... and admit to my errors!

Got the car back from full alignment and suspension health check and all is good, there are no issues with the placement of the springs or any bushings etc... It would appear the issue is actually my fat a$$ and stupidity :oops: ... I was checking straight after getting out the car following a bit of a drive so was still sitting slightly low on the drivers side... Turns out the Mrs was right and I have let myself go since getting married, but I maintain that's her issue now! :D

When parked on level ground and left for a while to settle the difference is between 5-10mm so within spec, still noticeable to me so may well look into getting a thicker spring pad in the future but for now all good and thanks for the advice provided!

Now time to get some spacers to complete the look!
 
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