Please tell me the DDM coils my boy had installed can go lower in the rear...please?
Last edited by bostongrn325is; 06-29-2009 at 12:51 PM.
Did he adjust them at all? If so, that looks higher than stock, which is strange.
Something definitely isn't right..
Was it adjusted at all?
Was everything installed correctly?
it can go lower in the rear.
It can go way lower...all around. Me thinks something needs to settle and you need to adjust them.
I had a shop install them, he claims the rear can only go maybe 1\4" lower...I know the front can go lower. I had it slammed so hard it ate through both fender liners in a day, then lifted it up an inch this morning. I looked at the rear and the the collars below the spring are about 1\4 inch from bottom...how do I go lower in the rear???
Fender liner eater stance...
Do the rear perches sit flush on the trailing arm? On my ti they do not (318ti and Z3s have same suspension set up), the inside diameter of the perch is too small to fit over the cone on the trailing arm. If I slammed my car it would be only slightly lower than stock looking. I took pictures and sent them to DDM and they told me the perches fit on "test" cars just fine.
I found some pictures of E30 trailing arm and they have a cylindrical "nub" on the trailing arm which looks exactly like what these perches are designed for, the ti has a cone.
Here's the best shot of it, don't mind the rust I took this back in March and cleaned it off since then.
11 128i Space Gray slicktop
13 WK2 Deep Cherry
I'll pull it in the garage and take a look and some pics tonight.
quality products have quality fitment.
M50 3.1L Stroker - TC Kline D/A
Believe me there is no rubber pad there. That is the perch sitting directly on the trailing arm. My perches did not come with a rubber pad of any kind.
11 128i Space Gray slicktop
13 WK2 Deep Cherry
Well I will have to wait until tomorrow night to mess with it, guess I'll just have to jack it up and see what's goin on. I ordered coils with the sole intention of slamming the car, so if these coils won't slam then...wtf
While the shock does need to be adjusted when the car is lowered that has nothing to do with the ride height. The height is controlled by the rear spring and if the perch can't sit flush with the trailing arm you aren't going to be able to "slam" the rear.
I have a thread on 318ti.org about this and I have gotten a lot of PMs from owners who bought this suspension and have the exact same issue of the perches not fitting correctly. Seems like it is obviously an oversight that DDM needs to address.
11 128i Space Gray slicktop
13 WK2 Deep Cherry
They can go lower for sure, installer doesn't know what he is talking about
///Motorsport
possibly double check to make sure everything is tightened correctly, i remember a thread or two where the people didn't tighten down the coil enough after adjusting the height
I agree with spider, my spring perches didn't fit in the slightest when I got them installed; after taking a closer look, the shop and I agreed that the hole could be enlarged by a couple millimeters without any ill effect, so they chucked them in a lathe. They fit fine now, and judging from the material, you could probably do the same thing with a dremel and some sanding wheels.
-Ken
2005 Lotus Elise, Lotus Racing Green
2017 Shelby GT350, Lightning Blue
Formerly: 1997 BMW 318ti
my dad has a lathe so I guess this weekend I will tear apart and take pics and see what's going on. thanks for input
Ok, so I took my wheels off to polish them and clean up the car, snapped some camera phone pics (LG Dare) meanwhile, hopefully this helps clear up my issue.
Notice item number 1 is a mere 1\4" from bottom...Can #2 be screwed down to lower?
Last edited by KFeez; 07-04-2009 at 12:24 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
Your strut probably isn't sitting far down enough in the perch. Since you paid a shop, make them fix it. They f*cked up the install.
E46 M3 | Steel Gray/Imola Red | 19" BBS RS-GT
E39 540i | Jet Black/Black | 17" Style 42
KFeez,
Notice how #1 is sitting on top of a rubber spring pad. That was supposed to be removed, so that the adjuster is sitting directly on the trailing arm.
-Ken
2005 Lotus Elise, Lotus Racing Green
2017 Shelby GT350, Lightning Blue
Formerly: 1997 BMW 318ti
so that will still only make it another 1\4" lower at most? I want dumped in the trunk area!
Last edited by KFeez; 07-04-2009 at 02:18 PM. Reason: added motivational picture
How long is the current uncompressed length of the shock compared to stock? Also, I have heard of people removing one of both of the adjustment collars in the rear, but I'm not what that may do to your warranty.
-Ken
2005 Lotus Elise, Lotus Racing Green
2017 Shelby GT350, Lightning Blue
Formerly: 1997 BMW 318ti
My girlfriend ordered, paid for, and had the coils installed without me knowing as a surprise type deal . Sounds good so far, right? I never got to pick my spring rates so I have no idea what they are. The shop that installed them is a friend of her father's and they threw away my stock components. I had a strut blown previously and mentioned it is going to cost the same for coilovers as it would to just replace the single strut, and she went ahead and did all this. Now I just want to figure out how I can get my rear much lower. I do thoroughly enjoy the ride quality compared to blown out stock.
I'll see about taking some measurements next time I can get the car up in the air. My adjusters are in just about the same position as yours, but my rear is a decent amount lower. There's no way there's THAT much of a difference between the Z3 and ti...
-Ken
2005 Lotus Elise, Lotus Racing Green
2017 Shelby GT350, Lightning Blue
Formerly: 1997 BMW 318ti
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