[bonsai]

So, I want to get rid of the nasty gap above my front tires. I have 19" CSL reps, and the rears look absolutely perfect to me with my stock springs. The only problem are the fronts.

I want to lower the fronts only, so I have two options:

1) Get lowering springs and only install the fronts
2) Get a lowering perch and keep my stock suspension otherwise intact

My questions are:

1) Are lowering springs a good idea?
2) Will they affect camber more/less than if I used lowering springs on just the fronts?
3) How do lowering perches affect handling (spring/shock performance)? Obvious handling benefits from slightly lower center of gravity aside?

I really would rather not go the lowering springs route. I did a DIY install and de-install of HR Sport springs on my 2007 E90 and, as sick nasty as the setup looked, the time/money for install and the pain of scraping EVERWHERE are just not my style anymore. Damnit, am I getting old?

[francisomar]

Search old threds and you will see pics with the results, mine have around 2 months installed and so far it's great, no alignment or anything else and have settle to a great stance, right now mine is about two finger gap up front and two finger and a lill bit more on the rears, stance is just great and handling is great too, search the comments and you will get your answer

[subieworx]

The car will handle better with the lowering perches than it will with springs. I had them for a few weeks and liked them.

[bonsai]

Originally Posted by francisomar

Search old threds and you will see pics with the results, mine have around 2 months installed and so far it's great, no alignment or anything else and have settle to a great stance, right now mine is about two finger gap up front and two finger and a lill bit more on the rears, stance is just great and handling is great too, search the comments and you will get your answer

Wait, so your rear gap is larger than your front? Are you on stock setup? Because even with a .25" drop in the front, I think my Sport rears will be lower than 2.5fingers.

[francisomar]

The rear is just a hair more than the front, maybe an 1/8 of an inch, not very noticeable but more than the front, and yes, I am on stock sport since mine is an e92, only item is performance struts which don't do anything other than dampening better, but oem sport suspension

[fdriller9]

I think running lowering springs upfront will make your car too low in the front causing bottoming out issues....IMO, you're better off with the perches.

[psre08]

From what I've gathered, perches are great. I ordered mine last week... looking forward to getting them installed... hopefully before the snow. I want to see the result with my summer wheels (19").

[SG335i123]

Please post some before and afters if you go with the perches. Thanks!

[Imperator]

Originally Posted by subieworx

The car will handle better with the lowering perches than it will with springs. I had them for a few weeks and liked them.

How is that? The lowering perches still reduce suspension travel and force the front struts into a lower neutral position, right?

I figured that for someone who isn't looking for a stiffer ride, the closest option to retaining Sport suspension-like ride might be a set of Eibach Pro-Kit springs. I believe the Pro-Kit's spring rate is similar to that of the OEM Sport springs and provides a raked look by lowering the front moreso than the rear (if at all).

Unfortunately, lowering the car might also induce greater shock wear and reduces suspension travel, potentially utilizing more of the front bump stops. Some people don't care to spend the extra money on aftermarket performance shocks but I don't know if that's absolutely necessary for using front spring perches or replacement springs of a similar rate like the Eibach Pro-Kit.

[subieworx]

These perches do not have any affect on travel or where the shock rides in its normal range of motion. The perches do not change the mounting point between the shock and tophat. They only extend the mounting point of the spring upwards .5".

Any lowering spring will reduce overall bump travel which in a system such as this where bump travel is extremely limited to begin with is bad. The stock sport suspension rides on the bump stops at ride height. Any other spring you use to lower the car further compounds this problem and forces the suspension further into the bump stops which make it handle worse.

[swifty]

Is it possible to add spring perches to eibachs? The eibachs only seem to lower the car by .5 inches in the front on the 2011 e92s. Hardly noticable. So can I add the perches and lower it another .5 and at the same time add e36 bump stops that dinan uses?

[Tam@SupremePower]

Originally Posted by swifty

Is it possible to add spring perches to eibachs? The eibachs only seem to lower the car by .5 inches in the front on the 2011 e92s. Hardly noticable. So can I add the perches and lower it another .5 and at the same time add e36 bump stops that dinan uses?

Yes, adding our spring perches along with an aftermarket spring like the eibachs will give the whole car a nice clean drop with the front being alittle lower then the rear for that nice racked look.

[ninesixtwo]

I don't know why this is a good idea.

Bumpstops

And

Why would you want more rake? This fad is obviously borne of the obsession with "<n>-finger gap"

[Mrbig]

Pics before and after thanks !

[jahmed78]

I bought the front lowering perches from SupremePower and got them on to my OEM spring. The spring is compressed quite a bit but when I put it back oover the shocks and want to screw the perch and cover back on with the nut in the middle, my perch is sitting too high. I can't even get the nut on there...I can barely see the top of the part I'm supposed to screw it on. When I had unscrewed the nut in the first place, the OEM perch and cap sort of shot off. So I'm guessing somehow I need to force it down but not sure how. Anyone else run into this issue? Appreciate any ideas...Happy New Year!

[jahmed78]

Originally Posted by jahmed78

I bought the front lowering perches from SupremePower and got them on to my OEM spring. The spring is compressed quite a bit but when I put it back oover the shocks and want to screw the perch and cover back on with the nut in the middle, my perch is sitting too high. I can't even get the nut on there...I can barely see the top of the part I'm supposed to screw it on. When I had unscrewed the nut in the first place, the OEM perch and cap sort of shot off. So I'm guessing somehow I need to force it down but not sure how. Anyone else run into this issue? Appreciate any ideas...Happy New Year!

thanks guys...those compressed springs were definitely scary

so after about 2 days of work and a sore back, I'm finally done with the install!!!

my problem was that the OEM sport spring just needed to be compressed more...A LOT MORE. all the DYIs are switching to lowering springs which are much smaller. I borrowed 1 set of compressors as shown in the pic from O'Reillys and then had to get a second set as well. To get the spring compressed enough I had to use 4 compressors at one time! It was sooooo time consuming since all the screwing was done by hand using a torque wrench and a regular wrench (hand wrench used most of the time due to lack of *******. not to mention, a lot of trial and error...

after getting the car off the jacks it actually looked higher! but then it settled after some driving and the drop in the front looks great! it went from a 2 finger gap to about 1.25 fingers, sitting really nicely right above my huge 20" wheels. (pics coming tomorrow...it's 3am for me right now) i'm really happy with the turn out and i'm sure if i was a little more experienced it wouldn't have taken 2 days. $70 well spent!!!

[StatenEye]

Originally Posted by jahmed78

thanks guys...those compressed springs were definitely scary

so after about 2 days of work and a sore back, I'm finally done with the install!!!

my problem was that the OEM sport spring just needed to be compressed more...A LOT MORE. all the DYIs are switching to lowering springs which are much smaller. I borrowed 1 set of compressors as shown in the pic from O'Reillys and then had to get a second set as well. To get the spring compressed enough I had to use 4 compressors at one time! It was sooooo time consuming since all the screwing was done by hand using a torque wrench and a regular wrench (hand wrench used most of the time due to lack of *******. not to mention, a lot of trial and error...

after getting the car off the jacks it actually looked higher! but then it settled after some driving and the drop in the front looks great! it went from a 2 finger gap to about 1.25 fingers, sitting really nicely right above my huge 20" wheels. (pics coming tomorrow...it's 3am for me right now) i'm really happy with the turn out and i'm sure if i was a little more experienced it wouldn't have taken 2 days. $70 well spent!!!

Pics??

[swifty]

Originally Posted by medeiro

Pics??

^^

[CasperSYTFU]

Dump it and scrape... LIKE A BOSS.

I scrape on everything. Just get a new lip eventually if it gets bad but all the scrapes are to my lip, on the underside where it doesnt matter

Lower is better

[gaifaun]

How much is it if for the installation of spring perches? is it the cost of installing coilovers on the car?

[coh4777]

Originally Posted by gaifaun

How much is it if for the installation of spring perches? is it the cost of installing coilovers on the car?

$99 at Supreme, which is a lot lower than the cost of coilover install since coilovers involve more work and all 4 corners.

[cssnms]

Originally Posted by gaifaun

How much is it if for the installation of spring perches? is it the cost of installing coilovers on the car?

I just ordered a set from Supreme. Fortunately or unfortunately I am not on the west coast so I can't have Supreme install them for $99.

I called three local reputable shops that specialize in among other things BMW's and the cheapest install price I found was $150 and it ranged up to $250.