Hi, I've got an E36 saloon (1995) And I think the rear springs are sagging as the wheel arches do seem to hang low over the rear wheels. The drivers side seems to be worse than the passenger.
Has anyone else had experience of this? Does anyone have a way of checking how I can check the ride height?
Cheers
Mark
E36s seem to break rear springs quite easily. I'd suspect that.
You check the ride height by measuring the distance from the rim at the bottom to the fender opening. The measurement you get is dependent upon the rims size. The following specs are in mm (inches).
FRONT
15 576 (22.76) 16 589 (23.19) 17 604 (23.77)REAR
15 518 (22.39) 16 531 (20.91) 17 546 (21.69)You should note that the dimensions getting larger do not translate to the fender openings being higher from the ground. As the rims get larger, the distance from the bottom of the arc or the rim to the top of the arc of the fender opening becomes larger, but the distance from the fender to the ground will remain more or less constant. The tires will play a role in the distance from the ground to the fender, this is why the measuerment is taken from the rim to the fender.
Hey, lots of people pay big money to get that low-down look. Though, generally they prefer it to be even side to side and front to back.
It isn't all that tough. Grab a tape-measure and measure from the wheel arch to the ground. It should be roughly the same on both sides.
-Fred W
Why not measure from the wheel centre to the rim????
Springs do sag over time but also the rubber spring mounts/spacers also deteriorate.
I can't address the topic of where to take the measurements from, all I can do is describe the specs printed in the manual. These specs require one to take his measurements from the lip of the rim at its lowest point to the fender opening at its highest point.
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