Rear suspension-ride height

[RubbishFettler]

Some advise please gents- I'm having the rear suspension checked on my 350i as I noticed the offside rear is riding lower than the nearside.I don't know whether it has suddenly dropped, or if it is something which has always been there and I haven't noticed. The nearside ride height is currently 660mm from the wheel arch and the offside is 640mm. I know there can sometimes be a difference between sides, but this seems a lot. I can't see anything broken, but if it turns out I need to replace springs/shocks, my question is if I raised the ride height a little to avoid speed humps and rough roads in my area, would this upset the handling in any way. I don't do track days, just road use. This isn't something i have much experience in, so your thoughts would be appreciated.

Steve

[pk500]

Measure from the floor to the chassis ! Some times it's due to the body dropping !

[RubbishFettler]

Yes I thought of that to be honest, but I am struggling to scrabble underneath the car at the moment, so that is on the list to check when it's on the ramp next week.

[wedged up]

Mine to is the same & I also can see no reason why ! I am about to change my suspension!

[RubbishFettler]

And what do you think about increasing the ride height slightly to improve clearance?

[v8s4me]

RubbishFettler said:

And what do you think about increasing the ride height slightly to improve clearance?

What size tyres are you running? If you're on 205/55 and go to 205/60 it will give you an additional 10.25mm in ride height. You can use this calculator to work it out for yourself

[wedged up]

Do you mean raising it on one side only ?

[RubbishFettler]

Sorry No, I meant that if I needed to renew the suspension because the in-balance is owing to worn springs etc,would it be worth fitting slightly longer springs or adjustable units to raise the rear ride height a little overall to improve ground clearance, or would this upset handling in any way.

[rev-erend]

If your shocks or springs are anywhere near needing replacing it would be worth fitting Gas Golds as the ride heights are adjustable.

[Yatesy350i]

My 350i is about the same as yours 20mm ish more gap on the near side. I think quite a few are?

[RubbishFettler]

I'm amazed at that. I'll have the system checked over on a ramp anyway and take it from there

Cheers

Steve

[gmw9666]

Legend has it the chassis out the factory was not true meaning a lop sided wedge is quite common

Out of the wedges I've had the off side front tends to be lower meaning to near side rear also a tad higher

IMHO there is no one rule fits all when it comes to right height

[adam quantrill]

My 400SX was a bit droopy on the nearside rear. This was a bit strange as my lardy arse is on the offside most of the time....

it was also rubbing more on that side in the wheelarch when I fitted 245's.

So I loosened the body mountings, jacked up under the shell, and inserted some extra packing.

[RubbishFettler]

Yes the more I read this does not seem to be at all uncommon. I guess once you've noticed it, your eye is always drawn to it-very annoying. Just out of interest, what did you use for packing Adam?

[pk500]

RubbishFettler said:

Yes the more I read this does not seem to be at all uncommon. I guess once you've noticed it, your eye is always drawn to it-very annoying. Just out of interest, what did you use for packing Adam?

Rubber blocks !

[adam quantrill]

I tried shoving more rubber in but it was hard to get in, so I used some hard sheeting, I reckoned the existing rubber was enough for taking up the slack. It only needed 4mm or so.

[RubbishFettler]

Thanks

[RubbishFettler]

The suspension has checked out fine, it does look like the body needs repacking.Can you tell me which mounting bolts had to be loosened to carry out the work?