Lowering Springs Comparisons

filip00

About 10 years ago I had a 525i that was few inches of the ground - whole car. I know very well how to recognize suspicious ramps and how to go diagonally in order to minimize scraping, don't worry. Plus, I believe it's really common sense not to go straight whenever you're clearing such obstacles. So yes, I do go at an angle, 45° if possible.

2string1

According to OptionZero, "It a you problem, stop driving like an idiot". I disagree with him, I had the same problem.

filip00

I don't want to sound like an *******, but that's just an idiotic approach.
I'm not saying I'm the best driver on the road, but I've long ago memorized every pothole and bump in the road, if not for driving a car, it's because I do a lot of road cycling.

Regarding driving style, I'm a normal driver, keeping the speed limit, not doing anything crazy. Our roads in Slovenia are OK, I'd even go so far as to say they're not bad at all actually. I went over the speed bumps as well, if I stop the car and go very easy - no scraping. I did notice on some that I get the "front spat flap" scrape (not sure if that's the correct name of that part) - and there I have just 3 inches of clearance. So my first question is - can I just remove them, is there any specific function to it?

Otherwise I'll go to the garage todaay and measure clearance all around (bumper lip, front spat, sideskirts, engine undertray, exhaust pipes which go around the diff). I already checked the "usual" clearances for various other cars which are supposed to be fairly usable so that I'll know whether I'm in the idioticly low zone or I'm still in the somewhat normal zone.

I still have concerns about rubbing if I want to put spacers all around. The rear looks like it could handle 15-20mm spacers, but in the front the wheel arch plastics seem like they are just super close to the wheel - I can't imagine not scraping it in case of bottoming out (or just being close to bottoming out).

cooltoy

Sounds like you need an air suspension.

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SeeThruHead

there's no reason to remove those spats. Just let them scrape. They give you an audible cue for places to avoid. Either they will wear down over time, or you'll learn to drive in a way that doesn't scrape them.
Grabbing a dremel and removing them won't hurt anything, but again, there's not much reason to remove them.

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filip00

I went for a more spirited drive today to see what it's like to push these springs a bit and how the car will behave. I reckoned this will be the make it or break it drive.

I must say I like it. Some facts that I may forgotten to add previously:
-After the installation, the front wheels got a negative camber of -1.5° as opposed to stock 0° camber. Handling is definitely better.
-Springs are 10% stiffer than stock. When braking hard, the car doesn't dip the front nearly as much as with the stock springs.
-Cornering is nice and flat, very happy with it.
-Scraping with spats and the front lip happens regardless of the angle at some ramps I must clear, but I guess I'll live with it. I checked how flexible they are and the front spats are even more flexible than the front lip so I will definitely leave them on and let them scrape.

Thanks a lot for the input guys

The next question now is...spacers I think I'll go only with 20mm in the back, as the front seems impossible to fit spacers and allow any room for shocks to actually work.

EDIT: I went ahead and put 20mm spacers front and back, works like a charm. More in my topic: My 370z "unicorn"