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M2 Technical Topics > Suspension | Brakes | Chassis > Which Lowering Spring should be fitted with spacers?

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      09-18-2018, 10:49 AM   #1
houtiiiii
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Which Lowering Spring should be fitted with spacers?

Hey guys, i have '17 LBB M2. I have 12mm H&R spacers up front and 10mm at the back and an pretty happy with the outcome. I've recently decided to get lowering springs, as i dont know which might be the best for my case, as i dont want any rub. It would be great if you guys could provide me with some info on what i should get and how much to drop the car.

245/35/19 front
275/35/19 back
Stock rims

Thank you!
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      09-19-2018, 02:42 PM   #2
BruceM
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I have the same size spacers front and rear, and I'm dropped 25mm all round on H&R springs, without rub on stock rims. But I think my fronts are 265. I'm busy burnin' them up to go to a different make and width...
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      09-21-2018, 08:41 AM   #3
DCrew
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Before you fit spacers, I suggest you learn exactly how they might affect your car. I understand the cosmetic advantages, but the suspension and steering geometry are altered significantly by spacers. Engineering Explained is a Youtube channel that has an excellent discussion that anyone considering spacers should watch. It's not nearly as simple as you may think.



Cosmetics are important, but presumably a big consideration in buying this car is handling. But everyone has his/her own priorities.
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      09-21-2018, 08:46 AM   #4
K9GunSlinger
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DCrew View Post
Before you fit spacers, I suggest you learn exactly how they might affect your car. I understand the cosmetic advantages, but the suspension and steering geometry are altered significantly by spacers. Engineering Explained is a Youtube channel that has an excellent discussion that anyone considering spacers should watch. It's not nearly as simple as you may think.



Cosmetics are important, but presumably a big consideration in buying this car is handling. But everyone has his/her own priorities.

Complete understand, so is it saying that handling is changed negatively? It’s just weird, or maybe not weird but a bit funny because the wheel spacer vendors are advertising it as IMPROVE handling with the spacers because of the wider stance blah blah blah. Can anyone that’s pretty knowledgeable on spacers and how it affects handling for our cars speak on it? Thanks!
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      09-21-2018, 09:07 AM   #5
DCrew
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In my view, there are many popular mods that could have been incorporated in the original design of the car at negligible cost if it made the car better. I am skeptical that mods of this sort come without negative effects that were taken into account when the car was designed. It's hard to imagine BMW engineers seeing spacer advertisements and saying, "Why didn't I think of that??". Seems best to go in with your eyes open, but I'm not an engineer.
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      09-21-2018, 09:09 AM   #6
houtiiiii
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Quote:
Originally Posted by K9GunSlinger View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by DCrew View Post
Before you fit spacers, I suggest you learn exactly how they might affect your car. I understand the cosmetic advantages, but the suspension and steering geometry are altered significantly by spacers. Engineering Explained is a Youtube channel that has an excellent discussion that anyone considering spacers should watch. It's not nearly as simple as you may think.



Cosmetics are important, but presumably a big consideration in buying this car is handling. But everyone has his/her own priorities.

Complete understand, so is it saying that handling is changed negatively? It’s just weird, or maybe not weird but a bit funny because the wheel spacer vendors are advertising it as IMPROVE handling with the spacers because of the wider stance blah blah blah. Can anyone that’s pretty knowledgeable on spacers and how it affects handling for our cars speak on it? Thanks!
I honestly felt the car is better on corners!
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      09-21-2018, 09:14 AM   #7
houtiiiii
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DCrew View Post
In my view, there are many popular mods that could have been incorporated in the original design of the car at negligible cost if it made the car better. I am skeptical that mods of this sort come without negative effects that were taken into account when the car was designed. It's hard to imagine BMW engineers seeing spacer advertisements and saying, "Why didn't I think of that??". Seems best to go in with your eyes open, but I'm not an engineer.
Wheel spacers, especially on the M2, does not affect the car so much cuz the car is already spaced out 5-15mm arent that big of a deal, relative to other cars where they have about 35mm spacers imo. But i understand where your coming from, it certainly somehow affects the car's geometry (diff, suspension) because of the different calibrations according to the cars width, but definitely doesn't harm the car in any way even on the long run.
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      09-24-2018, 06:57 PM   #8
eeyang92
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DCrew View Post
In my view, there are many popular mods that could have been incorporated in the original design of the car at negligible cost if it made the car better. I am skeptical that mods of this sort come without negative effects that were taken into account when the car was designed. It's hard to imagine BMW engineers seeing spacer advertisements and saying, "Why didn't I think of that??". Seems best to go in with your eyes open, but I'm not an engineer.
Engineers need to strike a balance between looks, performance and practicality. The risk with spacers is that it may rub on hard compression, which would look really bad on a completely stock car. They also need to leave some space in for other factors, like supporting two different types of tires (Contis vs. Michelin). That's why they leave it to the aftermarket.

And about the negative effects - 10mm spacers or so have a very minor effect on suspension geometry - it is increasing the effective force on the springs and other components, but realistically you won't feel the difference. The suspension components may wear out in 9 years instead of 10. If we're talking about huge spacers, then yes, that is a very valid concern.

The other main concern is improperly installed spacers can be disastrous, but IMO as long as you buy the correct hub-centric spacers with correct length lugs (and torque properly) then it's no more dangerous than taking your wheels off and on.
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      09-28-2018, 07:17 AM   #9
houtiiiii
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eeyang92 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by DCrew View Post
In my view, there are many popular mods that could have been incorporated in the original design of the car at negligible cost if it made the car better. I am skeptical that mods of this sort come without negative effects that were taken into account when the car was designed. It's hard to imagine BMW engineers seeing spacer advertisements and saying, "Why didn't I think of that??". Seems best to go in with your eyes open, but I'm not an engineer.
Engineers need to strike a balance between looks, performance and practicality. The risk with spacers is that it may rub on hard compression, which would look really bad on a completely stock car. They also need to leave some space in for other factors, like supporting two different types of tires (Contis vs. Michelin). That's why they leave it to the aftermarket.

And about the negative effects - 10mm spacers or so have a very minor effect on suspension geometry - it is increasing the effective force on the springs and other components, but realistically you won't feel the difference. The suspension components may wear out in 9 years instead of 10. If we're talking about huge spacers, then yes, that is a very valid concern.

The other main concern is improperly installed spacers can be disastrous, but IMO as long as you buy the correct hub-centric spacers with correct length lugs (and torque properly) then it's no more dangerous than taking your wheels off and on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eeyang92 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by DCrew View Post
In my view, there are many popular mods that could have been incorporated in the original design of the car at negligible cost if it made the car better. I am skeptical that mods of this sort come without negative effects that were taken into account when the car was designed. It's hard to imagine BMW engineers seeing spacer advertisements and saying, "Why didn't I think of that??". Seems best to go in with your eyes open, but I'm not an engineer.
Engineers need to strike a balance between looks, performance and practicality. The risk with spacers is that it may rub on hard compression, which would look really bad on a completely stock car. They also need to leave some space in for other factors, like supporting two different types of tires (Contis vs. Michelin). That's why they leave it to the aftermarket.

And about the negative effects - 10mm spacers or so have a very minor effect on suspension geometry - it is increasing the effective force on the springs and other components, but realistically you won't feel the difference. The suspension components may wear out in 9 years instead of 10. If we're talking about huge spacers, then yes, that is a very valid concern.

The other main concern is improperly installed spacers can be disastrous, but IMO as long as you buy the correct hub-centric spacers with correct length lugs (and torque properly) then it's no more dangerous than taking your wheels off and on.
Agreed
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