[macming]

I picked up a set of Ohlins for my E46 M3, and I recently just did my first track day with them.

Overall, the new shocks handle AMAZING. My only issue is that the front ride height is very tall. Normally, the optimum ride height is 13.5"F / 13.0"R (fender to center of wheel cap) for E46 M3s, and my car is at 14 1/4" F/12 7/8" R. Is this much negative rake bad for handling?

I have removed the helper spring, and the front springs are as low is it'll go. The rears are as high as possible.

At the current ride height, the front strut has 3 ~ 4" travel left with the existing 160-60-100 springs. Vorschlag has some 5.5" (140mm tall) 650lb/in hyper coil springs that I'm thinking of picking up. That will drop the car to the ideal 13.5" up front.

My wife occasionally drives the car, so I'd prefer if the front end isn't too low.
These pictures are right after the install, and the ride height has settled somewhat.

Thanks,

Ming

[macming]

Just an update. I ended up with a set of 5.5" 550lb Hypercoil springs. I installed the fronts last night, and went out for a spin. After a quick drive, the front is now at 13.4". The ride is super comfortable and the car is still very composed over corners. During installation, I verified that there is about 2" of unused travel with the front strut, so as long as I don't have coil bind, there shouldn't be ANY negative impact on handling

After I get my brakes setup, I'm going to look into GC roll bars (maybe I'll just start with fronts).

Ming

A few pictures from today:

[jmciver]

Well I am not an expert on this by any means, but when I installed my JRZ RS shocks, I had a shop (RRT here in NoVA) corner balance and adjust the ride height to one that was optimized for the track, but still civil on the street (i.e. will not scrape or bottom out on every bump and driveway).

The ride height in your second set of pics looks pretty close to mine, but the rear seams a bit low (at least compared to mine). I was very pleased with how my suspension (including ride height) performed at the track. And having driven my car on the street some now, the ride height is just about perfect for me.

I will post some pics when I get a chance for a comparison (it is dark now). As a comparison, I also have Hyperco springs, 500F (7") and 650 R (6").

[macming]

Thanks for the info! I started a thread on Bimmerforums and James from RRT actually helped me out with the setup. If I had a shop similar caliber of RRT, I'd have no issues bringing it to them. My opinion on corner balancing is that it's most useful for a race car. When you can shift weight distribution around with ballst, it totally makes sense.

For average drivers like us, I really doubt we'll notice the difference even at the track.

James gave me some starting alignment spec as well, and I'll be changing the alignment for the street and track (no sense shooting fora compromise IMO

Please do post some pictures when you get a chance; I'd like to see how the car looks on JRZs.

PS I have a set of Ohlins Sportlines on my car, and they originally came from RRT.

Originally Posted by jmciver

Well I am not an expert on this by any means, but when I installed my JRZ RS shocks, I had a shop (RRT here in NoVA) corner balance and adjust the ride height to one that was optimized for the track, but still civil on the street (i.e. will not scrape or bottom out on every bump and driveway).

The ride height in your second set of pics looks pretty close to mine, but the rear seams a bit low (at least compared to mine). I was very pleased with how my suspension (including ride height) performed at the track. And having driven my car on the street some now, the ride height is just about perfect for me.

I will post some pics when I get a chance for a comparison (it is dark now). As a comparison, I also have Hyperco springs, 500F (7") and 650 R (6").

[jmciver]

Actually, you would be surprised at how noticeable corner balancing can be, even for average drivers like us . When I first did it on my E36 M3, I was amazed at how much better the car handled, and the fact that I could tell even with my limited experience at the time. With a really capable suspension, such as yours, corner balancing allows you to really take full advantage of it.

[duvinclunk]

Originally Posted by jmciver

Actually, you would be surprised at how noticeable corner balancing can be, even for average drivers like us . When I first did it on my E36 M3, I was amazed at how much better the car handled, and the fact that I could tell even with my limited experience at the time. With a really capable suspension, such as yours, corner balancing allows you to really take full advantage of it.

[jmciver]

Here are a few quick shots of my car on the JRZ RS shocks. These are my street/rain tires, but they are the same size as my track setup (275/35-18) and the alignment (camber, etc.) is the same for the track as well (I don't change it for the street). The wheels are Apex ARC-8 18x9.5 ET22.

[duvinclunk]

jmciver, do those coils have the ability to go lower?

[jmciver]

Sure. But I would have to put shorter springs in the rear since the rear is actually as low as it can go now (but it is at the height that I want).

[PerkM3]

I have 5" front and 8" rear srpings on my motons and my hieght adjusters sit perfectly in the middle with a ride height of 13" front and rear.