E46 Uneven Ride Height / Suspension

[semaj]

Hey guys,

I've had my E46 318i with sportpack (lowered suspension) for a few months now and shortly after I bought it I noticed that the right side of the car sits about 1 - 1.5cm lower that the left.

Initially I thought it might be due to accident damage so I took the wheels off to check things out and it all seems fine. Then I took it to a mech who said that the right side shocks were just weaker and more worn the left. Apparently he sees it often on E46's, and is nothing to worry about for now. Thankfully it has not resulted in any eneven tyre wear.

Either its just bugging me more or it seems to slowly be getting worse.

I'm not sure if I buy the fact that one side's shocks wears quicker than the other. Have any of you guys experienced this?

Should I use this as an opportunity to upgrade my suspension? What are my options?

 

[freerider]

I have never heard of this before. Are you sure that one of the coils isnt broken, or maybe seated incorrectly?

 

[BimmerMan]

Ive got the same thing on my E38...the right side is about 1cm lower than the left side. As far as I can tell, nothing is wrong at all with the suspension. All I came up with is that, over time, the right side gets more abuse due to the extra weight of the driver...so that causes the shocks/suspension to wear a fraction more than the passenger side...

 

[calypso]

How much do you weigh?

 

[semaj]

Thanks for the replies.

I have never heard of this before. Are you sure that one of the coils isnt broken, or maybe seated incorrectly?

As far as I can see they are fine but I am unfamiliar with suspension problems, how can I tell if a coil is broken or seated incorrectly?

I've heard that the OEM shock mounts on E46's can be a weak point but they also look fine and I'm not sure if this is a symptom?

Ive got the same thing on my E38...the right side is about 1cm lower than the left side. As far as I can tell, nothing is wrong at all with the suspension. All I came up with is that, over time, the right side gets more abuse due to the extra weight of the driver...so that causes the shocks/suspension to wear a fraction more than the passenger side...

Well that's pretty much what my mech said and hopefully thats the case so I can just replace my suspension when I have the cash and solve the prob.

I'll pop into Supa Quick this week and see what they say.

---

How much do you weigh?

Haha I thought 80kg was normal but apparently not if I'm straining my poor car's suspension

 

[blaze94]

I get that as well in the E36. A heifer used to own the car.

 

[Mike1]

Dont fret about the suspension being slightly out...

Check any car and you will see it isnt exact. Our GTI is 1.5cm higher on the left rear wheel to the rest of wheels and my Ford bakkie is hugely out.

It doesnt make much of a difference...

 

[zaleonardz]

I have the same issue on the E34, but mine is front and back, it is clear that the car was used for a lot of towing, meaning that the springs are worn, and the back is considerably lower then the front, looks crap actually, although a set of H&R will fix that right up...

 

[BimmerMan]

How much do you weigh?

Judging from the way my seat has flattened out, I would also suppose that somewhere down the cars life there was a rather 'large' owner sitting in it! I weigh about 70kg, so cant be me

 

[Jandre]

My colt double cab also rode slightly lower on the right side. I had it since day one, and it was like that from the start.

 

[RR Booi]

Hi

Also have a similar issue on my E46 318i , car just did service and I told BMW to check it up , ws told that it does occur but is within acceptable tolerance levels. So its not something that I should be worried about.

 

[AlpinaB3]

I first noticed this phenomenon when I parked my E46 M3 CSL next to my friend's M3 CSL. My E92 M3 is also not equal in front, although the two rear sides are pretty equal. When I put the E92 M3 on scales, the corner weights are a bit out when I sit in the driver seat but the corner weights are virtually perfect when I sit in the front passenger seat. This leads me to believe that BMW optimizes the corner weights for lefthand drive cars by playing around a bit with the ride heights.

Bottom line semaj, I don't think that you've got anything to worry about.

 

[veridico]

The height adjusments started with the e36, the standard e36 came out with the right side slightly lower than the left, so when the driver sat in the vehicle, it would be even ride height, sadly they never adjusted it for RHD.

 

[BimmerMan]

I can definately see this happening on the M cars, but not the standard E46 etc...

Have you got any documents that can back up what you are saying? It sounds strange that BMW would do this, because as soon as you get a passanger, it screws up the suspension geometry again? In the BMW TIS, there is also no mention of this when checking the ride height...(nothing about the left side being lower than the right by design)...

It also does not make sense that they would not adjust this for the RHD market. A large portion of BMW's market is right hand drive, so it seems unlikely that they would not change it?

 

[fismail]

Uneven height but 1cm is nothing unusual. Due to the roam & camber settings in ZA. Only coilovers will allow you to sort this out. Take out the RF and LF spring & compare the coils and what not. They both will match. Takethe car to a reputable alignment shop to get another opinion or goto a suspension specialist.

 

[semaj]

Yup it seems I must either get used to it or part with a lot of cash. I've taken it to a few places and they've all said there is nothing wrong. In fact when Speedy put it on the suspension machine the shocks on the lower side were actually stronger and had more life in them?

 

[Tlvivo]

Aha!!! well before i took my car in for a custom drop they measured the car and the left is higher than the right this was with standard suspension... When the car is driving you will hardly notice this and on my car even when parked you will not notice unless you look carefully.

Nothing to worry about...

 

[320 ice]

The height adjusments started with the e36, the standard e36 came out with the right side slightly lower than the left, so when the driver sat in the vehicle, it would be even ride height, sadly they never adjusted it for RHD.

That is exactly what my Mechanic in Cape Town told me, and it does make sense after checking a few other BMW's with a ruler.:thumbsup:

 

[///MOS1TED]

The height adjusments started with the e36, the standard e36 came out with the right side slightly lower than the left, so when the driver sat in the vehicle, it would be even ride height, sadly they never adjusted it for RHD.

100% correct , my mate at Beemer told me the same thing.

:thumbsup: