Lowered cars (not necessarily E46): dry sump

[Hermes]

I live on many sites and see many different issues that exist with lowering your car. The most important (although not necessarily an E46 issue) is clearance for your oil pan.

The most common posting of this issue seems to be with the E30 guys as they have front pans. It is an issue as that is the last BMW that used that setup. You don't hear much from 02/E3/E9/E12 as there aren't as many of them.

I assume many of you have E30 longings, I do as well but I haven't found the right car to build yet. I would like to state my opinion even though it may not be agreed upon by most, but I know some of you will be on my side.

If your car is seriously low enough where clearance is an issue then your oil pan is extremely important to complete car health. A mere skid plate does not solve these issues, it just is an attempt to prevent bigger issues.

If you honestly wish to extend R.I.C.E. mods to your car, the most import one to deal with is dry sump lubrication. Coilovers, aero, widebody, adjustable toe, etc., are all nice but if your engine is dead then all your other mods are null and void.



Yes, stance seems to be the thing right now. It didn't used to be to this extent. Lowering your car was always in the mix, but unless you were a lowrider you didn't 'lay frame' (as the phrase used to be). At least those guys use airbags or hydraulics to be able to clear obstacles.

Sorry, I'm old(er) and am getting quite annoyed by those who have issues with their lowered cars.

If you wish to have a car that low please think of all possible issues before dumping your car to the ground. Yes, it looks good. No, it's not worth all the new regular maintenance that is required because you didn't upgrade everything else to deal with your new ride height.

You have to pay to play...

Willing to listen to all your comments, but honestly it will be hard to convince me that race based modifications belong on street cars if you don't go all out on your mods.

[wertyu78]

I'm not a fan of slammed cars, but I thoroughly enjoy a properly "stanced" car; albeit being functionally low, or agressive looking.

This is stupid:



However, this is nice:




Personally speaking, I go for an aggressive look:





To each their own. I will (with an open mind) appreciate other individuals hard work, but I agree with you JP, slammed is dumb.

[Hermes]

Wyatt - I totally agree. I appreciate others projects but sometimes I have issues with how the build was done. Full on 'stance' is something that has confused me since most of those who do this do not remedy all issues.

For example, my E21 is lowered but not stanced



Stock wheel gap for reference



Just trying to point out for those who don't understand: if you want to go THAT low there at other issues to think of besides rubbing

[tkundhi]

JP, I agree that too many people head down the "upgrade" path without understanding the consequences. I like a lowered car. But in my opinion many are way too low.

I'm also old(er) and also try to keep an open mind. It is their car and they have the right to do want they want. My issue is when they profess their setup is the best and blindly suggest it to everyone.

For example, lowering a car will not automatically make it handle better. Sure a lower center of gravity helps but what about the spring rates, damping, total suspension travel. I've seen cars lowered that are riding on their bump stops. And the owners wonder why the handling sucks. They assume that lower is better and stiffer springs are better. But the setup has no suspension travel so nothing really works the way it is suppose too.

Overall I really try to keep an open mind. Each to his own. But some of the slammed cars with their stretched tires leave me scratching my head.

t.

[Hermes]

Thanks Tarun!

Yes everybody has the right to modify their car as they wish, just trying to preemptively make sure those who plan mods make sure everything is thought out.

You helped express what I wasn't able to. There are many other things to think about besides spring rates, valving, suspension angles.

I will freely admit that the suspensions we see in our cars were designed for daily drivability and not looks.

The point in trying to make is please think of ALL the possible other issues that may come into play when you decide to go that low with your car.

If you wish to go down the upgrade path please think of all the issues you may need to face.

[Fenrir]

Wow I didn't know that was an issue with the E30's. I Learn something new every time I log in lol.

[cakM3]

I'm not a fan of slammed cars, but I thoroughly enjoy a properly "stanced" car; albeit being functionally low, or agressive looking.

This is stupid:

I agree Wyatt that this is stupid...well "not functional" from a performance perspective. From my point of view, this is more of an example of looks over function. Even though the owner chooses to do this and there may be others here who desire to dump their cars in this fashion, that does not mean you or I have to.

However, this is nice:

I really love this look, especially on sedans. Lowered BMWs, not slammed, show presence and to me they look so sick

To each their own. I will (with an open mind) appreciate other individuals hard work, but I agree with you JP, slammed is dumb.

I have to say Wyatt posted several good examples and Tarun completed it by posting below several good thoughtful points for discussion... well done guys!

JP, I agree that too many people head down the "upgrade" path without understanding the consequences. I like a lowered car. But in my opinion many are way too low.

I'm also old(er) and also try to keep an open mind. It is their car and they have the right to do want they want. My issue is when they profess their setup is the best and blindly suggest it to everyone.

For example, lowering a car will not automatically make it handle better. Sure a lower center of gravity helps but what about the spring rates, damping, total suspension travel. I've seen cars lowered that are riding on their bump stops. And the owners wonder why the handling sucks. They assume that lower is better and stiffer springs are better. But the setup has no suspension travel so nothing really works the way it is suppose too.

Overall I really try to keep an open mind. Each to his own. But some of the slammed cars with their stretched tires leave me scratching my head.

t.

I myself am not a fan of slammed/dumped cars but I do like the lowered ride look and feel. I get comments from people many times up here in New England how am I able to drive my cars on the roads we have up here.... I tell them I'm much more observant of the roads now that my cars are lowered and drive slower, especially when driving down the roads of Boston which I did this weekend... See my damaged Arqray lip... being low does have some disadvantages like hitting chunks of ice during winter driving.....all part of going low. I will be replacing my Arqray lip come spring (hear that Ray???)

Now my cars are set up like this...








I put these pictures up as an example of how low I have both of my cars set up. I realize this is not for everyone and that's okay. I didn't cut my springs to lower my car nor did I bend any suspension components to get this low. I upgraded my suspension so that I could set it up this way without compromising anything....

I have personally seen others who have "modified" their existing suspension components to get that "slammed look" then wonder why their rear subframes tore miserably, or why their suspension has so many issues. (smh)

As JP and others have eluded...there is a right way to set up your car if you want to go low. One forum member has airbag suspension and I'm quite confident that his suspension is set up perfectly because everything he has done has been done absolutely right. I think for those who want to modify their suspension I would recommend doing your research, ask people how they have their suspension set up and then decide which course you want to go. I know if I decided to track my cars, my suspension would be raised a little over it's current ride height. For now I'm going for looks without compromising way too much on performance. It's the fine balance between looks and performance that I'm going for with both cars

[Hornung418]

#FrameNotch

Sent from my GS3.

[derbo]

I live on many sites and see many different issues that exist with lowering your car. The most important (although not necessarily an E46 issue) is clearance for your oil pan.

The most common posting of this issue seems to be with the E30 guys as they have front pans. It is an issue as that is the last BMW that used that setup. You don't hear much from 02/E3/E9/E12 as there aren't as many of them.

I assume many of you have E30 longings, I do as well but I haven't found the right car to build yet. I would like to state my opinion even though it may not be agreed upon by most, but I know some of you will be on my side.

If your car is seriously low enough where clearance is an issue then your oil pan is extremely important to complete car health. A mere skid plate does not solve these issues, it just is an attempt to prevent bigger issues.

If you honestly wish to extend R.I.C.E. mods to your car, the most import one to deal with is dry sump lubrication. Coilovers, aero, widebody, adjustable toe, etc., are all nice but if your engine is dead then all your other mods are null and void.

[IMG]http://cdn.nexternal.com/vacmotors/images/s65dSK_600.jpg[/IMG

Yes, stance seems to be the thing right now. It didn't used to be to this extent. Lowering your car was always in the mix, but unless you were a lowrider you didn't 'lay frame' (as the phrase used to be). At least those guys use airbags or hydraulics to be able to clear obstacles.

Sorry, I'm old(er) and am getting quite annoyed by those who have issues with their lowered cars.

If you wish to have a car that low please think of all possible issues before dumping your car to the ground. Yes, it looks good. No, it's not worth all the new regular maintenance that is required because you didn't upgrade everything else to deal with your new ride height.

You have to pay to play...

Willing to listen to all your comments, but honestly it will be hard to convince me that race based modifications belong on street cars if you don't go all out on your mods.

Race based modifications do not belong on street cars. I agree with you. A dry sump modification is definitely not necessary on a E46 but it's possible modification for an E30. JP, my gf's E30 has a skidplate but its not lowered dramatically. It's only installed because the M50 sits a little lower and we wouldn't want something on the freeway to destroy it.

I've started to raise my car last year cause I was running into too many rubbing issues and I'm tired of it. I don't care about wheel gap as much as I did when I was younger but I definitely still like less than an inch of wheel gap.

Personally speaking, I go for an aggressive look:

Kalim's car is . He does rub due to the aggressive offset but he doesn't track it so it's whatever.

[Hermes]

#FrameNotch

Sent from my GS3.

Not cheap when done right



Same point I'm trying to make. Please think everything out. It takes a lot of work to make a lowered car ride correctly