Project: 2014 328i xDrive Wagon F31

[Steve85]

I was mistaken on the tires, they are actually Pilot Sport A/S, the tread pattern doesn't look very A/S though.

As Justin is doing now, I've spent a lot of time going through pics and stories on the interwebs to decide what springs to go with and settled on Dinan. I don't want to hate the ride, put the shocks under additional stress, or take away from being able to load it up and still ride OK. Dinan and ACS are very similar and I chose Dinan since I will also go with their shortened bump stops and at some point their adaptive shock software and wanted a cohesive system. Plus Dinan points, yay!

I also wanted to address the stock wheel inset which gets more noticeable when lowered so I picked up some Macht Schnell spacers and extended bolts off the forums. They are 12 and 15mm, for Front / Rear. 

Before inset pic of rear:


 

Springs will be here next week, maybe I'll throw the spacers on in the meantime since it will still be a couple weeks before I get the springs on.

[JustinG]

I just realized I'm a little late, but make sure the Dinan work. I've seen some info saying you'll get rear sag with the Dinan springs cause they aren't built for the touring? This was an issue with the WRX wagons and foresters using sedan springs. Resolution was a "saggy butt spacer" not sure if something like this exists for a bmw

[Steve85]

Hmm...I just went back to the Dinan site, put the model info in (including wagon body style) and selected "suspension tuning" category and the "D100-0911" springs come up, the ones I ordered. Check this shit out though, it drops the "wagon" body style to show those springs as an option. When I put "wagon" back in, you lose the springs as a listing. Dafuq? Didn't notice it doing that before, shit.

I've been reading a lot of Dinan vs H&R vs ACS stuff and never came across mention of the sag. Need to look into this more...

[Apoc]

He coulda saved your ass, but he was too busy posting about a car he doesn't even have yet. LAME.

[.RJ]

Hmm...I just went back to the Dinan site, put the model info in (including wagon body style) and selected "suspension tuning" category and the "D100-0911" springs come up, the ones I ordered. Check this shit out though, it drops the "wagon" body style to show those springs as an option. When I put "wagon" back in, you lose the springs as a listing. Dafuq? Didn't notice it doing that before, shit.

I've been reading a lot of Dinan vs H&R vs ACS stuff and never came across mention of the sag. Need to look into this more...

The wagons have more spring rate in the rear.

[Steve85]

I got the front splitter installed, pretty simple install. All the hardware and holes are there, just need to be careful with the push pins to be able to reuse. I have a Cornwell panel popper set that came in handy.

The splitter comes as essentially two separate pieces, the inner structure that gives it some strength and attaches to the bumper and the fangs and lower lip outer skin. I got mine from BavAuto, more $$ than the eBay versions but less than OEM. It's a quality piece (as much as ABS plastic can be) and I'm happy with it.

It comes with strips of double sided tape that help hold the skin to the structure and the fangs to the bumper. The tape on mine was not very wide and pretty weak but there are also ten screws that hold the two pieces together, I'm not even sure why that tape is there. It did hurt a little on the right side though, the fang is not as snug against the bumper as I'd like. I'll remove the bumper attachment hardware, pull it out some, put some better tape on and then make sure to push it on tight before securing again.

I kept it it matte even though I prefer the color matched lip with black fangs and I'm glad I did. The lip sticks out further than I thought and I am bound to catch it on something especially after it's lowered.

I also installed my spacers which helped a lot in a subtle way. It looks overall a little tighter with the wheels pushed out to align with the fenders.

Some updated pics before I cleaned it up for the show...and then took the other car.

Hardware for attaching the structure to skin: (oh, that's my tool box, not the car it's sitting on)


I had a feeling this tape wouldn't really cut it:


Used a screwdriver to spread these clips so I could slide them on:


Rear before spacer:


Rears pushed out to fender: (fronts are about the same)




Getting there...

[JustinG]

Yesssssssssss

[Apoc]

Oh those spacers are niiiiiiiice.

I will only modify one car at a time.
I will only modify one car at a time.
I will only modify one car at a time.

[ScottyB]

how does stuff that minor make such a huge difference? i'm both confused and love it. well played sir.

[JustinG]

I'm gonna try and throw the springs on this weekend. I have a feeling I'll be ordering spacers shortly after.


Now, where to find a decent set of E sockets.

[GTBrandon]

I remember shopping for springs with the GT, everybody had a different opinion on whether I could use the regular F30 springs, or if I needed the 4GC springs, or if it was just flat out impossible. So I’d say just buy them new and send it so if they don’t fit or ride right, you can return them.

Bummed I couldn’t see it at the show but I enjoyed the vette a tad more anyways [emoji6]

Also please get those IND side reflector deletes, they are such an eye sore

[JPolen01]

This is great

[Senor_Taylor]

These cars look so much better in person.

[Sully]

I'm gonna try and throw the springs on this weekend. I have a feeling I'll be ordering spacers shortly after.


Now, where to find a decent set of E sockets.

Might not be decent but harbor freight had e sockets that worked well enough for the CV axles on my M

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[Steve85]

how does stuff that minor make such a huge difference?  i'm both confused and love it.  well played sir.

Yeah, right? And it's funny, because you can just as quickly ruin it. (And I mean that for a lot of modern cars that already come with really nice enhanced packages)

spacers

They come up for sale all the time. These are 12(fr) and 15(rr) and I would say even a set of 10s or 12s would be enough to have the impact. Apparently the inset does become more noticeable after lowering. 

I went to college so I could mod two cars at once.

[Apoc]

Yeah... but my F31 is my third car. 

[Steve85]

Yeah... but my F31 is my third car. 

Alright, Porsche duckbill spoiler waiver granted.

---

Turns out the rear tires were in worse shape than I thought and seemed to take an accelerated nose dive ove the last 6K miles of life. I need to check the date codes, but I wouldn't be surprised if these are original tires, Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. The fronts are getting to the wear bars and show signs of just being older.

I went to Costco a couple weeks ago to order the updated A/S 3+ and they told me to wait if I could, as a Michelin special was on the horizon. I ordered earlier this week and it was $214 ea for the rear (255/40/18) and $184 ea for the front (225/45/18), less $70 rebate for buying 4 tires and free installation ($60).

I decided to stick with A/S since they give that extra bit of margin in the rain and low temps and last a lot longer than pure summers. 

And so pissed...it looks like I missed out on a set of barely used ACS springs by a couple hours.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Yeah... but my F31 is my third car. 

Dude I don’t know how you mod 3 cars at a time. I couldn’t imagine installing black badges and calling up a body shop in one month’s time!

[JPolen01]

Dude I don’t know how you mod 3 cars at a time. I couldn’t imagine installing black badges and calling up a body shop in one month’s time!

He went to college so he didn't actually have to mod them himself

[D_Eclipse9916]

Dude I don’t know how you mod 3 cars at a time. I couldn’t imagine installing black badges and calling up a body shop in one month’s time!

He went to college so he didn't actually have to mod them himself

I’m just busting his balls. We all got shit going on, I bet I would have more free time if stopped having car add and crashing too.