[miker2013]

i took my koni yellows off to adjust the rebound damping

as i was reinstalling them, i noticed that once the bottom of the shock is reseated in the lower mount (and i compress the shock a little) the top of the shock does not want to go into the upper mount into the trunk opening... its almost as if i have to push the shock towards the interior of the wheel well to get it to fit, if you know what i mean

do i have to compress the suspension a little to install it?

thanks

[bbnks2]

Originally Posted by miker2013

i took my koni yellows off to adjust the rebound damping

as i was reinstalling them, i noticed that once the bottom of the shock is reseated in the lower mount (and i compress the shock a little) the top of the shock does not want to go into the upper mount into the trunk opening... its almost as if i have to push the shock towards the interior of the wheel well to get it to fit, if you know what i mean

do i have to compress the suspension a little to install it?

thanks

This is due to suspension kinematics... The wheel moves in a slight ARC as it goes through its motion. At full droop there is more angle on the strut mounts which is why you are seeing a misalignment.

You can try jacking the wheel up to lessen the misalignment, but, that probably won't help much... then you'll be fighting to keep the strut compressed before you can get it into the upper mount.

I usually do the upper mount first... Then I Jack the wheel UP to meet the strut. At the same time I am pushing the lower section of the strut TOWARD THE CAR until it pops through the lower mount hole... Having the wheel jacked up at this point adds tension which keeps the strut from spinning when you try to torque the bottom nut. I usually have to put the car on the ground to get the final torque.

Basically, it's normal. M3 lower mount conversion would help with this articulation issue and added stiction in the strut. Or, you can look into using Turners new mono ball lower mounts. Expensive but nice pieces.

[miker2013]

thanks that helped... got one side done and working on the other now

Originally Posted by bbnks2

This is due to suspension kinematics... The wheel moves in a slight ARC as it goes through its motion. At full droop there is more angle on the strut mounts which is why you are seeing a misalignment.

You can try jacking the wheel up to lessen the misalignment, but, that probably won't help much... then you'll be fighting to keep the strut compressed before you can get it into the upper mount.

I usually do the upper mount first... Then I Jack the wheel UP to meet the strut. At the same time I am pushing the lower section of the strut TOWARD THE CAR until it pops through the lower mount hole... Having the wheel jacked up at this point adds tension which keeps the strut from spinning when you try to torque the bottom nut. I usually have to put the car on the ground to get the final torque.

Basically, it's normal. M3 lower mount conversion would help with this articulation issue and added stiction in the strut. Or, you can look into using Turners new mono ball lower mounts. Expensive but nice pieces.