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Lowering front end of E60 M5

113K views 210 replies 56 participants last post by  Giraym5 
#1 ·
I have read a lot here about lowering the front end, with lowering springs. Some think it will ruin the handling, ruin the comfort, that it will look slammed, look raked, etc.
I am a former suspension design engineer from a well known suspension manufacturer, the worlds leading actually (not mentioning any names here). I did some investigations to see what kind of suspension system that's fitted on the M5, since I have one and I wasn't too happy about the gap between the front wheel and fender and the under-steer in some situations, on an otherwise near perfect car.
I scanned the net for after market spring kits and found the German designed Lowtec springs, bought a set of front springs (25 mm lowering, about 1 inch), installed them and did a 4 wheel chassis adjustment. The actual difference in ride height was 23 mm and it will probably be around 25 mm, when the springs are run in.
The springs are not much shorter than stock, but have a more progressive spring rate, giving more sag. When the car is lifted up, the spring still have pre-load left and is not sitting loose.
I can say that so far I am happy with the results. The wheel-to-fender-gap is equal all around the car now, it does NOT look neither raked nor slammed. The handling is not ruined nor the comfort. It handles with a tad bit less under-steer, but hardly detectable. The HID lights adjusted them self. Thanks to the EDC-system the results from just installing lowering springs are far better than on a passive damping system. Just changing springs is a shortcut, that sometimes won't give the results you want. Coil overs can be an option for people that are not happy with the chassis stock performance, but you will loose the ability to use the EDC-control and I am sure that the engineers at BMW did their homework setting up this car.
Some cautions:
I would not recommend lowering more than this, with stock shocks, due to an increased pressure in the shocks and loss of wheel travel.
Protect the fenders before removing the suspension.
And don't forget to make a 4-wheel chassis adjustment after installing the springs! Don't skip this, it may become a costly mistake.



I have posted some before/after pictures
 

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#2 · (Edited)
Nice write-up. Did you make any adjustments to the rear? Why did you choose this brand over dinan, eibach or H&R? Any chance your affiliated with them?
 
#3 ·
Hmm never heard of this company before. Looks good!!
 
#6 ·
I wanted to lower the font a bit, because the front ride height was actually taller than the rear, causing a bit more under steer than I wanted. Also the tall front end, was the only thing i didn't love about the looks on my M5.
If you want a more level ride height, I'd not recommend swapping all springs, since they will lower the rear as well, and you are pretty much back to where you started. No adjustments needed to be done to the rear suspension. Most lowering spring kits, for both front and rear, will lower rear 20-25 mm and front approx 40 mm. That's a bit too much for the stock shocks, even for EDC shocks. It will affect ride comfort and the factory settings in the stock shocks.
And there is no reason to change the stock springs if you are happy with the ride height/looks! They are good quality springs, tailor made for this specific model and a good compromise between comfort and sport. No spring kits will give any significant improvement in handling.
 
#5 ·
Thanks! I got my hands on some specs for these springs, compared them with other options and given my experience in suspension technology, I decided that it was worth a try. I have both warranty and satisfied customer guarantee on this product, so I feel safe. The pricing is quite moderate also. I know that this kind of springs cost about 25-40 USD/pcs to make. No, I am not affiliated with any of them.
 
#8 ·
Yes, if I'm not misinformed, it should be Sachs suspension. Also the Shocks and EDC-system.
 
#11 ·
Yes, I agree and I know all about this, hence I'm a former suspension engineer and I have a masters degree in mechanical engineering and vehicle dynamics. And you should know what you are doing, when playing around with the chassis set-up. But this is a car for public road use and daily driving, with a sporty set-up. It's supposed to be as safe as possible and that means it has got some under steer. I like to have it neutral, or as close as possible to neutral. But my main issue was the looks, the factory set-up is quite OK when it comes to handling. Some basic calculations and work in my CAD-system, shows that lowering 23-25 mm in the front, will give a near neutral balance. The more progressive spring rate means it won't dive more when braking. So the balance when braking is almost like stock, which means safety first.
If you look at most lowering kits for the M5, they will lower the front end more than the rear. Most kits will give 15-25 mm more lowering in the front. I don't want to lower more than this, since I need the ground clearance.
Yes, so far I have no regrets about lowering the front end.
 
#12 ·
Hmm... I can't find any dealer in the US, only Europe. I bought them here: Schmiedmann Sverige - Sök - Nya delar - sida 1
Don't know about over-seas sales.

No, I don't know who makes Dinan springs. There are a handfull of quality spring manufacturers in Europe and a few in Asia. I'm pretty sure that the Dinan springs are OK too.
 
#14 ·
#17 · (Edited)
Looking to go this route as well (there are quite a few speedbumps around here...). I like all the looks of the stock car except it looks like it is in the middle launching at a drag strip when it is standing still. There are 25mm or 40mm options for lowering only the front. I want a slight rake so I may try out the 40mm.

I also want to keep the stock spring rate as I drive my 6 month old quite often. It would be perfect if I could just lower the front an inch or so without changing spring rates and this looks like the best option.

Kenneth, have you had any issues with them? No regrets after a few years?

Total cost for the front only is $175 + $30 s/h from Germany. Not bad to save a few $$$ either. Labor will only be 1/2 of the cost as swapping out all 4 springs.

I assume there will be no rebound issues as the front only kits are TUV approved.

Edit: 30mm option is only for E39 M5...
 
#20 ·
I would go for the 25 mm version. I think that 40 mm is too much for the stock shocks.
I have no regrets at all. They work perfectly and they have not settled any further than they did within a month after the installation (about 2-3 mm).
Springs that lower as much as 40 mm, will affect the ride comfort.

Order the 25 mm kit and Go for it! :)
 
#21 ·
Nope! :)
It's a Swedish company. Not too many to choose from there. Haha! ;)
 
#19 ·
I think this might be my route as well. I can't imagine the weight distrubution would change at all by any significant amount seeing as how the car is only about 53/47 to start with. The only way I can see it ever being noticed is if you had the car corner balanced and I would be surprised if any M5 ever has been.

With stock height, OEM wheels and 12.5 spacers, I don't want the rear going down any more. The front though? I could camp under that thing.
 
#22 ·
i've read this post and i aint no mechanical engineer but what KennethH was saying makes total sense, i was never a fan of extreme
lowering, partly because canadian roads in the east are really terrible, and i think that 25mm is a good balance between the stock suspension and the 40mm lowering that mosts kits have to offer, also i've noticed that the m5 is the first car that actually used my rear tires evenly and not inwards like my previous bmw's. lowering the back would'eve required a camber kit most probably and its a pain in the *** to install. I would like to know where i can buy these spings, wasent able to find them on the website you posted earlier. thanks!
 
#25 ·
I would love to see pictures with the spacers mounted! :)

I have been thinking about spacers, but I don't want to have ANY rubbing (feels "cheap-***" IMO *sorry*) and I'm not sure I want to mess with the wheel geometry.

Anyone that have compared handling pre/post spacers and observed any other problems from installing spacers (besides rubbing)?

just trying to order some now.

the stance looks great and the science behind it seems to stack up.

was going to change my car, but decided to keep it, and forget about the MPG.

15mm rear spacers, 12mm front, lowtec front springs, and thats me done.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Kenneth....So your saying just doing 25mm for the front and leaving the stock alone. Would you say after doing this the fender gap front and back are the same? I can't stand the front gap. Even with 20's the back is perfect, just a very slight gap so it doesn't look ricey, but the front still has a big gap/reverse raked look.
 
#28 ·
Yes, I would only do the front. Otherwise you would still need to lower the front 25 mm more than the rear, since the relative difference I ride height is about 25 mm.
The gap is, after the springs settled (2-3 mm), very even now. I'm happy with the results.
 
#27 ·
sounds that way to me.

if you look at the last couple of pics of the car, it looks sweet.

with spacers, i think the stance will be perfect.

cant forsee any rubbing issues with the spacers, as it only really affects cars running lower at the rear, and running 15mm spacers or above.

the fact the rear is stock means 15mm should be fine, and there will be no clearance issues on the front as they will only be running 12mm, especially as the drop is only 25mm.

i'm looking forward to getting it done!
 
#29 ·
Thanks!
Don't forget the pics :)
 
#30 ·
I just bought the Lowtec 25MM springs as well, I was really questioning lowering the car so severely with Eibach's just wanted to correct the front. The rear looks perfect to me. I also bought some 12MM spacers all around. $135 on Ebay Hubcentric with new bolts.
 
#35 ·
Hey man, what a GREAT solution. Kudos to you. I LOVE the look. It reminds me of the Dinan suspension on my E60 550i. Dinan just did not quite give you the same look on the E60 M5 so I went coils. Mine were very nice but you definitely get a heck of a lot better ride with what you did. One of the best jobs at achieving very smart results that I have ever seen on this board. Congrats! :goldcup:

-Mike
 
#40 ·
Hey man, what a GREAT solution. Kudos to you. I LOVE the look. It reminds me of the Dinan suspension on my E60 550i. Dinan just did not quite give you the same look on the E60 M5 so I went coils. Mine were very nice but you definitely get a heck of a lot better ride with what you did. One of the best jobs at achieving very smart results that I have ever seen on this board. Congrats! :goldcup:

-Mike
Thanks Mike! Happy to show that all mods on an M5 don't have to be expensive, just to be good. :)
I'm very happy with the results and it's a cheap mod with very few negative surprises and cut-backs.
I think Eibach has a kit that also looks good, however it lowers more and also lowers the rear. That will affect the ride quality more than I'm willing to accept and also put more stress on the OEM shocks, as the ride hight will deviate too much from stock.
 
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#38 · (Edited)
Kenneth....

Can you comment on the ride quality compared to stock since the springs have settled?

Can you notice any more stiffness, harsher ride, bumpiness, bounciness compared to stock?

Does the car handle considerably better?

Any issues with camber, or uneven tire wear?

Lastly, maybe a dumb question to some but I like a stock look....are the springs white like pictured or are they black?


I would love to lower the front but I'm already on 20's so I don't want to compromise ride quality for looks.

Thanks
 
#41 · (Edited)
Kenneth....

Can you comment on the ride quality compared to stock since the springs have settled?

Can you notice any more stiffness, harsher ride, bumpiness, bounciness compared to stock?

Does the car handle considerably better?

Any issues with camber, or uneven tire wear?

Lastly, maybe a dumb question to some but I like a stock look....are the springs white like pictured or are they black?


I would love to lower the front but I'm already on 20's so I don't want to compromise ride quality for looks.

Thanks
I have had the springs for two full seasons now, so it's hard to remember exactly how the stock ride quality was, but they have settled less than 2 mm in total, so it's about the same as when they were just mounted. I think the ride quality is pretty much non affected by this mod.

It might just be a tad bit more bouncy (but I'm very picky), as the shocks are more compressed now, but overall comfort is still very good!

Tire wear is as even as before.
-But I did an independent four wheel ange adjustment, after installing the springs. That's a must, to make sure that you don't get these kind of problems. Also good for safety/handling.
Edit: I got the before/after readings and the new springs made no big differece. Only small adjustments were needed, but you still should do this!

Handling is good on stock setup too, but it's slightly better now. I like to have a little less under steer even when I'm not on the very limit and that is what I got from the mod (besides the improved looks). But don't expect night and day difference, because it's not!

My springs are dark grey, just like my rear ones (OEM). I have seen both black and dark grey OEM springs on BMW cars. Don't know exactly why they have two different colors. You can always spray paint them black if you want. Use wheel paint, that can take some sand blasting without chipping. Whipe them with acetone or similar, before painting.

My connections and know-how from the suspension tech industry helped me pick good quality springs with the characteristics that I wanted for my car. Price is not always the best indicator of what will work best IRL!
 
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#42 ·
Don't forget to post pics! Pls post them in this thread or post link to pic :)
Happy motoring!
 
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