Pearler Posted September 1, 2015 Report Share Posted September 1, 2015 (edited) Having had the Bilstein B12 prokit fitted, there are differences in the distances between the tyres and wheel arches. Drivers side front sits about 1 to 1.5 inch lower than the passenger side does, and vice versa at the back. Is this something that will settle down??? Edited September 1, 2015 by Pearler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz 330 Cs Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 An inch and a half is quite a difference, something isn't right. You'll need to check. mit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjn Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 Springs probably aren't sitting right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dooge Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 My rear sitting higher on one side after new Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks, used a thicker springpad from BMW to equal it out. That was about half an inch, yours sounds like above, springs not sat right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
das_flo Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 All 3 series do this, the drivers side is generally 10-15mm lower. It's due to the battery, fuel tank & driver all being on the same side. As mentioned, a thicker spring pad is available from the dealers, this sorts it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megadodo Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 Fuel tank sits under the rear seats and is roughly equally spread across both sides of the car. Both my E46s sit flat with no driver on board. If its noticeable, something is wrong! StuBeeDoo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_330CI Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 E46's are not and never have been designed to sit anything but flat. I went as far as to contact BMW Head Office to get to the bottom of this. If it's not flat it's broke. StuBeeDoo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz 330 Cs Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 (edited) My Cs was level too, it was never lower one side Edited September 2, 2015 by Daz 330 Cs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjn Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 Even the E46 they used in the new 3 series advert is lower on drivers side, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pearler Posted September 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 Thanks folks, appreciate your posts, knowing this now I shall give the garage a call and arrange to go back and ask them to take a look, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dooge Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 E46's are not and never have been designed to sit anything but flat. I went as far as to contact BMW Head Office to get to the bottom of this. If it's not flat it's broke. Why do BMW do thicker springpads if its not a common problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz 330 Cs Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 He didn't say it wasn't a common problem, he said they're not designed to sit lop sided, which is true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
das_flo Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 I went as far as to contact BMW Head Office to get to the bottom of this. If it's not flat it's broke. Exactly what I would expect BMW head office to say tbh. I bet they'd say that the M54 engine doesn't burn oil too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B0B Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 I'm pretty sure all three E46's I've owned have been flat and level Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_330CI Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 I went as far as to contact BMW Head Office to get to the bottom of this. If it's not flat it's broke. Exactly what I would expect BMW head office to say tbh. I bet they'd say that the M54 engine doesn't burn oil too. I'm pretty sure my manual actually does say they burn x amount of oil per x amount of miles. There's also plenty of evidence the increased oil consumption people experience is as a result of a few faulty engine parts. So it's not designed to burn more oil than the manual states nor is it designed to sit wonky. These are problems that develop over time. In all honesty - there's so many problems that happen to almost all of them, it's hardly a wonder anyone buys them anymore. I can't believe how many things I've had to fix in the 5 years I've had mine. Regardless as to all of this, I think the OP has a much different problem as his car seems to be way out, not the few MM that most people notice. Ps, mine sits wonky for a few days after jacking but settles down eventually. mit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pearler Posted September 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 So to update. It appeared to level out over a few days. There remains small differences of about 5mm or so; so I'm not going to worry about anymore! Thanks again R11CH 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R11CH Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Good to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pearler Posted September 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Good to hear. Cheers R11CH. Was a relief actually. I've had a four wheel alignment at an indy BMW specialist today. Suspension refresh, new rear Conti tyres and a four wheel alignment. Oh and two new rear drive shaft seals. Been a very expensive month. But it's driving real nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS172CUP Posted September 14, 2015 Report Share Posted September 14, 2015 E46's are not and never have been designed to sit anything but flat. I went as far as to contact BMW Head Office to get to the bottom of this. If it's not flat it's broke. Why do BMW do thicker springpads if its not a common problem? They're not made to level cars out, they're for different models. I have the 14.5mm one which is from the xi models iirc. Just so happens it works, cheap fix. If you took a properly corner weighted set of coilover a off a car they'd probably all be different heights. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted September 14, 2015 Report Share Posted September 14, 2015 (edited) All 3 series do this, the drivers side is generally 10-15mm lower. It's due to the battery, fuel tank & driver all being on the same side. As mentioned, a thicker spring pad is available from the dealers, this sorts it out.This is incorrect. None of my e46 were bent unless they had a suspension problem. When the suspension problem was fixed, they were level.It's nothing to do with everything being on the same side. If they were bent in the showroom, anyone paying £35k for a new one would have passed on BMW and gone straight to the local Audi or Mercedes showroom instead. Edited September 14, 2015 by mit B0B 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
das_flo Posted September 14, 2015 Report Share Posted September 14, 2015 (edited) Sorry buddy, just passing on the findings from reading the same threads for the last 10 years on forums. My E36 & E46 were both the same, regardless of condition. Have a google, see what you think. Edit: I googled it and amongst the 100's of threads, it's mainly you chatting BS. Lol. Edited September 14, 2015 by das_flo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
