[truekumar]

So, I’ve got a brand new M340i coming next month and I would like to lower it without affecting the warranty on the vehicle. Which springs would you suggest? A local fitter has given me a price on Eibach springs which will lower it by 30mm but I don’t want my warranty invalidated.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by truekumar

So, I’ve got a brand new M340i coming next month and I would like to lower it without affecting the warranty on the vehicle. Which springs would you suggest? A local fitter has given me a price on Eibach springs which will lower it by 30mm but I don’t want my warranty invalidated.

AC Schitzner - pretty sure their products have their own warranty and dont affect the BMW warranty on anything else...

Speak to Lorcan who is very knowledgable on the subject and can even supply and fit or point you to someone who can nearer to you if needed...

[truekumar]

Thanks mate. I’ve just emailed him. Anyone put these on their M340i yet? How much do they lower it by?

[Beemer5to3]

I'm fairly certain fitting lowering springs won't void your warranty. Yes perhaps if you had a suspension fault, there may be some questions asked, but if for example your turbo failed, there's no way they would attribute that your fitting of lowering springs could have affected that.

You may just want to ask the question of your dealer - I know dealers that have known about things like remaps / tuning boxes and they've not batted an eyelid. At the end of the day they get paid for warranty work.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by Beemer5to3

I'm fairly certain fitting lowering springs won't void your warranty. Yes perhaps if you had a suspension fault, there may be some questions asked, but if for example your turbo failed, there's no way they would attribute that your fitting of lowering springs could have affected that.

You may just want to ask the question of your dealer - I know dealers that have known about things like remaps / tuning boxes and they've not batted an eyelid. At the end of the day they get paid for warranty
work.

If I'd spent the thick end of £50k on a car I would not want the merest smidgen of a doubt that any claim would be met under warranty.

Dealers get paid (pretty crap) rates for warranty work - but only if the manufacturer approves it....

[rjwojcik]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uitm_jqCYAs

These guys are about to go on a modding journey, should all be warranty friendly as well.

[Lorcan]

AC Schnitzer are the best choice for warranty protection as they can be ordered and fitted at some BMW dealers in the UK, including Sandal BMW who are near you.

We've sold lots of sets for M340i, including 4 sets to a film production studio. I can't tell you the name of the film they are working on - but it would be a "ridiculously difficult task"

We now have matching sports dampers available too, for non-adaptive cars only at the moment, which are far better than the standard items.

AC Schnitzer dealer list: https://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/dealers-4-w.asp

AC Schnitzer suspension springs for G20/G21: https://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/susp...rom-9532-p.asp

AC Schnitzer sports dampers for G20/G21: https://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/spor...om-10739-p.asp

[del82]

Originally Posted by truekumar

So, I’ve got a brand new M340i coming next month and I would like to lower it without affecting the warranty on the vehicle. Which springs would you suggest? A local fitter has given me a price on Eibach springs which will lower it by 30mm but I don’t want my warranty invalidated.

Warranty isn't the whole car. Each bit has its own warranty. So if you install springs, then you void the suspension warranty not the engine for example.

Springs are quite harmless. I doubt a dealer would even notice.

No mods are risk free. But just be prepared that if for example you have a knock from the suspension and you take the car in and BMW notice the springs, they may reject any warranty work. Or ask to be put back to stock before they do anything.

I would go ACS personally. The warranty and support is good.

Of course if on finance, you've asked BMW for permission and also told your car insurance company beforehand.....

[truekumar]

Originally Posted by Lorcan

AC Schnitzer are the best choice for warranty protection as they can be ordered and fitted at some BMW dealers in the UK, including Sandal BMW who are near you.

We've sold lots of sets for M340i, including 4 sets to a film production studio. I can't tell you the name of the film they are working on - but it would be a "ridiculously difficult task"

We now have matching sports dampers available too, for non-adaptive cars only at the moment, which are far better than the standard items.

AC Schnitzer dealer list: https://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/dealers-4-w.asp



AC Schnitzer suspension springs for G20/G21: https://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/susp...rom-9532-p.asp

AC Schnitzer sports dampers for G20/G21: https://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/spor...om-10739-p.asp

Hi Lorcan, do you have any idea of what drop I would be able to achieve with the AC springs on my M340i XDrive that has th 19inch wheels on??

[Lorcan]

25-35mm front and rear.

[truekumar]

Originally Posted by Lorcan

25-35mm front and rear.

Thanks Lorcan that should suffice. Only problem is that I’ve been quoted £916.63 for the price of the springs, fitting and wheel alignment by Sandal BMW which I feel is a little pricey? Do you know of any other local dealerships that may offer a better price?

[Soul_Glo]

Originally Posted by truekumar

Thanks Lorcan that should suffice. Only problem is that I’ve been quoted £916.63 for the price of the springs, fitting and wheel alignment by Sandal BMW which I feel is a little pricey? Do you know of any other local dealerships that may offer a better price?

You need not use a dealership. I had mine fitted at Mulgari in Wokingham. Lorcan has a list of approved fitters/suppliers UK wide.

Mine came to less than £800 and that's with an upgraded rear sway bar.

[Lorcan]

Originally Posted by truekumar

Thanks Lorcan that should suffice. Only problem is that I’ve been quoted £916.63 for the price of the springs, fitting and wheel alignment by Sandal BMW which I feel is a little pricey? Do you know of any other local dealerships that may offer a better price?

Local to where? We have around 60 dealers, half BMW and half independent (which will be cheaper).

https://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/dealers-4-w.asp

[truekumar]

Originally Posted by Lorcan

Local to where? We have around 60 dealers, half BMW and half independent (which will be cheaper).

https://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/dealers-4-w.asp

Local to West Yorkshire if possible. Thanks for the list. Do you deal with LK Performance at all? They’ve offered to fit the springs for around £250, id just need to buy them direct from yourselves.

[truekumar]

Originally Posted by Soul_Glo

You need not use a dealership. I had mine fitted at Mulgari in Wokingham. Lorcan has a list of approved fitters/suppliers UK wide.

Mine came to less than £800 and that's with an upgraded rear sway bar.

Did you get that done on an M340i XDrive? That’s a good price, considering you got the rear sway bar too. Are you running on 19s or 20s? Also what drop did you get with the springs? And did you add any spacers?

[Soul_Glo]

Originally Posted by truekumar

Did you get that done on an M340i XDrive? That's a good price, considering you got the rear sway bar too. Are you running on 19s or 20s? Also what drop did you get with the springs? And did you add any spacers?

That was my 435d X Drive.
Spacers are a must otherwise the wheels look sunken. I went for 12mm front and 15mm rear.
I cannot remember the drop but think it was around 12mm all around.
Long bolts were supplied by Mulgari but I fit security bolts. Ordered mine from Lorcan.
I still cannot imagine it costing more than the dealership. Think labour rates. It shouldn't take more than 3 hours in total. So base it on that. Mine took 2.5 hours including four wheel alignment. BMW charge more than £120 p/h and will likely quote 4 hours. A reputable garage will be half that.
My cost also included wheel alignment. The camber will change slightly and you wouldn't want your tyres to wear out prematurely so factor that in.

Hope that helps.

[truekumar]

Originally Posted by Soul_Glo

That was my 435d X Drive.
Spacers are a must otherwise the wheels look sunken. I went for 12mm front and 15mm rear.
I cannot remember the drop but think it was around 12mm all around.
Long bolts were supplied by Mulgari but I fit security bolts. Ordered mine from Lorcan.
I still cannot imagine it costing more than the dealership. Think labour rates. It shouldn't take more than 3 hours in total. So base it on that. Mine took 2.5 hours including four wheel alignment. BMW charge more than £120 p/h and will likely quote 4 hours. A reputable garage will be half that.
My cost also included wheel alignment. The camber will change slightly and you wouldn't want your tyres to wear out prematurely so factor that in.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the info. Do you know whether AC Schnitzer offer spacers? I can’t see them on their website. Another possible option to reduce costs would be to go for Eibach instead but I’m just cautious of warranty issues on my vehicle with the Eibach.

[Soul_Glo]

Originally Posted by truekumar

Thanks for the info. Do you know whether AC Schnitzer offer spacers? I can’t see them on their website. Another possible option to reduce costs would be to go for Eibach instead but I’m just cautious of warranty issues on my vehicle with the Eibach.

No they don't as far as I know. Eibach spacers are good. Warranty wise, remaining ACS on springs is better.

[truekumar]

Do you all feel that spacers are definitely needed if I lower the vehicle on AC springs? Will the car look strange lowered and without spacers? I feel slightly uncomfortable installing spacers as I’ve heard that they increase the load on the bearings?

Lorcan, are your AC G20 cars installed with spacers or are they just lowered using springs/coilovers? What’s your opinion on spacers? Any help would be much appreciated, thanks.

Does anyone have pics of an M340i that has been lowered on 19s without spacers?

[Don76]

Decent spacers are absolutely fine fella. H&R make good ones.

Any decent independent will install the springs for you. In the unlikely event of a warranty claim - the dealer will not ask "who installed these springs"

The ACS springs are warranty safe so proceed without fear.

Finally - alignment. You'll need to find a specialist alignment centre with the data for the G20. I tried half a dozen places before finding someone that can do it.

If you're in Yorkshire look out for Kilnhurst tyres. They have an £80k touchless alignment set up using only lasers. It's the best kit on the market and they were one of the first in the uk to install it I believe.

[Lorcan]

Originally Posted by truekumar

Thanks for the info. Do you know whether AC Schnitzer offer spacers? I can’t see them on their website. Another possible option to reduce costs would be to go for Eibach instead but I’m just cautious of warranty issues on my vehicle with the Eibach.

AC Schnitzer don't make spacers as they want to sell wheels, but we (Rossiters Ltd) offer Eibach spacers, which are the next best thing. We haven't encountered any warranty issues with them but can't guarantee 100% that this will never happen.

https://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/eiba...om-10673-p.asp

My opinion of spacers is that they are purely cosmetic. They don't affect the handling much either way, except that you might notice the steering is ever-so-slightly slower due to the increased scrub radius.

All our photos with AC Schnitzer suspension are on cars with AC Schnitzer wheels which have a more aggressive offset compared to BMW wheels, so basically these will give you an idea of how your car will look with spacers on, but won't tell you much about a car with lower suspension and no spacers.

Our image gallery for the G20 can be found here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/395083...57708781355023

and G21 here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/395083...57712157160092

[Soul_Glo]

Decide for yourself. Wheels appear sunken without spacers. It doesn't look right and is purely cosmetic although some argue it widens the track and improves handling a tiny bit. I was worried about premature wheel bearing damage. I had my spacers on for over 40k miles without any issues or loss in performance.