KW HAS install/adjustment???

[Barry_S]

Hello all,

I am having a tough time getting my KW HAS springs to the desired height. I purchased them last winter when my car was stored and had them installed in April by my BMW dealership just prior to moving from Canada to the US. Otherwise I would have gone back to the dealership to fix my problem and adjust the springs.

After the install I noticed that the rears didn't match and weren't at the same height to each other and when measuring the fronts realized they didn't match either. I decided to wait until they settled and by that time COVID hit and my move had completed. We sold our home in 3 days and shipped the car about 3 weeks after the install.

Thinking I could simply adjust these myself, I jacked up the car yesterday and adjusted the passenger rear wheel that was too high. It took a few tries, but I didn't have to remove the wheel, so it was pretty simple.

The KW installation instructions https://www.kwsuspensions.com/extras...Q/25320097.pdf
state the minimum distance for the wheel hub center to fender edge can be no less than 355mm or 14". The Left Rear was a little bit lower than that at 350mm already with no issues for 8 months, so I adjusted the Right Rear to be the same height. I think it looks great and it is exactly what I was going for when first installing the KW HAS!



However the fronts are troubling me. The manual states the min height for the front spring is 350mm or 13.8", which is actually lower than the rears. I don't want them that low, but wanted to lower them a bit or at the very least have them be the same height as each other front/front. Right now the Left Front is 36.7mm from wheel hub center to fender edge and the Right Front is 37.7mm. That's a pretty significant difference to me.

So I jacked up the car to adjust. I've heard some say you need to remove the wheel on the front, but I didn't have to. I was able to get the KW spanner wrench in there just fine when the wheel was turned. My problem is though that the locking collar was already nearly bottomed out on the threaded sleeve. I was only able to adjust it about 3/4 of a turn before running out of thread.
Here are a couple of photos:



The Left Front doesn't look any different, meaning I can't lower them any further. It appears to me that the dealership installed the threaded collar in the wrong position and thus have provided me with no room to move. The only way I can get them to match and be the same height is to raise the Left Front. I actually want them both a little bit lower.

Here is an image of the Right Front. Too much wheel gap:


So I have a couple of questions.
- Is my conclusion correct that the threaded collar is mounted at the wrong height?
- What can I do about it? Is it as easy as loosening the set screws and moving the collar or will these have the spring pressure applied and cause me a bunch of other issues if I loosen the collar? If so, I will take it to my new dealership for an adjustment.

If it matters, I am on 305/30/20 in the rear with 5mm spacers and the stock 265/35/20 in the front with 10mm spacers. The fronts will be replaced soon with the same PS4S. The fronts were just replaced before I bought the car in April of 2019.

Thanks in advance for sharing your insight.
Barry

[chadillac2000]

You are probably correct in assuming that whomever did the original install did not fully seat the perch on the front shocks as much as they should have. In my opinion, if the collars are already bottomed out, the only way to fix would be to remove the front shocks, remove the top hat and spring, and further seat the perch on to the shock. It's a very tight fit with the collars on the front shocks -- you really have to beat them on to get them down far enough.

[SCD-1983]

I installed the KW HAS kit myself this summer, I used a hydraulic press to properly seat the collar on the shock. It is a very tight fit indeed and beating the collar on the shock didn't result in the correct position, based on the KW instructions!
I still have plenty of thread left to lower my front and rear wheels, but I went for a compromise between daily use and look, since being too low will stop me from entering my garage. Furthermore, here in Germany, every modification has to be approved by the TÜV, an independent organization to verify the adherence to legal compliance 😳

[Barry_S]

Thanks for the feedback guys. It seems like a lot of labor for 1 cm. :

[SCD-1983]

Originally Posted by Barry_S

Thanks for the feedback guys. It seems like a lot of labor for 1 cm. :

True, it means taking out the front struts again, disassemble the whole setup and reseat the collar. Based on your initial statement, you are not satisfied with the height, so there's no way around the removal of these components!
If I was you, I would have a nice conversation with the shop and ask them to redo the mounting, since you paid for a correct installation!

[Barry_S]

Originally Posted by SCD-1983

True, it means taking out the front struts again, disassemble the whole setup and reseat the collar. Based on your initial statement, you are not satisfied with the height, so there's no way around the removal of these components!
If I was you, I would have a nice conversation with the shop and ask them to redo the mounting, since you paid for a correct installation!

Thanks for sharing your additional comments. Going back to the BMW shop where I had the work done would have been the best option, however I am now over 1100 kms away and in the US following a relocation from Toronto. Meaning I will have to fork over a bunch of dough to my new dealership for the adjustment.

I'm just trying to decide now how much my dissatisfaction will bother me before I trade this thing in for the F90.

Would you mind providing me with a quick measurement of your front and rear height from hub Center to fender?

[SCD-1983]

Originally Posted by Barry_S

Thanks for sharing your additional comments. Going back to the BMW shop where I had the work done would have been the best option, however I am now over 1100 kms away and in the US following a relocation from Toronto. Meaning I will have to fork over a bunch of dough to my new dealership for the adjustment.

I'm just trying to decide now how much my dissatisfaction will bother me before I trade this thing in for the F90.

Would you mind providing me with a quick measurement of your front and rear height from hub Center to fender?

Well, having a F90 in sight might allow you to ignore the issue 😃

I just measured the distances from the center cap to the fender edge, it's 355 mm front and rear.
Since my M5 is hibernating during the winter season, I wasn't able to jack up the car to take pics of the remaining threads, but I know for sure that I can get quite a bit lower.

[Barry_S]

Thank you for taking the measurements for me. I appreciate it.

Your rears are at the height KW recommends. Looks like you could lower more in the front, but I think that's what I would enjoy the most is having all 4 corners the same.

While I might be thinking about the F90, I'm not tired of this car yet.

Merry Christmas

[SCD-1983]

Originally Posted by Barry_S

Thank you for taking the measurements for me. I appreciate it.

Your rears are at the height KW recommends. Looks like you could lower more in the front, but I think that's what I would enjoy the most is having all 4 corners the same.

While I might be thinking about the F90, I'm not tired of this car yet.

Merry Christmas

You are very welcome, this forum contains a wealth of knowledge and everyone is helpful!
True, I could go lower in the front if desired, but daily driving, steep driveways and the almighty TÜV makes me being comfortable with all 4 corners at the same height

I'm watching the F90 prices come down a lot, but I'm still in love with my F10, especially after my distinct upgrading!

Merry Xmas y'all ⛄️

[Mike Mac]

I'm in desperate need for some advice on how on earth to remove the interior paneling to access the rear struts. I'm just doing lowering springs and can hardly find anything online. Any directions you could point me in would be very much appreciated.

Originally Posted by SCD-1983

I installed the KW HAS kit myself this summer, I used a hydraulic press to properly seat the collar on the shock. It is a very tight fit indeed and beating the collar on the shock didn't result in the correct position, based on the KW instructions!
I still have plenty of thread left to lower my front and rear wheels, but I went for a compromise between daily use and look, since being too low will stop me from entering my garage. Furthermore, here in Germany, every modification has to be approved by the TÜV, an independent organization to verify the adherence to legal compliance 😳

[chadillac2000]

Originally Posted by Mike Mac

I'm in desperate need for some advice on how on earth to remove the interior paneling to access the rear struts. I'm just doing lowering springs and can hardly find anything online. Any directions you could point me in would be very much appreciated.

https://f10.m5post.com/forums/showpo...6&postcount=31

[eonianaerial]

Originally Posted by Mike Mac

I'm in desperate need for some advice on how on earth to remove the interior paneling to access the rear struts. I'm just doing lowering springs and can hardly find anything online. Any directions you could point me in would be very much appreciated.

How was the install since? if you still need them, here's a video ref

[m5dream]

Originally Posted by Barry_S

Hello all,

I am having a tough time getting my KW HAS springs to the desired height. I purchased them last winter when my car was stored and had them installed in April by my BMW dealership just prior to moving from Canada to the US. Otherwise I would have gone back to the dealership to fix my problem and adjust the springs.

After the install I noticed that the rears didn't match and weren't at the same height to each other and when measuring the fronts realized they didn't match either. I decided to wait until they settled and by that time COVID hit and my move had completed. We sold our home in 3 days and shipped the car about 3 weeks after the install.

Thinking I could simply adjust these myself, I jacked up the car yesterday and adjusted the passenger rear wheel that was too high. It took a few tries, but I didn't have to remove the wheel, so it was pretty simple.

The KW installation instructions https://www.kwsuspensions.com/extras...Q/25320097.pdf
state the minimum distance for the wheel hub center to fender edge can be no less than 355mm or 14". The Left Rear was a little bit lower than that at 350mm already with no issues for 8 months, so I adjusted the Right Rear to be the same height. I think it looks great and it is exactly what I was going for when first installing the KW HAS!
Attachment 2488492
Attachment 2488493

However the fronts are troubling me. The manual states the min height for the front spring is 350mm or 13.8", which is actually lower than the rears. I don't want them that low, but wanted to lower them a bit or at the very least have them be the same height as each other front/front. Right now the Left Front is 36.7mm from wheel hub center to fender edge and the Right Front is 37.7mm. That's a pretty significant difference to me.

So I jacked up the car to adjust. I've heard some say you need to remove the wheel on the front, but I didn't have to. I was able to get the KW spanner wrench in there just fine when the wheel was turned. My problem is though that the locking collar was already nearly bottomed out on the threaded sleeve. I was only able to adjust it about 3/4 of a turn before running out of thread.
Here are a couple of photos:
Attachment 2488517
Attachment 2488518

The Left Front doesn't look any different, meaning I can't lower them any further. It appears to me that the dealership installed the threaded collar in the wrong position and thus have provided me with no room to move. The only way I can get them to match and be the same height is to raise the Left Front. I actually want them both a little bit lower.

Here is an image of the Right Front. Too much wheel gap:
Attachment 2488521

So I have a couple of questions.
- Is my conclusion correct that the threaded collar is mounted at the wrong height?
- What can I do about it? Is it as easy as loosening the set screws and moving the collar or will these have the spring pressure applied and cause me a bunch of other issues if I loosen the collar? If so, I will take it to my new dealership for an adjustment.

If it matters, I am on 305/30/20 in the rear with 5mm spacers and the stock 265/35/20 in the front with 10mm spacers. The fronts will be replaced soon with the same PS4S. The fronts were just replaced before I bought the car in April of 2019.

Thanks in advance for sharing your insight.
Barry

hey i have a m5 same suspension but im having issues with front inner tire wear. to the point its eating the tires alive in under 14k miles the cords are shwoing. do you have this issue?

[Barry_S]

Hi there.

I have only put 8000 miles on mine since the install and have even tire wear on the front.

Did you get it aligned after the install?