Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

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Slownrusty
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Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by Slownrusty »

I just completed this on my '86.

Lots of cleaning and detailing

The Suspension:
Bavarian Auto lowering Springs (approx. 2" drop)
Bilsteins
New Thrust arms
New Lower Control arms
New Strut bearings
New Spring rubber insulators

Brakes:
BrakePerformance rotors and ceramic pads
New pad sensors

Before pictures:
243011368_10159421317457209_4081715553951109679_n.jpg
243011368_10159421317457209_4081715553951109679_n.jpg (398.06 KiB) Viewed 3371 times
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245451058_10159421320702209_6498626980920205130_n.jpg
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Last edited by Slownrusty on Wed Oct 13, 2021 5:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Slownrusty
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by Slownrusty »

After:
242975020_10159421317452209_2931043729402863662_n.jpg
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635sharknose
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by 635sharknose »

Nice :D
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by Jlc »

Very nice. Brakes look impressive. I'm getting ready to do CV Boots and dogbones. Plan to replace the small brake lines while at it if the look bad.
85 635CSi Bronzit
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Slownrusty
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by Slownrusty »

Thanks guys.

I couldn't help myself, I went ahead and installed my RC090s / Style 5 wheels last night for fun. I recently restored these wheels as well, that was a ton of work (approx. 8-9 hours per wheel)!!

Car looks good at the lower ride height as well.

More the come.

Before suspension work (stock ride height):
Ride Height Before  1.JPG
Ride Height Before 1.JPG (784.82 KiB) Viewed 3319 times
Side shot with BBS.JPG
Side shot with BBS.JPG (852.89 KiB) Viewed 3319 times
BBS Mounted 4.JPG
BBS Mounted 4.JPG (1.16 MiB) Viewed 3319 times
Before and After.jpg
Before and After.jpg (526.37 KiB) Viewed 3319 times
Last edited by Slownrusty on Sun Oct 17, 2021 11:52 am, edited 2 times in total.
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635sharknose
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by 635sharknose »

Wow these wheels look very good! Nice fit as well, perfect size.
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80euro Csi
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by 80euro Csi »

Hi,
Just a quick observance of your jack location. You have positioned it on a factory moving positioner and NOT a jack point located about a foot towards the rear. There are two jack points on each side. You can feel them by running your hand along the bottom between wheels. There are two bumps on each one running perpendicular to the car length.
It would be quite possible for the jack to go through the floorboard if you have rust problems?

The work you've done looks great and I didn't know about the lift points till recently.
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Sbeaud
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by Sbeaud »

Lots of info on jacking points:

http://bigcoupe.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.ph ... ing+points

Yasin -- another great job cleaning and detailing. I really admire cars that are taken care of underneath as well as on top!

Scott
1988 M6
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86_6series
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by 86_6series »

Lift points

http://bigcoupe.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=13163

What was the cost to refurbish your Rc090's?

In NY about 10 years ago it was $80 to straighten,
another $179 to powder coat the insert and clear coat the rim.
86-635CSi
96-MB C220 SOLD
98-740i
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Slownrusty
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by Slownrusty »

Thanks for all the great comments.

I'm comfortable with the location where I am jacking and supporting the car.

To further explain:

1) On unibody chassis cars, I spend a fair bit of time to make sure it is properly jacked and supported. In fact it is a bit of science and I have seen so many guys ruin their cars by incorrectly jacking up their cars over the years.

2) Where I have supported my shark in the pictures above, I cut a piece of 2x4 wood with my Skilsaw and sandwiched it between my floor jack and the four (4) sides of metal double wall on the unibody but really the rocker panel which is where a unibody chassis obtains its strength or structural rigidity. You can see in the picture below that BMW reinforced this square area when they designed the chassis. By doing so it avoids point loading the chassis and creates what we call in the Engineering world...a "U.D.L" or Uniform Distributed Load by also maximizing surface area. Wood similar to solid rubber is very strong in compression, hence the reason for using it, combined with the fact that you take full use of a flat face and the surface area to evenly spread the weight.

One thing to mention in the links provided above and illustrations showing where to place a jackstand or floor jack under the frame rail..that is NOT recommended. The frame rail is designed to provide strength to the unibody it is NOT designed to be point loaded from a floor jack or floor jack and support several thousands of pounds of static weight. When you look at these cars on BaT, you can see where mechanics and previous owners jacked up their cars at this location over the years damaging them...that is a "no-no".

GOOD for jacking and supporting:
Front-Wheel-Arch-Structure.jpg
Front-Wheel-Arch-Structure.jpg (155.85 KiB) Viewed 3198 times
NOT recommended for jacking or supporting:
Chassis 38.JPG
Chassis 38.JPG (786.72 KiB) Viewed 3198 times
Happy to discuss this jacking topic further.....

I refinished the BBS wheels at home, I only powder coated the faces ($400) but I did buy brand new polished stainless fasteners ($210). Lots of elbow grease and labor, to make those RC090s look this good.

My best,
Yasin
Last edited by Slownrusty on Fri Oct 22, 2021 2:37 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by 80euro Csi »

Thank you for the information. It's always nice to share information. FYI I recently replaced those two lift points and welded them as a 3 piece assembly along with several square inches of new flooring. A new experience for me.
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by 80euro Csi »

I'm not sure what the factory did but the supposed replacement parts are as shown. This after market they say is original copy and what I had to replace as mine were rusted beyond help.
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by 80euro Csi »

I forgot to add this picture to show assembly
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by 86_6series »

I stand corrected, you're absolutely spot on. I didn't even pay attention to the call out
symbols, just sent the link. Thanks for clarifying.
86-635CSi
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Slownrusty
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by Slownrusty »

86_6series wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 12:11 pm I stand corrected, you're absolutely spot on. I didn't even pay attention to the call out
symbols, just sent the link. Thanks for clarifying.
No problem! Thanks again for reading my long reply.

On Saturday, I had sometime so decided to scrub the chassis, literally, bucket and brush using my power washer. It was VERY satisfying how clean everything came out but wow..I was covered in grime afterwards.
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by Slownrusty »

And after some good "elbow".
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635sharknose
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by 635sharknose »

Great job! Just as on your previous blue car. =D>
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by 80euro Csi »

I've thought about doing something like that but that is really impressive. Awesome job like new! I'm jealous and really impressed with the condition of the car.
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Re: Suspension and Brake Re-Fresh

Post by Slownrusty »

80euro Csi wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 4:46 pm I've thought about doing something like that but that is really impressive. Awesome job like new! I'm jealous and really impressed with the condition of the car.
635sharknose wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 4:35 pm Great job! Just as on your previous blue car. =D>
Thank you both! It was great removing 35 years of grime to reveal a clean, rust free chassis.
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