Surprised at the amount of front fender gap with ZCP....

[LarThaL]

So I've had my 2011 M3 with ZCP for just over a week now. Love it. I am surprised at how much front fender gap I have stock, however. Front fender height is 27.5" and rear is 27". Is this normal? If not, what could be causing this? Does the front settle over time?

[Jameson@Alpine]

The front usually is a bit lower but nothing too noticeable. If you get lowering springs it gives the car a nice stance as well.

It might settle in, just like anything new... it would make sense.

Enjoy your beast though!

[jasonlochrie1]

Even from your posted photo of your car i can see that the front is higher than the back, i would personally have to lower that fron end 1/2" or so.

[PINHEAD]

you probably have to remove shipping blocks.

[Grail05]

NORMAL... front is heigher than the rear...

[avex8]

OP i am in your shoes. I have my car over a week now and i have the ZCP but somehow the car still look really high up even after i installed the front lip....

I can fit three finger in the front and two finger in the rear (sound weird haha) and the shipping block are removed. So not sure why.... here is my pic

[kitw]

Originally Posted by Sean05

NORMAL... front is heigher than the rear...

This is untrue. The gap is the same, the front tire is smaller!

[Grail05]

Originally Posted by kitw

This is untrue. The gap is the same, the front tire is smaller!

Measurement taken from the base of a 19" rim to the edge of the wing which is the recommended method by BMW. Adjust the sizes by 12mm if you have 18" rims.

BMW listed oem spec: Front 623mm, Rear 607mm
BMW listed competition spec: Front 612mm, Rear 597mm
Actual competition Front 617mm, Rear 608mm
Actual Std e92: Front 626mm, Rear 604mm
Eibach on stock dampers: Front 609mm, Rear 590mm

not sure if this is accurate... probably not.. but i base my answer to this.. i could be wrong.

[haze gray]

Maybe BMW Motorsports screwed it up?

[ex10psi]

are you guys sure your shipping blocks are removed?? please see my thread here: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=558862

jack up the front end of the car and lift the black plastic sleeve that goes around the strut rod and look for 2 white and 1 blue colored shipping blocks actually wrapped around the strut rod inside the strut assembly under this black plastic sleeve. they are easy to remove with a large screw driver, but extremely difficult to see unless you deliberately jack up the front end and get your hand in there and lift that sleeve.

the thread i referenced has pictures of what to look for. my ride height WITH shipping blocks was 27.5 inches as well. the front gap should not be that surprising.

[808MGuy]

The car appears to be parked on a hill in that picture thus loading the rear suspension and making the rear look lower than the front. Also, look closely and you'l; see that the front fender is actually cut higher than the rear so the fender gap in the front will naturally be larger even if the chassis is level or has forward rake.

I had no issues with the OEM stance until I wanted to install 20" wheels. Then it was just time to lower the whole car a bit but I never felt the need to adjust the rake because that will have a possibly negative effect on handling.

[vividracing]

Originally Posted by 808MGuy

The car appears to be parked on a hill in that picture thus loading the rear suspension and making the rear look lower than the front. Also, look closely and you'l; see that the front fender is actually cut higher than the rear so the fender gap in the front will naturally be larger even if the chassis is level or has forward rake.

I had no issues with the OEM stance until I wanted to install 20" wheels. Then it was just time to lower the whole car a bit but I never felt the need to adjust the rake because that will have a possibly negative effect on handling.

Parking the car on a slight incline will have no effect on loading the rear suspension. Unless you're parked on a slight incline and have cinder blocks in the trunk :P

If you did not remove the shipping blocks yourself, then double check them as ex10psi suggested. Be careful poking around in there with a screw driver though, if you chip the shock shaft you can damage the seals, and you'll have a blown shock very quickly.