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Stance 325xi Wagon

28K views 76 replies 30 participants last post by  sambo_eddo 
#1 ·
Ok, for starters I am aware that a good majority of people are not into the whole "stance" idea and that's cool. I'm not here to push it onto anyone and I respect your opinion on it. I'm also not looking to be told how silly it looks over and over. Agree to disagree. lol. That aside, here is what I am trying to do. I have a 2003 325xi Wagon. From the research I have done it seems like several people have said "it's not a good idea" but there is not much more detail then that. I have purchased a set 18x10 et25 wheels and 225 40 tires. Also, becuase KW is almost the only company making coilovers for the awd wagons I have ordered those as well. I have mounted the 18x10's on the car with the current stock suspension and there was no issues besides obviously needing to pull some negative camber which may be just enough by lowering it. There was about an inch from the inside wheel bead and the front shock so hopefully the KW's aren't a ton larger in diameter of the stockers. I am really looking for someone to tell me exactly the reasons why it won't work at all or for someone who has done it before and can confirm it will work. Until that I suppose I'll be moving forward with the trial and error. Again, I'm kind of just intrigued by the challenge of what several seem to think will be difficult or next to impossible. I'm also not a stubborn idiot so if someone knows more about the idea and can say definietly that "this is why it cant be done and you will not be able to overcome this" then I will have to go less aggressive with my setup I suppose.

 
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#2 ·
First of all stance looks like sh!t and you look like a moron for doing it.

Now with that out of the way, I doubt it'll work from a purely physical point of view. With a stock height car, there is enough space for a ET25 10" rim to stick out (no matter how retarded it looks). When you lower it or, god forbid, slam it...that space goes away. Without the ride height, you will run into fender rubbing issues pretty quick.

Second of all, the reason that people say coilovers are no good on an xi is because they severely limit the available suspension travel. They work well on an RWD car because they inherently have more suspension travel to work with, an Xi has a lot less. It has nothing to do with blown up drive axles, all that will happen there is a loose boot allowing the grease out. Stay on top of it, and you'll be fine there. But without suspension travel it'll ride like crap and beat up the body/shock towers/suspension mounts/your back. Not to mention the previously noted rubbing issues. Also, if you like to drink things while you drive I suggest you change your habit before you go to coils.

Ugh, I can't believe I'm answering a stance question. :facepalm:

At least you asked nicely. :hi:
 
#3 ·
well thanks for not going too harshly on me. lol. Like I said, I understand it's not everyone's cup of tea and that's totally cool. I've gone down many different routes with builds from lifted wranglers to built street cars. This is just somethign new I haven't done yet and want to try out. Why not try it on something less done. As for the fender rubbing issues. The car is scheduled to have the fenders rolled and pulled May 9th. I would think that should increase my "lowered space" quite a bit. I am just assuming now that I will need to adjust camber around a bit so front camber plates will be ordered as well as rear camber adjusting kit if those are available. I look at ride quality, fender rubbing and those sort of issues as "relatively cureable" things to run into. By "thats a bad idea and cant be done" I was looking more for issues like the front axles binding from harsh angles or something not really "cureable".
 
#4 · (Edited)
I can't wait to see you do it :) I know that one person on this forum with a E46 sedan did the same set up your trying to do but the XXR's were silver and not lemon lime. I was very interested to see how the color looked from NLM.

The guy with the sedan took down his pictures though. Or I can't find them anymore, either way. :/

Can you mount the wheels again and take some pictures? Front and back. You might do better with some 225/35 tires?

EDIT: And I really want to see you do this so please don't get chased out by all the people that are going to flame you. Hopefully everyone will be mature for once and let you mod your car the way you want to :)
 
#5 ·
Thanks a lot whooty! So far the people who have said not to do it but haven't given reasons why not have just been motivation. SamDoe1 has been the first person to actually back up his opinion which gives him a lot more respect from me. :thumbup: It's good to hear someone with a sedan has gone this route. I'm not sure what the difference is suspension wise between the sedan and wagon xi's. I know KW had different part #'s for each. If the coilovers just plain out don't leave enough room for 10's up front I can use another set of XXR's I have that are the same exact wheels only flat bronze and 8.5" up front 10" rears. That's the back up plan I'd really rather not have to use. As for pictures, I can bolt them up this sunday and snap some. When I originally bolted the wheels up on the car a 35 series tire was on the test wheel and it just wasnt enough sidewall for me. I really think the very first pothole and BOOM the wheel would be gone. Plus even though a 40 an 35 isn't a huge difference, thats just a little bit lower I don't have to go with a car that seems like is already going to be a pain to get low enough. keep an eye out for the photos this weekend. I dont think I'll bail on this project. The problem you will have with me, if anything, will be selling it as soon as I have it just how I want it. I have a habit of being bored as soon as I meet my goal.
 
#8 ·
yes. The car is scheduled to have the fenders rolled and pulled by Reggie's Motorwerks here in Indiana on May 9th. My coilovers should be here next friday or the beginning of the following week. Other then that I believe a camber kit on all four corners will be all I'll need. I had the service engine light come on yesterday w/ a p1345 code so I guess I will be doing plugs and the cylinder coil tomorrow morning. yipee! Window tint all the way around on Monday too. The car has been "de-roof racked" already as well.
 
#9 ·
Something of interest I spotted about axle drive angle change when lowered is boot shredding. The accordion folds can bind against each other where rubbing wears the creased areas therefore fail quicker. The poster found by stretching the boot out longer then the factory clamp point prevents this. Seems reasonable.

Clamps seem to loosen no matter what. I've re-booted and had the inner clamps replaced as they magically loosened. The shop said they have issues getting them tight even with the proper tools/technique. Some use stainless, worm-screw clamps and have luck without balance issues. See how the boot looks when installed, try the stretch trick and clamp 'em tight.
 
#10 ·
Thanks alot White_Knuckles! That all makes sense and will be something to look at when I get in there. When I looked the car over before purchase the axles looked to be recently replaced. No boot issues that were obvious. Right now my main concern is if the KW's will get me low enough because they advertise about a 2 1/2" drop. I'm afraid I may need more on 18's with a 40 series tire to tuck the sidewall right behind the fender.
 
#13 ·
If she's going low and stiffer with the KW's, I'm pretty sure beefing up the strut towers and shock mounts is in order. Forces and energy transfer will change adding stress to known weak spots. Preventing mushroomed towers or torn rear mounts is a must. Man, that thing may look cool but will ride like a buckboard. Forget about trying to drink a beverage while rolling.
 
#14 ·
What do you mean by beefing up the shock tower mounts? double plating with steel plates? bracing bolted in?




I didn't get a chance to bolt up the wheel and take picture this weekend unfortunately. But today the tint was installed and the grille was broken and falling out (like i've seen on alot of these cars) so I spent $15 and made a cheap fix of it that actually looks pretty good. Also, first pics without the roof rack as well.



 
#21 ·
WOW! I'm pissing off some old guys here it sounds like. If the car is "undriveable" once lowered all the way or with these wheels on then I will obviously change things up. Like I said in another thread, I work at a deaership so I had access to pick this thing up cheaper then wholesale. For a $5k car I think I can tinker with it. The car would never ever remain stock as long as I own it so the coilovers would be going on regardless of wheel choice. Now it's just a matter of how aggressive it will allow me to go.
 
#39 ·
Not all of us are old. We just don't follow fads. It's your car, do what you want. I don't understand it, but I don't understand fecalphiliacs either. Neither do I care to.

If this is what picks up the hoes outside of Denny's on a Saturday night then more power to you. Just don't expect the majority of us to care.
 
#22 ·
Im starting to realize this forum is 80% conservatives that believe these cars are perfect from the factory and damn anyone that modifies anything on them.
Its ridiculous, youd think they bought the damn thing for you the way some of them act.

Do you dude, fuk what people say, you got a itch, fukin scratch it. If they dont like it, they can click on other threads.
Atleast when its all said and done, you can say you tried, and if you like the results, great, if not, oh well. At least you followed your dream.

Fukin nay sayers. :tsk:
 
#29 ·
Kubica has some good points. I'm new here also, but I've done a cooling system rebuild on a Z3 and on my XI along with a host of other repairs.

To come onto the forum asking for advice for their $5000 car and not work on the maintenance is false economy. Why dump $1000's into suspension, wheels, etc. if your $250 cooling system is ready to take a dump? What about SwayBar Endlinks, CAB's, Ball Joints, etc? They need to be replaced every 30-60K miles, if they haven't. It is VERY rare to get more miles than that and I suspect that people who claim that they do have NO IDEA how worn out their suspension really is. Yes, I said it, many owners are idiots not mechanics.

BMW stands for Broke Mans Wallet for a reason. ;) It might nickel and dime you to death, but it will be one of the best rides, especially for a daily driver. Not many cars can go through a foot of snow or sand, do 0 - 60 in about 6 seconds, have all the luxuries of a premium sedan and still get 22 - 32MPG. Respect the car and treat it right. If you don't, be warned that it will quickly turn into a money pit that you will get sick of and want to sell.

Hate to break it to you, but these cars are considered luxury sport sedans. They have a high amount of required maintenance. If you want a car to pimp out and beat the crap out of, get a Honda, Toyota or Mazda.....really can't beat them for the price to performance/reliability ratio.
 
#30 ·


here's the new direction with the car. I decided that since the 80% mentioned earlier helped buy the car I should heed their expectations. Parts list below:


1. knitting needle kit
2. picnic basket
3. cardigan sweater and plaid golfing pants
4. 3 yawns
5. baby seat
6. custom AARP Card holder


Also, it's a 2003 with 60k miles on it, belonged to a long time BMW owner who traded it in along side a z3 on a 2010 335i convertible. I inspected the car right next to a BMW certified technician before buying it and of course checked the CAB's and axles. I'm only 16 though and all I've ever owned are civics and those look awesome with tons of stickers on them. It's going to be really hard to only put on the stick figure family stickers! But anything for you 80% guys!!!
 
#33 ·
im out, i stand by what i said. His car, his money, he does what he wants. if you dont like it, dont click. dont preach to the guy, dont try to shove it down his throat. its his decision.
We dont try to shove aggressive mods at you guys everytime you ask a maintenance question, so why when someone asks a mod question someone comes up with some maintenance crap.

could it just possibly be that some of us maintain our sh1t and mod it aggressively too? Is that so impossible?
 
#34 ·
16yr old buys a wagon to stance it.. its gotta be a troll.
 
#35 ·
i typed this long philosophical reply then hit go advanced instead of quick reply.

so here it is:


i think it's a stupid idea. but it's your money and you should do whatever makes you happy. too much negativity on this board. who cares if you're a dumb 16 year old who wants to rice his car. i got my wagon for a reason and you got yours for.... well, you have your reasons.

i will say that i spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on paintball in high school and i sure could have used that money during undergraduate, grad school or even now to put a down payment on a house. remember, it's just a car. no point having a fancy car only for it to take you to and from work/school.

john
 
#38 ·
Well ***** should you be 16 or just claimed that to incite a riot, I'll give you credit for that snappy come-back with the parts list. Well played. I too cringed at the thought of flying into this without knowing the must-do items for a successful mod. I hold to what I and others suggest. You start playing with a well engineered suspension you will have issues. Research, read, get a realistic budget to perform the job and do it right. Don't skip tower/shock reinforcement, camber plates, alignment and possible fender rolling. Basically, you're adding more rolling mass on the drivetrain and suspension. Things will be affected from applied stress and actually will make the heavy wagon slower.

Ask my 18 year old what he went through slamming and bagging an 80's S-10 Blazer then dropping a 350 stroked Chevy engine in it. 4-link rear axle, 3500 stall converter, on and on. He started at 16 and had it road worthy in two years with his own money. (well mostly his own money). The car is painted metallic lime green with ghost flames. Us old guys cringe when we see it but hey, it's his vision not ours.
 
#56 ·
Well ***** should you be 16 or just claimed that to incite a riot, I'll give you credit for that snappy come-back with the parts list. Well played. I too cringed at the thought of flying into this without knowing the must-do items for a successful mod. I hold to what I and others suggest. You start playing with a well engineered suspension you will have issues. Research, read, get a realistic budget to perform the job and do it right. Don't skip tower/shock reinforcement, camber plates, alignment and possible fender rolling. Basically, you're adding more rolling mass on the drivetrain and suspension. Things will be affected from applied stress and actually will make the heavy wagon slower.

Ask my 18 year old what he went through slamming and bagging an 80's S-10 Blazer then dropping a 350 stroked Chevy engine in it. 4-link rear axle, 3500 stall converter, on and on. He started at 16 and had it road worthy in two years with his own money. (well mostly his own money). The car is painted metallic lime green with ghost flames. Us old guys cringe when we see it but hey, it's his vision not ours.
pics or it didn't happen
 
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