My lowering experience @ Motorsport Division

[B33mEr]

Actually Arata is the panel for NAZA when it comes to servicing and repairing BMW and Mercedes plus they're also a specialist in Honda and Toyota vehicles ... they're good for servicing and repairing our UDM ... they're located at Jalan Kapar
as is the same with Auto Elegance which caters mostly BMW's and Merc's and the workshop owner mr. Lee, drives a beautifully modded silver e36 ... so he has the same passion as us when it comes to UDM which is a good thing :top: if you want the contact number just PM me :listen:

 

[guru]

Well too bad for you mate cos am a 1st time owner of a UDM and i've already decided i'm gonna drive a BMW for life lol cos it's given me so much driving pleasures and satisfaction that no Honda or Toyota could ever give me drive after drive ... granted our BMW's are a bit manja and expertise in BMW's is lacking but i do have to say that i've did my research before buying and i already know who to go when buying my BMW by visiting this forum and other bimmers forum ... i can name at least 5 workshop that are more than competent fixing or upgrading our UDM's

1)MSpeed USJ
2)Raymond Auto
3)Elegance Auto (Jln 222)
4)Arata (klang)
5)Stuggart (they have their own workshop too)
6) BMW dealership Sapura , Ingress and so on

actually i had a bad experience with Mspeed USJ and it's one of the worst place i've been to.
I know many forumers speek highly of meng and that's why i tried it out. To cut the story short, I nearly kena con into replacing my computer box($7k) over a disconnected fuel flap. That experience I wrote about few years ago somewhere in this forum.
Yea, i know he's quite popular guy..i'm just relating MY experience

 

[mnk]

the superbike owner is young guy rite?? i thot he is very exprience??
even the other mechanic also look very young? are they exprience??

 

[Motorsport Division]

Dear guru, you are marcus lee right?

 

[Motorsport Division]

I'm sorry to hear about this. After i read this topic, I get down to check with all parties to see what is the problem
And I do apologized for not inspecting the car after the installation.

The left n right strut is install wrongly. This is my mistake! n I check back my invoice. You came to my shop during 6th feb. I think one or two days b4 Chinese new year. Normally we sent our customer car to one mechanic near our shop to install spring absorber n antiroll bar. He was not in during that time because he is back to kampung. N I have to sent your car to the workshop behind us to fix the spring.

this is what i find out,
the strut the other way wrong won't effect to the absorber working. but will effect to the anti-roll bar linkage. which mean you will experience more roll during corner. which also means more tyre wear on outside. normal driving should be ok.

for you problem (base on me and our mech experience),

lower arm bushing - normally E46 need to replace every year. is a tear n wear stuff.

steering rack repair - repair kit cost few hundred bucks, but usually people change the rack. cost over 1k~1.5k. if not mistaken you are running 19' in right? over side rim n tyre will a lot of extra load on the suspension. also depend on driving style.

uneven wear of tyre - H&R red spring lower your car front 55mm and rear 35mm. original ride high give about 0 to -1 degree. so your car maybe around minus 1~2 degree. for sure will wear of inner tyre faster. and you running stock absorber with lowering spring, which will result uneven tyre wear as well. this is common for all bimmer. unless you have camber kit to adjust to proper setting.
condition of absorber, tyre pressure and driving style will also effect on tyre wear.

i will say this is my mistake of the not checking properly before hand over the car to you, but all those problem on your car are very subjective.

 

[guru]

Dear guru, you are marcus lee right?

no i'm not i'm alex tan!

anyway, you're right about the faults being subjective. But they are connected, so I can't help but to think that they were the main causes. After switching the struts back, I have no more problems except from the uneven wear. I changed 4 new tyres.

You don't need to reply this post to pass on the responsibility to someone else or identify other causes for the faults. It is not my intention to request for monetary compensation from you or your company.

Needless to say I am disappointed that this happened. I bear no grudges, but I hope you maintain high standards with regards to installation no matter what the circumstances are.

The quality of your service has bearing to the safety of my life.

 

[jarance]

Marco,

Can it be said that after lowering, it is advisable to adjust the alignment which involve putting a camber kit. Can the alignment be adjust adequately without the camber kit.

Pertaining to the wearing of the lower arm bushing, the item is quite prone to wear and tear for an E46. I heard that if upgrade to M3 type, it will make it last longer. It that true?

Anyway, it is good to hear your side of your story.. Hope that the matter can be resolved between both parties.

 

[guru]

Anyway, it is good to hear your side of your story.. Hope that the matter can be resolved between both parties.

there isn't anything to resolve really.. I am only relating my experience.

regarding the lower arm bushing- my previous one lasted many years(4+) before needed to replace, so from my perspective I don't see why they should fail frequently. Maybe if you were driving hard on them, then it's a different story and lower arm bushings would be the least of your worries.

 

[jarance]

there isn't anything to resolve really.. I am only relating my experience.

regarding the lower arm bushing- my previous one lasted many years(4+) before needed to replace, so from my perspective I don't see why they should fail frequently. Maybe if you were driving hard on them, then it's a different story and lower arm bushings would be the least of your worries.

bro, is that after you upgrade your rims and lower your ride?

I heard that the bushing wear off faster after the shocks and spring have changed.

As for my ride, I heard from the previous owner that he have changed the bushing about 3 times for about 4 years usage for Msport version. Rim is 18" btw.

 

[guru]

oh when I was on stock 17" also no problems, so I wouldn't worry too much about it, I guess it depends on your driving style more than anything else.. After all everything is stiffer after the mods.

 

[Motorsport Division]

Marco,

Can it be said that after lowering, it is advisable to adjust the alignment which involve putting a camber kit. Can the alignment be adjust adequately without the camber kit.

Pertaining to the wearing of the lower arm bushing, the item is quite prone to wear and tear for an E46. I heard that if upgrade to M3 type, it will make it last longer. It that true?

Anyway, it is good to hear your side of your story.. Hope that the matter can be resolved between both parties.

For E46 only rear camber can be adjust. but not really much.
SPC front camber kit price around RM1500 or above.
you can try powerflex bush. retail RM380 without installation.

 

[B33mEr]

front tyre for BMW e46 can also be adjusted for camber ... it's a myth actually that said front cannot be adjusted for camber

 

[Motorsport Division]

front tyre for BMW e46 can also be adjusted for camber ... it's a myth actually that said front cannot be adjusted for camber

are you sure?
the top mount can be push a bit, but not even 0.5 degree...
i won't call that adjustable camber.

 

[jarance]

For E46 only rear camber can be adjust. but not really much.
SPC front camber kit price around RM1500 or above.
you can try powerflex bush. retail RM380 without installation.

powerflex bushing.. RM380 per pair or per piece. How long do they last as compare to stock bushing?

Any pro and con. Appreciate some info.. APologizes to the thread starter for off topic.

BTW, mine is Msport version.. Any improvement in the road handling.. I find the E46 Msport version a bit rough compare to my E36 stock version. It feel like on the the Bilstein yellow shock.

 

[Motorsport Division]

powerflex bushing.. RM380 per pair or per piece. How long do they last as compare to stock bushing?

Any pro and con. Appreciate some info.. APologizes to the thread starter for off topic.

BTW, mine is Msport version.. Any improvement in the road handling.. I find the E46 Msport version a bit rough compare to my E36 stock version. It feel like on the the Bilstein yellow shock.

RM380 (retail) per pair.
compare with original bushing, original bushing is made by rubber n steel more free play. with oil inside.
power flex is made by polyurethane. less free play. result better steering feedback and sharp handling. but will loss some comfortable for sure.
life time is subjective. usually last more then a year.