Why is my MP HAS drop uneven?

[F82ny]

Had a shop install my MP HAS. Long story short, they didn’t do a great job and I went to a more reputable M specialty shop that had to seat the perch on the passenger side a bit further down, stating that the previous shop didn’t do it properly as it didn’t cover the markings of where the OEM perch was. They said they adjusted everything and it was good to go - they did say to come back in a week for the springs to settle and then they would do the finishing touches on the ride height.

2 weeks later the ride height gets dialed in on their alignment rack and I see the tech using a tape measure pretty meticulously. When they were done I would say the different between the front and passenger side was off but very minimal. Didn’t think much of it. A few thousand miles later I can’t help but notice the passenger side looks lower. I take out a tape measure and compare the front driver and front passenger side and I get about a 1/2” difference with the driver side being higher. Tire pressure is equal all around.

I’ve presumably been driving around like this for some time and just want to know the unevenness could have caused any long term damage to the unibody or frame? Aside from that I’m curious if anyone else is having this issue with their HAS kit? The instructions state there should be no more than 5mm difference in ride height between the driver and passenger side. I’m pretty much at the 10-12mm difference mark... is it bad to continue driving like this?

My concern is if I go back to the shop that did this, they’ll simple raise the passenger side to match the driver side but that might be a bandaid fix and not addressing the root issue of why there’s a gap?

[Mospeada]

mine is off like this. the rear is 5mm different left to right, front is 10mm+ , i still can't get the height correct, my driver side is lower than passenger on the front. it drives me nuts. however i'm going to get it corner balanced instead in the off season. it may not matter what it looks like since the car isn't symmetric it's better to go by what the scale says. yes i did it with full tank of gas, fresh tires, correct air in the tire, etc. still uneven, i have OCD and drives me insane and my shop too

[TopJimmy]

To properly check ride height you need to coast to a stop in a flat spot, no foot or hand brakes at the very end. Have a buddy do the measuring (or they take your seat). Measure straight up and down from bottom of the rim through the center cap to the wheel well lip.

It's okay if left and right are a little different, and fronts and backs should be different (front higher), but the difference between front and rear (the car's "rake") should be the same on both sides. On my car the passenger side perch is super close, so instead of running 3mil spacers I could run that whole side a 1/4 or 3/8in higher for clearance while still looking right.

Give it another 2 full weeks of driving, then measure. Find a parking lot with a ton of speed bumps to go over. My OCD made me nuts but working in the settling beats double work adjusting...especially the rear HAS.

[RElias21]

Leveling the car on MP-HAS was very difficult for me. Took me many hours and the thread count on opposite sides ended up being vastly different.

I don't have experience with other height adjustable springs, but I would say the height adjustment with the tool provided, particularly in the rear, is def for fine tuning.

IMHO, to adjust the height 1/2" or so, you would be much better served to uninstall that side, adjust the height without the pressure of the compressed spring, and reinstall. The main issue I see with that, is whether another alignment would need to be performed.

To answer your question though, I would think that after a few thousand miles, your set has definitely settled all it will settle. I doubt having the shop adjust the height for you now would be just a bandaid fix. I would at least give it a shot and monitor.

[F82ny]

Appreciate the feedback. It seems like the HAS is just plain tricky to get even height all around.

I plan on going back to the shop to have them fix this. However one question still remains: I’ve been driving with the driver side front being 1/2” higher than the passenger front (rears are even) so what negative impact could this have? Am I looking at this stressing the frame/unibody or is it just suspension components?

[puffymom]

Agree, I'm on KW HAS but my Left Right Fronts differs about 5mm with the perch all the way down.
My rear also differs about the same.
Driving me nuts too, might get it fine tuned today.
I guess if you drive the car alone most of the time, might make the driver side a tad lower.

[RElias21]

We all should have measured our cars stock. They were probably uneven too and we never even thought to look.

[CanAutM3]

Ride height measurement should only be the starting point. Corner balancing should be the final determinant of the ride height setting.

[Mospeada]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

Ride height measurement should only be the starting point. Corner balancing should be the final determinant of the ride height setting.

did you get yours corner balanced? any measurements ? just wondering how much it differs? what is the thread length at each corner and ride height as it is?

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by Mospeada

did you get yours corner balanced? any measurements ? just wondering how much it differs? what is the thread length at each corner and ride height as it is?

Yes, I had mine corner balanced. I have a 1mm difference side-to-side in front and none in the rear.