I got up under an F56 a few weeks ago to do a rear swaybar. The springs and shocks were separately mounted! I know that I'm an automotive noob and have a somewhat deep but very narrow exposure to suspension setups (98% R53), but that was CRAZY!
How so? Tons of cars I have worked on mount them separately. It usually makes for easier parts change/adjustments anyway.
It was simple to do. It is just way different than all of my other car experiences (90% done on an R53, so I know I have limited experience). It just looked so different... caught me off guard.
Agreed.. first car I worked on with seperate springs and shocks was a BMW 325 (E30). Ultimately it did make it easier to change parts etc. But I do clearly remember sitting there looking at it stumped... to this day I cannot say "why" outside of it was different than what I knew. LOL.
29,356 mile update: This car has done the Austin to Los Angeles run twice in the last 5 months. That's an additional 4k miles on that alone. I just had my 30k service (a tad early). The way back on the second trip I hit a pothole on I10 so deep it tore the runflat at the rim guard. This warranted an immediate pull over. The emergency flashers went on automatically and the dash lit up and it gave me the "pull off the road immediately" warning. Not that I needed the warning. As a testament to the quality of the build, the rim wasn't damaged at all and the suspension wasn't knocked outta whack. I'll skip the harrowing tail of getting towed to Phoenix and getting a tire (See the attached pic for a visual). The funny thing was that I was getting ready to replace the OE tires since they were down to the wear-bars anyway. So, I skipped the run-flats and I have some nice sticky Continental tires that are also good in the wet. Honestly, I can't tell the difference in the ride comfort. The run flats have come a long way in 10 years. This car is a still a blast to drive everyday. Sport mode is still a giggle. Clutch is still great and it runs well and there are no funky creaks or rattles. My plans to mod the car are on hold for two reasons. 1) My shooting career isn't where I want it to be so I am putting more time there 2) The JCW GP is coming and if they don't suck I will buy one and track the hell out of it instead of modding this JCW.
I've always had R53s and they are the car that I've done most of my wrenching on... that and the maintenance on a few other cars like my Volvo XC60. I did a rear sway on a new MINI about a year ago and I can remember sitting there, looking at the rear suspension after getting the wheel off and thinking "Wow... look at that. WTF do I do now?" Luckily the job was much like an R53 and we had some printed instructions.
Yea - I remember on time working on an Alfa graduate.. it had straps for the differential... I was dumbfounded. Used the internet to look it up. I thought some person had rigged it. Turns out it’s factory.. can’t imagine working on cars without the internet.
Being an old fart. I'd have to start a search to find the local ____ Guru. The search involved heading to a friends shop & then being sent to another's shop until I found the right guy with the knowledge. If you were lucky he would impart that knowledge to you. No internet no cell phones, just word of mouth. You kids have it easy these days.
One should never question fine Italian engineering! They are fine cars. Alfa had a hemi before doge came along.
Agreed - when I started the internet was still in its infancy but forums were around (old BB forums)... so that helped.