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Car sits 3/4" lower on one side?? WTF

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Old 04-04-2011, 03:54 PM
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c_buz
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Default Car sits 3/4" lower on one side?? WTF

So my car sits about 3/4" lower on the passenger side. I have visually inspeted the suspension components and it does not seem like anything is abnormal, bent, or even replaced (suspension bolts all look untouched from factory). What could it be? Could it be a slightly bent sway bar?
Old 04-04-2011, 04:07 PM
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bluelineshooter
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Is there someone sitting in the car??????
Old 04-04-2011, 04:34 PM
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2004Black350z
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Zs are not fat girl friendly.
Old 04-04-2011, 05:52 PM
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davidv
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Its what they call an optional illusion.
Old 04-04-2011, 06:04 PM
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jduet
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Are you parked on uneven ground?
Old 04-04-2011, 06:09 PM
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Figgy
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it puts the lotion in the basket
Old 04-04-2011, 06:59 PM
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Mine does the same thing, lawlz at some of these responses
Old 04-04-2011, 07:07 PM
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terrasmak
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Is it on perfectly level ground, does it have a full tank of gas ?
Old 04-04-2011, 07:25 PM
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c_buz
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ok let's clear up the obvious;

No fat girlfriend
car is on perfect level ground
tank is about 1/2 full
measurements taken from floor to fender and middle of wheel to fender

I want to remove the sway bar to inspect it. This might be the culprit. Just wanted to hear some other ideas as to what might be causing this.
Old 04-04-2011, 07:34 PM
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SSNOS
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doubt its the sway bar, unless one of the mounts is completely tweaked.

most likely the way that side settled or at worse case the rear subframe is bent

had an m3 sit hat way. Never figured it out, it drove normal so I just chalked it up to settling.
Old 04-04-2011, 07:35 PM
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Mint Racer
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sway bar has nothing to do with the height of the car. try checking your springs one could have broken and the broken piece might not have stayed there.
Old 04-04-2011, 07:35 PM
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terrasmak
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Try a full tank , the z has saddle tanks that don't sit even
Old 04-04-2011, 07:44 PM
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Jimster88
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Park it in the same place facing the opposite direction. You may find the ground is in fact NOT perfectly level. My Z sits a half inch to 3/4 of an inch lower on the passenger side in my driveway... and opposite at the gas station sometimes. Independent suspension is most likely the reason. The car is perfectly fine.
Old 04-04-2011, 09:45 PM
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mysmokenz
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Two things come to mind: 1 check the sway bar, if you a hit large pot whole you can bend the sway bar. Disconnect both ends and both the mounts to the subframe, do the front first, then the rear. After disconnecting each one measure ride height. 2 the rear control arms are cast aluminum, if you hit a large pothole they will bend were the spring mounts inside of them. They are hard to tell if they are bent but a slight bend equals a lot of sag, and one bent control arm will affect the entire side of the car. Also make sure both the top and bottom rear rubber spring isolaters are still there.
Old 04-05-2011, 06:40 AM
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its cool.. i know im going to hell.
Old 04-05-2011, 08:19 PM
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c_buz
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Well the springs are in perfect shape. I just installed H&R springs. When I took measurements before the install in noticed the car was uneven. It is more obvious when you have the car dropped. Floor is perfectly leveled, since it is in my garage. It sits the same way in the driveway. I still suspect the front swaybar might be it. I will take it out and lay it on a flat surface to see if it is bent, and also measure ride height. Rear spring mounts are intact. I was thinking that if I cut the rear driver spring mount 3/4" the car should even out since it should drop that side by 3/4", correct? What boggles me is that the car drives perfect, does not pull to either side.
Old 04-05-2011, 09:02 PM
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terrasmak
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Originally Posted by c_buz
I was thinking that if I cut the rear driver spring mount 3/4" the car should even out since it should drop that side by 3/4", correct? What boggles me is that the car drives perfect, does not pull to either side.
Nope, the spring is not mounted on the end. You cut 3/4 inch it will drop it closer to 1.25 inch. Have you measure everything with a full tank of gas yet?
Old 04-05-2011, 10:53 PM
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Dude same thing with my car and I'm on coils...not sure why the passenger side is lower. Someone else was asking about this before too but I don't remember the thread sorry :/ My passenger side profile looks better than my driver side profile
Old 04-06-2011, 08:46 AM
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c_buz
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Originally Posted by terrasmak
Nope, the spring is not mounted on the end. You cut 3/4 inch it will drop it closer to 1.25 inch. Have you measure everything with a full tank of gas yet?
I will check the sway bar since the car is on jackstands until my wheels arrive. If that doesn't do it I will have to fill her up and check.
Old 04-10-2011, 07:29 PM
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c_buz
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Originally Posted by Mint Racer
sway bar has nothing to do with the height of the car. try checking your springs one could have broken and the broken piece might not have stayed there.
And how did you come up with that conclusion? Try disconnecting your sway bar links and lower the car back to the ground, then tell me what happens.

UPDATE: removed the front sway bar an it is indeed bent, about 1/8". I placed it on a leveled floor to check it. Inspected everything else underneath the car once again and there is not even as scratch, so I assume it must have been a pothole. Oh well, a good excuse to upgrade to a new set of sway-bars. I will update once it is assembled and back on the ground (still waiting on rims).


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