M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => Suspension => Topic started by: Crunk3 on August 15, 2006, 11:59:28 PM
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IS there coilovers for e30 318is?
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[ali g. voice]IS there coilovers for e30 318is?[/ali g. voice]
d. clay here can help you out... and for $1200 more, Ground Control can help you out too. I think e9nine is running them.
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Ground Control and H&R are really the only viable alternatives (when considering cost).
The H&R price just went up A LOT. So, cost for that is $2000 now for thier setup. Ground Control is probably your best bet for around $1500.
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Ground control has a setup that fits on the factory spring perch on the strut and goes from OEM height to -1.75".
http://www.ground-control-store.com/products/category.php/CA=98 (http://www.ground-control-store.com/products/category.php/CA=98)
For $400 it's a good deal because you can pick any (Eibach) spring rates you want. It's for street and occasional track use.
For low price, you can't beat CosmoRacing. $175.
http://cosmoracing.com/productinfo.asp?cid=219&pid=1164 (http://cosmoracing.com/productinfo.asp?cid=219&pid=1164)
The Ricers feature them. Street and occasional track also. Only one spring combo is available though. 275# and 375#
The adjusting sleeves for Penske Racing Shocks are 2" ID and fit snugly on E30 51 mm. struts. With them you can also pick your springs but total cost is about the same - $375-$400. That was what I did as the cheaper ground controls weren't available yet and I got the adjusters free from some circle track racers.
To me, there are only two reasons to go with coilovers:
1) you need to regularly adjust ride height.
2) you need to change spring rates frequently for different tracks.
I'm going back to 250# fronts and 350# rears with a stiff bar as soon as it cools off some here. It's summer in Texas - 100+ for a few weeks now.
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what would be my best bet for suspention then for like day to day driving and taking corners at higher speeds
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#29664 H&R sports and as many driver's school days as you can afford.
(no joke!)
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#29664 H&R sports and as many driver's school days as you can afford.
(no joke!)
Febi...
Can you refresh my memory as to what makes the 29664 Sports special.
Is this the Sport shock listing for the 318i (hence, designed for less weight in the front than the 6 cyl counterparts)?
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I got the recommendation re: 29664 springs from a guy on this board (well, he's on this board now) Fitz318is --he had both the H&R sports for the 318is and the #29664s and recommended the latter hands down...
All I can say is that I really like the way my car handles for daily driving on NYC roads, which suck btw.
They aren't the hardest ever... but I like to feel the car get off the control arms and onto the springs when I set the car to turn. I'm a fuddy duddy that way I suppose. (for reference, I've also put off buying parabolic skiis!)
having said that, I *love* the way thumper's car handles on H&R race springs, and no power steering... when I move outta new york and can get a hoopty truck, I'm getting something a little lower / stiffer.
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I'm a fuddy duddy that way I suppose. (for reference, I've also put off buying parabolic skiis!)
Okay, now you are crazy!!! :rolleyes:
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I purchased the Cosmo coilover "kit" to see what the problem was with them. I cant afford the good ones and still wanted to set my cornerweights. I am also using tokico shocks because they are cheaper than the good ones. So inessence I have the cheapest modified suspention you can get. I sent Cosmo an email asking for the spring rates and they told me they were 6kg/mm front and 8kg/mm rear which turns out to be 337lb/in front and 450 lb/in rear. I would not want more srping than this because I dont think the tokicos could handle it. If I get rich one day and can afford Koni's I can still use the Cosmo threaded collars and just get eibach ERS springs in a 6" by 2.5"
size which is very common. I have heard that 450lb/in fronts and 600lb/in rears work good for track events but may be too hard for street so I figure that the supplied Cosmo spring rates will be a decent compromise. I also got some camber plates and M3 front control arm bushings and poly rear subframe bushings and poly rear contl arm bushings. It is all realy an experiment so see what cheap components work and which ones are a waist of money.
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I purchased the Cosmo coilover "kit" to see what the problem was with them. If I get rich one day and can afford Koni's I can still use the Cosmo threaded collars and just get eibach ERS springs in a 6" by 2.5"
size which is very common. It is all realy an experiment so see what cheap components work and which ones are a waist of money.
I subscribe to both meanings of "Cheap at any price!"
Most vendors sell parts that they don't actually manufacture. They repackage them or have them manufactured to their specs. Like those Sears tires that were actually Michelins. Coilover sleeves and adjusters aren't rocket science.
These fit a 2" (50.8 mm) shock housing.
http://www.pitstopusa.com/detail.aspx?ID=55580 (http://www.pitstopusa.com/detail.aspx?ID=55580)
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There is a guy on Ebay selling Ground-Control products for a lot cheaper than GC. Search for the "Team No Money" store.
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I have the gound control setup on my 84 E30 318is supercharged. What a great setup. The conversion is relatively easy, but is not for the faint of heart. You do need a welder to attach the parts to your struts (front only). Rear is a drop in deal.I used 375 front/450 rear for the street. Really liked it. It is now a track car and I use 450/450, but feel I might be better off with 550/450. I do not use a rear bar, and love the way it feels. The main reason for coil overs is to LOWER the car, but don't forget...you benefit wildly by corner weighting the car, and that can only be done with coil overs.
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I finaly installed the "cheap" cosmo col over kit and like the spring rates but as I thought the shocks are no where near enough to control them and under bumpy roads the car bounces like a riced out honda. I have purchased some better shocks, Bilstein sports. I will be installing them as soon as they arive and setting the the car up. I just spent the last week preping a Ferrari
F430GT for the 9 hour grand am rolex race here in Utah. If you watched the race we were the fire breating black Ferrari. We did finish the race by the way. Well in the process of getting the car ready I learned how to set cross weights and corner weights and even how to rebuild Penske shocks. Any way I will let you all know how the cheap coil over kit works out.
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To me, there are only two reasons to go with coilovers:
1) you need to regularly adjust ride height.
2) you need to change spring rates frequently for different tracks.
I forgot. There's Alzheimers, Half - heimers and now "two out three ain't bad - heimers"
3) Setting corner weights or wedge as the roundie rounders call it. You can't change left/right and front/rear percentages with weight jacks but you can change the percentage on diagonal corners.
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What do you think about this setup?
http://e30m3performance.com/installs/GC_susp/GC_susp1.htm (http://e30m3performance.com/installs/GC_susp/GC_susp1.htm)
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[IMO]Asking for opinions here is like trying to get a drink from a firehose!
The full-tilt Ground Controls require welding and fab skills to install. In addition the cost is only justified for all-out competition or for those with money to burn. Added benefit is more camber adjustment.
Short of all out, the $400 Ground Control kit is a really good deal. It's a bolt on and you can choose your spring (Eibach) rates. If you encounter rough pavement or bad streets, anything over 250-300# fronts will ride like a sled and play hell with your upper strut mounts. However they can be a very good rattle and squeak locating device.
Don't forget the rear geometry requires a stiffer spring on the rear than the actual wheel rate you want. Spring rate X .65 = wheel rate. Or a 450 #spring X .65 = Wheel rate of 292#. Common sense and experience says the front of a sedan should be stiffer than the rear.
st600r loves it for a track car - see previous post.
A good low cost setup for a track car would be the $400 kit with the Ground Control camber adjusters for $300.
$700 total - with no shocks.[/IMO] That tag is my contribution to html.
http://www.ground-control-store.com/products/category.php/CA=98 (http://www.ground-control-store.com/products/category.php/CA=98)
http://www.ground-control-store.com/products/description.php/II=142/CA=8 (http://www.ground-control-store.com/products/description.php/II=142/CA=8)
(http://www.ground-control-store.com/images/datapage/CCPE30_dp.jpg)