Author Topic: Post your suspension setup (Read 29066 times)

Boosted E30 · « **Reply #15 on:** December 19, 2009, 12:15:08 AM »

5 lug e36 m3 fronts with e30 m3 rear and e36 m3 bilstien pss9 coilovers.

carlos318is · « **Reply #16 on:** December 19, 2009, 03:42:47 AM »

How hard was the 5lug conversion to do:cool:

visionracingdevelopments · « **Reply #17 on:** December 19, 2009, 04:48:37 AM »

SPAX PSX bump/rebound adjustable suspension on -40 springs and 4pot Wilwood Dynalites and 280mm discs.

Boosted E30 · « **Reply #18 on:** December 19, 2009, 02:14:29 PM »

Quote from: carlos318is;83239

How hard was the 5lug conversion to do:cool:

If you can change your shocks, springs brakes&bleed, its easy the hardest part is the rears. I just changed the wheel bearing&hub (E30 M3) and put e30 m3 brakes on in the back.

quinn11m20 · « **Reply #19 on:** December 19, 2009, 03:35:15 PM »

I would love to do pics but never took any of my set up. And never figured out how to load them through this site. Any how, I have H&R 1" and 1/2 springs with Tokico's. She squats just nice.

carlos318is · « **Reply #20 on:** December 19, 2009, 03:43:19 PM »

Quote from: Boosted E30;83253

If you can change your shocks, springs brakes&bleed, its easy the hardest part is the rears. I just changed the wheel bearing&hub (E30 M3) and put e30 m3 brakes on in the back.

The prob with this is here in the UK there are no E30 M3 going up for breaking so it means you have to buy new from BMW and I havent got that much money :mad:

Boosted E30 · « **Reply #21 on:** December 19, 2009, 04:29:09 PM »

Yup its fricken expensive for the hub and caliper carrier. the caliper itself you can use from a e32 735i. you could also swap the whole rear end with one from a z3 or 318ti.

P. Kennedy · « **Reply #22 on:** December 19, 2009, 09:42:31 PM »

Hey...look what I found: http://www.m42club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147&highlight=suspension+setup

took me all of 5 seconds after doing a search.

Chalino · « **Reply #23 on:** December 19, 2009, 11:27:16 PM »

Monroe Sensatrac inserts on stock springs in the fornt
Gabriel Ultra's on stock springs in the back....rides like shit

Vladi · « **Reply #24 on:** December 21, 2009, 07:53:26 AM »

Koni 1210Sport Short (-20mm) front shocks
Koni 1196Sport rear
H&R Spezial Federn front springs
H&R 19.03 rear springs.
Very stiff but not bouncy and still comfortable with 205/55/15.

bmwman91 · « **Reply #25 on:** December 21, 2009, 01:47:12 PM »

I used to run with:
H&R Sport Springs
Bilstein Sport Shocks
Suspension Techniques Anti-Sway Bars (22mm F, 19mm R) + welded reinforcements
Poly CAB's
Poly RTAB's
Poly Subfrane Mounts
Poly Diff Mount
NO Spring Pads

I currently run with:
Stock Springs
Boge TurboGas Shocks (stock height, stiffer)
Suspension Techniques Anti-Sway Bars (22mm F, 19mm R) + welded reinforcements
E36 M3 Rubber CAB's (centered)
Stock Rubber RTAB's
Stock Rubber Sbframe Mounts
Stock Rubber Diff Mount
Stock Rubber Spring Pads

My old setup was fun in high school & through college. However, once I was mostly done with school, my interests changed. A setup like that is totally impractical for street driving, and I really hated taking the car on long trips. Climbing has become my new main hobby, and a car that could drive on crappy dirt roads started to be important. After busting an oil pan 10 miles from phone service (LINK), I ditched the lower springs/shocks. A couple years later after a 1000 mile drive to go climb, I stuck stock rubber back in. Holy crap, what a difference! The car still handles really well (people think stock stuff sucks, but it is because it is totally blown out when they buy the car...new stockers are impressive), and if anything I would say it is better. Having a little extra "give" in the system is advantageous on the street where pavement is not perfect...you need to be able to absorb the bumps, not bounce off of them.

I DID keep the sway bars though. Those are the most bang for the $ of anything I put on, and they don't hurt the ride quality much at all.

visionracingdevelopments · « **Reply #26 on:** December 22, 2009, 08:17:00 AM »

Quote from: P. Kennedy;83278

Hey...look what I found: http://www.m42club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147&highlight=suspension+setup

took me all of 5 seconds after doing a search.

That thread is 3 years old and less than a page long... hardly 'up to date'

P. Kennedy · « **Reply #27 on:** December 22, 2009, 09:20:14 AM »

Thank you for your input. Very nice of you. The original post wasn't asking for up to date, just suspension setups. Do you think suspension pieces have changed a great deal in the past 3 years for the E30 318is? The point being, people can find a great deal of information on this forum by searching, instead of asking the same questions over and over.

BlueBMW · « **Reply #28 on:** January 15, 2010, 08:29:08 PM »

On the note of suspension setups... my car's ride height doesn't seem to be very even. The right side just seems lower (and actually measures about 10mm or so lower) My shocks / springs / struts etc are all original (200K miles???)

My questions are...

Is the uneven ride height more likely caused by the worn out shocks / struts or sagging springs?

Second, if I were to replace the springs (while doing shocks and struts) what is the best spring set that doesn't lower the car significantly (roads in east Tennessee aren't friendly to low cars) I'm sure factory OEM springs would work, but is there a good aftermarket spring that someone would recommend?

Fair! · « **Reply #29 on:** February 10, 2010, 11:03:01 AM »

Car: 1991 E30 318is
Class: SCCA ST (autox), NASA TTE (Time Trials)
Wheels: Rota 15x7.5"
Tires: Yokohama AD08 205/50/15
Chassis weight: 2338 lbs
Front suspension: AST 4100 inside Vorshlag modified housings, 600 #/in springs, Vorshlag camber plates, Mason strut brace, H&R bar, -4� camber, +9� caster
Rear suspension: AST 4300 triple adjustables with remotes, dual spring set-up (570#/in main), AST rear ride height adjusters, Mason rear shock tower brace, stock rear bar

A good friend of mine located our old 318is that we sold over a year ago and bought it for a song. He's already upgraded the wheels and tires, added a 4-point Kirk roll bar, and is about to install a full length header. He's building it for running in the SCCA Street Touring "ST" class, dominated by much lighter Honda Civics. He's found some more weight and its prepping it to the extreme this year. He's also going to run it in NASA Time Trials, which should be fun (I've tracked the car a couple of times - its a blast!).

The rear shocks are a bit extreme, but using 4100s all around are doable, and VERY effective. With a real LSD in the car it wouldn't need these funky rear shocks, but ST class rules prohibit that. The E30 rides and handles so well with these shocks and spring rates that it has single handedly sold more ASTs than any other demo/test car we've built, before or since. We'd give someone a ride at an event and they'd want to buy shocks. We even let a few of our competitors drive it at events, and each one since has bought (or are in the process of buying) similar suspension pieces. Seeing is believing.