E30 Zone

Right, I've decided that I'm going to get my sport how I want it and actually use it a bit more, I'm ashamed to admit it but in the last year I've done just over 400 miles in it. Currently it sits on the same kit as when I bought it, which is G-Max springs with yellow Bilstein shocks, which may be Alpina, but are quite old now. I've always thought it was too low, which was making it a bit twitchy, see pic below to see what I mean.



What I'm after is for it to still be lowered from standard but nowhere near as much as it is at the moment. In terms of the feel of it, I want it to feel nice and tight and stable for fast road use, taut but supple. Of all the threads on suspension, the two setups that seem to be well liked are the H&R Cup Kit, I'd probably go for the 35mm kit, or alternatively, Eibach springs (35mm) with Bilstein shocks. Also, what is meant by 'inverted' Bilsteins, how would i spot them, and what is the benefit of them over say, B8 Sprint Billies.

I know people have different tastes and have their own favourites, so what I'm looking for guys is advice as to what will suit what I'm after.

I'm going to get new rear top mounts put on while I'm at it, and also get the rear beam bushes done, which i presume means number 3 in this pic:



I'm sure the collective wealth of knowledge on the zone will have the answers,

Cheers dudes!

Any ideas???

dont have the experiance with the sus but if your going to change bush no.3 then it may be worth fitting the off set bush kit into the trailing arms, they allow you to get the toe and camber of the back wheels how you want on lowerd cars.

If you have yellow Bilsteins we can get them rebuilt for you rather than you buying a new set. This will mean leaving the front of the car on axle stands for a few days but you will save alot of money.

The rear shocks will have the part numbers engraved towards the bottom, it's easy to see.

The front dampers - jack the car up and feel the damper rod for it's thickness. Try to get an approximate measurement of the rod diameter and report back.

As for springs, Eibach's are excellent. I have tried H&R Cup kits, H&R with Bilsteins, KW springs with Bilsteins with Eibach. The best by far for road comfort and progressive handling are the Eibach+Bilstein combo.

Thanks
Evo-S

If the shocks aren't seized or leaking, they'll be okay. The yellow Bilstein is a hardy beast and takes a lot to kill them. Those springs are way too low. As suggested, Eibach or H&R springs will raise it an inch and restore the ride quality. Think about some adjustable anti roll bars as well.

How do you tell if you've got yellow Billies in the front? Standard Boge dampers have a hard plastic dust cover as well as a rubber bump stop and tyhe whole lot slides easily up and down the damper rod. The damper rods are about 20-25mm thick. Yellow Bilsteins have damper rods which are about 40mm thick, the dust cover is a black or bright blue concertina type which is fixed to the bottom of the damper by a white plastic ring to seal it from road shite and there is no bump stop (it's actually inside the damper).

Cheers guys, I'll check on the condition of the kit on the car and take it from there, I'm definately going to change the springs, but I'll inspect the condition of the shocks before i decide what to do with them, i just assumed that because they were old they were likely to be a bit tired now, and I wasn't aware that they could be rebuilt either.

Knowledge like this is what makes the zone so great, and makes me want to make my e30 as good as I can.

p.s. Sal, I still haven't got round to fitting the Alpina 6 branch I had off you way back........another thing on the 'to-do' list.

Another useful tip: tech 2 Sports used Boge gas shocks, the same ones as used in the 325i Touring. Cross reference these with Bilstein and you get the 51mm Bilstein B4 which is a very good damper and very slightly stiffer than tyhe M Technic Boge.
From ECP, £46 each + VAT for the fronts. These would work well with a 25mm lowered spring.

PNE3050 fronts and BNE1981 rears. The yellows (B6) are P36-0332 fronts and B36-2028 rears. These are £105 each from ECP (fronts) but ring BMW and check the prices for 1986-7 Tech 1 shocks as BMW are sometimes cheaper than ECP for Billies.

ECP are £110 + VAT for the fronts.

Bilstein say part number P30-0136 for the Mtec replacements. P36-0332 are touring front dampers and are not shortened stroke so will give excessive suspension travel especially when used with lowering springs.

P36-0335 is a better proposition as they are the B8 sprint dampers which are to be used with lowering springs.

Evo-S

H&R cupkit springs with inverted bilsteins, go for the 45mm spec ones with special collar nuts to fit 51mm struts. Tech 1 sports had these shocks. Get a set and have them rebuilt if you wish. Will be cheaper than buying brand new. The trump card with these is they match to any springs as they auto adjust on bump and rebound.

Nice and low and will handle like a hero chariot with some beefy roll bars. A good go between for road and track use. The ride isn't too bad either.

Those G-max springs are way to hard on the back which is why it's skitty. Cupkit springs are nice and soft and give the back end traction, especially in the wet

If only we could get Cup Kit springs seperately!!

KW is the closest thing I have found.

Good advice from the "13".

Just a cheeky question: Are those real alpina wheels or replicas?

Them's is real ones! If they're fakes, they're very good.

Andyboy wrote:Them's is real ones! If they're fakes, they're very good.

Indeed they are real 16" 7J front 8J rear. When I bought the car the seller gave me a choice between taking it with the Alpinas with flaky paint but otherwise straight and original (apparently they were dealer fitted from new in 1992) or with a mint set of 18" Kahn 6 spokes.

It wasn't a hard choice to make.............

When you going to fit that 6 Branch?? Was it you I met in a car park and you shamefully turned up in a Ford?

M5pilot wrote:When you going to fit that 6 Branch?? Was it you I met in a car park and you shamefully turned up in a Ford?

Yep, that was me, on the north circular if I recall.........I work at a Ford dealership and that was my company car (allows me to molly-coddle the 325)

Soon after I got it from you I looked into getting it fitted by a place called Tube Torque in Macclesfield, who made my centre box when the scorpion box spat its stuffing. His standard of work is beyond question, but he can be unreliable when it comes to time-keeping. Then it got put on the back burner for a while, but now it needs sorting, there is a crack in the cast manifold on the car, so SOON is tha answer to your question