Converting front suspension to E36

[Driftybolox]

Hi guys,

Am I right in thinking the following setup works?

Firstly...

97 + M3 Lower Control Arm
E30 M3 offset lollipop busing
E36 325 knuckle, hub etc.
E36 JOM (eBay special) coilovers
E36 325 discs/callipers
Normal E30 325 top mounts

Will this work guys?

No other parts I would need? Will my anti roll bar mount up in same place etc?

So confusing

[harry_p]

No, you need e36 m3 evo front Spindles / hub carriers and disks, pads and callipers to match.

Not sure on arb as on the m3s they attach to the strut as per e30 m3, don't know if there's a mounting point on the arm for a normal e30 type mount.

[Grrrmachine]

Bear in mind that this necessitates converting to a 5-Lug hub setup. And that means doing all of this:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... Conversion

[Driftybolox]

Yeah, that's kinda the whole point. Not doing it for the suspension. Doing it to fit some wide 5-stud wheels I have.

I don't see why you need M3 Evo spindles. Sounds like an expensive way to do it. What's the difference between 325/328 E36 or M3 Evo?

[Grrrmachine]

As the wiki states:

"I originally used standard E36 spindles and brakes, but caster just does not work out. Wheel sits too far back and very often rubs. However, you may use standard E36 spindles and brakes, I did for a good number of months, but you HAVE to figure out caster. I used camber plates to fix caster just enough to reduce rub. Personally, if you're going through this conversion, do it right the first time. "

It also says:

"If you are doing this swap purely for selection of wheels, STOP. Regardless of which option you go with, it will be cheaper to find and buy any wheels your heart desires in 4-lugs, even filling/redrilling. "

So think carefully. The 5-lug conversion really isn't something you can do cheaply.

[Driftybolox]

Thanks for the info Grrr....

Main reasons are:

1) Coilovers available on the shelf. Don't need to cut my struts and use inserts with weld on spring platford
2) Easy to get a lot of steering angle from E36 spindles for drifting
3) I have a large selection of E39 wheels that I would like to use

[Grrrmachine]

If this is for a track slag, you might as well cobble together whatever parts you can get cheaply then. I didn't write the article, so I have no direct experience of the 5-lug installation, but if this is going to be a drifter rather than a performance motor, it doesn't matter if you stuff the car into the armco anyway

[Driftybolox]

Hi guys,

I just got a definitive answer from a friend of mine who races his E30 in Australia.

He converted to 5-stud using the following parts

1998 M3 Lower Control Arm
Powerflex or similar offset lollipop bushing
E36 325 spindle, hubs, brakes
E36 Coilovers
E30 Camber & Caster adjustable top mounts

This setup 100% fits. I'd trust him over any American "stance" websites who spend months on their "set-up". He said that the offset bushing helped with the caster issue that people have i.e. the wheel falls back about 1 inch into the arch and can rub badly on lock. The offset bush helped this by about 1/2 " but was still rubbing, so he then upgraded to some camber and caster adjustable top mounts, and now has fixed that problem.

He is also going to fab up an adjustable lollipop bushing arm that would be threaded so he can get the caster just right!

So there we go. This setup will work!

[pacerpete]

You could always do it PROPERLY with E30 M3 hardware, like what I have for sale

[Driftybolox]

Properly = £££???

E36 way costs bugger all, practically free.

[jmc330i]

Have a look on e30.de with regards to the swap. They pulled the article on using the non-M spindles/hubs a few years ago after some apparent safety issues with castor or camber (even with adjustable parts fitted I think). I can't remember exactly what the problem was (and I can't translate the site on my phone), but they only recommend the use of the M3 Evo parts now.


Pete - you should have a PM....

[Motorhole]

I have recently done this conversion on the front of my car but as it's still short an engine, amongst other things, havn't driven it yet! I used E36 Koni coilovers for the front, E36 M3 Evo wishbones with new E30 M3 eccentric polybushes, E36 M3 Evo front hubs and re-con calipers with new Pagid discs, E30 camber-adjustable top-mounts (with M14x1.5 sleeved nut to suit larger E36 strut threads) from NP-Team. All seems to line up nicely, but not cheap! Just bear in mind that E39 wheels have a different centre bore to E36 iirc. Also, you may find that the tyre fouls the spring platform on the coilover just slightly. 5mm spacers or different offset wheels required.

Edit: No stance bollox here, I'm building a track car.

[Driftybolox]

Where and how much did you get the M3 lower control arms from out of interest?

[harry_p]

the disk is one the wrong side

[Motorhole]

Opps, thanks for pointing that out mate, will remedy it asap. As for the control arms, search 'breaking E36 M3 Evo' o ebay. There are always a few and you should be able to msg someone to ask for a price for the bits you need. Think i paid about £50 for the pair iirc.