ARB question

[SwirlyE30]

I wanna spend a bit of cash (not much!) on my car, and seeing as i cant be arsed to do another engine swap, i could do with making it handle a bit tigheter.

Its currently 60/40 on spax springs and bilstien shocks, looks good, handles OK and is a little bit harsh round town etc, but it could do with being a bit sharper.

Now i cant be arsed to change the susspension, but stuff i feel like doing (and could afford) is like fitting some 2nd hand ARBS , short shift etc.


The ARBS are whatever came on a standard 318i (m40), i have no clue about what ones are best, i just read Jhonnos review of the HnR ones, sound awesome, but for £250 ill pass. So what second hand ones should i look for? a set of IS ones? Sport? I would do bushes, ive got the facilities at work but it all depends on if i can be arsed lol, im not looking to spend ages working on my car, got to much to do latly.

Cheers

[DanThe]

318 has 19mm ARB as standard, ive got a 21mm on mine from a 325
and you should also get one for the rear from a 325. Easy job

[Dan318-is]

318 has 19mm ARB as standard, ive got a 21mm on mine from a 325
and you should also get one for the rear from a 325. Easy job

19mm? are you sure about that? i thought they were 20 and 14? iv just invested in some eibach ones (280 quid adjustable jobbies) i think they are 21 and 16 respectively and they are way chunkier than what is on my Is after lookin! even if they are only 1mm bigger! the quality of steel is aircraft grade allegedly and the kit also includes poly bushes and brand new drop links. well worth the investment i hope the kit itself looks the bomb!

also just to add any bmw roll bar of an e30 now has had at laest 15 years use! you might want to start also by replacing the drop links first, if you look at the rubber bushes in the drop links they are probably as cracked as hell

also to add i have some IS ones for sale if you want mate!

[DanThe]

Absolutley dead certain positive! I put open ended Snap-On spanners over them and I dont think Snap-On can be 1mm out

[Dan318-is]

lol il let you off then?

how come eibach/ HnR ones are only a couple of mm bigger yet so good then? i guess it must be the combination off poly bushes/new drop links and quality of metal right?

are you running 325 ones on your Is then?

any other suspension upgradees youve done that are good bang for buck?

[hoshy]

hey sam. 318 doesn't come with any rear arb as standard so even a standard 325 bar is gonna put a serious smile on your face. it'll be the 25 odd quid you spend mate!

new drop links a a good idea, about 6quid from GSF I paid.

[Dan318-is]

Ur alive!!

O/T mate u can have my Is ARBs for 30 quid? Once i get them off!

[hoshy]

hehe yes mate I'm alive. working on the maf project as we speak. was gonna give you a bell this weekend but I may not have got far enough.. we'll see.

[SwirlyE30]

Cheers guys, whats the difference between 325 and IS arbs? I might take you up on that Dan mate, although it depends if sport ones would be much better

[Dan318-is]

I think sport ones are 1 or 2mm larger at the front?

I know cab ones are 21mm

[stevetigger]

So I have 21mm

[SwirlyE30]

So let me get this straight , my standard 318i arbs consist of what up front? And sh*t all out back lol.


So what would people say to make it handle a bit nicer, ive heard some stuff like tourings n carbs had propper thick rear ones, does that mean their better?

[SwirlyE30]

http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... hlight=arb


Just read that after searching for some ARB info, and it seems that maybe my 318i rear trailing arms (drums) might not have the propper mounts for a rear arb? Any one confirm t his

[Bob_S]

I put an IS rear ARB on my 1990 M40 316i and everything was there to do it that had drums on it. SO with this in mind I'd say yes you should be ok.

rear bar makes one hell of a difference!

[hoshy]

rear bar makes one hell of a difference!

seconded!

I fitted an early 325 rear arb and the holes were in the right place on my 318.

[SwirlyE30]

Yeh just had a look on my brothers sport to see what holes i should look for, and then checked mine, its got the mounting holes, but obviously ill need the bracket for the arb as well, not a problem though. Cant beleive how basic my setup is tbh, i drive my car pretty hard sometimes,so id love to see what it would be like with a grands with of suspension mods done.



So what ARBs do you recon i should get guys? Im a bit confused as to what ones are best, stuff like cab ones are bigger than that off an IS or M3 so ive heard, is that better? or should i stick with IS/Sport ones

[hoshy]

if I ever owned an e30 without one again it would be the first thing I'd do. just take whatever comes you way and get it fitted. asap. if you want to upgrade later then fair enough but I can promise you, there's a bigger difference between not having one and having one that is one or two mm bigger.

[SwirlyE30]

k cheers mate. Dans got some old IS ones, would the front be better than whatever ive got on there as well?

[hoshy]

np dude. can't tell you about the fronts to be honest. I know the 325s were thicker and it's known as a good upgrade but not sure about the iS

[DanThe]

Just been looking on realoem and the 2.5 and iS front ARB are both 20mm
Although the M3 is only 19mm
All other models had 18.5mm with an option of 20mm

The rear was 12mm exept for M3, iS and any M-tech or Sport setup which was 14.5mm
The tourers had 13.5mm rear, and for vehicles fitted with 'leveling device' 21mm front


So take your pick

[hoshy]

top info!

dan (318-iS) how many rear ARBs have you got?

[Dan318-is]

iv got a front and rear IS ones

M3 ones are attached to the strut via different drop links but can be welded or made to fit i think

mine are for sale for 35 quid once i get them off as iv now purchased some eibach jobbies

Good info up there people ^^