E30 Zone

im putting a 325 engine into my 316 in a few months, so in the run up to that im going to get he bodywork bits and wheels sorted for it, im looking at the hottuning lowering kit with shocks and springs, car is abviously a 316 but iw as told that when you do the conversion you need to swap over all the suspension parts, am i right in thinking that the strusts and shocks will just be the same? the donor car is a 2dr 325 and mine a 4dr 316 if that makes any difference?

the 325 suspension is bigger and better than the 316 so swap it

but what i want to know is when i orders from hottuning if i ask for a 60/60 kit for a 325, will it still fit on my 316 before i change all the others arms and bits?

325i uses 51mm front struts,lesser cars use 45mm front struts.So if you can get the front struts off your donor,you will be able to recondition them using the Hottuning kit.325i's also have rear disc brakes as standard,not essential but nice to have if you have a donor.Whilst preparing the front struts,note that the 325 also uses vented front discs,these really are essential!

so will these still bolt on or will i have to wait fot he donor car to get he arms and bits off?

you will need to wait for the donor car as explained by daimlerman, they are different.

Due to the 316 having 45mm front struts, the larger 51mm strut inserts will not fit into the front legs of your 316.

Therefore, as explained above, you will need to use the front legs off your donor 325 and buy replacement inserts if required.

hmmm.......was hopeing to get all the suspension, wheels, archwork and paint done before the engine went in.

Use a touring instead! 51mm for all models (rear disks too). Unless you've already done a load of work of course...

Use a touring instead! 51mm for all models (rear disks too)

Or a cabby

Or just buy a car with the engine you want already in it!!

by saying use a touring or a cabby, im guessing you mean the complete car or just running gear?

not just going to buy it alredy done, as im looking for a bit of a project and the shell im putting it in is nice and solid as its spent the last 13 years of its life garaged.

so what i want to know is, is it possible for me to run the 325 shocks without changeing all the running gear from a 325? can i just change the arms that the shocks bolt to? and im guessing i will need hte 325 top mounts aswell?

by saying use a touring or a cabby, im guessing you mean the complete car or just running gear?

Yep whole car, the suspension is already uprated, even the 318. All you have to do is swap the engine

If you have a donor car then use the whole suspension set-up

you can get the shocks off the front of a 325 saloon . or any tourer or cab
and fit them straight to the car you have .

you only need the shock and disc and caliper
the arm ,steering arms are all the same

the rear of the car you can swap the shocks and springs over from the 325i and job done

altho you need everything from the back end when you get started with the engine con tho. as drums just wont be good enough

yeah i intend on swapping all the brakes and stuff over aswell, but the donor car is my mates gf's daily drive, so i cant go stealing bits of it yet, im just hopeing to get it lowered and bodywork sorted before the engine goes in. so im confusing myself here, what will i need to change upfront to make the shocks fit?

you can order the hottuning kit for the 325 and start lowering the rear, for the front you will need the suspension from the donor car if the hottuning kit comes with just the strut inserts as these won't fit in your 316's struts 325 = 51mm, 316 = 45mm if the kit comes with a whole shock assembly then I guess you could do the front too

could someone get some pics of what exactly im going to need to get the front 325 shocks on, as i will be ordering the hot tuning kit and need the bodywork sorted before the engine really.

Just take the whole front suspension of the 325 donor car, loosen the nuts of the shock tower, the stabilizer bar,1 nut for the ball joint, 2 bolts for the bracket on the rear of the control arm doing this will allow you to drop the whole shock/control arm assembly, repeat this for the other side, and just bolt this up to your 316.(remove abs/brakepad sensors, brake line)

To insert the hottuning struts you need to dissasmble the shocks of the 325 : remove the top mount(take care it's under tension by the spring) remove the large nut holding the strut in take out the strut, insert the hottuning one tighten the nut, spring on, compress if needed and tighten top mount back on repeat for other side and your ready to bolt everything on your 316

Its easy, as long the bolts and nuts are coming off, they like to be tight and some ain't easy to reach also you may have to use a hammer to get the control arm out.
I've just done this a couple of days ago
I don't have any pics so this is all I can do for you,

the thing is i dont have the donor car yet, thats what im saying.

all i have is a my 316 and as soon as i know what other bits i need i will order the 325 kit.

basically all i want to do is lower my 316 60mm all round so i can get my wheels ordered fitted, arches flared and then get it painted before the engine goes in.

so other than buying a 316 60/60mm kit what are my options?

Well I say don't buy a 316 kit cause when you drop the m20 in it will surely bottom out, you'll have a hole in the oil pan for sure

Buy the 325 kit and do the rear and wait untill you get the donor car to do the front, or if you can't wait buy the front suspension(the stuff I told you to remove from the 325) at a junkyard or someone that's breaking his car

could i buy the front shocks from a scrappy and then swap the stpring and struts over or would i need to replace my hubs aswell?

if so could i stick hte 316 brakes onto the hubs for the time being?

That I can't say for sure, I guess it would be possible (better ask someone else for confirmation) ,I just replaced everything with 325 stuff as the brakediscs and calipers on the 325 are different from the 316.

You said you wanted the suspension sorted out before you drop the engine in, then go get the whole assembly from the scrappy at once, why do the job twice?

316 brakes will fit 325 struts if that's what you're asking.
Hubs are the same, calipers and discs are different, caliper mounting bracket is the same IF both sets of brakes are the same make.

im getting so confsued with this, if i was to look at it then it would probaly all make sense.

so what is the bare minimum i need to fit the 325 lowering kit on my 316?

you need to buy the front strut housings from a 325 saloon or any cab or touring as pictured below.


You see the two yellow tubes over near the top left of this pic below? well they are the dampers and they insert into the strut housings. If you buy 325 lowering kit from Hottuning, the damper inserts will be too fat to fit into the strut housings on your car




Diagram in this link may help you
http://bmwfans.info/original/E30/tou/31 ... l-31_0143/

Often you can buy a pair of front legs with discs and calipers attached for about £40

thats what i was looking for, now i see pics its makeing sense. my top mounts are all perished aswell, are they specific 325 ones or they they the same?

and is the back just a straight swap?

yes the back is a straight swap....just take out the shocks and replace them witth the hottuning ones same for the rear springs......... only when you get your donor car just take the whole rear assembly of(diff,trailing arms, etc) and put it on the 316, alot faster then swapping single parts.

And remember when/if you're going to put the 325 rear discs on your 316 you will need the handbrake cables from the 325, so dont cut them or you'll have to buy new ones the 316's won't work

lovely job. thank you people.