suspension/coilovers

[howie]

Hi everyone , after months of searching i've finally got my hands on a 325 , although it was previously a 318. I was hoping someone out there could give me advice on suspension . I'm currently sitting on 18'' wheels with lowering springs @ -60 all round which is to hard a ride for Scottish roads . So my question is what would be a good lowering height and where would i get hold of coilovers ?

[abelai]

Your not gonna like this but for the best road holding you will need to sell the 18" and get some nice 15" BBS's stick the bilstein B8 dampers all round with 35mm lowering H&R springs and to cream it off get the H&R ARB kit.
Hopefully when they changed to the m20b25 they changed the front hubs and dampers (51mm struts and vented discs) and rear drums to discs.

Oh, you could use eibach instead of H&R but they cost more and most people think they are as good as each other. Click on the link on the top of this page saying "Evolve" thats the zone shop.

[snoops]

have you got any pics of your car ?

[howie]

thanx for the advice but i don't really want to get rid of the 18'' as they really top the car off , but would it still be poss to do as you say with them still on. As for pics i'll get them up loaded as soon as i can figure out how to .

[abelai]

I can't see any reason why you couldn't run the bilstein/H&R combo with 18" wheels it's just that 18" will make the car twitchy if you see what I mean. A 16" wheel would probably be as big as you would go for handeling but wheels are a very personal thing and the choice is yours. I think e30's look so good they don't need the big wheels to turn heads, also have a look at the deep dish 15" bbs some people run they look f'ing mean.

[Bob_S]

you either have looks or handling... you want the looks so forget the handling mate! 18's screw the ride up as do coilys your best getting some good standard M-tech shocks and eibach/H&R 35mm springs it will soften up but the 18's will tramline to buggery and the low pro rubber you have will do you no favours a 50 profile would be good for your needs

[howie]

i know what your saying but surely there must be a way to get a comprimise , i had 17'' on my old car with adjustable coilovers and it seemed to be the spot on for comfort and handling

[Bob_S]

the e30 chassis is too sensitive for big wheels mate, there are only a small selection of wheels i'd use on my e30's...
for pure comfort a factory 15" bbs with 205/55 rubber but i like a slightly biger wheel which improves feel and not detrimental to the handling, 4 stud I really liked my hartge's, but I've also just bought a set of alpinas 16" again so when the is is built i will try them.
For 5 stud there's only 1 whel for me, 16" BBS! so very right!

[miniblob]

18's screw the ride up as do coilys

Got H&R coilovers on mine and use it daily - and i have a bad back!! I don't feel that much difference (comfort wise) between the cup kit and the coilys!!!! You do perhaps feel it a bit more if you hit potholes or draincovers - but you could just avoid them!!!

Howie - sounds like all your after is a bit more comfort?
Changing the shocks/springs could help, but bear in mind that the more travel in the suspension, the more (likely) the wheels will scrub.
Also, you will always have a harsher ride with 18's, 'cos you've got low profile tyres. Higher profile tyres like you would have on 15/16's do provide an element of ride softening, as there's a lot more air/rubber between the wheel and the road!!

[Bob_S]

from what i have experiencedI feel a godhockspringeu is betterthn a coily set up mate. be it e30, astra, focus, corsa jut to harsh but then again if you buy a good set with adjustable damping rates etc etc I'm sure you could sort it but then is an e30 rely worth spending that kind of money on coil-overs?

[miniblob]

Just depends what you use it for and what you want from it!!!

[handpaper]

My 325i is going coilover over winter, purely for the adjustability. For road use I'll fit long, soft springs (does anyone know the length and rate of an M-Tech front spring?), set the ride height to something sensible and the dampers fairly soft. For 'Ring trips and track days, pop in the hard springs, drop the car as far as I dare and wind up the Konis. Swapping springs at the rear is easy enough that for most people a coilover conversion here isn't worth it, adjustable dampers are enough.
The conversion kit is available from Demon Tweeks, Rally Design and a few others; it involves a bit of cutting (and possibly welding), but at £18.50 a side, plus springs it's a lot cheaper than H&R etc.

A list of spring rates is here on e30tech.com