tech 1 springs

Fri Dec 30, 2011 12:34 am

i need to buy some new springs for the 1987 sport, the jamex lowering ones on it are not to my taste a tad too low

so whats best to get ? what is the oem spring height ? is that optimum best or is it better to go slightly lower ? if so what ?

just need some general advice on what to buy and any links for best deals would be nice

thanks, and happy new year to everyone !

Fri Dec 30, 2011 12:46 am

From what I hear H&R kits are the bees knees for a good drop and decent ride.

Fri Dec 30, 2011 12:46 am

do i go bmw ? (rough price ?)

ebach ? £149 ,

Non Convertible 82-88 (320i,323i,325i,325e)
front drop 30-40mm
rear drop 30mm

http://www.raceperformancemodified.com/ ... ng-Springs

H&R £150

Coupe (11/82>90) 6 cylinder engine 35mm

http://www.raceperformancemodified.com/ ... ts-Springs

Fri Dec 30, 2011 12:50 am

theres this pro sport ajustable 30mm-80mm coilover set for £209 , but sounds cheap, are they rubbish ?

http://www.coiloversdirect.co.uk/bmw-e3 ... od_26.html

£520 for bilstein kit but dont think i want to spend that much

http://www.coiloversdirect.co.uk/bilste ... d_153.html

not sure of the shocks i have yet or the conditon of them

Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:01 am

beilsten b4 shocks, are these oem ? and hopefully what i have got ?

fronts are (what size would it be 45mm £53or 51mm £77 ?

http://www.europerformance.co.uk/pages/ ... ct=3896456

rear £45

http://www.europerformance.co.uk/pages/ ... category=1

so maybe b4s and either the ebach or h&r , would come in at either £350 or £400 odd if 51mm front

a good choice ?

although really i need to see what my shocks are and conditon, if they are decent il just need springs

Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:03 am

I thought sports came on B6's out the factory? Being a 325i they'd be 51mm.

Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:06 am

Unless you've got a real need to adjust ride height etc, I'd stick with the conventional setup. Bilstein dampers of some description coupled with eibach pro kit springs are all you'll need for the road really.. I fitted bilsteins front & rear & the eibach pro kit springs (I think 35mm lower - whereas mtec are 15mm) and they transform the car.

New eibachs are throw away cash & if you find some 2nd hand billies, it'll be a cheap enough episode.

Can't recommend the eibach & bilstein combo enough - I heard koni rear shocks (adjustables) are as good tho

Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:15 am

Green wrote:I thought sports came on B6's out the factory? Being a 325i they'd be 51mm.

Only Tech 1's. Tech II's had B4's.

Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:17 am

i had bilsten + ebach on my 318is and loved it, sat perfect

however when i bought the sport, it had jamex lowering springs on it, it just sits a bit too low for my liking

is had- 15" bbs, power steering, belstein+ebach

my sport has- 17" pina reps, no pas, and jamex

and im not sure what shocks i have , i presume and hope bilstein or standard m tech

so you can imagine, its quite a different ride and feel, and i want to change that and get it to its best

got refurbed bbs reasy to go on it, so need the springs

if anyones got suitable, but nice, springs for sale , get in contact , but must be nice condition

also if anyone wants dibs on the jamex springs ..

Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:19 am

What colour are the shocks?

Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:21 am

Blitz wrote:
Green wrote:I thought sports came on B6's out the factory? Being a 325i they'd be 51mm.
Only Tech 1's. Tech II's had B4's.

b6 on there are double the price, so if tech 2 came with b4 , would they be ok/good to put on a tech 1 ?

what is the difference between them ? and what difference would you actualy feel and notice ?

Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:24 am

Blitz wrote:What colour are the shocks?

to be honest- i have no idea, never had the wheels off

bought it mid summer, to drive and enjoy as it was until october, i then garaged it , and its all to be finished by spring

i bought a range rover so been enjoying that and had a break from the car, now its time to get to work on it

Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:45 am

You can see the rear shock if you peek under. I've only driven one E30 with B6's for short while so I cant comment, But the main difference is that B6's are Monotube inverted style. If your car still has Bilsteins on it and there good then keep them and couple them with Eibach or H&R springs for the perfect set up. You could add Eibach or H&R ARB's if you want after.

Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:56 am

so when i look at them- ive got to change the wheels anyway so il have a good look, how do i tell if b4 or b6 ? whats monotube and what do the b4 look like to differ ? , thats if it has beilsteins, hope so , and all the prev owner did was put the lowering springs on and nothing else

the rest, like dropinks and bushes and all that sort of stuff will probably come later

for the moment its wheels and springs, all rust work and underside all made solid and sealed, and some paint work, possibly a full re spray, then anything else/all running right ,a new crack free dash and obc i want to have done then , MOT ,then il think about what to do next to improve/perfect it

Fri Dec 30, 2011 2:33 am

£139 here

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Eibach-ProKit ... 27b72e4b0d

Fri Dec 30, 2011 8:44 am

tech 1 had B6's from factory. tech 2 B4's as such

Fri Dec 30, 2011 9:13 am

I've just picked these up from the dealer -

Tech 2 springs.
You'll be looking at £300+ for the genuine springs.

Fri Dec 30, 2011 9:15 am

madness, to have a car that looks to high at the front.

Sat Dec 31, 2011 4:08 pm

Blitz wrote:What colour are the shocks?

had a quick look at my shocks earlier

the rears are yellow , and fronts i wasnt soo sure , possibly yellow and dirty, or maybe black, couldnt really see

what does this mean ?

Sat Dec 31, 2011 4:34 pm

I thought tec2's had Boge/Sachs rather than B4.

Either would compliment your car well though with a -35mm drop

Your car should have B6's on though (assuming they haven't been removed beforehand)

You can't see the colour of the front shocks as they are encased within the front upright.

If you pull up the dust cover/bellow can you see a dirty big fat chrome section like this?

B6

Sat Dec 31, 2011 4:41 pm

E30BeemerLad wrote:I thought tec2's had Boge/Sachs rather than B4.

They do! The rear ones are also yellow though but have BOGE stamped into them and the fronts a black.

Bilstein B4 are the equivalent though.

Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:41 pm

E30BeemerLad wrote: If you pull up the dust cover/bellow can you see a dirty big fat chrome section like this?

ah thought that may of been the case, was only looking through the spokes of the wheels, il have a look,ive listed the alpinas for sale so hopefully theyl sale and il take them off and have a good look at the shocks and take pics for you all to confirm, im hoping they are b6 and all ok so its just springs i need to buy to sort the ride height and get shot of these jamex ones

what i dont like is the front of the kit scraping on any little speed hump or bump etc going on car parks n whereever

Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:46 pm

How many miles has the car done ?

Even if you have B6's fitted if they are the 24 year old originals they could probably do with replacing anyway.

B4's are black.

I'd go with the Eibach springs - good quality and value.

The cost starts to build up at the front end - if you fit shiny new dampers are you really going to want to refit manky old top mounts etc........

A proper suspension refresh aint cheap - save up, do it once and do it properly

Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:06 pm

i agree, car is a 1987 , if they are the originals who knows, rear yellow ones didnt look that age from what i could see, had no noises or looseness or suspension issues in the time i drove it around, plus previous owner wasnt short of a few quid ,an engineer for williams f1 team and had overhauled a lot of the running stuff on the car and got it running nice, he fitted the lowering springs, so im confident he would of checked the shocks etc

but this year i just want to get it all looking and running how i want it and all complete, next year il be looking at things like that , as i want to make the car 100% 1st , and ebach springs will be a long term purchase anyway

Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:46 pm

These are what came out of my 87 sport,pretty sure they are original to the car.

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Sat Dec 31, 2011 8:11 pm

Darbre wrote:These are what came out of my 87 sport,pretty sure they are original to the car.

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If its got a part number sticker then its going to be a replacement.