Coilovers or springs, please help...

Post Mon Mar 26, 2012 12:32 pm

Hi guys,

I have just bought myself a BMW E30 320 Cab, it's on standard suspension, I am looking to lower it but I am on a budget. Purely because it's my weekend & summer car. So I don't really need to spend loads.

What is the easiest & cheapest way to lower it?
Getting mixed reviews from people.

Appreciate any help.

Post Mon Mar 26, 2012 1:17 pm

Avoid the cheap coilovers (basically anything under about £600).

If you only want to lower it then springs is the best option. Anything from ebay random make springs around £70 to £170 for eibach pro kit.

It all depends on if you care that it drives well or you just want the look. If you want it to handle and have the lowered look the most recommended kit is blistein shocks (B4, B6, B8) and the eibach springs. You will need to budget at least £400 for this and thats before fitting and if any bushes, bump stops, dust covers etc need replaced.

On a cab I wouldn't go lower than -40mm as it will scrape the sump and exhaust on the smallest speed bump.

Here is some pics of my cab on -40mm GMAX springs and standard dampers:

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=216828

Post Mon Mar 26, 2012 1:31 pm

The drive doesn't bother me as such, I just sold my vw on the cheapest budget coilovers and I'm sure nothing will be as bad as that.

Looked in eBay springs & shocks approx £140. Is yours lowered 40/40?

Post Mon Mar 26, 2012 3:51 pm

Yes -40 all round. At £140 for shocks and springs they will most likely be terrible.

You can get blistein rear shocks on www.carparts4less.co.uk for £30 a side. And I saw brand new B4's for the front listed on ebay for £100 a pair.

Add a set of GMAX \ Apex \ PI springs and you should be about £220 all in. It will give you the look you want without using cheap and nasty shocks ands springs.

Post Mon Mar 26, 2012 6:48 pm

Been female... I don't know what B4's are Lol

Post Mon Mar 26, 2012 7:18 pm

A model name of bilstein shocks

Post Mon Mar 26, 2012 7:32 pm

if you want cheap and decent handling lows then Apex springs on Ebay go for about 80 or so quid.. and they are a nice ride! just make sure your shocks aren't leaking and away you go!

40/40 will leave the front looking a little high.. 60/40 is ideal but you do have to be a bit slower on the speedbumps.. (looks the part though) it depends mostly how low you really want to go!

Post Mon Mar 26, 2012 8:16 pm

Tom 60/40 on a cabby is almost undrivable having been there myself I think the cab already sits a bit lower than a saloon / touring.

Post Mon Mar 26, 2012 9:57 pm

Rtaylor2208 wrote:Tom 60/40 on a cabby is almost undrivable having been there myself I think the cab already sits a bit lower than a saloon / touring.

aaah.. ok! did you use cabby springs though? if you use normal saloon springs they sit lower due to the increased weight and this could cause problems! (I only know because a mate had problems when some Ebay d*ckhead supplied the wrong springs)

Post Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:05 pm

Unfortunatly I have no idea for the 60/40 drop as they were on when I got the car. The new ones are definitely for a 6 pot cabby. It does sit pretty level but there is very little arch gap and enough Clearence for smallish speed bumps.

On the -60 drop it was ridiculous it scraped the front everywhere, so much so the previous owner destroyed the sump by just hitting a pothole.

Post Tue Mar 27, 2012 9:43 pm

i have a 30/30 drop with apex springs on my touring which i only went for because they were the highest drop i could find
if anything the rear is a little bit too low when it comes to the looks
as for the height i catch underneath every were i go so 60mm must be scary