Lowering an E30 316?

[Junglistjed]

the one i posted?

[ross_jsy]

To be fair I think there is a lot of fear mongering when it comes to 60mm drops. Mine is dropped 60mm and when I removed the m20 the sump was like new.

Conversely it handles like shit and will be getting raised on a decent set up in the not too distant future.

It must also be said even with the 60mm drop my e30 has by far the most ground clearance of any of the turds I have had bar my standard e39 so I am very used to driving low cars.

[Junglistjed]

I should be buying some 30mm springs soon, are those BBS 15''?

[ross_jsy]

The ones in Blitz' pic? Yes.

[Junglistjed]

I know the car will have a mind of its own in rainy weather and having a lot of country lanes around me wouldn't help that, tempted to get some BBS with a bit of dish but not sure how they'd look just on a 30mm drop

[Junglistjed]

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=240595

thats my car, you guys can judge how it would look dropped 30mm!

[Rich320I]

hard to say but most likely, 60 rear 40 front.

Wouldn't that be the other way round?

It actually looks like a level drop anyway so I'm not sure where he got those numbers from.

lol the guy asked for a guess, thats what it looked like or there abouts to moi. yeah sorry speed touch numbers prob should be the other way round



agreed on the scaremongering regarding 60mm drops though mine is that or a touch lower and sump still fine.

[kangman]

What sort of problems would that cause? other then the obvious struggle to get over speedbumps etc

Excessive rear tyre wear due to increased camber. Camber isn't adjustable on the back of an E30 so you need to customise the rear beam with camber plates. And then sumps, sumps and more sumps. The lowest part of an E30 is the sump. I've scraped mine on speedbumps when not paying attention and I'm only at -35mm. If you crack the sump (entirely possible) then you're walking at best, replacing the engine at worst.

Also those are at least 16" wheels, possibly 17" (I'm sure an expert will be able to tell) and he still has arch gaps at the front due to the stretched tyres. The only way to really fill the arches on an E30 is to go for much bigger wheels, a big drop, and roll the arches over stretched tyres. It looks great (if you're into that sort of thing) but you'll have no suspension travel on what has just become a Show car. E30s can look great, but they have problems looking great and handling well. Without wishing to be patronising, you're a new driver - why don't you try driving a car with good handling first?

If you're seriously into "stance" and hate arch gaps, then an E30 is going to cost you. If you're really into it, get a Golf.

Thats my car and its lowered 60mm all round, it's on rubber band tyres with 40f & 35R tyre walls. They were already fitted to my wheels and were brand new when i purchased the wheels, so im waiting for them to wear away and then get slightly bigger tyres.

Lowering the car will cause slightly more wear to the rear tyres due to the camber but nothing drastic, my tyres are showing no camber wear at all but im sure theirs a very small point millimetre difference on wear between the outer and inner tyre

As for sumps i haven't smacked or cracked mine, but i have never attempted to drive over a speed bump at speed. I slow my car down to walking pace when approaching one which is annoying when your driving down a long lane with speed humps scattered all along it

^^
But the above mentioned by morat is good information.

I drive my car daily but only for the smaller journeys, I have other cars for those long and tedious journeys. Driving a lowered car is tiring and uncomfortable especially when mated to big wheels and thin tyres.

Also im pretty sure pre face-lift arches are higher than facelift one? so even when you lower it 30mm the arch gap won't disappear.

My advice would be buy the wheels first get them fitted and then get the measuring tape out and see how low you want it

[Junglistjed]

I will be driving it 3 times a week and 120 miles, the only reason im worried about constant problems is because i don't have the money to keep buying new sumps/tyres!

Did you just buy 60mm springs or did you buy new shocks and everything? and yes this model has higher arches which worries me when it comes to lowering only 30mm!

Im still undecided on the wheels , its either the original BBS but these will only look good if my car is low enough, or wheels similar to yours

cheers

[harry_p]

It's only the rear arches which are higher.

Facelifts look better with an uneven drop, I.e 60/40 so the front drops more. A 60/60 on a facelift just makes it look like its dragging its arse along the ground.

Early cars with higher arches suit a level drop better.

[Junglistjed]

how would 40/40 look on the pre-facelift?

[FinalD]

its either the original BBS but these will only look good if my car is low enough, or wheels similar to yours

cheers

That's my 325 on standard suspension and standard 15" BBS alloys, looks fine as it is. It could do with a small drop but certainly doesn't need one.

[Junglistjed]

Is that facelift or pre? looks nice mate, i am tempted to get the standard BBS

[FinalD]

It's an '88 cab, which means it is facelift but has the prefacelift chromie bits...or something.

As others have posted in your member's car thread, the prefacelifts look fine on BBS wheels whatever the height.

[Rtaylor2208]

FinalD mechincally your car is a facelift but with the body of a prefacelift, quite common on cabs upto a 89 plate.

[Junglistjed]

Well i have decided on the standard BBS wheels, now just to decide whether to lower 30mm or 40mm

[Speedtouch]

40mm is about the maximum you should go, to avoid excessive rear tyre wear and iffy handling - after all, the Sports were only lowered by 15mm.

[Junglistjed]

30mm to keep in the safe zone then?

[Speedtouch]

Yes, I would have said that would be ideal.