325 Touring -handling the bumps

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Morat
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 8943
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 11:00 pm
Location: The Peoples Republic of Yorkshire

Post Sun Apr 02, 2006 9:42 pm

Hi zoners..
I commute near York over some pretty harsh roads. They're a lot of fun in the ole E30 but can be a really hard ride when you're pressing on. The car is in good nick right now, but I'm wondering what the best combination would be for "enthusiastic" driving on the wigglies.

Right now, its standard on 14" bottletops and cheap but newish tyres. Assuming I don't win the lottery, what should I be saving up for?

I'm currently thinking of 15" BBS and some decent tyres (but still 50 section or taller), then adjustable shocks on standard height springs. Are there better springs in standard height or should I stick with OEM? The next question is whether new and/or stiffer Anti Roll Bars are worth it with standard ride height..

The last decision is LSD or no LSD. The car is easy to catch with the standard open diff, will this change on a slipper? I'm not that interested in do-nuts but if an LSD makes power oversteer easier then all the better :)

Lots of questions.. any advice would be really appreciated. My budget means that experiments would be a bit expensive :(

Cheers
Morat
E30 Touring 0.35 cD - more slippery than prison soap :)

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Adammcf
E30 Zone Squatter
E30 Zone Squatter
Posts: 1578
Joined: Sun Jan 23, 2005 11:00 pm

Post Sun Apr 02, 2006 9:47 pm

The standard Mtec setup isnt too bad if your roads are really rough.
You could get some Koni adjustable shocks and turn them up on a good road or track day and then turn them back down for normal use.

The LSD makes the back end more progressive when it comes out as both wheels should be spinning at a similar speed therefore be less likely to catch and snap the car back in.

As for wheels I would just get the standard 15" BBS wheels with some good tyres. Looks nicer that way and I think the car drives much better on them as well.
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Morat
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 8943
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 11:00 pm
Location: The Peoples Republic of Yorkshire

Post Mon Apr 03, 2006 12:09 pm

cheers adam. I'm guessing that a strut brace wouldn't be a bad idea.. do they have a downside?
E30 Touring 0.35 cD - more slippery than prison soap :)

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Praise the Lard... and pass the dripping!
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Andy335Touring
Married to the E30 Zone
Married to the E30 Zone
Posts: 7144
Joined: Sun Jan 09, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Long Eaton,Nottingham

Post Mon Apr 03, 2006 12:29 pm

I want a strut brace when i've got some spare dosh, they are supossed to make the ride/bumps feel slightly less harsh.

LSD are nice 8)

Uprated Anti-roll bars are also on my shopping list as they made a nice improvement on my old E34.
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Cotty
Hartge Crew
Posts: 5926
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Orpington, Kent

Post Mon Apr 03, 2006 1:22 pm

Andy335Touring wrote: Uprated Anti-roll bars are also on my shopping list as they made a nice improvement on my old E34.
I have read good reports about the H&R ones in the Zone Shop
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