another suspension question....

[e30 gangsta]

hows it goin guys... ive been doing alot of reasearch and i still need a lilttle bit of help.... i love to autocross and slide my car.... its a 1989 325i 4 door autotragic.... ne ways im going with springs and shocks becuase i cant afford the gc's..... ne ways im thinking of going eibach sports or ireland engineering race 3 springs with blisten sport shocks..... i hate negative camber on my back wheels...... if the front has a bit of neg. camber i dont mind.... my question is what setup of springs and shocks w/ camber plates do you think i should run on my car????? after i install that ima go with sway bars and struts and a x bar if i can find 1 for my car.... remember that i wanna still be able to get the back out fairly easy.... if anyone knows the road i should take 4 my suspension i would appriciate it!!!! thanks

[LikeCDoos]

if you plan on auto-xing alot go with the IE spring, the spring rate are alot stiffer and i believe they are linear springs instead of progressive.

[M-technik-3]

Suspension is very user subjective. It might work for one won't work for another. I like a stiff sprung car but the car doesn't always like that as complaint suspensions can work easier.

To much Grey area here... You will have to do the trial by error method. To determine what you like or borrow friends rides to get an idea what theirs is like.

[Mystikal]

GC springs with a much stiffer rear, Koni SA's set stiffer in the rear, GC camber plates in the front set to a healthy negative, and perhaps an M3 rear sway. Don't forget to play with tire pressures too, and keep the rear height fairly high.

I'm not an expert, but that would equal quite the oversteer machine without smashing the bank.

[aaron_silva]

If you dont want rear negative camber, you cant use camber plate. You either have to modify the rear TA or get eccentric TA bushings.

Aaron

[Mystikal]

Or, like I suggested just keep the rear perch set high. It wouldn't look very odd with the lower rear aches, and would help raise the roll center while at the same time lowering the negative camber.

[e30 gangsta]

ima go with ie springs and bilstens shocks a cmaber kit in the front.. front and rear sturt bars and susoension dynamics anti sway kit.... hopefully ill still be able 2 get the back out for whenever i feal the drifitng bug.... what you guys think of this setup for drfting/ auto xing

[Mystikal]

Fine, but GC's with custom rates and the stiffer Koni's would suit your needs much better.

[e30 gangsta]

so yor saying i should run like 450 lb in the frotn and 650 in the rear with some koni shocks?

[Mystikal]

Yep. You'd have an auto-x monster at that point, the only variable being the nut behind the wheel.

[e30 gangsta]

is that 2 much ???? of a spring rate will my back and front shopck tower mounts be ok... and remmebr i daily this thing... but i dont really care bout stiffness but it cant be horrible..... um what konis u suggesest the sprots ones u said?

[Mystikal]

Nah, those rates are fine. Keep in mind the rear springs don't even rest on the shock mount.

Koni SA (single adjustable).

[e30 gangsta]

damn how much u think teh gcs springs are gonna cost @ 450 in the front and 650 in the back..... im takign a **** just thinking about how stiff it will b... nad how much u think this will come out 2

[e30 gangsta]

so i take it the sport shocks are singule adjustable?????

[e30 gangsta]

now im hearing stuff that i should ditch the whole custom spring thing and do koni sa's with the gc coliover sleeve kit...... wut u guys think

[Mystikal]

1. It doesn't matter what the rate is, the price is the same.
2. Koni Sport = Koni SA for the E30.
3. Koni SA's with the GC sleeve kit is what we have been talking about the entire time.

[e30 gangsta]

so i should get some koni sa's then get the sleeve coilovesr that you use your old strut and shocks with... and ask em for custom spring rates???

[Mystikal]

Yes, they just use standard Koni SA shocks. Doesn't matter where you get them from.

The sleeve kit is just the springs and perch, and you tell them what rates you want when you call them and order. All GC stuff is custom, techincally.

[e30 gangsta]

lol what rates you think would be ideal??? and what mm rebound should i get for the koni shocks? just 2 be sure your talkign about the coilovers that cost 400 right?

[808BMW]

Call up Ground Control and ask what rates they recommend. It's their job, and they do it better than the people on this board can :P

[Mystikal]

lol what rates you think would be ideal??? and what mm rebound should i get for the koni shocks? just 2 be sure your talkign about the coilovers that cost 400 right?

mm rebound? WTF are you talking about? Yes, the $399 set.

[MattM20]

lol what rates you think would be ideal??? and what mm rebound should i get for the koni shocks? just 2 be sure your talkign about the coilovers that cost 400 right?

like mystikal said, GC uses standard Koni SA dampers (although i beleive they come with top adjustable rears, which you cant get anywhere else). however, i always thought koni SA meant "sport adjustable" since the rebound is 3-way adjustable. you really dont need to put anymore thought in concerning the dampers if youve decided on the konis

[Mystikal]

like mystikal said, GC uses standard Koni SA dampers (although i beleive they come with top adjustable rears, which you cant get anywhere else). however, i always thought koni SA meant "sport adjustable" since the rebound is 3-way adjustable. you really dont need to put anymore thought in concerning the dampers if youve decided on the konis

GC does have available the top adjustable rears, but they cost an extra $100 or something like that. Unless you ask for them specifically, you won't get them.

And yeah, I'm sure it is single adjustable. Single meaning just the rebound can be changed (bound is fixed).

[Digitalwave]

Mystikal is right, SA stands for Single Adjustable, since only the rebound is adjustable. Double adjustables can change rebound AND compression.

[e304lyfe]

i would highly suggest you take a ride in a car with ground controls before you jump right into it.

everyone is different, and what is harsh and untolerable to one person, may be fine to another person.

also take into mind the roads that you travel on. if they are bad, you will quickly find the ride of ground controls taxing if its part of your daily commute, unless you are that hardcore.

same goes for highway driving. you hit certain uneven pavement for a long stretch and you are literally bouncing up and down in your seat. and in general, a little head nod becomes common on most any commute.

i bought ground controls off a guy that couldn't take driving them for more then a few days! i can't express enough, **ground controls are not for everyone**, don't dump a grand in suspension just to realize its not for you.

if i had to blindly recommend a suspension setup... it would not be ground control. for the most part, i consider it overkill, and streetability can be a big concern.

[Mystikal]

For once, someone admits it. GC's ride hardcore, but the handling may be worth it to you. If I wasn't auto-xing my car and didn't have track plans, I probably would be regretting my choice.

[aaron_silva]

Yes, ground control may not be for everybody. But then again I dont expect my car to ride like a Cadilac. I can stand hard bumps every once in a while. Even with stock suspension, I still would get the same sounds/rattles that I get with my current setup.

Maybe its just the roads I drive on.

Aaron

[e30 gangsta]

down here in sfl the roads are awsome most of the time... i was reading that we where liek in the top 10 best roads of america... but yeah of course im gonna be boucing up and down the street becuase im gonna have it soft and the car is gonna be off the floor.... but as long as it can get hard @ teh track i really dont mind..... and for the koni sa's ill be able to adjust em in the front, but not in the back????? i need 2 pay 100 dollars more 2 be able 2 adjust em in the back???? i thought only m3's needed custom fabrication in the back to be able to adjust them....

[e304lyfe]

down here in sfl the roads are awsome most of the time... i was reading that we where liek in the top 10 best roads of america... but yeah of course im gonna be boucing up and down the street becuase im gonna have it soft and the car is gonna be off the floor.... but as long as it can get hard @ teh track i really dont mind..... and for the koni sa's ill be able to adjust em in the front, but not in the back????? i need 2 pay 100 dollars more 2 be able 2 adjust em in the back???? i thought only m3's needed custom fabrication in the back to be able to adjust them....

huh? no matter what you do w/ the shocks, the ****'s gunna bounce like no other over bumps, simply due to the stiff springs.

[e30 gangsta]

well then i guess thats something im gonna have 2 deal with.... i thank u guys for all the help and the info.... i mean on other bimmer forums people that own e30's ( unless its a m3 ) dont get any attention... thanks again 4 all the info..

[Mystikal]

and for the koni sa's ill be able to adjust em in the front, but not in the back????? i need 2 pay 100 dollars more 2 be able 2 adjust em in the back???? i thought only m3's needed custom fabrication in the back to be able to adjust them....

No they are adjustable with just the standard Konis, but you have to remove them from the car to do it. If you buy the more expensive ones from GC, they are adjustable from inside the trunk.

[e30 gangsta]

i kno this is a dumb question but if u got small hands cant u squezee ur hand in there??? and if i did get the ones that are adjustabel form inside the trunk they have 2 cut stuff out 2 make it fit right????? ( ima suspension noob )

[Mystikal]

No, they have to come off.

Yes, a small hole must be cut.

[nando]

you don't have to take them all the way out.. only if you leave the bump stops in. I decided that there's no chance that I'll ever bottom out the rear shocks on my car, so I removed the bumpstops. now all I have to do is roll the rear tires onto some ramps, undo the 19mm trailing arm bolts, adjust and reconnect.

I wonder what GC is like compared to my suspension.. I'm not sure if it's just the konis, but it can be pretty harsh. thankfully not all the roads here are bad, but there are a few stretches of freeway that are nearly unbearable.

[Digitalwave]

The spring rates for H&R Sports are very, very low in comparison to most GC setups, Nando.

[808BMW]

Hehe, I give trunk-adjustable rear shocks a big ol :up:
I had to wait 3 weeks for mine cause theyw ere out of stock. But I'm lazy and its worth it.

[e30 gangsta]

how much did they cost you from gc??? And let me know how you feal about them..

[e30 gangsta]

bump on the price for the trunk adjustable ones...

[Bill 84 318i]

bump on the price for the trunk adjustable ones...
Call GC bro.

530.677.8600

[nando]

No, they have to come off.

Yes, a small hole must be cut.

no they don't, all you really need to do is ditch the bump stop (you'll never need it) and unbolt the lower mount. push in, twist to adjust, and bolt it back up. takes 15 minutes at the most.

[nando]

The spring rates for H&R Sports are very, very low in comparison to most GC setups, Nando.

yeah, but IX H&R sports aren't the same as other E30 H&R sports. in any case, the konis still make it quite stiff when they are turned up all the way.

[Digitalwave]

You think the iX springs are stiffer?

[Mystikal]

No, they have to come off.

Yes, a small hole must be cut.

no they don't, all you really need to do is ditch the bump stop (you'll never need it) and unbolt the lower mount. push in, twist to adjust, and bolt it back up. takes 15 minutes at the most.

haha, you said that already. Scroll up.