What are proven suspension set ups?

[Rockinlittle325i]

I'm looking to make my e30 into a track only car,
that being set what are the set ups you guys have run?
Whats the best bang for the buck? if I cant afford coil overs?



Also if anyone has their set up for sale I may be interested

also I will be drifting this car as well

[CincinnatiKid]

I like my H&R sports and Bilsteins, but I don't drift, just autox and track days.

[Rockinlittle325i]

what spring rate are you using? how does the car handle?

[CrazyB]

H&R Race and Bilstien sports work pretty well that is what the Spec e30 race guys use.

If you want super stiff setup check out the Turner J stock setup.

[jlevie]

The next best package would be H&R Race springs, 22/19mm sways, Bilstein Sport shocks, GC Spec E30 camber plates, and a general suspension refresh. The refresh would be new poly bushings everywhere, offset CAB's, and might need to include new tie rods and/or control arms. An optional improvement would be weld-in rear trailing arm adjusters. This is the SPec E30 suspension. It works well and isn't all that expensive.

[Bimmerman325i]

EDIT: I just saw you mention you couldn't afford coilovers, so I'll echo what everyone above has said. Bilstein Sport/H&R Race/GC or Vorshlag camber plates. That'll put you at shitty Ebay coilover price (~$1000-1200), but be a MUCH better suspension setup. Add the Suspension Techniques bars that Jlevie suggested and it's a great setup. I'll leave my post for posterity, but yea, if your budget is limited go with the SpecE30 suspension, it is a great setup.

Original post: If there's no SpecE30 racing presence in your area, or if you aren't interested in prepping your car for that class, another very good and proven setup on an e30 is the Ground Control single adjustable Koni coilover kit paired with their or Vorshlag's plates. Bishop (r3v screen name) runs this, on stock sways, with 225/15 Hankook RS3s and it is devastatingly fast with a decent condition M20 and stock brakes. It's also daily drivable. I have a double adjustable TC Kline version of this same setup on my E36, and it is devastatingly fast in the right (not my) hands.

Another option worth looking at, since you haven't mentioned a budget, is the AST 4100 setup. I've got a set on order (for my subaru) but reviews I've read and from driving an E36 on these shocks, they're a very good setup as well. Whether they are a better value than the GC kit is up to you.

In broader terms:
Advantages of coilovers vs a shock/strut package

* Damping is adjustable
* ability to adjust ride height and corner weight
* linear springs usually
* shock tube is usually shortened, meaning you can run lower ride heights and maintain decent bump/droop travel.
* shocks are more likely to be valved for performance/track use
* rebuildable
* smaller OD coilover springs means more tire can be fitted under the fenders
* More predictable behavior from the car due to linear springs.

Disadvantages

* cost
* complexity (more things to adjust)
* depending on brand, shock life might not be so good, but they tend to be rebuildable.
* beyond the needs of many
* remote reservoirs aren't legal in many racing classes, check your ruleset. Not all coilovers have remote reservoirs though.
* Firmer ride if you get inappropriate spring rates for your needs and don't adjust damping to suit

Whether the benefits outweigh the downsides is up to you. They do for me, and since there's no specE30 presence around Colorado, there's no sense in constraining a car to that ruleset in my area. Other areas, that isn't true, so if you are going to be doing Wheel to Wheel racing eventually, build the car for a commonly subscribed race class in your area so that you have competition. Around here, that's NASA GTS, but YMMV.


A note on damping adjustability:
Single adjustable = rebound
double = rebound/compression
triple = rebound + hi and lo speed compression
quad = hi/lo rebound/compression

Prices go up exponentially as you add adjustablity.

A very common setup on e36 and e30 is to buy singles in the front and doubles or triples in the rear, as the rear shocks are much cheaper. I mention this because E30s need all the droop travel they can get, which is the main reason why Vorshlag went with single adj fronts and triple adj rear in their STS class E30 318is-- the car needed droop travel badly, and the remote reservoir of the triples allowed them to use the entire shock body(internal valving components are relocated to the reservoir) rather than half of it. Since that car was built, AST has a double adjustable shock with a remote res for the rear, so you could do singles/remote double.....it will be expensive though.

[Jafxod]

On a budget find a fresh set of bilsteins and then my preference for springs is IE3's.

[Rockinlittle325i]

thanks guys, I havent been around a spec e30, is that set up very stiff or not?

[Bimmerman325i]

thanks guys, I havent been around a spec e30, is that set up very stiff or not?

stiff isn't important, good handling is important. A specE30, on its "soft" springs will outhandle a super backbreakingly stiff coilover that isn't set up right for the car.

One will just feel more "racey" than the other.

[Lance Racing]

No offense, but this person sounds no where near ready for a coil over suspension for the track. The benefits would be lost on him or anyone that does not have a lot of track experience. The Bilstein Sport/H&R Cup Kit is more than enough to make the car fun at the track.

Hopefully while you are under there you are checking and replacing anything that is worn. Control arms, tie rod ends, guibo, etc.

[etxxz]

cheap ebay cosmo coilovers with koni top adjustables. bilsteinst would do well too spring rates are 460f/550r. On the stiff settings, its so stiff, i only use it on smooth tracks and barely.

I have about 2years on this setup, no sways, only bushings and its great. Probably 15k miles on the street

[E30_(1st Musk)_]

cheap ebay cosmo coilovers with koni top adjustables. bilsteinst would do well too spring rates are 460f/550r. On the stiff settings, its so stiff, i only use it on smooth tracks and barely.

I have about 2years on this setup, no sways, only bushings and its great. Probably 15k miles on the street

what kind of masochistic spring rate are you running to justify no sways?

[etxxz]

cheap ebay cosmo coilovers with koni top adjustables. bilsteinst would do well too spring rates are 460f/550r. On the stiff settings, its so stiff, i only use it on smooth tracks and barely.

I have about 2years on this setup, no sways, only bushings and its great. Probably 15k miles on the street

what kind of masochistic spring rate are you running to justify no sways?

THERE.

kid you not, when the koni's are on the stiff setting, the car barely sways. Mine is also fully gutted, s52, e36m3 brakes/5lug, 245 r-comps so its not a fair apples to apples. I used to pick tires off the ground before with 24/22? sway bars? since going to stock setup (new bushings, no reinforcements) i've only seen a handful of pics with one tire hovering above the ground.

and really that's all i have (OH camber plates too..), this setup feels very solid. I did an auto-x last month with the PCA club in bank atlantic center. I got 3rd fastest time of the day. I was beat by an e46m3 and a kit car. poor porsches got dominated by bmw at that event

[Emre]

Here's a classic set-up for mostly track + occasional street use:

• TMS J-Stock springs
• Bilstein Sport dampers
• Ireland Engineering sways and mounts
• Camber plates from GC (or even K-Mac) set to -2deg negative
• E30 M3 offset control arm bushings
• Urethane rear subframe mounts
• Upgraded rear shock mounts (urethane or E46 M3 Cabrio mounts)
• 225/45-R15 tires on 15x7" ET23-27 wheels
• wheel stud conversion

If you've got some $$$ left over, get the Bilsteins revalved to Firehawk spec. Or just buy the custom-valved inverted shocks from Turner.

If you're running a stock M20 or M42 and need the car to rotate more under power, throw some 8-15mm hub-centric spacers on the front axles to give the car some reverse stagger. And make sure your LSD is in working condition; if not, then you might as well upgrade to the medium-case 4.10:1 LSD from an E30 M3.

That's the set-up I ran for many years on my E30 track car. Anyone who ever drove it commented on how amazing the handling was: perfectly neutral and easy to balance on the limit...at least in the dry (it could be a bit of a handful in the wet).

[Emre]

thanks guys, I havent been around a spec e30, is that set up very stiff or not?

The common complaint with H&R race springs is that the rates are too low for how much they lower the car. In other words, there's significant room for improvement.

The TMS "J-Stock" set-up is noticeably better (better = more neutral handling and lower lap times), but it's an old-school approach. My understanding is that it's basically BMW's old Gr.N springs paired with Firehawk-spec Bilsteins. This set-up is tough to beat on a smooth track, but it loses its composure on bumpy/uneven surfaces.

An even better solution seems to be the Ground Control set-up. The combination of linear springs and Koni Race dampers is magic. Very nicely damped over rough tarmac, such as found on many of the tracks in the northeastern USA and eastern Canada.