Ride quality

[Twelvizm]

The ride was great. The spring rate was comfortable but stiffer than stock. The ride height allowed for driving like a normal person. If I were to get another E30, I would do the exact same suspension.


_MG_8410_5005 by Twelvizm, on Flickr

[SterlingMetE30]

I will be pulling H&R race and Billie sports off my car this summer if you are interested in making a deal. The springs have only been on for a couple month's, but I am going back to full coilovers.

Let me know if you are interested.

Yeah I am interested. Just wanna make sure that's what I want to ride in daily. How much would you want for the set up?

If you dont get to ride in other people's cars, here is what i have found to be true with my cars and about 8-10 other e30s i have driven:

HR sport and konis is a soft really good street ride. it will ride like a modern car.
HR sport + billies is more predictable but harsher over potholes.
HR race /IE3s + konis good for auto but it's not the kind of ride you want if you are on bump/rough roads and do no autox/tracking if you keep all rubber mounts it's very sporty, predictable and amazing in the hills.
HR race /IE3s + billies is much more bouncy on rough roads but will out preform the konis (stock for stock) on a smooth track. my friends that are hard core autox'ers use the HR race+billies and swear buy them. but they use this setup bc coilovers add more points.
i have driven in many cars with many types of full GC coilovers and they range from red blooded race cars to plush handling street/sports cars.

This is great info.

Yeah no one has hit me up on letting ride in their car. I am aware of how sway bars effect the indepence of the suspension and comfort because there is more shock transfer from side to the other. The car is my dd. And the comfort is mostly for my girl. She has a 03 mini cooper s. Which isn't as rough as my car right now. But almost there in my opinion, short wheel base. I really don't care about the height adjustability.

[Cabriolet]

ok. my honest opinion for your needs
HR sport springs
koni yellow single adjustable or non-adjustable shocks
convertible front sway bar
replace all the rubber bushings, control arms, tie rods and sway bar links.
replace rubber with rubber, not poly.
should cost about $1000 for everything

[2mAn]

I had IE3 & Billies on my last car and I just purchased some IE3s to go with the Billies on my current car.

[SterlingMetE30]

ok. my honest opinion for your needs
HR sport springs
koni yellow single adjustable or non-adjustable shocks
convertible front sway bar
replace all the rubber bushings, control arms, tie rods and sway bar links.
replace rubber with rubber, not poly.
should cost about $1000 for everything

Sounds like a good thing to do but I don't plan on having it as a dd forever. 2-3 years make it a toy. And buy a regular old car for a dd that's a 5spd

[Cabriolet]

if you but the Koni AS shocks you can drop in new springs and autox/track in w/in 3 hours.

[ajhostetter]

I have Vogtland Springs, Billy Sports, and an IE front sway bar. I like the ride a lot, and the car does great at the track.

[e30austin]

Vogtland and H&R Race are both good choices. I had H&R Sports for a while, and while the ride wasn't horrible, it wasn't great either, even with brand new Bilstein Sports. The ride quality between my Sports and Race were basically the same. I switched to Race for a little more low, with basically the same ride quality. YMMV, though.

[ajhostetter]

Oh, and since most of r3v is broke, I'll mention that the Vogtland springs are about teh cheapest out there. I paid ~$180 for all 4 IIRC

[e30austin]

Oh, and since most of r3v is broke

I giggled.

[SterlingMetE30]

Oh, and since most of r3v is broke.

Isn't that how most car groups are? My last car was. 00 escort zx2 pretty much the same thing.

[Martin C.]

...one of the fundamental issues with your original post is that you have not specified what you are intending to use the setup for.

Is this setup intended for a weekend warrior? Or perhaps just to be an asshole and drive fast in your neighborhood without curbing the wheels in the roundabout?

Everybody here is right in that each setup is different. The question is what is your ideal setup? Trying many cars may get you there, but you can help by narrowing the search.

My suspension is setup way too soft for autoX, but you are welcome to drive my car if you want to test it: HD Billies on Bav springs, drop hats and ST sway bars in soft setup. Pic of my car attached to show the 'stance'.



I personally use my car to drive around and not racing, still using 14s, and the ride is great for me (call me old if you must), but the biggest change I experienced is when I installed the sway bars.

[Wschnitz]

After I get mine all in I wouldnt mind giving you a ride.

-HR Race
-Billie Sports
-Poly CABs

thats it, more to come but thats all i have in for now.

[SterlingMetE30]

Idk what happened to my post I added to this thread the other day. Thanks for all the info. But I went with hr race springs/ billy sports. Ride is an improvement from the racelands but I rode in a stock eta and holy cow is that cushy. I can imagine what the difference feels like from stock to race. Lol. But the ride is better and the handling is greatly improved. It raised my car about 1". Now I don't rub in the rear with my fat tires. Doesn't squat as much, and I feel more attached to the road and car.

My real objective of the car is to have it as a daily and occasional track car. I don't plan on keeping it as a daily for more that 2-3 years. And restore it (clean it up mainly), and bring it to my tastes. Such as late model is bumpers & valence. 2.7i (maybe turbo) cleaned up headlights, fix rust and new paint.

Also Wshnitz where did you get the USA bmw insignia?