E46 stuff up front??

[bimmer630]

Why is it that nobody runs E46 front struts/spindles?? looking at them you can see they are different than E36, the strut mounts to the spindle differently, but it looks like the tierod and control arm mounting points should be the same as E36, and as long as the right spring and upper strut mount is used, mounting the strut should be no problem...
dont know if you would have to use the E46 control arm with a modified rear section to slide into an E30-E36 bushing or if the E36 M arms would be the right thing to use.. I wonder how the geometry would be with those E46 arms, if it is at all different than the E36 arm

just throwing this out there, im sure many have discussed it but i didnt find anything doing a search

[Aptyp]

because e46s aren't at local pick-n-pulls yet

[bimmer630]

Haha very true.... But still Somebody has to have tried it out, no?

[Kingb]

I posted this topic up awhile ago and this was the answer I got from "Daniel" i dont know the answer, but my guess is that there is a good reason why people don't do e46 5-lug swaps...

Cause I have a set of e46 KW coilovers

[Aptyp]

here's my logic, and tell me if it's failing me:

1. e36 spindles are nearly identical to e30 mounting.
2. e36 struts are PERFECT height
3. e46 brakes bolt on to e36 spindles

I think those are perfect three reasons not to reinvent the wheel.

[bimmer630]

yeah no reason to reinvent, just didnt know that the E46 stuff was any different in geometry compared to E36.

while on the topic of spring height, i was looking at my frontend yesterday while the car was on the ground, and i was suprised at how short my spring height is. I have the M E36/Z3 Struts with E30 H&R sport springs, and there looks to be only about 3 inches of travel in the whole assembly. I like the way the car handles so im not worried about it, i just thought i remembered the E30 strut having more travel with that spring on it, like the lower spring bucket is positioned higher up on the E36 stuff

[Aptyp]

not really, had them side by side and it was nearly identical. H&Rs do take a whole lot of travel away, so if you have them on stock m3 struts, then you're quite possibly bottoming out a lot.

[bimmer630]

yeah they bottom out alot, makes the car feel like a rollerskate with an engine in it.. which is cool as hell if you ask me... ill take a harsh riding BMW over a smooth caddy any day

[Aptyp]

you're a misguided individual... Riding on bump stops doesn't make you more of a man, nor does it make your car stiffer. In fact, all you're accomplishing is making your e30 handle like a worn out caddy.

Start saving on e36m3 Bilsteins Sports or Koni's...

[bimmer630]

A nice bilstien is still gonna have the same travel as my factory M3 struts, isnt it? It will have stiffer dampening of course so the chances of hitting the bumpstops are less, I see what your saying there but i think your under the impression my car slams against bumpstops all day.. I did say it bottoms out alot (shouldnt have written that, dunno why i did), but i drive the thing hard and i dont feel like im "riding around" on the stops all day.
going back to the original subject, i was thinking of e46 parts, and how the wheel centering would work out with that setup.. again im not saying my e36 stuff is no good but was just wondering if it would work..
Im semi-fascinated with the fact that so many BMW parts can be swapped into different BMW's.. i think its awesome and i just like to see what people can put together

[jrdeamicis]

You are going to have to go to a shortened strut housing.

The GC Bastard kit is pretty nice. If you already have Camber plates.

Shortened Konis + GC Coilover Conversion + 2.5" Springs + Vorshalg Plates

If you shorten the strut an inch you will gain inch back in travel. Sounds pretty good to me since the stock m3 had 1.5" of travel out of the factory.

[robweenerpi]

I am considering using E46 Struts on my racecar. The main problem I've seen so far is you'd need custom made front struts (very short). I am considering custom struts from bilstein anyway so it's not a big deal. As I get better measurements I may report back.

[SA E30]

I know of a guy here in SA, who races on a set of E46 328i front struts.

From what I've seen on the car he is using an e30 camber plate, stock E46 brakes and Bilstein E46 coilover strut housings. Running on std e30 control arms with M3 offset bushes and the rear lollipop holes slotted to bring the lollipop all the way against the body, to correct caster.

His setup seems to work pretty decently, he is currently one of the quickest e30 race/track cars in our country.