Coilovers with 5lug questions

[Gear_Head13]

I'm leaning towards a ground control Z3/318ti coilover set up for my 5 lug swap on my 318is, but I'm curious to hear what people are running for spring rates?

The guys at bimmerworld tell me to try a 450 front 500 rear but I'm just wondering what people who have either the same set up or have Coilovers on 318is.

[AlarmedBread]

What usage? 500 rear is good for cruising...

[2002maniac]

stiffer in the rear. I ran 400/650 on my 318is and it was awesome.

[Gear_Head13]

This will be my autox & track school car so I'd like a stiff set up, Also I'm running the Ireland big sway bar kit with it, 25/22mm (if that's a factor) & I'm getting the kit with solid camber/caster plates.

[Boosted E30]

I have 400 or 450f and 700r with H&R sways, the rear is a bit stiff though so im going back to the stock rear sway and see how that works, otherwise its awsome and i dd my car aswell.

[Gear_Head13]

Ok so I'm getting 400-500f & 500-600r is a good set up that's still able to DD but how is it on the track?

This may be a dumb question but why are you running softer spring rates in the front? Wouldn't you want it to be stiffer up front with the weight of the motor?

[2002maniac]

The position of the rear spring makes the wheel rate much lower than the front.

[bmwmech1]

The position of the rear spring makes the wheel rate much lower than the front.

Is there a set in stone formula for arriving at a rate for a full coil over setup in the rear? I'm moving to a coil on shock setup in the rear and would prefer to not have to "sample" a bunch of different rates to get what I want. No track duty for this car, just street driven, so my hunch is somewhere around a 450-550lb set for the rear. Anyone have any info/experience on rates for this type of setup? Thanks...

Garey

[2002maniac]

What do you suppose the advantage to a true coilover is on a street driven car?

Here's some reading for you: http://e30m3project.com/e30m3perform...e/eff_rate.htm and http://e30m3project.com/e30m3perform...rage/index.htm

[Gear_Head13]

Ok I'm thinking a 500f 650r would we a good starting point, any thoughts?

[bmwmech1]

What do you suppose the advantage to a true coilover is on a street driven car?

Here's some reading for you: http://e30m3project.com/e30m3perform...e/eff_rate.htm and http://e30m3project.com/e30m3perform...rage/index.htm

On a true "normal" street driven E30, it's safe to say the rewards do not justify the effort involved, but this particular car is anything but normal. The reasoning behind this modification is simply that everything else on this car is extreme and custom, so I decided I wanted a true coil on shock setup in the rear, as well. This is an exercise in "I want to, so I will" kind of mentality, nothing more. Funny, I have the site you linked bookmarked, but it's been a while since I had looked at it... thanks for re-directing me back to it!

Garey