Lifting my E30 and 5 lug problems

[MR 325]

I'm pretty sure I'll be the first one to ask this...

So me and a buddy are lifting an E30. We put together a junkyard 5 lug setup that I thought would work. The rear is no problem, it's complete and working. The front is the issue. We've got E36 325is front struts and spindles, E46 control arms, and AKG E46 to E30 bushings.

The front wheel is WAY too far back. It was my understanding that the E46 arms pushed the wheel forward. It seems I was wrong. Does anybody have thoughts to a solution to our problem? We're not looking for perfect geometry here, this is not a race car. We just want a solution that can keep it 5 lug while not having tire clearance issues.

[surapple]

have u tried using the 7-series E32 arms those might work

[MR 325]

have u tried using the 7-series E32 arms those might work

Do you even know what style of control arm the E32 uses? No they will not work.

[IanS_in_Oz]

A set of these will fix it

[Jonny Cash]

Do the e46 lca more aggresive caster, than the e36 m3 does? I was always under the impression the e36m3 arms fixed the problem.

I would say e36m3 LCA, matched with e36M3 strut tops (which are also more aggresive) would center a it a bit.

[MR 325]

A set of these will fix it

Funny, those are exactly what I was thinking about in my head. PM me a price.

Do the e46 lca more aggresive caster, than the e36 m3 does? I was always under the impression the e36m3 arms fixed the problem.

I would say e36m3 LCA, matched with e36M3 strut tops (which are also more aggresive) would center a it a bit.

It seems that I will have to go with the E36 M3 arms. They seem to push the assembly forward the most. I've read conflicting info that says the M vs non M E36 spindles place the wheel differently too. As far as E36 M3 strut mounts, they won't fit the E30 strut tower holes.

[MR 325]

Anyone else have anything to add? Ideally I'd like to have the wheels FURTHER forward than stock.

[Roysneon]

Maybe a stupid suggestion or not something you're willing to do but you could always redrill the strut towers to reposition or run different upper mounts as I've seen done online with other 5 lug setups.

[trackjunkie21]

I was under the impression you couldn't use anything but e36 M parts up front, I doubt that would be the cause of the caster problem though.

[MR 325]

I was under the impression you couldn't use anything but e36 M parts up front, I doubt that would be the cause of the caster problem though.

It's definitely a DIRECT cause of the caster problem. The E36 M3 arm pushes the strut forward. Also, the E36 M3 spindle pushes it forward even more. I have the control arms and spindles on the way. Going to run non-M brakes on them though.

[84driver]

So you are going with e46 lca after all! In all photos of others who did this mod it did push the wheel forward. Are you using camber plates? Can you post pics?

[MR 325]

So you are going with e46 lca after all! In all photos of others who did this mod it did push the wheel forward. Are you using camber plates? Can you post pics?

No, I just said I am going to use the E36 M3 arms. I sold the E46 parts. The E46 arms did NOT put the wheel forward at all.

No, I am not going to use camber plates. I am not lowering this E30. Will post results this weekend.

[MR 325]

For anyone that cares (not likely) we made progress on the 5 lug.

Installed E36 M3 control arms, E36 M3 spindles, and E30 M3 offset bushings. The wheel is perfectly centered, better than my S50 5 lug car in face. Since we plan to run 15" wheels we will be running the non-M E36 325i brakes. This requires a spacer between the caliper bracket and the spindle where the bracket mounts. No big deal, that's taken care of.

The big problem we are having now is that the tie rod location on the M spindle is further forward, the tie rod is hitting the wheel! It's oh-so-close though, going to try minimal grinding on the bottom of the tie rod and see if it will clear.

[carlb]

Are these the offset bushings you used?

[MR 325]

Are these the offset bushings you used?

Well yes and no. I got a pair OEM BMW bushings from BMA for about $45.