Want to make room for less et...

[e30time]

Ok, thank you. I know there are multiple ways to skin a cat, and I do appreciate your input, but honestly to me that sounds way more complicated than what I am looking to do... Not to mention I already have the complete Z3M rear suspension, differential, brakes, subframe....

I just need to know what axles I may be able to look for, that are a little shorter.

[brent5631]

I dont think z3m brakes will work with stock trailing arms and m3 hubs. But I am talking about e30 m3 hubs in the rear on stock trailing arms. Then for brakes come up with something custom or any BBK that works on a rear e30 m3 would work.

[e30time]

So whats the point of going with z3m trailing arms. They are slightly more re-enforced but otherwise not much different. Stock e30 arms with m3 hubs would keep the track the same in the rear which i belive is 1-2 inches less than z3m stuff.

Maybe I missed the point of this post. Are you saying if I use the stock trailing arms and M3 hubs I can still use the Z3M brakes? And which M3 hubs would this be?

[e30time]

The original point was that I needed the gear ratio of the diff for the S50 swap, and wanted the rear brakes to balance well with the front e36 M3 brakes. The problem is I would have to go and find wheels I want that don't work... But then again if we all wanted this to be easy we could buy e36/e46/e9x M3's and be done with it.

[brent5631]

So whats the point of going with z3m trailing arms. They are slightly more re-enforced but otherwise not much different. Stock e30 arms with m3 hubs would keep the track the same in the rear which i belive is 1-2 inches less than z3m stuff.

[e30time]

The way I understand it, the Z3M trailing arms are wider and the hubs are shorter... Good thinking though, thank you!

[brent5631]

If z3m stuff is wider why not just use e30 m3 rear hubs and adapt different brakes. Seems easier than moving mounts and different axles and such.

[e30time]

So, the wheels I want to use on rear are 18" x 8.5" et37. In the 5 lug swap bible, using the Z3M rear set up allows clearance for 7.5 et41. My math says the outside edge of the wheel I want to use will be spaced out 16.7mm further.

When looking at the crossmember, I realized it would be simple to move the trailing arms, and I haven't determined how this will effect the shock and spring positions. What I have thought about is the half shafts... I've read that the Z3M's shafts are longer than e30, but what I need to know is the specific lengths of other shafts that may work. Anyone researched this or have some numbers?

Cheers,

Blake