To five lug or not to five lug?

[AlexKing]

most of my suspension needs replacing and it got me thinking, should i replace my stuff (obviously with a few poly bits and m3 bits), or hold off a little and get parts for 5 lug? i want bigger brakes but at least a grand for a kit is putting me off.

so renew suspension and wait for bbk or renew suspension with e36 m3 front and mz3 rears adn kill 2 birds with one stone?

[MR 325]

If a grand is too much for a front brake kit then I definitely do not recommend going 5 lug. Doing the 5 lug swap properly (with the Z3M rear) will cost a lot more than that.

[IronFreak]

^^

What he said. I went 5-lug, it's not what I would call an alternative option cost wise to refreshing your current setup. I had redone my entire 4-lug suspension with koni's then decided to go 5-lug. I sold my entire 4-lug setup, which was enough to cover purchasing all the parts for the e36 m3/z3 upgrade. Then I had to spend more money refreshing all that.

New rear wheel bearings
rear pads and rotors
front hubs and spindles
blown struts for koni cut-n-gut inserts
control arms
all new ball joints
GC coil-over kit
camber plates
Front pads and rotors
Calipers and brackets x4

It's not as cheap as you would think, even if you get great deals on used parts. I would say that after selling the majority of me refreshed 4-lug ($900) I still spent $1000 roughly finishing it.

[Roysneon]

Plus generally the parts for Z3m's and e36 m3's is more expensive and less available than regular old e30 parts.

[einstein57]

Why not just by new m3 rear hubs?

[LowR3V'in]

Only good part is being able to run the beefy rear mcouple axles isn't it?

[AlexKing]

thanks for the help guys.

i will end up doing it but due to cost it won't be for a while

how much bigger are the e36 m3 brakes compared to regular e36?

[acolella76]

Why do you need bigger brakes so badly? If it's just for aesthetics I can understand, huge rotors look dope. If you really think you need that stopping power, you might be surprised at how well the E30 stops with the proper pad and ducting work (and tires too of course). It's going to cost you a lot more than a BBK than to swap to 5 lug with full poly bushes.

[AlexKing]

Why do you need bigger brakes so badly? If it's just for aesthetics I can understand, huge rotors look dope. If you really think you need that stopping power, you might be surprised at how well the E30 stops with the proper pad and ducting work (and tires too of course). It's going to cost you a lot more than a BBK than to swap to 5 lug with full poly bushes.

its not so much a need but a want. i don't know why but 5 lug seems a lot more appealing then a BBK. plus clavinzeros car with style 32's looks amazing and yes big rotors do look dope

I guess its sort of me wanting to turn my car into the best E30 i can if that makes sense.

i know i could achieve the same results with adapters and good pads/fluid/discs.

[einstein57]

I thought that until I hit up Angeles Crest and my pedal sank to the floor after 10 minutes. Upgraded to the RX-7 kit and pretty much eliminated that problem. Now I have the IE 6 piston 310mm kit. The RX-7 calipers were just too thick for my wheels.

[LowR3V'in]

einstein57, What pads where you using?