Options to 5 lug conv... best choice, plz some help

[techmaniac]

Greeting from Chile, I´m gettint started with my E30 325i S50 conversion in about 2 months, meanwhile the car is being repainted and custom made the wide body kit (not like M3, but quite nice)... So, I send the car basically standing on air... I removed everything, engine, diff, steering rack, etc, etc...

So, I intend to meanwhile I wait for the painting job to finish to gather the parts I need to 5 lug conv. plus swaping the E36 325i or Z3 steering rack, these would help me also with bigger brakes...

I´ve been reading a lot in the other post and need to know if my decision is correct.

NOTE:
1. IN MY COUNTRY E30 M3 ARE VERY RARE AND PARTS EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE SO IT´S NOT AN OPTION.:blowup:


Front end options:
- E36 325i (any particular year)
- E36 318ti??? (any particular year)
- Z3 ????

Rear end ops:
- Z3 (any particular year) (lighter would be beter wont it?)
- E36 318ti (any particular year)

any way, is there another non-M3 option I should be looking at besides those??

For the suspension I intend on gettint E30 coilovers and stock shocks while the custom ones arrives with weight specs for the S50 engine.
the only problem I know is that with E36 parts in the front the wheel wont be correctly centered... but if that doesnt affects driving, I intend to modify the body kit to make it look stock.

Any advice would be of much help...
plz dont say GET AN E36 THEN!.... cause I WONT!!, had one, and really really...I like better the drinving and handling of the E30, pluss, parts are cheaper and gives you more to play with

Thanks ya all.:D:D:D:D

plase any good tip or someone to talk to my msn it´s tengetzu@hotmail.com...thanks

[PiercedE30]

Well, for ease of gather parts, here is what I would do:
325i E36 front suspension
96+ E36 M3 front control arms (absolutley necessary to center the front wheels)
E30 M3 control arm bushings
E36 318ti rear trailing arms
That is basically all there is to it. Or you can use MZ3 stuff for better brakes and beefier rear trailing arms.

[techmaniac]

so... there is no way to 5-lug without using M3 parts... that´s a shame...

anyway..... then for:
front end:
- 325i E36 front suspension
- 96+ E36 M3 front control arms (absolutley necessary to center the front wheels)
- E30 M3 control arm bushings

and for rear end:
- E36 318ti rear trailing arms


I´ll try to get those parts...but it´ll be quite hard considering I live in Chile.

Thanks

[Eric]

so... there is no way to 5-lug without using M3 parts... that´s a shame...

anyway..... then for:
front end:
- 325i E36 front suspension
- 96+ E36 M3 front control arms (absolutley necessary to center the front wheels)
- E30 M3 control arm bushings

and for rear end:
- E36 318ti rear trailing arms


I´ll try to get those parts...but it´ll be quite hard considering I live in Chile.

Thanks

buy the control ams and get some offset poly bushings from online vendors, they shouldn't be hard to find (shipping control arms to chilie might be a bit of cash though)

[clavinZERO]

check out my parts list:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=92256

this should point you in the right direction if you are NOT going with anything from the E30 M3.

[techmaniac]

so....then there is no way to do a 5-lug conv without using M3 E30 or M3 E36 parts.... that´s a shame... M3 parts are very hard to find and extremely expensive in my country, and shipping them to Chile would be about the same....

I was wondering if maybe I swap a E36 325i complete suspension, brakes, trailing arms, etc, etc may fit in place and work nicely... but I think it cant be done...

Thanks anyway

[PiercedE30]

Only thing that I listed that is M is the control arm. Something that is a wear item that will eventually get replaced anyways. The control arms are not that bad to get your hands on, hell, pretty easy to if you just order it somewhere online. Yea, it will be over 300 USD for the arms, but shit, if you want 5-lug, you're going to spend more than that to get everything anyways.

[techmaniac]

good point there... besides, seems to be that the only thing that I´ll have to get shipped would be the trailing arms...nothing else...everything else I can get it here..

THANKS FOR ALL THE GOOD TIPS

[clavinZERO]

The REAR trailing arms are not usable from the E36, they are a different style. Only Z3, M-roadster (Z3M), and E30M3 are your options for the complete rear trailing arms.

In the front, I would go for the E36 M3 brakes if you are going to go through with the conversion... You might as well go all-out. In addition, the E36 M3 struts have the same spring diameter as your E30 springs.

[Eric]

good point there... besides, seems to be that the only thing that I´ll have to get shipped would be the trailing arms...nothing else...everything else I can get it here..

THANKS FOR ALL THE GOOD TIPS

ok, the rear TRAILING arms are not needed for the conversion. you need rear hubs/wheel bearings from a Z3 or 318ti. make sure it has disc brakes though, only US spec model 318ti's came with discs.

on the front of the car, CONTROL arms from a 96 M3 are needed. these need to be replaced when worn, so might as well by new and have them shipped. find an army base and hook a brother up with some local hotties and try to get them to ship it through the military... just a thought...

[clavinZERO]

It's true that the whole trailing arm assemblies are not NEEDED, but I would recommend getting them that way so you get the backing plates, calipers + carrier brackets, hardlines, etc., still attached and then you won't have to chase that stuff down.

[e34biturbo]

Well, for ease of gather parts, here is what I would do:
325i E36 front suspension
96+ E36 M3 front control arms (absolutley necessary to center the front wheels)
E30 M3 control arm bushings
E36 318ti rear trailing arms
That is basically all there is to it. Or you can use MZ3 stuff for better brakes and beefier rear trailing arms.

I have a wrecked 97 M3 full suspension. Can I just use the rears from that also? Hard to get a z3 here now


What about just changing the hubs?

[clavinZERO]

E36 M3 has an entirely different rear suspension setup. Will not graft onto an E30.