5-lug Setup

[fporro]

Do rear bearing job and simple add E30 M3 flanges,
Seem them as low as $156 ea + bearing.

Then you can buy 8 series rear calipers and rotors.

[Aptyp]

with m3 hubs, you can run e46m, z3m and z4m staggered wheel setup. Harder to find wheels than you think.

[openthrottle]

Couple of questions:

1.) Can you use 95 M3 Spindles with 96-99 M3 LCAs and LCA offset bushings? From my understanding is that the 95 spindles are a bit different than the 96-99.

3.) Can you use the rear setup out of a e36 M3 (96-99)?

4.) If you go with the e36 M3 front and 318ti rear, can you make a custom BBK kit setup like the porsche calipers combo? Rallyroad.net already makes adapters for e36 M3s and non-M3s for the porsche calipers, but from what I can tell is that they only make the F/R adapters for the M3s and only the Front ones for the non-M3s. Maybe they have non-M3 rears or maybe they are interchangeable.

[e30guydownunder]

E36 rear suspension is completely different to the E36 Compact (318ti) rear suspension and un-usable in an E30 without massive fabrication, however it has been done a few times.

[openthrottle]

E36 rear suspension is completely different to the E36 Compact (318ti) rear suspension and un-usable in an E30 without massive fabrication, however it has been done a few times.

Good info. Only reason I asked is because you can find them on ebay for a steal a lot of times.


So to answer my questions:

1.) Can you use 95 M3 Spindles with 96-99 M3 LCAs and LCA offset bushings? From my understanding is that the 95 spindles are a bit different than the 96-99.

No answer as of yet on this or maybe I just missed it somewhere. I know on the Aptyp site it says you can do e36 M3 as long as you use the 96-99 lca's and offset bushings but from other threads I have read it says, you can't do this because the spindles are a bit different (geometry wise).

3.) Can you use the rear setup out of a e36 M3 (96-99)?

Simple answer is no, unless you want to do fabrication.

4.) If you go with the e36 M3 front and 318ti rear, can you make a custom BBK kit setup like the porsche calipers combo? Rallyroad.net already makes adapters for e36 M3s and non-M3s for the porsche calipers, but from what I can tell is that they only make the F/R adapters for the M3s and only the Front ones for the non-M3s. Maybe they have non-M3 rears or maybe they are interchangeable.

No answer yet.

[e30guydownunder]

Good info. Only reason I asked is because you can find them on ebay for a steal a lot of times.


So to answer my questions:

1.) Can you use 95 M3 Spindles with 96-99 M3 LCAs and LCA offset bushings? From my understanding is that the 95 spindles are a bit different than the 96-99.

No answer as of yet on this or maybe I just missed it somewhere. I know on the Aptyp site it says you can do e36 M3 as long as you use the 96-99 lca's and offset bushings but from other threads I have read it says, you can't do this because the spindles are a bit different (geometry wise).

3.) Can you use the rear setup out of a e36 M3 (96-99)?

Simple answer is no, unless you want to do fabrication.

4.) If you go with the e36 M3 front and 318ti rear, can you make a custom BBK kit setup like the porsche calipers combo? Rallyroad.net already makes adapters for e36 M3s and non-M3s for the porsche calipers, but from what I can tell is that they only make the F/R adapters for the M3s and only the Front ones for the non-M3s. Maybe they have non-M3 rears or maybe they are interchangeable.

No answer yet.

1. The later model M3 has slightly more caster and maybe a touch more camber built into the spindle. I have never tried to do a fivelug conversion so reserved comment. I don't see why it would be a problem, its just that the later stuff will help you get the wheel further forward in the guards, so maybe you can get away with a less aggressive offset LCA Bushing (yes there are differences).

4. I am unsure about the compatibility of non-M and M specs brakes with the rear suspension. The brackets will bolt on but the caliper and rotor spacing / offsets may not be correct.

[Aptyp]

thanks, e30guydownunder for answering questions. couldn't have done it better myself.

as a reward, another set of 16" wheels that work

[BenM]

From what I've read the major difference is more camber was introduced with the '96+ Spindles.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1567076

I used '95 M3 Spindles with 96-99 M3 LCA's and Offset LCAB's, and my wheel is nicely centered although I should probably get some caster measurements to back that up. I am also running the BW Shim Kit (maxed out with all 3 shims) as well as GC Race Camber Plates set at 2.5, and I have approx. 3.5deg of negative camber.

[openthrottle]

So what about suspension? I think this also has to be discussed.

When you go an e36m front and 318 rear. What coilovers would you use? Would you actually go to e36 setup or do you have to go to a custom type setup? Might seem a bit of a dumb question but its better to be clear.

I know the bottom mount points are different for the struts/coilovers on the e36 (at least for the front) but what about the upper mount? Should a person use e30 upper mounts or e36?

Thanks for all the help everyone. This thread has been really informative.

[Aptyp]

I ran e30 ground controls, bavautos, eibachs, H&R Races, Racing Dynamics and now ground controls again. Always ran e30 springs.

[yellowltd]

Hai Guise!

First of all, awesome thread. I am very happy to have found this information in one place, big props to Aptyp for his website.

In reading, I started to wonder about how this mishmash of brake parts affects the car. I was happy to see someone finally bring up the issue around page 16, but I haven't seen the answers that I wanted. In fact, I've seen precious little information about the brake systems on these cars, so I've gone hunting. I've gathered what I've been able to find into a Google spreadsheet, made this spreadsheet public, and anyone with the link can add information. If anyone knows of a repository of information that would be useful (or supersede my own) please point me in that direction!

Please, please only add information that you are able to verify with a second source, or through empirical measurement. Please do not remove information that is already there unless you have proof that it is in error. And, when using the data from the spreadsheet, please keep in mind that this is the internet, and this information is worth exactly what you paid for it. The job of staying alive is yours and yours alone. Enjoy, and please contribute what you can!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvbyHbVkuyAjdDFiMlpCbFZvSFZuTkhJU295UjZxVkE

[Aptyp]

great research, I'll measure somethings and add some info when I can.

[gtarwiz]

So by looking at what yellowltd posted, using e36 328i vert rear calipers could really help with the brake bias issue because they are almost the same size as the standard e36 M3 rears. Or using the e46 non M rear calipers which appear to be the same size as the e36 M.

And does anybody know if the E46 calipers fit the e36 318ti brake carrier? Or does the e46 carrier fit on a e30 TA?

[Aptyp]

working on adapting e36m3 brakes in the back, but I'll be giving up the parking brake

[BenM]

See post #33 & 38 in this thread - http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthrea...t=35983&page=3

This was the setup I was going to run on my track car, but I picked up Z3 M stuff instead.