re-using e30 suspension on e36 5 lug swap

[bimmer630]

i emailed the guy i bought them from.. he says they are the same except for offset upper bearings, but i looked up the strut #'s on BMW centernet and they are different.

[bimmer630]

oh he hasnt shipped them yet, luckily. but i hope they will be compatible because i already paid him and he doesnt have any standard M3 struts in stock

[bimmer630]

Box-o-parts arrived today... Mroadster front struts and CA's. These arms look just like my E30 arms though! are these the correct M3 style arm to use? i cant find a part # on them but they one of them says 466 07 cdp.

Wrong parts??

[Aptyp]

I couldn't tell the difference until I had them side by side... So don't sweat it.

[bimmer630]

yeah after looking at some online pics.. the arms do look the same. i guess its just a slight difference in the "bend" of the arm..

Gotta get these front brakes cleaned up now i suppose.. ill just use them till i can find a nice set for a decent price. a friend of mine races an e36 and he was able to install larger 330 e46 brakes on the front, i may go that route...
for now im trying to find the best price on rear rotors.. i work at a dealer so their cost on z3 rotors is only 58 bucks each.. napa has some "premium" rotors for about 41 bucks each.. those kinda scare me.. not that they are unsafe..i just dont like putting chinese parts on a bimmer. I just had somebody over at a Z3 forum offered me the complete rear brake setup for an m roadster if anybody here is interested i can find his email

[Aptyp]

talk money...


Yes, e46 brakes are a bolt on e36 325i's... I don't know about e36 m3. My whole reasoning behind using e36 spindles was the fact that bigger rotors and calipers are a bolt-on upgrade. And the simple fact that m3 rotors cost more than 3 sets of other rotors.

[bimmer630]

yeah a 330 sized rotor will be plenty big to stop an e30. already the 325 rotors are pretty large compared to the E30 stuff arent they? I dont remember what he did to his car.. he must have gotten caliper carriers from a 330 also to fit those bigger rotors..